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HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CATHOLIC CHURCH 
 
 IN 
 
 CALIFORNIA. 
 
 BY W. GLEESON, M.A., 
 
 PROFESSOE, ST. MART'S COLLEGE, SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO: 
 
 Printed for the Author, by 
 
 A. L. BANCROFT AND COMPANY, 
 
 1872. 
 
2x iH-lS'. 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1871, by 
 
 W. GLEESON, 
 
 in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at "Washington, D. C. 
 
 2991 ■ > 
 
 & $*> q x i 
 
 Printed, illustrated, and bound at the establishment of 
 A. L. Bancroft & Co., San Francisco, Cal. 
 
TO THE 
 
 FOREIGN MISSIONARY COLLEGE, 
 
 OF 
 
 ALL-HALLOWS, DKUMCONDKA, 
 DUBLIN, IRELAND, 
 
 THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 
 
 BY 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 St. Mary's College, San Francisco, Cal. 
 October, 1871. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The title of this work may appear to some unwar- 
 ranted by the character of the book. The ecclesiastical 
 annals of Upper and Lower California, it may be 
 alleged, are not sufficiently rich in historical details to 
 entitle a treatise on the state of religion in the country 
 to be styled a history. "The Catholic Church in Cali- 
 fornia," or "The Early Missions," might be deemed a 
 more appropriate name. It is true the greater part of 
 the work treats only of the primitive missions estab- 
 lished by the Jesuits and Franciscans. But, inasmuch 
 as the Church on this coast has long since ceased to be 
 a missionary body, in the sense of being governed by 
 Vicars Apostolic, having for several years obtained an 
 honorable place in the American hierarchy, it has been 
 considered that the record of its career would be more 
 appropriately expressed under the title of History than 
 of Missions. 
 
 The considerable time, too, nearly two hundred years, 
 since the faith was introduced into the country, is an 
 additional reason why the claim to the name should not 
 be denied. 
 
 The sources whence the historical matter has been 
 drawn, will be found entire at the end of the second 
 volume. They are not as numerous and complete as 
 might be desired, yet, such as they are, they have been 
 carefully considered, and nothing has been left unex- 
 amined which it was thought could aid in the execution 
 of the work. 
 
VI . PREFACE. 
 
 The writings on which we have mainly relied, are — 
 "The Natural and Civil History of Lower California," 
 by Father Miguel Yenegas : Boscana's ' ' Historical 
 Account of the Indians of Upper California;" Duflot de 
 Mofras' "Exploration of Oregon;" Palou "Life of 
 Junipero Serra;" Forbes' "Lower California;" and 
 Dwinelle's " Colonial History." 
 
 For the chapter on Christian Traditions, we have 
 consulted Sahagun's "History of Mexico," Torquemada, 
 Clavigero, Veytia, and others. The first, who was a 
 Franciscan, wrote at the period of the conquest, and is 
 considered a most reliable author. His work is at pres- 
 ent extremely rare, there not being probably more than 
 one copy of it in the entire country. Clavigero's ' ' His- 
 tory of Mexico" is a large two-volume quarto work. It 
 has been translated into English, and published in Lon- 
 don, by Mr. Charles Cullen. Torquemada and Veytia 
 have not been translated, but the passages quoted from 
 them we have -translated into English, for the conveni- 
 ence of our readers. 
 
 In support of the presence of the Irish on the At- 
 lantic coast prior to the eleventh century, we have taken 
 several passages from the " Antiquitates Americans, " 
 a voluminous work in folio, published for the first time 
 in 1837, under the direction of the Royal Society of 
 Northern Antiquarians. It is of the highest authority 
 on the subject on which it treats, namely, the presence 
 of the Northmen and Irish in America at an early 
 date. Like Sahagun's "History of Mexico," there is, 
 I believe, only one copy of it in all California — that 
 preserved in the State Library at Sacramento. It is in 
 three languages: Icelandic, Danish, and Latin; the two 
 latter being only translations of the former. The text, 
 which is made up of geographical notices, and extracts 
 from the voyages of Icelanders to America, is taken 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 from the Icelandic "manuscript histories preserved in 
 the Royal Library at Copenhagen, of which the^re is a 
 large number, the most celebrated being the "Codex 
 Flate yensis, " marked F. This celebrated parchment de- 
 rives its name from the island of Flateya, off the coast 
 of Iceland, where it was long preserved. It eventually 
 fell into the hands of Byrnjulf, Bishop of Skalhalt, by 
 whom it was presented to Frederick III. of Denmark. 
 It contains a record of the lives of several kings, and 
 was written by two ecclesiastics. Fathers John and 
 Magnus, in the year 1387. There are eighteen other 
 parchment manuscripts in the Copenhagen Library, 
 written before the time of Columbus, wherein mention 
 is made of America, under the names of Helluland, 
 Markland, Vinland, and Great Ireland. 
 
 The arrangement of the "Antiquitates" is in -double 
 columns, containing Icelandic and Danish texts, beneath 
 which is the Latin translation. In the sam« work are 
 some Latin fragments from the history of the church, 
 by Adam of Bremen, who lived for some time at the 
 Court of Denmark, and wrote in the 11th century. He 
 is thus spoken of by Rafn; "Adamus Bremensis fuit 
 canonicus et sedituus Bremis. Fama de virtutibus et 
 doctrina rejis Danorum Suenonis Astrididse eum in 
 Daniam excivit. Hsc profectio, ipsius rejis relationes, et 
 tabularium Hamburgense,necnonnonnulli scriptores an- 
 tiquiores materiam ei prgebuerunt historic ecclesiastics 
 quatuor libris Latine conscribendse, in quibus explicat 
 Christians religionis in Germania bareali et Septem- 
 trione propagationem a tempore Caroli Magni ad Hen- 
 ricum Quartum; addiditque ad Calcern libri quarti de- 
 scriptionem de situ Daniae et reliquarum, qua? trans 
 Daniam sunt regionum." 
 
 The part of our volume treating on the ancient Ameri- 
 can mins we have prepared after a careful examination 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 of the most eminent and reliable writers on the subject. 
 Of these,tke more notable are the works of the Smithson- 
 ian Institute, the "American Antiquities," by Brad- 
 ford, the "Archeologia Americana " and the "Cites et 
 Ruins Americaines," by Mons. Charney. The first, 
 which are very voluminous, embody the opinions of the 
 most learned American Antiquarians, but, like others 
 who have treated the subject, they only deal with it in its 
 general bearings, contenting themselves with having 
 established the fact that America was once in the en- 
 joyment of a high degree of civilization. Beyond this 
 the present writer has undertaken to conduct the reader, 
 and to show when and whence the people came, who 
 were the authors of this enlightenment. The conclu- 
 sions arrived at, it is to be hoped, will meet with the 
 approval of all impartial readers. 
 
 It is here proper to remark that our work has no offi- 
 cial recognition. Such has never been solicited. It 
 goes forth on its own merits : should it meet with general 
 approval we shall be glad, but if not, the failure, under 
 the circumstances, will not be a cause of embarrassment 
 to his Grace and his clergy. 
 
 We cannot take leave of these prefatory remarks 
 without returning our thanks to those, through whose 
 kindness we have had access to the writings necessary 
 for our purpose. We feel especially indebted to Mr. 
 H. H. Bancroft for the use of his excellent library, 
 the best by far in California for works on the ancient 
 history of Mexico and the Pacific Coast. We are also 
 indebted to the kindness of the Librarians of the Mer- 
 cantile, Mechanics', Odd Fellows' and Pioneer Libraries, 
 and to the Librarian of the State Library at Sacramento. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 Chapter I. — Introduction. — Arrangement and Object of the 
 Work. 
 
 Chapter II. — Continuation of the Preceding. — Geograph- 
 ical position of the Country. — Expeditions undertaken 
 for the Discovery of the Imaginary Strait between the 
 Atlantic and Pacific— Cortes goes to Spain. — Grijalva's 
 Expedition. — Discovery of California. 
 
 Chapter III. — The Spaniards in Florida. — Arrival of Nar- 
 vaez' Forces. — Their Adventures and Misfortunes. — 
 Four make their way across the country to the Pa- 
 cific. — The Miracles they Performed. — Their Arrival in 
 Mexico. 
 
 Chapter IV. — Father de Niza makes a tour through 
 Sonora, and reports favorably of the country. — The 
 Viceroy and Cortes prepare to subjugate it. — Massacre 
 of Father Padillo and Brother John of the Cross at 
 Tigne. — Cabrillo's Expedition to California. — Oxenham, 
 Drake and Cavendish appear on the Coast. — Supposed 
 discovery of a Northeast Passage. 
 
 Chapter V. — Etymology of California. — Character of the 
 Country. — Tribes.- — Language. — Physical Character. — 
 Unacquaintance with Letters. — Hieroglyphical Re- 
 mains. — Mental Condition, etc. 
 
 Chapter VI. — Government. — Power of Chiefs. — Religious 
 Ideas regarding the Creation of the World. — Idol- 
 Worship in Upper California. — The Temple or Van- 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 queech. — The God Chinighchinigh. — Tradition Regard- 
 ing the Deluge. — Belief in the Immortality of the Soul 
 and the Resurrection of the Body. 
 
 Chapter VII. — Californian Pagan Priests. — Their Know- 
 ledge of Medicine.- — Influence of the Priests. — Tradi- 
 tions apparently Christian. — Mexican Christian Tradi- 
 tions. — The Deluge. — The Cross. — Monastic Estab- 
 lishments. — Virginity. — Fasts. — Baptism. — Confes- 
 sion. — Eucharist. — Crucifixion. 
 
 Chapter VIII. — Probable Sources whence the Traditions 
 were derived. — Probability of St. Thomas having 
 preached in the country.- — Belief in a White Race to 
 come. — Quetzalcohuatl identical with St. Thomas. 
 
 Chapter IX. — Leading Facts connected with the History of 
 Quetzalcohuatl. — His Prophecy. — A White People to 
 come. — Phenomena prior to the arrival of the Span- 
 iards. — Summary of argument in favor of St. Thomas. 
 — His probable place of Landing. — How the Doctrine 
 may have been corrupted. — Means by which the Apos- 
 tle might have arrived in the Country. — America known 
 to Europeans before Christianity. 
 
 Chapter X. — Second Source of Christian Traditions.— The 
 Irish in Iceland. — Testimon}^ of an Irish Monk and of 
 Icelandic Historians to this effect. — The Irish in Amer- 
 ica prior to the Eleventh Century. — St. Brandon's Voy- 
 age to America. 
 
 Chapter XL — Reduction of the country by the civil au- 
 thority found to be impossible. — It is offered to the 
 Jesuits. — Father Kuhno proposes to undertake the 
 work. — He is joined by Father John Salva Tierra. 
 — Father Tierra sails for California. — Father Piccolo 
 arrives. — Critical position of the Christians. — They 
 make a Novena. — Supplies arrive. — Success during the 
 first three years. 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 Chapter XII. — Difficulties of the Missionaries at first. — 
 Orders to the Mexican Government, by Philip V., in 
 favor of the Fathers. — .Prejudice against the Religious. 
 — They prove California to be a Peninsula. — Mode of 
 Life at the Missions. — Massacre of the Christians at 
 the Mission of St. Xavier. — Punishment of the mur- 
 derers. 
 
 Chapter XIII. — Critical condition of the Fathers for want 
 of provisions. — Arrival of supplies. — Dedication of the 
 Church of Loretto. — Ungenerous action of the Mexican 
 Government. — The Duke of Linares. — Difficulties in 
 establishing new Missions. — Father John Ugarte's zeal 
 for the conversion of the people. — Prejudice of the 
 Natives against the Fathers. 
 
 Chapter XIV. — The Fathers invest the moneys belonging 
 to the Mission in real estate. — First attempt at Gov- 
 ernment. — Natural Phenomena. — Father Ugarte pre- 
 pares to make a second survey of the coast. — Estab- 
 lishment of the Mission of La Paz. — Famine and 
 epidemic in the country. — Devotion of the Missiona- 
 ries. 
 
 Chapter XV. — Project to establish garrisons and colonies 
 along the coast. — Reception of the Fathers' party by 
 the Savageru — Advantages resulting from the Vovage. 
 —Establishment of Missions. — Conversions. — Mission 
 founded for the Cadigomo Indians. 
 
 Chapter XVI.— Difficulty in Converting the Religious 
 Teachers. — Insurrection and Massacre of Christians. — 
 Death of Fathers Piccolo and Ugarte. — Fathers Echi- 
 veria and Sigismund Taraval. — Great Danger to the 
 Missions. — All the Fathers retire to Loretto. — Suppres- 
 sion of the Rebellion. — A Philippine vessel arrives at 
 St. Lucas. 
 
 Chapter XVII. — Punishment of the ringleaders in the late 
 Rebellion. — Restoration of the Missions. — Orders of 
 
XU CONTENTS. 
 
 Ferdinand V. for establishing - Mexican Colonies. — A 
 juncture to be formed between the Missions of Califor- 
 nia and Sonora on the Colorado. — Father Sedelmayer 
 examines the Colorado. — State of Religion in Califor- 
 nia at that period. — Death of Father Bravo and Father 
 Tempis. 
 
 Chapter XVIII. — Death of Father Guillen. — Death of Don 
 Rodriguez Lorenzo. — Progress of the Missions. — At- 
 tempt of the Gentiles to destroy the Southern Missions. 
 — Silver Mines ojtened in the country. — Decrease in 
 the Female Population. — Dangers threatening the So- 
 ciety in Europe. — Unjust proceedings taken against it 
 in Portugal and France. 
 
 Chapter XIX. — Pombal attempts to use the Pope for his 
 own purposes. — Banishes the Fathers from the country. 
 ■ — Father Malagrida burned at the stake. — Conspiracy 
 of the Free-thinkers for the destruction of the Society. 
 — Efforts of the French Clergy in behalf of the Reli- 
 gious. — Opinions of Protestants on this. — Clement 
 XIII. in their favor. — Their Expulsion from the Spanish 
 Dominions. — Departure from California. 
 
 Chapter XX. — Suppression of the Society. — No charges 
 proved against them. — True Cause of the antipathy of 
 their enemies. — Election of Clement XIV. — Frederick 
 the Great's opinion of the Society. — Its Suppression. — 
 Opinion of the World on the act. — Reorganization of 
 
 « 
 
 the Society. 
 
CONTENTS. Xlll 
 
 VOLUME II. 
 
 Chapter I. — Arrival of the Franciscans. — Project of Charles 
 III. — Commencement of the Missions in Upper Cali- 
 fornia. — Establishment of the Missions of San Diego. 
 — Explanation of the terms Presidio, Pueblo and Mis- 
 sion. 
 
 Chapter II. — Expedition to Monterey. — Discovery of San 
 Francisco Bay. — First Baptism. — Scarcity of provi- 
 sions. — Propitious arrival of supplies. — Singular Oc- 
 currence. — Arrival of Missionaries. — Lower California 
 given to the Dominicans. 
 
 Chapter III. — Search for the Northeastern Passage — Mar- 
 tyrdom of one of the Keligious. — Letter of His Excel- 
 lency Bucarelli. — Ke-establishment of the ruined Mis- 
 sion. — Establishment of the Mission of San Francisco. 
 
 Chapter IV. — Establishment of the Mission of Santa Clara. 
 — Death of Father Crespi. — Establishment of two Mis- 
 sions on the Colorado. — Martyrdom of two Religious. — 
 Remarkable Vision. — Death of Father Junipero. — 
 State of the Missions in 1802. — Governor Echandia. 
 
 Chapter V. — Progress of the Missions from 1802 to 1822. 
 — The Secularization Scheme contemplated by Spain. 
 — Russia forms Settlements on the Coast. — Mexico 
 interferes with the Fathers. — Results of such interfer- 
 ence. — State of the country after. — Statistics. — Ill- 
 treatment of the Clergy. 
 
 Chapter VI. — The Mexican Government confiscates the 
 Church Property of California. — Effects of confisca- 
 tion. — Revolution in 1836. — Alvarado as Leader. — 
 Carillo appointed Governor. — Plot for the Overthrow 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 of Alvarado. — Micheltorena arrives. — He restores the 
 Missions to the Religious. — The Extinction of the Na- 
 tive Church. — Upper California annexed by America. 
 
 Chapter VIII. — Appointment of the First Bishop of Mon- 
 terey. — Discovery of Gold. — First Clergy that minister 
 to the Immigrants. — Sisters of Notre Dame arrive. — 
 Appointment ' of Dr. Alemany. — Appearance of San 
 Francisco. — First attempt at Government. 
 
 Chapter IX. — Increase of Population in San Francisco. — 
 Cholera breaks" out. — Sisters of Charity arrive. — Dr. 
 Alemany transferred from Monterey to San Francisco. 
 — Father Gallagher goes to Europe. — Establishment of 
 St. Thomas' Seminary. — Sisters of Mercy arrive.— 
 Prejudice against them. 
 
 Chapter X. — Establishment of St. Mary's Hosj)ital. — In- 
 fluence of the Sisters' lives on the patients.— Establish- 
 ment of the Magdalen Asylum. — The Sisters take 
 charge of the Pest House. — The Sisters attend the 
 Jail. — Their success in reforming the culprits. 
 
 Chapter XL — Pioneer Missionaries.— Increase of the Cath- 
 olic ConmiunhVy. — Appointment of Bishop O'Connell. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Part I. —Extensive American Ruins. — Circular Fort on the 
 Genessee. — Remains on the Tonawanda. — Conical 
 Mounds on the Ocmulgee.— Ruins on the Miami.— 
 Ruins near Chilicothe.— Tumuli in Kentucky and Illi- 
 nois. 
 
 Part II. — Great Antiquity of the Ruins. — Proofs thereof.— 
 Occupation of the people. — Identity of the Authors of 
 the Mounds with the Mexican Races. — Whence the 
 
APPENDIX. XV 
 
 Mexican Kaces emigrated. — The Olmecs. — Tolinecs. — 
 Aztecs. 
 
 Part III. — Where the authors of the Mounds entered 
 America. — First Asiatic migration in a Western direc- 
 tion. — Similarity between the Tuatha De Danaan 
 Works in Ireland and Ancient American remains. 
 
 Part IV. — Similarity between the customs of the Tuatha 
 de Danaans and those of the authors of American 
 Euins. — Identity of Worship. — Languages. — Etc. 
 

CHAFTEE I. 
 
 Introduction. — Arrangement and Object of the Work* 
 
 The history of the Catholic Church in California 
 dates from the latter half of the seventeenth cen- 
 tury. From that time down to the present, I pur- 
 pose to write an account of the state of religion in 
 the country. The absence of an impartial, com- 
 prehensive work, embracing the past and present 
 condition of the Church, is my reason for under- 
 taking this task. 
 
 Though largely devoid of those important and 
 leading events, which, in older and more populous 
 parts of the Catholic world, constitute the princi- 
 pal chapters of history, the record of the Church's 
 career on this coast is yet not without interest to 
 the Catholic mind. The history of missionary en- 
 terprise in every country, and under every circum- 
 stance, possesses an attraction for many, much 
 greater when it happens to be connected with re- 
 sults of a most gratifying kind, as in the case of 
 which we are going to treat. 
 
 The history of the Catholic Church in California 
 commends itself, too, to the general reader, for 
 another and, perhaps, a more appreciable reason, 
 I allude to the connection between the civil and 
 religious history of the country. For three hund- 
 
2 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 red years and more — from the landing of Cortes in 
 1536 till the annexation of Upper California by the 
 American Republic in 1846, the civil and religious 
 relations differed [so little that they found expres- 
 sion on the same page. It is only since the loss of 
 one half of the country to Mexico that the two 
 branches of history have formed separate fields for 
 inquiry, and that the civil and religious historians, 
 severing a long-formed friendship, have entered 
 on different routes. 
 
 As the conversion of the aborigines from pagan- 
 ism and barbarism to Christianity and civilization 
 has been the result of the devoted and heroic ex- 
 ertions of the Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries, 
 I have resolved, in the arrangement of my subject, 
 to treat of the order of events in two volumes. In 
 the first, I will speak of the labors and triumphs of 
 the Jesuit Fathers in Lower California, from the 
 time of their landing in 1683 to the date of their 
 expulsion, in common with their brethren of Para- 
 guay, in 1768, by order of Charles III. 
 
 The second volume will contain, besides an ac- 
 count of the conversion of Upper or Alta Califo- 
 nia by the disciples of St. Francis, a description of 
 the once happy and flourishing state of the mis- 
 sions, under the paternal rule of the Fathers, their 
 subsequent decline and ultimate ruin under Mexi- 
 can auspices; to which will be added an impar- 
 tial description of the state of religion during 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNtA. 6 
 
 the American period, since the appointment of the 
 Right Rev. Dr. Alemany as second bishop of 
 Monterey. 
 
 My principal object in undertaking this work is 
 the desire of placing upon record, and handing 
 down to posterity, a faithful and unbiased rela- 
 tion of the labors, trials and triumphs of the pio- 
 neer missionary Fathers, not forgetting what is due 
 to those who have succeeded them in the ministry. 
 
 At the risk of laying myself open to the charge 
 of embodying something foreign to my purpose, 
 yet with the view of its being acceptable to many, 
 I have resolved upon giving a limited description 
 of the country and its resources, as well as an ab- 
 breviated account of the different voyages made 
 to its shores, during a long series of years, by the 
 Spaniards, the British and the French. 
 
 To the manners, customs and religion of the 
 aborigines, I propose devoting several pages, that 
 the reader may be acquainted with the character 
 of those with whom the pioneer missionaries had 
 to come into contact. And, connected herewith, it 
 will be read, I trust, not without interest, how cer- 
 tain apparently Christian traditions and observ- 
 ances were found to be held and maintained by 
 the natives. The explanation to be offered in so- 
 lution to this will lead to the interesting inquiry, 
 as to whether the Christian religion had ever been 
 preached in America previous to the arrival of the 
 Spaniards. In support of the affirmative proofs 
 
4 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 will be offered to the acceptance of the reader in 
 favor of the arrival of St. Thomas, the Apostle, 
 in the country; as well as in support of the pres- 
 ence of the Irish on the eastern or Atlantic coast 
 prior to the landing of Columbus. 
 
 Out of this will arise the investigation of another 
 and, if possible, more difficult problem — the origin 
 of those numerous, ancient remains of towns, 
 tombs and fortifications, scattered everywhere 
 through the continent, from the shores of the 
 Atlantic to those of the Pacific. To this the 
 reader's attention will be specially invited, though 
 not forming any direct part of the work ; for, en- 
 tirely apart from religious inquiry, it must ever be 
 regarded as a matter of more than ordinary im- 
 portance, to determine on satisfactory grounds the 
 origin and identity of that remarkable people — the 
 authors of that enlightenment and civilization of 
 which it is now freely acknowledged this country 
 was in possession centuries before its discovery in 
 1492. 1 
 
 But, however agreeable and interesting an in- 
 quiry of this nature may prove to the general 
 reader, the main feature of California church his- 
 tory will naturally be the conversion and civiliza- 
 tion of the Indians, and that at a time when some 
 of the principal nations of Europe were being vio- 
 lently torn from the centre of Catholic unity; so 
 that, viewing the matter in connection herewith, 
 
 (1) See works by the Smithsonian Institute. American Aniiqinlies. 
 — Bradford. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 5 
 
 the thought may not unreasonably occur to the 
 mind of the reader that the Almighty had deter- 
 mined upon compensating his church for the losses 
 sustained in the old world by the accessions made 
 in the new. Neither will it be forgotten, that the 
 nation made use of for the accomplishment of this 
 noble and beneficent purpose, was the then power- 
 ful Catholic Kingdom of Spain, under whose ban- 
 ners the children of Ignatius, of Domenic, and 
 Francis, went forth to the ends of the earth, rival- 
 ing in their thirst for the conversion of nations, 
 the daring and ambition of their reckless secular 
 brethren in their pursuit after temporal honors 
 and temporal gain. 
 
 Undaunted by the most formidable dangers to 
 be apprehended from long and perilous voyages, 
 from close and constant communication with rude 
 and barbarous races, or from bad and insalubrious 
 climates, the history of that period presents us 
 with the agreeable picture of the Spanish Religious 
 hastening to every part of the globe, wherever the 
 arms of his country had opened him a passage. 
 Hence the account of the noble and heroic exer- 
 tions of the missionary priests in the valley of the 
 Mississippi, in the w T ilds of Peru, on the burning 
 plains of the Indies, and amid the hills and valleys 
 of California. No fleet or expedition of any im- 
 portance sailed in those days under the auspices of 
 Catholic Spain, unattended by the missionary 
 priest, the bearer and exponent at the same time 
 
6 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 of that symbol of faith — the cross of the Re- 
 deemer, under whose shadow the countries were 
 to be gained to the church and the crown. And 
 whenever the reduction of a race happened to 
 prove too weighty a measure for the civil author- 
 ity, it had only to be entrusted, as in the case of 
 the Californias, to the zeal and devotion of the 
 clerical body, in order to ensure its final submis- 
 sion. When, however, a different policy came to 
 be adopted, the result was unhappily alike fatal to 
 the interests of the crown and the well-being of 
 religion. For it is not a matter unknown to the 
 student of history, that from the moment the 
 monarchs of Spain offered violence to the minis- 
 ters of the gospel, the star of their country's tem- 
 poral ascendency began to decline, their political 
 relations were altered, the seeds of disorder and 
 rebellion were sown in their provinces, and terri- 
 tory after territory began to renounce their au- 
 thority; until the last of those numerous and mag- 
 nificent American dependencies, which had made 
 them at one time the pride and envy of the most 
 powerful nations of the world, was violently torn 
 from their grasp. 
 
 On the other hand, as long as the responsible 
 ministers of government showed themselves capa- 
 ble of appreciating the labors of the missionary, 
 by aiding him in the prosecution of his noble 
 and charitable enterprise, the power of Spain rest- 
 ed on a solid and unshaken foundation. The im- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 7 
 
 possibility of governing with entire satisfaction 
 and advantage to the crown provinces, at such a 
 considerable distance as the Spanish-American 
 possessions, is put forward by some as a plea for 
 the coldness and neglect with which the Court at 
 Madrid treated the Paraguayan and Californian 
 missionaries. But, however plausible and satis- 
 factory such an argument may appear to the apol- 
 ogists of royalty, it will never satisfactorily ac- 
 count for the severity and injustice exercised in 
 the expulsion of the Fathers from the shores of 
 the Pacific. 
 
 It is true that the royal intentions were often- 
 times thwarted, and the most positive instructions 
 artfully evaded, by designing and unscrupulous 
 ministers; for not nnfrequently did it happen that 
 when orders were sent from the Court of Madrid 
 to the Mexican government in favor of the Fathers, 
 these royal commands were either entirely neg- 
 lected, or executed only after the most injurious 
 delay. This was remarkably so in the year 1698, 
 as also in the years 1703 and 1707, as we shall see 
 in the body of the work. Indirectly, it was a gain 
 rather than a loss; for it showed more emphati- 
 cally than anything else could have done, how the 
 conversion of the country was the work of the 
 Fathers, and not the result of the favors or patron- 
 age of the State. 
 
 What contributed not a little to the missiona- 
 ries' success was their chivalrous and devoted ex- 
 
8 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ertions in behalf of the people in times of public 
 calamity, for, regardless of their own personal 
 comfort and safety, they never withheld the kind 
 offices of charity from any; never failed to exhibit 
 in their lives the example of the gospel Samaritan, 
 by attending on all, no matter how loathsome, in- 
 fectious or dangerous the diseases with which they 
 happened to be afflicted. Thus, by rare examples 
 of virtue, by a devotion and zeal unparalleled 
 in the annals of any other part of the Church, the 
 pioneer Jesuit Fathers in Lower California con- 
 tinued to add constantly to the number of the 
 faithful, until, at the moment of their departure 
 from the peninsula, the united result of their mis- 
 sionary labors proved to be one of the most remark- 
 able triumphs of gospel success achieved for 
 religion in modern times. It was the conversion 
 of the entire country, from Cape St. Lucas to the 
 mouth of the Colorado. 
 
 What the sons of Ignatius did for Lower Cali- 
 fornia, the children of Francis accomplished for 
 Upper. Everywhere the preaching of the gospel 
 was attended with the most favorable results. 
 From San Diego to San Francisco, missionary es- 
 tablishments arose along the coast, where thou- 
 sands of the people were carefully provided with 
 everything requisite for their temporal wants, in- 
 structed in the great truths of religion, and the 
 arts of civilized life. 
 
 But, viewing the result of the missionaries' la- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 9 
 
 bors merely on the ground of temporal advan- 
 tages done to the natives, there is much to admire 
 and extol in their work, while, as a successful un- 
 dertaking, accomplished with such limited means, 
 it contrasts most advantageously with the previous 
 efforts of Government in a similar direction. For 
 one hundred and fifty years immediately succeed- 
 ing the discovery of the peninsula, the subjugation 
 and settlement of the country, though an object 
 of the highest ambition to the Spanish authorities, 
 remained entirely unattained. Even the impossi- 
 bility of ever accomplishing the same by secular 
 means was freely acknowledged by all. 
 
 No sooner, however, was it entrusted to the 
 care of the Religious than the difficulties experi- 
 enced for a century and a half immediately dis- 
 appear. Neither the character of the inhabitants, 
 nor the apparent infertility of the land, is any 
 longer an impediment against making settlements 
 on the coast. The soil, though yielding only the 
 meagerest sustenance to its wretched inhabitants, 
 now, at the approach of the Fathers, opens its 
 bosom, and pours forth its rich treasures of nature. 
 At the voice of the same venerable men, fifty 
 thousand of the savages "descend from the moun- 
 tains, abandon their barbarous state, accept the 
 religion of Christ, and engage in the works and 
 arts of civilized life. To paganism succeeds Chris- 
 tianity; to barbarism, civilization; to wild, neg- 
 lected, uncultivated regions, blooming, fertile val- 
 
10 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 leys teeming with abundant crops and extensive 
 herds — all the result of the labors and devoted ex- 
 ertions of men whose only means of enforcing au- 
 thority were the mild and persuasive words of the 
 gospel, and whose only worldly inheritance con- 
 sisted of a cassock, a girdle and a breviary. 
 
 In 1834, the number of live' stock belonging to 
 the missions in Upper California alone, amounted 
 to four hundred and twenty-four thousand head of 
 horned cattle; sixty-two thousand head of horse, 
 and three hundred and twentv-one thousand of 
 other kinds; while for the same year the cereal 
 returns are given at one hundred and twenty-two 
 thousand five hundred fanegas. 1 
 
 Of the articles of export, which consisted of 
 hides, tallow, oil, wood, wool, tobacco and cot- 
 ton, the first was the principal. Two hundred 
 thousand hides annually left the shores for the 
 Sandwich, Peruvian and American markets. The 
 annual gross value of all the commodities leaving 
 the country may be estimated at close on half a 
 million of Spanish piastres. 2 Yet, in the presence 
 of these incontrovertible figures, there are those 
 who withhold from the Fathers that praise and ad- 
 miration so justly entitled them by their zealous 
 and devoted exertions in behalf of the temporal 
 interests of the people; while others, more un- 
 generous and unreasonable still, would fain have 
 
 (1) Afanega is equal to a bushel. 
 
 (2) See Exploration de V Oregon, by Mons. Duflot de Mofras; vol. 1, 
 p. 480. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 11 
 
 the world regard them in a light entirely unworthy 
 of their sacred profession. Of the former, the 
 Scotch author of the History of America, may be 
 evidenced as an instance; nor are we to be aston- 
 ished at this, for inasmuch as Robertson never vis- 
 ited the country, and was not over favorable, as a 
 writer, to Catholic interests, little else could be 
 expected at his hands. 1 Neither should we be sur- 
 prised at not meeting with commendatory expres- 
 sions in the writings of men who paid only casual 
 visits to the shores, as Rogers, Shelvocke and 
 Beechey; but that men residing in the country, and 
 supposed to be thoroughly acquainted with its his- 
 tory, should condemn the Religious, and censure 
 them in the coarsest of language, betrays either an 
 unpardonable ignorance of the true history of the 
 land, or a mind utterly prejudiced against every 
 thing Catholic. 2 
 
 The charges laid to the account of the Fathers 
 are mainly to the effect that they were not suffi- 
 ciently progressive; that they kept their neophyte 
 converts in a state of perpetual bondage, and 
 failed to elevate them to a high and desirable de- 
 gree of civilization. " The Spanish population 
 and the Fathers," say the writers of the Annals of 
 San Francisco, u could not or would not, as truly 
 they did not, as we may afterwards see, do any 
 thing to promote the happiness of the human race 
 
 (1) Robertson's History of America: Book VII. p. 74. 
 
 (2) See Forbes' History of California — Annals of San Francisco. 
 
12 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 in the country. Men feed the ox and the sheep 
 for their milk and fleece, the hog for his flesh, the 
 ass for the strength of his back, and all for their 
 increase; so did the Fathers feed their Indian con- 
 verts, and find abundant profit in their labor and 
 personal services, whom they left, as they perhaps 
 found, if they did not transform them into moral 
 beasts, just as tame, dull and silly, dirty, diseased 
 and stupidly obstinate as the other brutes named.' 71 
 Before indicting so grave and serious a charge 
 against the most devoted and remarkable mis- 
 sionaries of modern times, it is to be regretted 
 that the writers of the Annals did not consider 
 whether it was any advantage to the natives to have 
 been instructed in a knowledge of the Christian 
 religion; to have been reclaimed from their wan- 
 dering, precarious existence, instructed in the ele- 
 mentary principles of a civilized life, and provided 
 with all the requirements demanded for their tem- 
 poral wants. It is also to be regretted, that they 
 did not consider whether it is possible, even under 
 the most favorable circumstances, to speedily 
 transform the savage into a civilized man. The 
 history of the world, and the experience of all 
 ages, would have told them exactly the contrary. 
 In no part of the globe, and under no circum- 
 stances whatever, has it ever been known that the 
 wild and uncivilized races have been elevated to 
 
 (1) Annals San Francisco: p. 52. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 13 
 
 a parallel with civilized Christian communities in 
 less than a few generations. 
 
 The history of the whole of America is an appo- 
 site instance of this. The still rude and uncivilized 
 habits of the yet wandering tribes of this coast, of 
 Oregon, and the great western prairies, is an evi- 
 dence of how little even a Republican government 
 can effect in exalting a people. 
 
 The Floridan war, which lasted from 1835 to 
 1842, cost the United States Government of 
 America forty million dollars, and twenty thousand 
 of the flower of the army; and yet, we are told, 
 that until lately the chief of the Seminoles was 
 the terror of the frontier. 1 Under the circum- 
 stances, the Fathers did all that could be reason- 
 ably expected at their hands, and more, I may. 
 safely affirm, than any other body of men, outside 
 the Catholic Church, has ever accomplished with 
 similar means. The material they had to work on 
 was of the poorest and most unfavorable kind. 
 
 According to the testimony of the most impar- 
 tial and best informed writers, the physical and 
 mental conditions of the Californians was the low- 
 est and weakest of all^the American races. " It is 
 not for Europeans," writes the author of the Nat- 
 ural and Civil History of California, "who have 
 never been out of their own country, to conceive an 
 adequate idea of this people. For even in the least 
 frequented corners of the globe there is not a na- 
 
 (1) See Catholic Church in the United States; p. 16. 
 
14 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 tion so stupid, of such contracted ideas, and so 
 weak, both in body and mind, as the unhappy 
 Californians." "They pass whole days," says Hum- 
 boldt, "stretched out on their bellies on the sand 
 when it is heated by the reverberation of the 
 solar rays." And Father Boscana, who spent a 
 quarter of a century in the country, gives them 
 even a more unfavorable character: " The Indians 
 of California may be compared to a species of 
 monkey; for in naught do they express interest 
 except in imitating the action of others, and par- 
 ticularly in copying the ways of the razon or white 
 men, whom they respect as beings much superior 
 to themselves; but, in doing so, they are careful 
 to select vice in preference to virtue. This is the 
 result, undoubtedly, of their corrupt and natural 
 disposition." * 
 
 The condition of the Indians after their conver- 
 sion, when instructed by the Religious, contrasts 
 most favorably with this. 
 
 Captain Benjamin Morrell, of the United States 
 service, who visited the country in 1832, speaks 
 thus of the Indians of the mission of St. Anthony 
 of Padua, near Monterey: " The Indians are very 
 industrious in their labors, and obedient to their 
 teachers and directors, to whom they look up as 
 to a father and protector, and who in return dis- 
 charge their duty toward these poor Indians with 
 
 (1) Historical Account of the Indians of Upper California; by Father 
 Boscana, p. 335. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 15 
 
 a great deal of feeling and humanity. Tliey are 
 generally well clothed and fed, have houses of 
 their own, and are made as comfortable as they 
 wish to be. The greatest care is taken of all who 
 are afflicted with any disease, and every attention 
 is paid to their wants." And again: ll JS T o person 
 of unprejudiced mind could witness the labors of 
 these Catholic missionaries, and contemplate the 
 happy results of their philanthropic exertions, with- 
 out confessing that they are unwearied in well- 
 doing. The Indians are generally a very industri- 
 ous, ingenious and cleanly people." 1 Mr. Russell 
 Bartlett, speaking of the state of the country after 
 the destruction of the missions by the Mexican 
 government, writes in the same commendatory 
 manner: "Humanity cannot refrain from wishing 
 that the dilapidated Mission of San Gabriel should 
 be renovated, and its broken walls be rebuilt, its 
 roofless houses be re-covered, and its deserted 
 walls be again filled with its ancient industrious, 
 happy and contented population." A little before, 
 the same writer had said: "Five thousand Indians 
 were at one time collected and attached to the 
 mission. The}^ are represented to have been sober 
 and industrious, well clothed and fed." An Amer- 
 ican, who passed several years in the country, 
 bears equally satisfactory testimony of their vir- 
 tues; speaking of the Mission of San Jose, he says: 
 "And perhaps there are few places in the world 
 
 (1) A Narrative of Four Vcytges in the Pacific: chap. VI., p. 208. 
 
16 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 where, in proportion to the number of the inhabi- 
 tants, can be found more chastity, industrious habits 
 and correct deportment than among the women of 
 this place." 1 
 
 The Abbe Domenic's valuable work on the 
 Great Deserts of America also contains some nota. 
 ble passages respecting the condition of the In- 
 dians before and after their conversion: " The 
 Indians of California consist of poor tribes, living 
 wretchedly on the product of fishing, of hunting, 
 and of wild fruits. Under the intelligent and 
 paternal administration of the missionaries they 
 had become happy, docile and industrious, even 
 though their intelligence was much inferior to that 
 of the other Indians of North America. They 
 tilled the fields, cultivated the vine, and had very 
 fine orchards. Previous to the arrival of the 
 Jesuiffe, they were in complete ignorance of the 
 art of agriculture, and even of the pastoral life. 
 Stupidity seemed to be their distinctive * char- 
 acter." 2 
 
 Such is my answer to those whose works are 
 dishonored by the censures and condemnations 
 they contain of the pioneer Fathers to this coast. 
 In the body of the work the reader will be able to 
 appreciate more fully the true character of the 
 Religious, on reading in detail an account of 
 their labors. 
 
 (1) Life in California, during a Residence of Several Years in that Ter- 
 ritory by an American: p. 73. 
 
 (2) the Deserts of North America: by Abbe Domenic, vol. 1, p. 239. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 17 
 
 Apart entirely from the foregoing consideration 
 respecting the benefits conferred on the natives, 
 the signal advantages indirectly derived by the 
 Government of this country from the presence of 
 the Religious on the coast, should be more than 
 sufficient to shield them 'from the ungenerous re- 
 marks of American writers. It is to the presence 
 of the pioneer Catholic missionaries in California 
 that is due, in all probability, indirectly the fact 
 that this part of the coast forms to-day a portion 
 of the American Republic. 
 
 After the failure of Admiral Otando's expedition 
 in 1G83, the government of Spain acknowledged 
 its inability to conquer the country, or to make 
 settlements in it. A declaration to this effect was 
 reluctantly made by the agents of the crown, and 
 a determination arrived at of never again em- 
 barking on a like speculation. By thus acknowl- 
 edging their inability to accomplish their pur- 
 pose, "the Spanish authorities may be said to have 
 virtually renounced in favor of others, desirous 
 of making a similar experiment, whatever claim 
 or title they had to the country. That this was 
 sure to be so regarded by others, appears clear 
 from the fact, that in 1768, the same year that the 
 Jesuit Fathers landed in Lower California, a Rus- 
 sian expedition was despatched to the Pacific, 
 with the view of promoting the mercantile and ter- 
 ritorial interests of that nation in these parts. The 
 
 presence of the Religious, however, under the flag 
 2 
 
18 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 of old Spain, prevented for a time the contem- 
 plated purpose. But Russia did not entirely 
 abandon her project, for, in 1807, we find the Cham- 
 berlain of his Majesty the Emperor, arriving at the 
 bay of San Francisco, preparatory to forming a 
 settlement on the coast, which was afterward ac- 
 complished, at the port of Bodega in 1812. 
 
 Meantime, the English, under Rogers, Dampier, 
 Shelvocke and Anson, were frequenting the coun- 
 try, and inclined to regard it as a British possession, 
 in consequence of Drake having taken possession 
 of it in the name of his sovereign ; while, on the 
 other hand, the French, in the persons of La Per- 
 ouse and De Mofras were also endeavoring to 
 establish a claim. It is, therefore, by no means 
 improbable, on the contrary, it is strongly to be 
 credited, that had not the interests of Spain been 
 so largely represented by the devoted Religious, 
 California would have fallen a prey, long before 
 its annexation by the American Republic, to one 
 or other of the nations referred to above. 
 
 The circumstances under which the Religious 
 entered on the field of their labors, deserve to be 
 briefly explained, in order to guard against un- 
 favorable impressions. Unlike most missionary 
 work, where the heralds of the Gospel go forth 
 unattended by any, without scrip or staff, trusting 
 for all things to the providence and protection of 
 Him who ruleth the universe and provideth for 
 the requirements of all, the first missionaries to 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 19 
 
 California were attended by a few faithful com- 
 panions, and under the protection of a military 
 escort. That this was derogatory to the true 
 spirit of the Gospel, and unworthy of the pioneer 
 Fathers, seems to have been regarded by some, but 
 it should be remembered that the object contem- 
 plated by Government was twofold in its char- 
 acter: The conversion of the natives to the 
 Catholic faith, and their subjection to the do- 
 minion of Spain, was the double purpose on which 
 the Fathers had embarked. On this condition, 
 and this alone, was it that Spain had placed the 
 interests of the country in their hands. Even ad- 
 mitting that the latter did not enter into their 
 purpose, it is difficult to see how their having 
 taken precautionary measures to save themselves 
 against the violence of the savages, could be laid 
 as a charge at their doors. 
 
 Doubtless it is far more impressive and romantic 
 to read of the missionary falling under the toma- 
 hawk of the savages, as the first Jesuit Fathers in 
 Canada, than to learn of others of their brethren 
 landing on the shores of an equally barbarous race 
 under the protection of a few armed companions. 
 But, whether the course adopted by the latter may 
 not be more in accordance with reason, and more 
 beneficial to religion and humanity, is a question 
 which is left to the judgment of the reader to deter- 
 mine. Had not the first missionaries to California 
 been attended by some of their Spanish or Mexican 
 
20 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 friends, there is every ground to suppose, judging 
 from the future conduct of the natives, that they 
 would have fallen victims to their charitable en- 
 deavors at the hands of the savages, and that thus 
 the country would have remained sunk in its bar- 
 barism and paganism for generations. 
 
 There was also another and more politic motive 
 urging this course. The eastern, or Philippine, 
 trade had to be protected ; for this purpose it was 
 necessary that garrisons should be formed along 
 the coast, to prevent the annual Mexican galleon 
 from falling into the hands of the British then in- 
 festing the shores. Nor was the hope of prevent- 
 ing the country from falling a prey to some of the 
 nations referred to above, entirely foreign to his 
 Majesty's purpose. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 21 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Continuation of the Preceding. — Geographical Position of the Coun- 
 try. — Expeditions undertaken for the Discovery of the Imag- 
 inary Strait between the Atlantic and Pacific. — Treaty of 
 Tordesillas. — Magellan sails to the Philippines by a Wester- 
 ly Course. — Charles V. orders Cortes to seek for the Strait 
 — Cortes sends Christopher de Olid. — Cortes goes to Spain. — 
 Grijalya's Expedition. — Discovery of California. 
 
 The first quarter of the present century was the 
 most brilliant period of the Catholic missions of 
 California. It was during this time, after the 
 labors of the missionaries had resulted in the con- 
 version of the greater part of the people, that 
 fifty thousand of the inhabitants, strangers to the 
 care, turmoil and ambition of the outer world, 
 dwelt in those peaceful abodes erected everywhere 
 through the country under the fostering care of 
 the Religious. There, day by day, as the duties 
 of religion summoned them to the worship of God, 
 their simple but grateful accents ascended to 
 Heaven in humble acknowledgment of the mani- 
 fold blessings bestowed on them, both in a spiritual 
 and temporal sense. Instead of rude, illiterate 
 savages, destitute of every idea of religion, and of 
 every social comfort and enjoyment, they now saw 
 themselves in the possession of religion, instructed 
 in the great scheme of Redemption, abounding in 
 bread, comfortably lodged and decently clad. 
 
22 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Even to the most censorious and exacting, the 
 change must appear advantageous and appreciable. 
 To the wild, uncultivated, wandering races moving 
 vaguely from place to place, unconscious alike of 
 the God who created them, as well as the end for 
 which they were destined, succeed, under the care 
 of the Religious, the numerous civilized, Christian 
 congregations, leading most regular and orderly 
 lives, and discharging devoutly the duties that re- 
 ligion demanded at their hands. So happy and 
 contented, indeed, was their condition, before the 
 baneful influence of a ruinous Mexican policy was 
 felt in the land, that one is in every sense justified 
 in regarding their state as amongst the most fa- 
 vored of any neophyte Christian community of the 
 world. But this was not to continue. In the in- 
 scrutable designs of divine Providence a climax 
 was reached: the happiest and best days of the 
 Californian missions had come and were gone. 
 
 In 1822, Mexico separated from the parent coun- 
 try and proclaimed its independence. This was a 
 most dangerous and ill-boding occurrence for the 
 missions. Men who, while subject to authority, 
 used every means in their power to avoid the ex- 
 ecution of orders favorable to the Fathers, now 
 that they were free, were not likely to take meas- 
 ures for promoting their interests. Such, in fact, 
 proved to be the case. 
 
 Two years after the Republic was proclaimed, 
 the Christians of California were removed from 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 23 
 
 under the control of the Fathers: an order arrived 
 at that date for the manumission of all whose 
 characters were unimpeachable. They were to re- 
 ceive certain portions of land and to be entirely in- 
 dependent of the Religious. At the same time 
 the annual salary paid to the Fathers, and deriva- 
 ble from the interest of the Pious Fund, was with- 
 held and appropriated by government; while si ill 
 later on, the whole of the fund donated originally 
 by the pious benefactors for the exclusive use of 
 religion, was confiscated by Congress and expend- 
 ed for purposes of State. 1 To these, other equally 
 intolerant measures rapidly succeeded. In 1833, 
 the Mexican government passed a decree for the 
 removal of all the Religious, 2 and the distribution 
 of the lands among the Indians and settlers. The 
 natural consequence of such a radical measure was 
 the ruin and destruction of all that the mission- 
 aries had effected since their entry into the coun- 
 try. The Indians, being unprepared for so sweep- 
 ing a change, when left entirely to themselves, un- 
 controlled and unsupported by their religious pro- 
 tectors, quickly fell back into their original indo- 
 lence, and squandered away all that was given 
 them by government, as children are wont to trifle 
 witli valuables which accidentally happen to fall 
 into their hands. Of this, even the most unfavor- 
 
 (1) The Pious Fund was the aggregate sum of the donations bestow- 
 ed by the faithful on the Fathers for the use of the missions. Its his- 
 tory will be given in the Second Vol. 
 
 (2) They were to be replaced by a secular clergy. 
 
24 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 able writers bear unequivocal testimony: "The 
 simple Indians were quite incapable of standing 
 alone, and rapidly gambled away or otherwise 
 squandered the little property assigned to them. 
 Beggary or plunder was only left to them to sub- 
 sist upon." 1 
 
 Such was the unhappy and ruinous consequence 
 of the interference of government with the work 
 of the missionaries. The Indians, when left to 
 themselves, refused, in almost every instance, to 
 labor. They either had not sufficient intelligence 
 to foresee the evils they were bringing upon them- 
 selves and their families by abstaining from work, 
 or they had not sufficient determination of purpose 
 to conquer their natural indolence by engaging in 
 those duties they cheerfully undertook at the bid- 
 ding of the Fathers. Attributable to one cause or 
 the other, the result was equally the same — the 
 temporal and spiritual ruin of the people. Every- 
 where through the country the lands remained al- 
 most wholly unfilled, the houses fell into ruins, 
 the herds were destroyed, and the Indians them- 
 selves scattered, diminished and demoralized. In- 
 deed, so remarkable and striking was the change 
 effected under these circumstances, that, only we 
 have the most undoubted authority for its reality, 
 we would feel reluctant in accepting it as true. 
 
 In the eight years which passed between 1834 
 and 1842, the live stock belonging to the missions 
 
 (1) Annals of San Francisco, p. 75. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 25 
 
 decreased from eight hundred and eight thousand 
 to sixty-two thousand. The diminution in the 
 agricultural returns was equally significant, the 
 returns having fallen from seventy thousand to 
 four thousand hectoliters, while, as regarded the 
 Indians themselves, their numbers fell from thirty 
 thousand six hundred and fifty to four thousand 
 five hundred. 1 
 
 Although the action of the Mexican Govern- 
 ment resulted in the almost entire ruin of the mis- 
 sions, Catholicity, withal, did not lose its hold upon 
 the country. Another and more brilliant era was 
 about to open upon the Church. In the ineffable 
 designs of Divine Providence, the native Christian 
 congregations were to be succeeded by Europeans. 
 Upon the ruins of the old missions was to arise a 
 new and more beautiful Church, fair and noble in 
 all its proportions, combining within its fold men 
 of almost every clime and every race, Celt and 
 Saxon, Frank and Teuton, those from the banks of 
 the Tiber, as well as those from the Guadalquiver 
 and the Mississippi, and thus second only in num- 
 bers and affluence to some of the oldest and most 
 prominent centres of Catholic unity within the 
 limits of the Republic. This is the modern Church 
 of California. How it came to be formed, how its 
 numbers increased, its churches arose, its religious 
 houses were founded, its institutions established, 
 
 (1) Vide Exploration du Territoire de L' Oregon, des Calif ornies et de 
 la Mer Vermeille ; vol. 1, p. 321. 
 
26 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 its bishoprics formed and its clergy increased, the 
 reader shall learn in the latter half of the work. 
 
 In the older and less perfect geographies, the 
 boundaries assigned to California were considera- 
 bly greater than its present dimensions. Up al- 
 most to modern times its geographical limits were 
 but vaguely defined. John Bleau, in his volumi- 
 nous work published at Amsterdam, in 1622, com- 
 prehended in California all the countries west of 
 New Spain and New Galicia, even to the Anian 
 Straits. u California communiter dicitur quidquid 
 terrarum Novae Hispaniae atque Novae Galiciae ad 
 occidentem objicitur, quae sane latissime patent et 
 ad extremes America? meridionalis terminos et f re- 
 turn quod vulgo Anian vocant, pertinent." The 
 limits thus assigned to the country by Bleau, and 
 others of that period, were never generally ac- 
 cepted. They however gave what, in their day, 
 was supposed to be the country's dimensions. 
 
 By California in its present limits, comprising 
 the Upper and Lower countries of that name, is 
 understood that line or tract of coast land on the 
 western shores of the North American continent 
 between the twenty-second and forty-eighth de- 
 grees of north latitude, and the one hundred and 
 ninth and one hundred and twenty-fourth degrees 
 of west longitude. Its extreme length, from Cape 
 St. Lucas in the south to Cape Mendocino in the 
 north, is about five hundred leagues, or fifteen hun- 
 dred miles. It varies in breadth from thirty to 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 27 
 
 three hundred miles and more. The superficial 
 area of this belt of coast land is for Lower Cali- 
 fornia two hundred thousand square miles; and for 
 Upper one hundred and eighty thousand nine 
 hundred and eighty-two, making a total of three 
 hundred and eighty-eight thousand nine hundred 
 and eighty-two square miles for the entire coun- 
 try. Upper California extends about seven hun- 
 dred and fifty miles northwest to Oregon, from 
 the thirty-second to the forty-second parallel of 
 latitude. 
 
 It is to the indomitable energy and liberal mu- 
 nificence of the conqueror of Mexico that we owe 
 the discovery of the country, under the following 
 circumstances. In 1522, after the conquest of 
 Mexico, Fernando Cortes acquainted his royal 
 master, Charles V., with his design of discovering 
 the imaginary strait supposed to exist between 
 the American continents. It is proper to observe, 
 that after the discovery of America, at the close 
 of the fifteenth century, by Christopher Columbus 
 or Colon, an opinion was current in Europe that 
 the Atlantic communicated with the Pacific by 
 a strait in the vicinity of what is now known as 
 the Isthmus of Panama. " It was with the view of 
 finding this passage, and thereby facilitating the 
 voyage to the Indies, of which so much was then 
 spoken, that the adventurous Spaniard entered 
 upon his fourth and last voyage. The extraordi- 
 nary accounts given of the riches of the East by 
 
28 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the Venetian and Florentine merchants, as well as 
 the exaggerated description of travelers, whose, 
 works then for the first time began to attract pub- 
 lic attention, inflamed the public mind with the 
 desire of being able to traffic directly with those 
 nations, and not as before, through Mahometan 
 agency. 
 
 In 1499, Vasco de Grama returned from his 
 voyage to the East by the way of the Cape of 
 Good Hope. This, while it opened a new but diffi- 
 cult passage to the Indies, only increased the 
 desire of finding a shorter and less perilous route. 
 To satisfy the public desire then, as also to accom- 
 modate himself to the wish of the monarch, Ad- 
 miral Columbus sailed from the Tagus for the 
 fourth and last time in his life, in 1502. He had 
 promised their Catholic Majesties on starting that 
 nothing would be left unaccomplished to discover 
 the passage. Faithful to his promise, he carefully 
 examined the coast as far north as the Gulf of 
 Honduras, without, it is unnecessary to say, having 
 found the imaginary strait. 
 
 From this till 1523, several attempts were made 
 to discover the passage. In 1514, the Portuguese 
 discovered the Moluccas, which the Spaniards 
 claimed as their own, in accordance with the 
 treaty of Tordecillas, by which it had been agreed 
 that all the countries to the distances of three hun- 
 dred and seventy leagues east of the Azores should 
 belong to the Portuguese crown, and all to 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 29 
 
 the west to the kingdom of Spain. This was the 
 memorable treaty known as the "Partition of the 
 Ocean." It was occasioned by the inconveniences 
 arising from the immunities granted by different 
 Popes to the Spanish and Portuguese monarchs. 
 In 1454, Pope Nicholas V. granted, by a Bull of 
 approval to Portugal, all the discoveries she had 
 made, or might afterward make, on the African 
 coast and to the east. On the other hand, Fer- 
 dinand and Isabella obtained a counter prerogative 
 from Alexander VI., by which they were to enjoy 
 and inherit all the discoveries made to the west. 1 
 As the limits in both cases were but vaguely de- 
 fined, the pretensions of the monarchs eventually 
 became a matter of dispute in the case of the Mo- 
 luccas, and hence the treaty alluded to respecting 
 the division of the ocean. 
 
 To obviate, as far as was practicable, the diffi- 
 culty of the case, Magellan and Falero proposed to 
 Cardinal Ximenes, to sail to the island by a west- 
 ern route, if aided by Government. From what 
 motive it is not stated, but the proposal did not 
 meet with approval at the hands of his Eminence. 
 The matter remained in abeyance till after his 
 death, when the offer was renewed to the monarch 
 in person, and with greater success; for, in the 
 year 1519, Magellan started on his voyage. After 
 crossing the equator, he steered along the south- 
 ern coast till he came to the strait to which he has 
 
 (1) See Bull and Explanation at end of chapter. 
 
30 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 given his name. Through it he effected a passage, 
 with considerable difficulty, into the southern 
 ocean. Continuing his voyage, he arrived at the 
 Ladrones, and subsequently at the Philippines, 
 where he unfortunately perished, with some of his 
 companions. The others continued the voyage 
 till they came to the Moluccas, whence they re- 
 turned to Spain, in 1522, by way of the Cape of 
 Good Hope. This was the first complete voyage 
 made around the globe, and was effected in the 
 space of three years. 
 
 A new, though long and difficult, passage to the 
 Indies being now discovered, and the position of 
 the world better determined, the general desire 
 was increased of finding a readier route ; Charles V. 
 was as deeply interested in the matter as any of 
 his subjects. In 1523 he sent orders to Cortes to 
 seek for the strait on both sides of the continent. 
 Cortes was not then in a position to fully carry 
 out the royal commands, and contented himself 
 with sending Christopher de Olid, with Habuercas 
 and Hortado, to take a survey of the coast on the 
 eastern side. Meantime the general opinion re- 
 garding the existence of the strait was increased, 
 in consequence of information received from the 
 natives by Pedro Alvarado. Writing to Cortes 
 from Mazatlan, he says: " They (the natives) also 
 told me that at five days journey beyond a very 
 large city, which is twenty days journey from 
 hence, this land terminates; and this they posi- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 31 
 
 lively declare. If so, there is no question with me 
 but this is the strait." 
 
 For the solution of the problem, it was necessary 
 that an expedition should be formed for the care- 
 ful survey of the western coast. To this end, 
 Cortes caused to be carried across from Vera Cruz, 
 on the Atlantic, to Zacatulla, on the Pacific, mate- 
 rials for the construction of four vessels, two cara- 
 vals and two brigantines. He also despatched a 
 number of artisans for the execution of the work. 
 His plan, however, was frustrated for a time by an 
 unhappy occurrence. After the arrival of the 
 workmen and materials, the magazine accidentally 
 took fire, when all was destroyed but the iron. To 
 any but a man such as Cortes, this would have 
 presented an insurmountable difficulty ; but, omi- 
 nous as the occurrence may have appeared, he did 
 not permit it to interfere with his project, for he 
 immediately gave orders for purchasing and for- 
 warding similar material. His object in fitting 
 out the expedition was not so much with the view 
 of discovering the strait (as may be seen from the 
 following extract of a letter to his Majesty), as of 
 discovering new and unheard of dominions. Writ- 
 ing to the Emperor from Mexico, he says: "I 
 place value on these ships beyond all expression, 
 being certain that with them, if it please God, I 
 shall be the instrument of your imperial Majesty 
 being in these parts sovereign of more kingdoms 
 and dominions than have been hitherto known in 
 
32 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 our nation. May God please to prosper it in his 
 good pleasure, that your Majesty may obtain such 
 an unparalleled advantage; for I believe that 
 when I have performed this, your Highness may 
 be monarch of the whole world, whenever you 
 please." * 
 
 In the following clause of the same letter, he 
 expresses the hope of finding the strait, and the 
 important advantages likely to result from it: "In 
 the former clause, most potent Lord, I have speci- 
 fied to your Majesty the parts whither I have sent 
 people, both by land and sea, with which, under 
 the divine favor, I believe your Highness will be 
 greatly pleased. And, as it is my continual care 
 and employment to project every possible way of 
 putting into execution my zeal for the service of 
 your royal Majesty, seeing nothing further is re- 
 maining but the knowledge of the coast yet undis- 
 covered between the river Panaco and Florida, 
 surveyed by. Captain Juan Ponce de Leon, and 
 from thence to the northern coast of the said coun- 
 try of Florida, as far as the Baccaloas, it being cer- 
 tain that on that coast is the strait running into 
 the south sea; and if it be found, according to the 
 true draft which I have of that part of the sea 
 near the archipelago, which by your Highness' 
 orders Magellan discovered, I am of opinion it will 
 issue very near it. And, if it please the Lord that 
 the said strait join there, the voyage to the Spice 
 
 (1) Vide Cartas de Cortes: page 374. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 33 
 
 Islands will be so convenient for these, your Ma- 
 jesty's dominions, that it will be two thirds shorter 
 than the present course; and without any hazard 
 in going or coming, for the voyage will be entirely 
 among the states and countries belonging to your 
 Highness; that, in any necessity, they may safely 
 put in where most convenient, as in a country 
 belonging to your Highness, whose flag they carry." 
 
 After pointing out to his Majesty the expenses 
 necessary to be incurred, he continues: "Thus, I 
 think of sending ships, which I have caused to be 
 built, into the south sea, that, God willing, they 
 may by the end of July, 1524, sail downward 
 along the same coast, in quest of the same strait. 
 For, if there be any such thing, it must appear 
 either to those in the south sea or to those in the 
 north ; as those in the south are to keep the coast 
 in sight till they find the said strait, or, that the 
 land joins with that which was discovered by 
 Magellan; and the other on the north, as I have 
 said, till they find the land joins with the Bacco- 
 loas. 
 
 "Thus, on the one side or the other, this im- 
 portant question must be solved. I hereby inform 
 your Majesty, that by the intelligence I have re- 
 ceived of the countries an the upper coast of the 
 south sea, the sending of those ships along it will 
 be attended with great advantage to me, and no 
 less to your Majesty. But, acquainted as I am 
 with your Majesty's desire of knowing this strait, 
 3 
 
34 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 and likewise of the great service the discovery of 
 it would be to your royal crown, I have laid aside 
 all other profits and advantages of which I have 
 the most certain knowledge, in order to follow 
 entirely this course. The Lord direct it according 
 to his good pleasure, and may your Majesty obtain 
 your desire, and likewise mine of serving you." 
 
 " Mexico, October 15th, 1524." 
 
 The zeal manifested by Cortes, in this letter to 
 the Emperor, is thought to be due rather to a de- 
 sire of regaining his fast-failing reputation and 
 ascendancy than to a single-minded purpose of 
 serving the crown. "He flattered himself," says 
 the author of the political essay on New Spain, 
 "that he would be able by the brilliancy of his 
 achievements to silence the representations of his 
 enemies." 
 
 When the vessels to which he alluded in his 
 letter to the Emperor were finished, he received 
 orders to send them in search of the " Trinity," 
 one of Magellan's, which had been lost on the way 
 to the Philippines. The expedition was in conse- 
 quence retarded for a while. Meantime, Cortes 
 returned to Spain, where he was highly honored 
 by the Emperor, being made Marquis of Gaxacara, 
 Captain General of New Spain, and the provinces 
 and coast to the south. He also received from the 
 crown, both for himself and his heirs, the twelfth 
 part of whatever he conquered, but on the condi- 
 tion of providing the expedition himself. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 35 
 
 The following year he returned to Mexico, and, 
 according to agreement, fitted out at his private 
 expense the vessels required for his purpose. 
 These he despatched on a voyage of discovery, in 
 charge of his relative, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, 
 but, unfortunately, the expedition miscarried. 1 
 One ship's company mutinied against their com- 
 mander, and the other, in which Hurtado himself 
 had command, was lost. Cortes was still unshaken 
 in his purpose. He had resolved to prosecnte the 
 inquiry to the end, even under the most unfavor- 
 able circumstances. With this view he ordered 
 other vessels to be built immediately. 
 
 The new expedition was entrusted to Hernando 
 Grijalva and Diego Beccera de Mendoza, Ortun 
 Ximenes being pilot. They put to see in 1534, 
 and, although ordered not to part company, they 
 were accidentally separated the first night, and 
 never met again during the voyage. Grrijalva, 
 after sailing north some three hundred leagues, 
 returned to New Spain, without further discovery 
 than that of a barren island, supposed to be one 
 of a group off the Californian coast. 2 Mendoza, 
 
 (1) Three Franciscans — Father Martin de la Cortina and two others 
 accompanied this expedition. See -.Docunmitos para la Historia de 
 Mexico: vol. 5, p. 7. 
 
 (2) Humboldt says that Grijalva landed in California, but he does 
 not cite any authority in support of his assertion. On the other hand, 
 Miguel Venegas, the oldest and most reliable author, tells us, indirectly, 
 that he did not ; except, indeed, landing on an island off the coast 
 can be regarded as such. "Grijalva, after sailing three hundred 
 leagues, came to a desert island, which he called Santo Thome, and is 
 believed to lie near the point of California. "Hist. Cal., Venegas'; vol. 1, 
 p. 13L 
 
36 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the master of the other vessel fared even worse. 
 Being of a haughty and tyrannical disposition, he 
 so angered a part of the crew, that seizing the 
 first opportunity, they fell upon him and murdered 
 him, instigated, it is said, by the pilot. Ximenes 
 thereupon became master of the vessel, and con- 
 tinued the vogage; but, going ashore in the 
 vicinity of Santa Cruz Bay, was murdered, together 
 with twenty of his companions, by the natives. 1 
 The vessel was taken back to Mexican waters by 
 the survivors. Still resolved upon prosecuting 
 the inquiry, and determined this time at least to 
 avoid a repetition of the disaster, Cortes formed 
 the resolution of making in person a final at- 
 tempt. Having notified his intention to this 
 effect, numerous adventurous spirits, attracted 
 alike by the novelty of the enterprise, as well as 
 by the ability of the man, nocked to his standard. 
 With these, he started from Chiametla, on the 
 coast of New Spain, and steered for that part of 
 the coast where Ximenes had met with his death. 
 He had with him all the requisites necessary for 
 planting a colony — four hundred Spaniards, three 
 hundred negro slaves, an abundant supply of farm 
 
 (1) Although it is very generally believed that Ximenes' party landed 
 in California, it is yet not entirely beyond doubt. — Prescott and Taylor, 
 see Conquest of Mexico, vol. Ill, p. 334, and Exploration of Lower 
 California, p. 15— are of this opinion, but they have forgotten to give 
 us the authority on which they make the "assertion. Even granting 
 that Ximenes did arrive at Santa Cruz Bay (which is by no means be- 
 yond doubt), he might have gone ashore only on one of the islands, 
 and have been murdered there by the natives. All that Venegas says, 
 is this : ' ' For, coming to that part which has since been called Santa 
 Cruz Bay, and seems to be a part of the inward coast of California, 
 he went ashore, and was there killed by the Indians." Hist. Cat., 
 Venegas. 
 
' 
 
 . t .!'■■■ 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 37 
 
 implements, seeds, and everything else required 
 for the undertaking. With these he crossed the 
 entrance to the gulf, and after very considerable 
 difficulty, in which his vessels were often in a 
 most perilous position from violent storms, he 
 landed eventually on Californian soil, at Santa 
 Cruz Bay, toward the beginning of June, 1536; 
 thereby earning for himself the honor of being the 
 first known discoverer of this part of the Ameri- 
 can Continent. 1 
 
 (1) I have used the expression " first known discoverer," for the au- 
 thor of the Political Essmj on New Spain, in a note at page 321 of his 
 work, says: "I found in a manuscript, preserved in the archives of the 
 viceroyalty of Mexico, that California was discovered in 1526. I know 
 not on what authority this assertion is founded. Cortes, in his letters 
 to the Emperor, written so late as 1524, frequently speaks of the pearls 
 which were found near the island of the South Sea ( California was then 
 thought to be an island) ; however, the extract made by the author of 
 the Relation del Viaje al Estuelo de Fuca (P. VII, xxn,) from the val- 
 uable manuscripts preserved in the Academy of History, at Madrid, 
 seem to prove that California had not been seen in the expedition of 
 Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, in 1532." (See Political Essay on New Spain.) 
 
 THE BULL "INTER CETERA DIVINE MAGISTRATE BENE- 
 PLACITA OPERA," &c. 
 
 Alexander, bishop, servant of the servants of God : 
 To our beloved son Ferdinand, King, and to our beloved 
 daughter Isabella, Queen of Castile, Leon, Arragon, the 
 Sicilies, and Granada: Most illustrious personages, health 
 and apostolic benediction. 
 
 Among the many works pleasing to the divine Majesty 
 and desirable to our hearts, this particularly prevails, 
 that the Catholic faith and Christian religion, especially 
 in our times, may be exalted, amplified, and everywhere 
 diffused, the salvation of souls procured, and barbarous 
 
38 BISTORT OF tup: 
 
 nations subjugated and made obedient to fche faith. 
 Honco, when we were raised \>y fche divine olemenoy, 
 though of little merit, to the holy chair of Peter, knowing 
 you in be true Oatholio Icings and prinoes, as indeed we 
 have always known yon fco be, and as yon have also l>y 
 your illustrious deeds made yourselves known as suoh bo 
 fche whole world : nor did .you merely desire fco be such, 
 I )ul- you have ;il s<> used every effort, study, and diligence, 
 sparing no fatigue, no cost, no danger, even shedding 
 your own blood, and devoting your whole soul and all 
 your energies l<> lliis purpose, as your conquest of fche 
 kingdom of Granada from fche tyranny of the Saracens 
 in our days, with suoh glory fco fche divine name, testifies; 
 we are induced, not unworthily, and we ought, fco grant 
 fco you those things favorably and spontaneously by which 
 you ni.iv be able fco proseoute this undertaking, so holy 
 and praises orthy fco the immortal God, and that .you may 
 daily Lnorease more and more in fervor Eor fche honor of 
 God and fche propagation of fche kingdom of Christ. 
 
 We have heard fco our great joy fchal yon have pro |>oscd 
 fco Labor and use every exertion, that the inhabitants <>f 
 oertain islands and continents remote, and hitherto un- 
 known, and of others yet undiscovered, bereduoed i<> 
 worship our Redeemer and profess the Catholic faith, 
 Till now yon have been fully occupied in ihe oonquest 
 and oapture of Granada, and oould not accomplish your 
 holy and praiseworthy desires nor obtain the results yon 
 wished. You sent, uot without the greatest exertionB, 
 dangers, and expense, our beloved sou Christopher 
 
 Colon, a man of worth and much to lie commended, fit 
 
 for suoh business, with vessels and oargoes, diligently 
 i .ire 1 1 for continents and remote ami unknown islands 
 on a sea hitherto never navigated; \\ In » finally, with fche 
 divine assistance and great diligenoe, uavigated the vast 
 ooean, and discovered certain most, distant, islands and 
 
 OOntinentS which were previously unknown, in which 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 39 
 
 very many nations dwell peaceably, and, as it is said, go 
 naked and abstain from animal food, and, as far as your 
 ambassadors can conjecture, believe there is one God, 
 Creator, in heaven, and seem sufficiently apt to embrace 
 the Catholic faith, and might be imbued with good morals, 
 and have every reason to believe that, if instructed, the 
 name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may easily be 
 established in the said islands and continents; that in 
 these islands and continents already have been found 
 gold, spices, and many other articles of value of differ- 
 ent kinds and qualities. Every thing being diligently 
 considered, especially for the exaltation and diffusion of 
 of the Catholic faith, (as it behooveth Catholic kings 
 and princes,) according to the custom of your ancestors, 
 kings of illustrious memory, you have proposed to sub- 
 jugate the aforementioned islands and continents, with 
 their inhabitants, to yourselves, with the assistance of 
 the divine goodness, and reduce them to the Catholic 
 faith, and that the said Christopher Colon may construct 
 and build a fortress on one of the principal islands of 
 sufficient strength to protect certain Christians who may 
 emigrate thither. 
 
 We therefore very much commend in the Lord this 
 your holy and praiseworthy intention ; and that you may 
 bring it to the proper end, and by it establish the name 
 of our Lord in those parts, we strenuously exhort you 
 in the Lord, and by your baptism, by which you are 
 obligated to the apostolic mandates, and by the bowels 
 of the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, we earnestly exact 
 of you, that, when you undertake and assume an expedi- 
 tion of this kind, you do it with a humble spirit, and with 
 zeal for the orthodox faith; and you must wish, and 
 ought to induce the people living in those islands and 
 continents to receive the Christian religion; and let no 
 dangers, no fatigues, at any time deter you, but entertain 
 
40 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 hope and faith that Almighty God may crown your 
 efforts with happy success. 
 
 To enable you more freely and more boldly to assume 
 the undertaking of such an enterprise, by the liberality 
 of our apostolic favor, motu propria, and not at your 
 request, nor by the presentation of any petition to us on 
 this subject for you, but of our pure liberality, and from 
 the certain knowledge and plenitude of apostolic power, 
 we grant to you and your heirs, and your successors, 
 kings of Castile, Leon, &c, and by the present letters 
 give forever, all the islands and continents discovered 
 and to be discovered, explored and to be explored, 
 towards the west and south, forming and drawing a line 
 from the arctic pole, that is the north, to the antarctic 
 pole, that is the south, whether the islands or continents 
 discovered or to be discovered lie towards India or 
 towards any other part, which line is distant from one 
 of the islands vulgarly called Azores y Cabo Verde one 
 hundred leagues west and south; so that all the islands 
 and continents discovered or to be discovered, explored 
 or to be explored, beyond the aforementioned line 
 towards the west and south, not actually possessed by 
 other kirjgs or Christian princes before the day of the 
 nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ last past, from which 
 the present year 1493 commences, when any of the said 
 islands are discovered by your emissaries or captains, 
 we, by the authority of Almighty God, given to us in 
 St. Peter as vicar of Jesus Christ, which authority we 
 exercise on earth, assign you and your heirs and said 
 successors all the dominions over those states, places 
 and towns, with all rights, jurisdiction, and all their 
 appurtenances, with full, free, and all power, au- 
 thority, and jurisdiction. We make, constitute and 
 depute, discerning nevertheless by our donation, conces- 
 sion and assignment of this kind, that the rights cannot 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 41 
 
 be understood to be taken away from any Christian 
 prince who actually possessed such islands or continents 
 before the aforementioned day of Christ's nativity, nor 
 are to be deprived of them. 
 
 We moreover command you, by virtue of holy obedi- 
 ence, (as you have promised, and we doubt not from 
 your great devotion and royal magnanimity that you will 
 do it,) that you send to the said islands and continents 
 tried men, who fear God, learned and skillful, and 
 expert to instruct the inhabitants in the Catholic faith 
 and teach them good morals, using proper diligence in 
 the aforementioned things, and we forbid every one, 
 under pain of excommunication ipso facto, no matter what 
 may be his dignity, — even imperial, royal, — state, order 
 or condition, to act contrary to this our mandate. And 
 we severely forbid any one to go to the islands or con- 
 tinents discovered or to be discovered, explored or to 
 be explored, towards the west or south, beyond the line 
 drawn from the arctic to the antarctic pole, one hundred 
 leagues from one of the islands commonly called Azores 
 y Cabo Yerde, towards the west and south; and let no 
 one, for trade or any other reason, presume to approach 
 without your special license, or that of your heirs and 
 successors aforementioned, notwithstanding constitu- 
 tions or apostolic ordinances, or any thing contrary to it. 
 Trusting God, from whom empires and dominations, and 
 all good things proceed, will direct your actions if you 
 prosecute this holy and praiseworthy object — hoping 
 that shortly your labors and efforts may obtain a most 
 happy termination, and redound to the glory of all 
 Christian people. 
 
 Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, in the year of our Lord's 
 incarnation 1493, 9th of May, and first year of our pon- 
 tificate. 
 
 Alexander. 
 
42 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Few Papal documents have ever excited such 
 unfavorable comment as this. Non-Catholic writ- 
 ers generally point to it as an evidence of the 
 extravagant and unjustifiable pretensions of the 
 head of the Catholic Church, in seeking to dispose 
 of kingdoms and countries at pleasure. It must, 
 indeed, be admitted that the terms of the Bull, 
 taken without an explanatory clause, admit of 
 such an unfavorable interpretation. The Catholic 
 Church, however, has ever disclaimed for herself 
 such a prerogative; she has never assumed the 
 right to destroy the autonomy of nations, Chris- 
 tian or Pagan. Her every grant and concession 
 has always been interpreted in harmony with that 
 common principle of civil and canon law, '"'cou- 
 cessio quantumvis ampla et absoluta sit verbo, 
 debet intelligi restricta ad terminos juris et sequi." 
 
 All the theological writers, too, from the time 
 of Alexander down to the present, have unani- 
 mously interpreted the Bull in a sense favorable 
 to the rights and independence of the American 
 races. Bellarmin, one of the greatest authorities, 
 after referring to the document, puts himself this 
 objection : "At Alexander VI. divisit orbem nuper 
 inventum regibus Hispaniae et Lusitaniae. Re- 
 spondio non: non divisit ad eum finem ut reges 
 illi proficiscerentur ad debellandos reges infideles 
 novi orbis et eorum regna occupanda, sed solum 
 ut eos aclclucerent fidei Christianae predicatores, et 
 protegerent ac defenderent turn ipsos predicatores 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 43 
 
 turn Christianos ab eis conversos et simul ut im- 
 pedirent contentiones et bella principum Chris- 
 tianorum qui in illis novis regionibus negociari 
 volebant." (De Summo Pont., Lib. V., C. 2.) 
 
 Paul III., in his brief "Pastorale Officiuni," 
 issued May 22cl, 1537, forty-four years after the 
 occurrence, explains the grant in a similar sense. 
 But what is more satisfactory still, as showing the 
 sense in which the Bull was intended, is another 
 almost similar document — an Apostolic Letter ad- 
 dressed by the same sovereign Pontiff to the King 
 of Portugal, in which explanatory clauses are 
 found. In this apostolic letter, which was of the 
 same tenor as the Bull, conferred the same rights 
 and privileges, and was framed almost in the same 
 language, we read the following clauses: "De civi- 
 tatibus, castris, etc. Infidelium, quae te in Do- 
 minum cognoscere velle contigerit, auctoritate apos- 
 tolica, etc." And again: "Districtius inhibentes 
 quibuscumque regibus ne se contra sic se tibi sub- 
 jicere volentes quovis modo apponere, etc." (Ray- 
 naldi Annates .) 
 
 The Kings of Spain, though naturally inclined to 
 extend their privileges as far as possible, also un- 
 derstood the grant in this sense, as is clear from the 
 laws enacted at the time for the American colonies, 
 a digest of which has been published under the 
 title of " Recopilacion cle . lej^es de los reynos de 
 las Inclias." In this series, under the heading "De 
 los Descubrimientos," the following enactment oc- 
 
44 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 curs: 'En estas y en las demas poblaciones la 
 Tierra adentro, eligan el sitio de los que estuvieren 
 vacantes, y por clisposicion nuestra se puedeu oc- 
 cupar sinperjuicio de los Indios, y de los Naturales, 
 o con su libre consentimiento." 
 
 The meaning of the Bull, " Inter Cetera," was 
 not an authorization to make war on the Ameri- 
 can races, to violently take possession of their 
 country by force of arms to the detriment of their 
 national rights, but solely to bring them to a 
 knowledge of the Christian religion, and when con- 
 verted, to protect and defend them against ene- 
 mies, as also to prevent other sovereigns of Eu- 
 rope from trading with or otherwise enriching, 
 themselves by a communication with those peoples. 
 If, in the prosecution of this task, the Kings of 
 Castile, and their responsible agents, exceeded the 
 limits of the grant, this is not an offence to be 
 charged to the account of the Church. 
 
 Nothing, indeed, as several historians have just- 
 ly remarked, could be grander or more worthy of 
 the age than that of two powerful monarchs thus 
 submitting their differences to the arbitration of 
 the common Father of the Faithful. If only such 
 a mode of settling disputes and determining rights 
 had been continued during subsequent ages, how 
 many deplorable wars would have been avoided; 
 how much bloodshed would have been spared; 
 how many rights preserved. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 45 
 
 CHAPTEK III. 
 
 The Spaniards in Florida. — Arrival of Naevaez' Forces. — Their 
 Adventures and Misfortunes. — Most of them Die. — Four 
 Make their Wat across the Country to the Pacific — The 
 Miracles they Performed. — Their Arrival in Mexico. 
 
 While Cortes was engaged in the conquest of 
 Mexico, and his discoveries in the southern ocean, 
 the interests of Spain were suffering severely in 
 another part of the country. From 1512 to 1542 
 a series of disasters attended the arms of the Span- 
 ish commanders in the valley of the Mississippi. 1 
 Most of the forces of Leon, Cordova, and Avllan 
 perished in the war with the natives. Of the three 
 hundred Spaniards who landed in Florida in 1527, 
 under the command of Narvaez, three only: Cabepa 
 de Vaca, Castillo, and Durantes remained to tell 
 the tale of the disaster. These, with Estavanico, 
 a negro who happened to be of the party, after 
 wandering for an entire decade among the savages 
 of the country, arrived at Culiacan, on the shores 
 of the Pacific, the ver}r year that Cortes landed in 
 California. The hardship^ and privations they en- 
 dured had so altered them in manner and appear- 
 ance, that they were known only as Spaniards by 
 their language. The accounts they gave their 
 
 (1) See Catholic Church in the United States, p. 13. 
 
46 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 brethren in Mexico of their singular adventures, 
 and the miracles which the Almighty had been 
 pleased to work at their hands in behalf of the na- 
 tives, excited the wonder and admiration of all. 
 A summary of these wonders, it is thought, will 
 not be uninteresting to the reader. 
 
 On the seventeenth June, 1527, a Spanish fleet 
 of five vessels, with six hundred men and forty 
 horse, under the command of Pamphilo de Nar- 
 vaez, sailed from old Spain, with the view of con- 
 quering and colonizing a portion of the Atlantic 
 coast, from the extremity of Florida to what was 
 then known as the river Palmas. The expedition 
 was accompanied by four Franciscans, who, like 
 most of their companions, perished in the unfor- 
 tunate attempt. After experiencing considerable 
 difficulty and danger at sea, especially at the island 
 of Trinadad, where in a storm they lost sixty of 
 their companions and twenty of the horse, they 
 ultimately arrived at their destination, on the 
 morning of Holy Thursday of the year 1528. 
 
 The following day, after disembarking the 
 greater part of the men, they took formal posses- 
 sion of the country in the name of his Majesty, a 
 circumstance always observed in those days by 
 the Spaniards before making a settlement. 
 
 Their arrival on the coast, instead of being as 
 they expected the end of their difficulties, was 
 only the commencement of their misfortunes. 
 From some unaccountable cause — culpable inat- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 47 
 
 tention, it would appear, on the part of the proper 
 authorities in laying in the necessary stores — their 
 stock of provisions was all but exhausted. The 
 impossibility of obtaining another supply on the 
 coast, rendered it necessary, in order to avoid a 
 miserable end, to make for some near and populous 
 native possession. By signs, they were led to be- 
 lieve, by the natives, that at a place called Apa- 
 lache, some distance in the interior, there was an 
 abundance of all they required. Trusting to the 
 truth of the statement, and encouraged moreover 
 with the hope of the riches they were induced to 
 believe they would find in the place, the greater 
 part of the expeditionary force, three hundred 
 men and forty horse, set out for the country of 
 the Apalaches, the remainder being left in charge 
 of the vessels, with instructions to steer a little in 
 advance, and there await the arrival of their com- 
 panions. 
 
 The expeditionary party was but poorly pro- 
 vided for the journey — only having two and a 
 half pounds of provisions for each man. After 
 traveling continuously for fifteen days, living as 
 best they could on the little sustenance afforded 
 them by nature, they finally arrived at the place 
 they had sought, but only to find it a miserable 
 village of two score, or more, insignificant huts. 
 Instead of the abundant supply of provisions, the 
 gold, silver and valuables in which they were led 
 to expect the place did abound, they found, on 
 
48 . HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the contrary, only a limited quantity of maize, a 
 few dozen deerskins, and some mantlets of 
 thread. Thus disappointed, and suffering severely 
 from want, they directed their course to the sea, 
 with the view of being able to fall in with the ves- 
 sels. In this, however, they were again subject to 
 disappointment, for on reaching the shore no ves- 
 sel was to be seen. Either they had gone on in 
 advance, or had met with some accident and were 
 unable to arrive. 
 
 In this critical position, destitute of all means of 
 support, save the roots, berries and vermin on 
 which the natives were accustomed to live, only 
 one possible means seemed left to them of rescu- 
 ing themselves from a most miserable death. It 
 was to construct a few little barks, and coast along 
 the shore till they fell in with their former com- 
 panions, or arrived at a more hospitable port. For 
 the accomplishment of this, however, implements 
 and appliances were needed, of which they were 
 utterly destitute. They had none of the conve- 
 niences necessary for building a vessel. Hatchets, 
 saws, nails, hammers, ropes, sails and caulking, 
 were all alike equally wanting to them. All they 
 possessed were their clothes, their muskets, and 
 the trappings of the horses. How to construct with 
 these a sea-going craft, capable of affording 
 accommodation to over two hundred persons, was 
 a problem which, under more favorable circum- 
 stances, would have presented insuperable diffi- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 49 
 
 cult} r . Even in the extremity to which they were 
 reduced, the work was at first regarded impossible. 
 But when life is depending on individual energy, 
 the powers of the mind are marvelously active. 
 There is an aphorism: " Necessity is the mother 
 of invention." It was so in this individual in- 
 stance. 
 
 One of the company, more ingenious than his 
 companions, by constructing a bellows from a deer- 
 skin and some pieces of wood, struck at the root 
 of the difficulty. A gleam of hope now shone 
 over all ; a passage from the valley of death was 
 then clearly to be seen. The bellows at work, 
 axes, saws and hammers were quickly made out 
 of the nails, spurs, stirrups and saddle-bows of the 
 cavalry ! The fibres of the palmetto supplied ex- 
 cellent tow for caulking; the pitching was done 
 with a certain resin which exuded from the trees 
 in the locality. The manes and tails of the horses 
 were found to answer remarkably the purpose of 
 ropes and rigging, while, from out the shirts of the 
 company, tolerably respectable sails were effected ! 
 
 Sixteen days were thus spent in forming five 
 little craft, each capable of affording accommoda- 
 tion to about fifty of the number. The work had 
 to be hurried on as rapidly as possible, for even 
 the horseflesh, on which they mainly relied for 
 support, was well nigh exhausted. In fine, on the 
 27th of September, 1528, the entire number, con- 
 sisting of two hundred and forty-two persons, the 
 4 
 
50 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 remainder having died from hunger and exhaus- 
 tion, put to sea in the wretched little vessels, got- 
 ten up in the manner described. Whither they 
 were to proceed, to what port they were to steer, 
 where to seek aid and release from their miseries, 
 they were entirely unconscious of. One thing 
 only was certain ; that to avoid a most certain and 
 inevitable death, it was necessary to betake them- 
 selves somewhere. Even the chances of escaping 
 the perils of the deep, in the frailest of barks, 
 while struggling for life, was better and more pref- 
 erable than perishing helplessly from starvation, 
 on shore. 
 
 For several days, they coasted cautiously in a 
 southern direction, constantly exposed to the dan- 
 ger of being swamped by the sea, of being at- 
 tacked by the natives from land, and suffering not 
 a little, meanwhile, from the inclemency of the 
 season, and the want of the necessary supplies. 
 Finally, they arrived at an island, which they sub- 
 sequently styled the Island of Malhado, or Mis- 
 fortune, a name sufficiently indicative of the suffer- 
 ings they must have endured on it. There, the 
 greater number of the company, worn out by hun- 
 ger, fatigue and exposure, ended their misfortunes 
 in death. The relation given of their terrible pri- 
 vations, at this stage of their adventures, by one 
 of the survivors, is touching and painful in the 
 extreme. Deprived of every other means of sup- 
 port, they were compelled to feed on the bodies 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 51 
 
 of their departed companions, taking even the pre- 
 cautionary measure of smoking and drying the 
 flesh, in order to preserve it for subsequent use. 
 But even this repulsive and unnatural means of 
 support was necessarily limited. In one instance, 
 a number of the ill-fated men lived in this fashion, 
 the survivors feeding on the flesh of the departed, 
 each prolonging his existence as far as was possi- 
 ble, until, in the end, only one had remained ! 
 
 The greater number shortly succumbed to their 
 terrible sufferings; a few only held out for some 
 months; but even the majority of these eventually 
 sank under their trials, when there only remained 
 those of whom we are speaking; and who event-, 
 ually succeeded in crossing the continent, and 
 joining their brethren on the Pacific, thereby ac- 
 complishing the most remarkable journey on 
 record in the annals of this country. The names 
 of the four were those we have mentioned at the 
 commencement of the chapter. 
 
 For six years they remained in the capacity of 
 slaves, employed by the natives in searching for 
 roots, shell fish and berries. Their condition was 
 indeed a most trying and deplorable one; for, 
 oftentimes, not being able to procure sufficient to 
 satisfy the hunger of their masters, they were 
 subjected to the greatest indignity and punish- 
 ment. In fine, feeling that life, under such a con- 
 dition, was a burden rather than a boon — that 
 death would be preferable to such an existence, 
 
52 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 they resolved upon crossing the continent, or per- 
 ishing in the attempt. Strangers, indigent, igno- 
 rant alike of the countries and peoples through 
 whom they should pass, not to speak of the dis- 
 tance and natural difficulties of the way, the jour- 
 ney was to them a most arduous and perilous en- 
 terprise. But the Almighty, who is never absent 
 from his servants, was present with them in their 
 trials, shielded them from their numerous ene- 
 mies, and safely conducted them from out of their 
 bondage. Like another Joseph in Egypt, or Pat- 
 rick in Ireland, the mercies of the Lord were ever 
 upon them. What facilitated their journey, or 
 rather what opened them a passage at all from the 
 country, were the numerous marvelous works 
 which the Almighty was pleased to effect at their 
 hands, in favor of the Gentiles. It is true, there 
 is no other proof of the truth of these wonders, 
 than the statement of the parties themselves. 
 The relation, however, is made in so modest and, 
 apparently, trustworthy a manner, that it would be 
 both rash and unreasonable to withhold our assent, 
 especially as their statements in other respects, re- 
 garding the customs and habits of the people, have 
 since been shown to be true. 1 Moreover, there is 
 hardly any other plausible way of accounting for 
 their safety and deliverance, seeing that they had 
 to pass through so many and such barbarous 
 tribes, noted for their cruelty and hostility to 
 strangers. 
 
 (1) See notes to Smith's Translation of Cabeca de Vaca. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 53 
 
 The circumstance under which the Almighty 
 was first pleased to work cures at their hands, is 
 thus simply and unassumingly narrated by the 
 leader of the party: "In the island of which I 
 have spoken (Malhado), they wished to make us 
 physicians, without examination, or inquiring for 
 our diplomas. They cure by blowing upon the 
 sick; and by the breath and the imposing of hands 
 they cast out infirmity. They ordered us that we 
 should do this likewise, and be of use to them in 
 something. We laughed at what they did, telling 
 them that it was folly, and that we knew not how 
 to heal. In consequence, they withheld food from 
 us, until we should do what they required. See- 
 ing our persistence, an Indian said to me that I 
 knew not what I uttered in saying that that prof- 
 ited nothing which he knew, for that the stones 
 and other things which grow in the fields, have 
 virtue, and that he, by passing a hot stone along 
 the stomach, took away pain, and restored health, 
 and that we, who were extraordinary men, must, 
 of all others, possess the greatest power and effi- 
 cacy. At last, we found ourselves in so great 
 want, that we were obliged to obey; but, however, 
 not without fear that we should be blamed for any 
 failure of success. 
 
 "The custom is, on finding themselves sick, to 
 send for a physician, and after the cure, they give 
 him not only all that they have, but they seek 
 among their relatives for more to give. The prac- 
 
54 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 titioner scarifies over the seat of pain, and then 
 sucks about the wounds. They make cauteries 
 with fire, which is a remedy among them in high 
 repute; and I have tried it on myself, and been 
 benefited by it. They afterwards blow on the 
 spot that is scarified, and having finished, the pa- 
 tient believes that he is relieved. 
 
 "The method that we practiced, was to bless the 
 sick, breathe upon them, and recite a Pater-noster 
 and an Ave Maria, praying with all earnestness to 
 God, our Lord, that he would give them health, 
 and influence them to do us some great good. In 
 his mercy, he willed that all those for whom we 
 supplicated, should, directly after we made the. 
 sign of the blessed Cross over them, tell the others 
 that they were sound in health ! For this, the 
 Indians treated us kindly; they deprived them- 
 selves of food, that they might give to us, and 
 they presented us with some skins and some tri- 
 fles." x The next instance of this kind, of which 
 the writer makes mention, was after they had 
 crossed to the main land, and effected their es- 
 cape. Two days after they fled from their mas- 
 ters, they arrived at a village, where they were re- 
 ceived by the natives with every demonstration of 
 joy, because of the account of their works having 
 already preceded them. " That same night of our 
 arrival," continues the narrator, " there came 
 some Indians to Castillo, and told him that they 
 
 (1) Narrative of Alvar Nunez Cabeca de Vaca: Translated by Buck- 
 ingham Smith; pp. 51-52. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 55 
 
 had great pain in the head, begging him to cure 
 them. After he had made over them the sign of 
 the Cross, and commended them to God, instantly 
 they said that all the pain had left; and they went 
 to their houses, and brought us many pears and a 
 piece of venison, a thing to us little known. As 
 the report of his performance spread, there came 
 many others to us that night, sick, that we should 
 heal them; and each brought with him a piece of 
 venison; until the quantity was so great we knew 
 not where to dispose of it. We gave many thanks 
 to God, for every day went on increasing his com- 
 passion and his gifts. After the sick were attended 
 to, they began to dance and enact their ceremonial 
 rejoicing, until the morning, at sunrise; and be- 
 cause of our arrival, their festivities were continued 
 for three days." 1 
 
 The fame of the Christians was now fully estab- 
 lished; nothing was spoken of in the country but 
 the marvelous cures they had so readily effected, 
 and the wonders they were capable of doing. Re- 
 port had even magnified, rather than diminished, 
 the greatness of the works which the Almighty 
 was pleased to work at their hands. In conse- 
 quence, crowds of the natives were attracted to 
 their presence from every quarter, some to look 
 upon such remarkable beings, some to obtain their 
 benediction, and not a few to solicit a cure for 
 their infirmities. The faith and confidence of the 
 
 (V Narrative of Cabeca de Vaca; p. 70. 
 
56 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 people increased to such a degree that they be- 
 lieved them even capable of raising the dead to 
 life. And there are even grounds for supposing 
 that the Lord did bestow upon them such a mar- 
 velous grace. Amongst others to whom they were 
 called to administer, was one who was said to be 
 in the agonies of death. The account of the trans- 
 action is best given in the words of the performer 
 himself: "At the end of the second day after our 
 arrival, there came to us some, of the Lusolas, and 
 besought Castillo that he would go to cure one 
 wounded and others sick: and they said that 
 among them there was one very near his end. 
 Castillo was a timid practitioner, and chiefly so in 
 the cases most fearful and dangerous; for he be- 
 lieved that his sins must weigh upon him, and at 
 some time hinder him from performing cures. The 
 Indians told me to go and heal them, for they liked 
 me well, and remembered that I had ministered to 
 them in the walnut grove, for which they had 
 given us nuts and skins, and it occurred when I 
 first joined the Christians. So I had to go with 
 them, and Dorantes accompanied me with Estava- 
 nico. When I came near their huts, I perceived 
 that the sick man we went to heal was dead; for 
 there were many persons around him weeping, 
 and his house was prostrate, which is a sign that 
 the one who dwelt in it is dead. When I arrived 
 I found the eyes of the Indian rolled up, he was 
 without pulse, and having all the appearances of 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 57 
 
 death, as they seemed to me, and as Dorantes said. 
 I removed the mat with which he was covered, 
 and I supplicated our Lord as fervently as I could 
 that he might be pleased to give health to him, 
 and to all the rest who might have need of it. 
 After he had been blessed and breathen upon 
 many times, they brought me his bow and gave me 
 a basket of pounded pears. 
 
 " They took me to cure many others who were 
 sick of a stupor, and they presented me with two 
 more baskets of pears, which I gave to the Indians 
 who had accompanied us. We then went back to 
 our lodgings. Those to whom we gave the pears 
 tarried, and returned to their houses at night, and 
 reported that he who had been dead, and for whom 
 I had wrought before them, had got up hale, and 
 had walked and eaten and spoken with them, and 
 that all to whom I had ministered were well and 
 very merry. This caused great wonder and fear, 
 and in all the land they spoke of nothing else. 
 All those to whom the fame of it reached, came to 
 seek us, that we should cure them and bless their 
 children." 1 
 
 It was here, while residing in this particular 
 part of the country, that they heard of the follow- 
 ing remarkable circumstance : Several years pre- 
 vious to their arrival the inhabitants of the locality 
 were very much tormented and alarmed by the 
 frequent appearance among them of an apparently 
 
 (1) Be Vaca; p. 73. 
 
58 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 preternatural being, who, on account of his. char- 
 acter and conduct, they unanimously denominated 
 by the name of "the evil one." He invariably 
 appeared at their doors and entered their dwell- 
 ings with a torch in his hands, and though to ap- 
 pearance in the shape of a man, they were never 
 able to catch a glimpse of his features. His con- 
 duct was as strange and mysterious as his appear- 
 ance was alarming, for, after inflicting upon them 
 terrible wounds, he would presently heal them by 
 the mere effect of his touch. When asked whence 
 he had come and where he abode, he replied 
 by pointing to a fissure in the earth, saying that 
 there was his home. A full and accurate account 
 of this remarkable circumstance may be seen in 
 the work of De Yaca. 
 
 The fear that had previously possessed the ad- 
 venturers of not being able to pass unmolested 
 through so many and such barbarous tribes, was 
 now entirely removed. So far from offering any 
 violence to their persons, the savages, in conse- 
 quence of the works they had wrought, rather 
 contended for the honor of offering them kindness, 
 seeking in every instance to retain them as long 
 as was possible, being of opinion that their pres- 
 ence alone was sufficient to secure them an im- 
 munity from sickness, and even from death. 
 "And so great confidence had they that they would 
 become healed if we should but administer to them, 
 that they believed that whilst we remained there 
 none of them could die." 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 59 
 
 The manner of reception they met with in the 
 different parts of the country was very different. 
 That which at first was marked with respect and 
 veneration, coupled with love and filial attach- 
 ment, was changed as they advanced, by reason of 
 the report which preceded them, into a species of 
 fear and alarm. Speaking of the conduct of the 
 inhabitants at this juncture, the writer says: " So 
 great was the fear upon them, that during the first 
 days they were with us they were continually 
 trembling, without daring to do, speak or raise 
 their eyes to the heavens." 
 
 The cause of this fear was not so much the won- 
 ders they had effected, as the firm and unshaken 
 belief, on the part of the people, that the strangers 
 had come to them from the world above, and were 
 truly the Children of the Sun. The influence thus 
 attained by the Christians, would, under more 
 favorable circumstances have presented an admir- 
 able opportunity for introducing the Christian re- 
 ligion among these barbarous tribes. As such it 
 was regarded by the Christians themselves, for 
 they assure us that, had they been able to make 
 themselves perfectly intelligible to the people, they 
 would easily have succeeded in bringing the entire 
 country to a knowledge of the truth. As it was, 
 they gave them some elementary notions of our 
 holy religion, and left with the resolve, that, 
 upon reaching the Pacific, they would earnestly 
 solicit the proper authorities to attend to this 
 work. 
 
60 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 The customs observed by the people in con- 
 ducting the Christians from one tribe to another, 
 deserve the notice of the reader. They were re- 
 markable, not because of the attention paid to the 
 party, but rather on account of the injuries inflicted 
 on the entertainers by the accompanying escort. 
 Thus, when starting from any particular locality, 
 they were accompanied by a large number of the 
 inhabitants who conducted them to the neighbor- 
 ing tribe, whither they were hastening, and as the 
 latter were supposed, in conformity with the cus- 
 tom of the country, to place everything at the dis- 
 posal of the strangers, the people who formed the 
 escort, immediately on arriving, set to plundering 
 everything that came in their way. At first this 
 was most painful and disagreeable to the Chris- 
 tians, but as it was the general usage, and as the 
 plundered were sure to become plunderers in turn, 
 and thereby to indemnify themselves for the losses 
 sustained, the barbarous usage had to be tolerated 
 as sanctioned by custom. Its application in a 
 particular instance is thus briefly alluded to in the 
 work before named: " We walked till sunset, and 
 arrived at a town of some twenty houses, where 
 we were received, weeping and in great sorrow; 
 for they already knew that wheresoever we should 
 come, all would be pillaged and spoiled by those 
 who accompanied us. When they saw that we 
 were alone, they lost their fear, and gave us pears, 
 but nothing else. We remained there that night, 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 61 
 
 and at dawn the Indians broke upon their houses. 
 As they came upon the occupants, unprepared and 
 in supposed security, having no place in which to 
 Conceal anything, all they possessed was taken from 
 them, for which they wept much. In consolation 
 the plunderers told them that we were children of 
 the sun, and that we had power to heal the sick, 
 and to destroy ; and other lies, even greater than 
 these, which none know better than they how to 
 tell, when they find them convenient. They told 
 them to conduct us with great respect, that they 
 should be careful to offend us in nothing, and 
 should give us all that they might possess, and 
 endeavor to take us where people are numerous; 
 and that wheresoever they arrived with us they 
 should rob and pillage the people of what they 
 have, for that it was customary." (See "Note" at 
 end of chapter.) 
 
 After this another custom prevailed among the 
 inhabitants in the manner of receiving the strangers. 
 Instead of coming forward in great numbers and 
 receiving them, as at first, with much joy, not un- 
 accompanied with fear and alarm, the inhabitants 
 remained shut up in their huts, apparently mourn- 
 ing and stricken with terror, their faces turned to 
 the wall, and their property in little heaps on the 
 floor for the acceptance of their guests. 
 
 No less remarkable were other peculiarities ob- 
 served by the people in relation to each other. 
 Among others, on the Atlantic coast, was that of 
 
62 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 mourning for the dead during the entire space • of 
 a year. Three times a day, morning, noon and 
 night, they gave expression to their sorrow in 
 wailing and lamentations, but only in case of the 
 young. At the end of that period, the obsequies 
 were performed, which, in some instances, con- 
 sisted in burying, and in others in burning the 
 remains. When burned, the ashes were presented 
 in water to the relatives to be drunk. Should 
 the deceased happen to be brother or son, those in 
 whose house he departed, abstained for a period 
 of three months from seeking the ordinary means 
 of support. Sooner would they perish of want 
 than violate this singular usage, unless the 
 friends and relations supplied them with food. 
 And so, in time of public calamity, when several 
 fell victims to the prevailing disease, the sufferings 
 among the living were frequently unusually great. 
 Among the Yequages, and some other neighbor- 
 ing tribes, a most horrible practice of female in- 
 fanticide was universally practised. The reason 
 they assigned for this most revolting and unnatural 
 custom, was to avoid increasing the number of their 
 enemies. For, as they did not consider it proper 
 to enter into marriage with any of their own par- 
 ticular tribe, because of the family relations exist- 
 ing between them, and being at enmity with all 
 the neighboring people, to marry their daughters 
 under such circumstances would only be, in their 
 opinion, to add to the number of their foes, they 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 63 
 
 deemed it the best and most advisable course to 
 settle the matter in the manner described. As 
 regarded themselves, they always purchased their 
 women from the neighboring Indians, for though 
 ever at war, they were ready to trade in this mat- 
 ter. The ordinary price for a wife was a bow 
 and a couple of arrows ! 
 
 The marriage relation was not of any longer 
 continuance than the parties desired; they sepa- 
 rated on the slightest pretence, and attached them- 
 selves to others whenever they pleased. The 
 women ordinarily nursed their children till the 
 age of ten or twelve years, when they were able 
 to provide for themselves. Many other customs 
 and observances are referred to by the writer, 
 which it would be only tedious to recount. 
 
 In fine, favored by the Almighty in the most re- 
 markable manner referred to above*, shielded from a 
 thousand dangers and difficulties, the four Chris- 
 tians of whom we are speaking, passed through the 
 whole of the American continent, from Florida to 
 California, thereby accomplishing one of the most 
 remarkable journeys on record in the annals of 
 this nation. 
 
 Note. — There are several reasons to believe that the miracles recorded 
 byCabec^a de Vaca, as having been performed by him and his fellow- 
 companions, were really effected. The simple and unostentatious man- 
 ner in which, as we have said, the entire narrative is told, is very much 
 in its favor. On any other principle, save the special interposition of 
 Heaven, it would be exceedingly difficult to account for their safety. 
 Not to speak of the many and extraordinary physical difficulties they 
 must have encountered on the journey, from hunger, cold and fatigue, 
 
64 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 it is hardly possible to suppose that some or other of the numerous 
 hostile tribes through which they passed, would not have detained them 
 as slaves, like those among whom they first happened to fall, or have 
 deprived them of life, as strangers and enemies, unless they had beheld 
 at their hands some great and remarkable deeds. 
 
 One of the strongest and most satisfactory proofs, of the truth of their 
 assertion, is the fact, that forty-five years later, when Antonio de Es- 
 pejo, in command of a military expedition, passed through a part of 
 the country traversed by the Christians, he found, even then, a most 
 vivid recollection existing in the minds of the people, of having been 
 prayed over and blessed by De Vaca and his companions. And so im- 
 pressed were the natives with the importance thereof, that on that par- 
 ticular occasion, they came to the Religious who accompanied the ex- 
 pedition, in order to receive their benediction, a thing they certainly 
 would hardly have done, had they not, in the first instance, witnessed 
 some remarkable results following therefrom. Furthermore, were we 
 only accurately informed of all that transpired on the occasion be- 
 tween Espejo and the natives, it is probable we might learn also of 
 their having spoken of the miracles performed; but as Hakluyt, on 
 whose authority we make this assertion, was only proving the truth 
 of the adventure, it was not in his way, nor, indeed, did he care to go 
 into details on a matter not immediately appertaining to his subject. 
 
 Again, on arriving in Spain, De Vaca published an account of the 
 wonders, a thing he would hardly have done, if the statements were 
 false, as he would be liable to be exposed by his fellow-companions. 
 Inasmuch, too, as he urged in his work the importance and advantage 
 of reclaiming and christianizing the peoples he spoke of, we have 
 herein an additional proof for the truth of his statement; for he must 
 have been aware that if missionaries were sent, they would immediately 
 have learned whether the works were really effected or not. When, in 
 addition, we take into account the important consideration that his de- 
 scription of the habits and customs of the natives on the Atlantic bor- 
 der coincides with that of De Bry, the first writer after his time, we 
 have then reasonable grounds to believe in the truth of the narrative. 
 

CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 65 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 Father de Niza makes a tour through Sonora, and reports favor- 
 ably OF THE COUNTRY. — THE VlCEROY AND CORTES PREPARE TO SUB- 
 JUGATE it. — Disappointment. — Massacre of Father Padillo and 
 brother John of the Cross at Tigue. — Cabrillo's Expedition to 
 California. — Oxenham, Drake and Cavendish appear on the 
 coast. — Supposed discovery of a Northeast Passage. — Spain pre- 
 pares to defend the coast. — First Religious who visit Califor- 
 nia. 
 
 The feeling of surprise created by the accounts 
 related in the preceding chapter, was further in- 
 creased by the following circumstances: In 1538 
 the year after the party arrived in their country, 
 Marcus de Niza, a Franciscan, having heard from 
 a lay-brother of his order most favorable accounts 
 of the valley of Sonora and its inhabitants, resolved 
 to preach the gospel in person to those tribes. 
 How far he proceeded on his charitable mission is 
 unknown, but as he employed several months in 
 the work, it is to be presumed he advanced a con- 
 siderable distance. On his return he gave the 
 most flattering description of the country, repre- 
 senting the soil as rich and fertile, affording an 
 abundant supply of grain and fruit, while the 
 mountains abounded in rich and precious ores. 
 He further added, that lie was informed of the 
 existence of several important towns of civilized 
 natives farther to the north, and of one in par- 
 ticular, called Quivira, whose houses were seven 
 
 stories high and celebrated all over that region. 
 5 
 
66 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 The missionary's account, as may be imagined, 
 threw all Mexico into a ferment ; so great was 
 the excitement that nothing was talked of in the 
 city but the prospect of conquering a province as 
 remarkable as that which had made Cortes so 
 famous in history. The general opinion, too, re- 
 garding the riches of the Indies, of which so much 
 was then spoken, as well as the recent discoveries 
 in Peru and New Spain, were additional motives 
 in the minds of the Spaniards for prosecuting an 
 inquiry into the nature and character of the 
 newly-discovered region. As the matter was too 
 important to be left in abeyance, the "Viceroy and 
 Cortes immediately resolved to attempt the sub- 
 jugation of the country, but their designs being 
 irreconcilable the failure of the expedition was 
 the result. Both, in consequence, attempted to try 
 it, each on his own responsibility. The governor's 
 armaments consisted of a naval and a land force. The 
 command of the fleet was entrusted to Francis deAl- 
 arcon, who was commanded to steer along the coast 
 to the thirty-sixth degree of latitude, where he should 
 await the arrival of the land force. The Viceroy, 
 himself, had resolved upon taking charge of the 
 second part of the expedition, but, in consequence 
 of the distracted state of public affairs at the time, 
 was necessitated to abandon his purpose, and in his 
 stead he appointed to the command Vasquez Coro- 
 nado. At the head of a thousand chosen men Coro- 
 nado started from Mexico, well provided with every- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 67 
 
 thing necessary for conquest and settlement. His 
 guides were Franciscans. After advancing three 
 hundred leagues through Sinaloa and the valley of 
 Sonora, they finally arrived at the place where they 
 expected so much. Instead of large, rich, well-built, 
 populous towns, as they were led to expect, they 
 found, to their disappointment, only a few misera- 
 ble villages, comprising a kingdom called Cibola. 
 The largest of the number which they named 
 Grenada, contained a couple of hundred houses 
 roughly built of wood and clay, but of four or five 
 stories, and approached by wooden stairs or lad- 
 ders, which were removed during the night. 
 
 The general appearance of the country, though 
 fit for agricultural purposes, in no way answered 
 the expectations of the Spaniards, so that they did 
 not deem it advisable to form a settlement there. 
 Unwilling, however, to return to Mexico without 
 being able to give a more favorable account of the 
 expedition, they resolved upon dividing the force, 
 and examining the country more accurately. Ac- 
 cordingly, Lopez de Cardena moved with the 
 cavalry in the direction of the sea, while Coronado, 
 the commander of the expedition, marched on- 
 ward to a locality called Tigue, where he received 
 such flattering accounts of the city and country of 
 Quivira, that, though at a distance of three hun- 
 dred leagues farther on, he determined to visit 
 the place. The ruler of Quivira, who was named 
 Tatarax or Patarax, enjoyed the two-fold title of 
 
68 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 King of Axa and Quivira. He was represented as 
 a very venerable man, with a flowing beard, of 
 great wealth, and partly Christian. As in the case 
 of Cibola, the Spaniards were also disappointed 
 here in their favorable anticipations. The sole 
 rich as of the country they found to consist of herds 
 of a certain species of black cattle, which served 
 the natives for food and raiment. Along the coasts 
 they noticed several vessels which they took to be 
 Chinese, as by signs they learned they had been at 
 sea for a month. Among the Spaniards there were 
 those who were desirous of settling in the country, 
 but the majority refused to come into their views. 
 At length, their ranks being thinned by death, and 
 the survivors weakened and discouraged bv sick- 
 ness and fatigue, it was determined to abandon a 
 country where they could expect to reap only so 
 trifling an advantage. They accordingly prepared 
 for their return to Mexico, where they arrived at 
 the beginning of 1542, after an absence of three 
 years, without any better result than having dis- 
 sipated the erroneous ideas respecting the riches 
 and capabilities of the country. 
 
 The expedition forwarded by Cortes, and which 
 consisted of three vessels, under the command of 
 Ulloa, was still more unfortunate. One of the 
 vessels foundered at sea, and the others proceeded 
 on their voyage only to encounter a thousand im- 
 pediments from the natives, the season, and sick- 
 ness. In a terrible storm, in the vicinity of the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 69 
 
 Island of Cedros, the vessels were parted, and by 
 some it is thought that the one in one in which 
 Ulloa had sailed w T as lost, but of this there is 
 doubt. The other, however, returned safely to 
 Acapulco, with the sole advantage, during its 
 voyage, of having established the fact of California 
 being a peninsula. 
 
 Of the Religious, who accompanied Coronaclo's 
 expedition, Father John de Paclillo and brother 
 John of the Cross, remained at Tigue, together 
 with a Portuguese and some Indians ofMechanow. 
 On the departure of Coronado, the Religious re- 
 turned to Qnivira, where they were massacred 
 with some of their companions by the natives. 
 The Portuguese had the good fortune to escape, 
 and after a considerable time made his appearance 
 at Panuco. Thus ended the efforts of the land 
 force dispatched by the Viceroy for the conquest 
 of the new country. 
 
 In accordance with the original plan, Alarcon, the 
 commander of the fleet, proceeded along the coast 
 to the point indicated by the Viceroy, but the 
 army not arriving, and the term of his instructions 
 having expired, he set up memorials of his pres- 
 ence and returned to New Spain, where he imme- 
 diately fell into disgrace, and retired to the terri- 
 tory of Cortes where he died of chagrin. 
 
 While the Viceroy Mendoza and Cortes were 
 preparing their respective expeditions, for the 
 purposes referred to, the conqueror of Guatemala, 
 
70 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Don Pedro Alvarez, was also preparing another 
 which he intended to co-operate with that of the 
 Viceroy. His share in the general force consisted 
 of a fleet of twelve vessels, constructed at very con- 
 siderable cost at the port of Natividad. He was, 
 however, prevented sending this aid, having acci- 
 dently met with his death by a fall from his horse 
 just at the time that the vessels were preparing for 
 sea. The ships were subsequently taken charge of 
 by the Viceroy, who, after the failure of the expe- 
 dition, despatched two of them — the San Salvador 
 and the La Vitoria, under the command of Juan 
 Rodriguez Cabrillo, with instructions to continue 
 the examination of the coast farther north than the 
 point reached by Ulloa. Cabrillo put to sea on 
 the 27th of June, 1542, and on the 2d July sighted 
 the California shores ; three days later he anchor- 
 ed at Cape St. Lucas, so named by him on that 
 occasion. Thence he continued his voyage, enter- 
 ing at different points along the coast, to which 
 he gave appropriate names, till the 22d of August, 
 when he entered a beautiful harbor where he re- 
 mained for some days, and to which he gave the 
 name of Puerto de la Posesion, or Possession Port, 
 in consequence of his having taken possession of 
 the country there in his Majesty's name. Here 
 he learned by signs from the natives that some of 
 Ulloa's companions were still living at some distance 
 in the interior, but, as he was unwilling to abandon 
 his vessels, and, probably, not trusting very con- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 71 
 
 fidentlv to the assertions of his informers, he con- 
 tented himself with merely giving them a letter 
 to be conveyed to his countrymen. Whether the 
 natives effected their commission, or had only been 
 deceiving the commander from the outset, is en- 
 tirely unknown, but, in either supposition, no 
 farther information was received of the party. 
 What is especially to be regretted is, that Ca- 
 brillo himself did not enter the country with a 
 few of his companions, and ascertain the truth or 
 falsehood of the statement, or at least have re- 
 mained sufficiently long on the coast to give his 
 countrymen time to arrive from the interior, 
 in case the statement proved to be true. Neither 
 of which he found it convenient to do, for he 
 immediately started on his voyage ; and, on the 
 28th September, entered an excellent land-locked 
 harbor, to which he gave the name of San Miguel, 
 but now known as San Diego, the first important 
 port on this side of the line which divides Upper 
 from Lower California. Thus the honor of being 
 the first to land on the shores of Upper Cali- 
 fornia, is due to the eminent Spanish navigator, 
 John Rodriguez Cabrillo. 
 
 He was also the first -to make an accurate ex- 
 amination 1 of the coast of Lower California, to 
 most of whose ba}^s and openings he gave appro- 
 priate names. From San Miguel he continued his 
 •examination as far north as the Port of Pines — 
 
 (1) Berual Diaz del Castillo drew up a map of the country in 1541. 
 
72 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the present Monterey — where he was taken ill 
 and died on the Island of San Bernardo on the 
 5th of January, 1542. His pilot, Bartholomew 
 Ferrelo, took charge of the vessel, and advanced 
 to the forty-third degree of latitude, but here en- 
 countering unfavorable weather, he was necessi- 
 tated to return. It was he who discovered the 
 Cape, afterward named Mendocino by Yiscaino, 
 in honor of the Viceroy Mendoza. 
 
 From this, till the British appeared on the 
 coast, only one more expedition was dispatched by 
 the Spanish authorities in 1564. The commander 
 of this was Andreas Urdaneta, the author of a 
 chart, which was subsequently used by the Span- 
 iards for a century or more. 
 
 The tranquillity which the Spaniards hitherto 
 enjoyed in prosecuting their inquiries along the 
 northern coast, and in trading with the East, 
 was now destined, for the first time, to be 
 rudely disturbed. Inflamed by the accounts 
 given of the Spanish possessions, and hoping to 
 enrich themselves by a system of plunder, a body 
 of reckless English adventurers, commanded by 
 one Oxenham, crossed the Atlantic in 1575, and 
 after passing the Isthmus, constructed a vessel in 
 the Pacific with which they attempted to ravish 
 the Spanish possessions. Their depredations were 
 not of long continuance, for they were almost im- 
 mediately arrested by the authorities, and ex- 
 ecuted for their crimes. Their punishment, though 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 73 
 
 severe, Was insufficient to prevent others from fol- 
 lowing in their steps. Hence, the appearance on 
 the coast in 1579, of Captain, afterward, Sir Fran- 
 cis Drake. After pillaging the South American 
 Spanish possessions of Chili and Peru, and, having 
 captured the royal Philippine vessel, by which he 
 became possessed of nearly two millions of dollars, 
 Drake stood up to the north, and landed, it is 
 thought, at Punta Los Reyes, between Bodega and 
 the port of St. Francis, where he took possession 
 of the country in Her Majesty's name. That he 
 did not enter the Golden Gate, we will afterwards 
 show, when we come to speak of the discovery of 
 the Bay of San Francisco. 
 
 To relieve the memory of Drake from the unfa- 
 vorable light in which it is generally regarded, 
 some of his countrymen have thought well to re- 
 mind us, that his piratical adventures were only 
 in retaliation for an act of injustice done him by 
 the Spaniards. In 1567, while proceeding to 
 Mexico in company with Captain, afterwards Ad- 
 miral, Sir John Hawkins, they were attacked by 
 the Spaniards, when four, out of six vessels com- 
 posing their fleet, fell into the hands of the author- 
 ities. As the expedition was entirely a mercan- 
 tile speculation, Drake having invested in it all the 
 capital of which he was master, he returned a pau- 
 per to England, and in vain petitioned Charles V. 
 for indemnity for his losses. Disappointed in his 
 hopes, if indeed he ever seriously entertained any, 
 
74 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 he vowed with an oath to obtain from the Span- 
 iards by pillage what was denied him by law. In 
 1570 he obtained a commission from Elizabeth. 
 Two years later, with a fleet of three vessels, he 
 made a descent on the South American Atlantic 
 border in the vicinity of New Grenada, and, after 
 plundering several settlements, found himself pos- 
 sessor of a much larger fortune than he had lost in 
 the Mexican speculation. How the apology offered 
 by his admirers could have justified him in this 
 and gained him the approval of his royal mistress, 
 it is not necessary here to inquire. On his return 
 to England, far from falling under the displeasure 
 of his soverign, he even received marks of the 
 royal esteem by being honored as a hero. While 
 on the Atlantic border at Darien, like Balboa, he 
 had seen from the summit of a lofty mountain the 
 still waters of the Pacific, yet unexplored by the 
 British. The representations made by him to the 
 sovereign of the feebleness of Spain, and the glit- 
 tering prizes to be made, obtained from him a 
 new commission, consisting of five vessels and a 
 hundred and sixty- four men, with which he sailed 
 through the straits of Magellan, and appeared, 
 as we have said, in the Pacific in 1579. 
 Fearing to fall in with the Spaniards by re- 
 turning the same route, he traversed the Pa- 
 cific, crossed the Indian ocean, doubled the 
 Cape of Good Hope, and arrived in England on 
 the 26th of September, 1579. Four months later 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 75 
 
 he was knighted by Elizabeth, who partook of a 
 banquet on board his vessel. 
 
 Whatever notions the majority of the people of 
 Great Britain may have entertained respecting the 
 justice of the course adopted by Drake, the rupture 
 of friendly relations at this time between Philip 
 and Elizabeth was considered sufficient justifica- 
 tion for continuing like acts, while the success at- 
 tained under the circumstances, were not slow in 
 inciting others to follow a like course. Accord- 
 ingly, we are not astonished at finding a broken- 
 down gentleman, attached to the Court of St. James, 
 fitting out on expedition with the view of retrieving 
 his fortune, and obtaining the favor of his sover- 
 eign. Thomas Cavendish, or Candish, to whom 
 we refer, started from England for the Pacific on the 
 21st July, 1586. He had instructions from the 
 crown to carry the war into the Spanish American 
 Dependencies. His mission was faithfully exe- 
 cuted, for he sacked, pillaged and burned every 
 town and village that came in his way from Pata- 
 gonia to California. The great object of his am- 
 bition, however, being the capture of the Spanish 
 galleon from the Philippines, he awaited her ar- 
 rival at the extremity of Lower California. He 
 had not to delay very long, for about the 4th of 
 November, the ill-fated vessel came in view when, 
 after a desperate encounter, Cavendish succeeded 
 in making her his own. By this he became pos- 
 sessed, it is said, of 122,000 pezos in gold, equiv- 
 
76 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 alent to $3,000,000 in silver, besides a valuable 
 cargo in merchandise. The captured vessel he 
 ran into the nearest port, where he set her on fire, 
 having liberated the crew, amounting in all to one 
 hundred and ninety persons. Satisfied with this 
 remarkable success, he prepared to return to Eng- 
 land, following the route pursued by his predeces- 
 sor across the Pacific to the Ladrones, through the 
 Indian Archipelago, and round by the Cape. He 
 arrived at Plymouth on the 9th September, 1588. 
 The true character of his expedition is best 
 learned from his own words. Boasting of his ex- 
 ploits, he sa}^s: " I have navigated along the coasts 
 of Chili, Peru and Nova Espagna, where I made 
 great spoils; I burned nineteen ships small and 
 great, and all the villages and towns Handed at 1 
 burned and spoiled." Cavendish returned again 
 three years later on another buccaneering expedi- 
 tion, but this time not with such marked success 
 to himself, for he sickened and died at sea. 
 
 It should have been observed, that previous to 
 the appearance of Cavendish in 1582, Francisco 
 G-alli, a Spaniard, on returning from Manila and 
 Macao, made a reconnoissance of the coast as far 
 north as the fifty-seventh degree of latitude. To 
 him was near being due the honor of discovering 
 the Bay of San Francisco, for, in his account of the 
 voyage, he tells us that while descending the coast, 
 he witnessed the sea covered with numerous de- 
 bris — evidently the result of the periodical rains, 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. / I 
 
 by which these numerous objects were carried out 
 into the ocean. 
 
 The Spanish authorities were now, for the first 
 time, rejoiced at the announcement that the long- 
 desired passage between the Atlantic and the 
 Pacific had at length been discovered. An ad- 
 venturer, Lorenzo Ferrer Maldonado, pretended to 
 have sailed through its waters, to which he gave the 
 name of the Straits of Anian. The discovery, if 
 real, was certain to prove of the highest import- 
 ance to Spain, for the voyages to the East would 
 have been shortened by several months. To ascer- 
 tain the truth of Maldonado's assertion, a fleet of 
 three vessels and one hundred men was immediately 
 equipped and despatched by the Viceroy, with in- 
 structions to garrison and fortify the entrance lest 
 the British might make use of it for arriving in 
 the Pacific and ravaging the Spanish possessions. 
 The expedition proceeded only as far as Lower 
 California, when a mutiny occurred and the pro- 
 ject was abandoned. Four years subsequent an- 
 other attempt was made to prove the truth of 
 Maldonado's assertion. John De Fuca, about 
 whose identity so much doubt has been expressed 
 by several writers, was sent by the Viceroy in 
 1592 on a similar errand. De Fuca had been pilot 
 in the last expedition, and was also on board the 
 Santa Anna, captured by Cavendish. With a 
 command of two vessels he sailed to the forty- 
 eighth degree of latitude, where he entered a strait, 
 
78 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 probably the present Paget Sound, which he took 
 for the one he was in search of. After sailing 
 up it several days he retraced his course, re- 
 turned to Acapulco and reported his success to 
 the Viceroy. The matter was still discredited by 
 many, and for one hundred years and more seems 
 to have kept the country in a state of suspense, 
 for as late as 1791 the Sutil and Mejicana, under 
 Galliano and Valdez, were despatched by his Ma- 
 jest}^ in order to clear up all doubt regarding De 
 Fuca's assertions. But even those seem to have 
 fallen into the popular error, and to have realized 
 the truth of the Roman commander's assertion, 
 " Quod fere libenter homines id, quod volunt, 
 credunt." 1 
 
 The injuries which had been inflicted upon the 
 South American Spanish possessions by the British 
 adventurers between 1575 and 1587, and the fear 
 lest such acts should be repeated unless prevented 
 by precautionary measures, now for the first time 
 aroused the responsible agents of government, and 
 caused them to enter upon measures for the de- 
 fense of the coast. The objects to be attained 
 were of no minor importance. The whole of the 
 South American possessions had to be defended ; 
 the annual Philippine vessel to be protected, 
 the countries along the Californian coast reduced 
 to subjection and the Christian religion established. 
 Instructions were accordingly received from old 
 
 (1) Gcesar tie Bello Galileo: Lib. iii., Cap. 18. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 79 
 
 Spain to form garrisons along the coast, and, as the 
 extremity of the Californian Peninsula was the chief 
 rendezvous of the pirates, it was deemed proper 
 to first establish a garrison at that point. 
 
 In compliance with his Majesty's wish the Vice- 
 roy, Gaspar de Zimiga, Count de Monterey, im- 
 mediately prepared an expedition consisting of 
 three vessels, which he entrusted to the care of 
 Sebastian Viscaino. The fleet started from Aca- 
 pulco for California about the beginning of 1596, 
 there being on board four Franciscans. These 
 were not, in all probability, the first mission- 
 ary priests who landed in the country; for, as 
 early as 1535, Cortes, when preparing for his expe- 
 dition, is represented as being joined by several 
 ecclesiastics. Whether they actually embarked 
 and landed in the country, is not positively stated 
 by any writers ; hence, under the doubt, to the 
 children of St. Francis must be granted the honor 
 of having first unfurled the banner of our holy re- 
 ligion on Californian soil. The fleet put in, in the 
 first instance, to the isles of Mazatlan, where fifty 
 of the crew deserted their commander ; thence, 
 they proceeded to the port at which Cortes had 
 anchored, probably the present La Paz, where they 
 remained for a couple of months. During the stay, 
 the Fathers made every effort to give the aborig- 
 ines some elementary notions of the Christian re- 
 ligion, and, under the circumstances, seem to have 
 succeeded as well as' could be expected. They 
 
80 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 showed, we are told, the greatest respect and ven- 
 eration for the Fathers, regarding them as beings 
 of a superior order, and asking them if they were 
 not " Sons of the Sun." ' Their conduct during the 
 holy sacrifice of the Mass, at which they were fre- 
 quently permitted to be present, was respectful 
 and edifying ; the rites and ceremonies fillel them 
 with wonder and admiration. Their ready and 
 prompt obedience, too, to the commands of the 
 Religious showed them to be a docile, tractable 
 people, and fit subjects for the reception of the 
 Gospel. 
 
 Yiscaino, finding his provisions running low, 
 and the country unequal to the support of his. 
 men, determined upon abandoning the enterprise 
 and returning to Acapulco, where he arrived in Oc- 
 tober, 1596. Six years later, in 1602, Yiscaino head- 
 ed another expedition for a like object at the com- 
 mand of Philip III. He was accompanied on this 
 occasion by three Carmelite Friars, Father Andres 
 de la Asencion, Thomas de Aquino and Antonio 
 de la Asencion, the last of whom wrote an account 
 of the voyage. Speaking of the reception they 
 met with from the Indians, Father Antonio says: 
 " When the boats were near the shore, the Indians 
 seeing such a number of armed men, retired in 
 great consternation to an eminence in order to 
 secure themselves, if the strangers should attempt 
 anything against them. All the people in the 
 boats landed, but, as they advanced towards the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 81 
 
 Indians, they retired till Father Antonio, in order 
 to allure them to a friendly conference, went up 
 alone toward them, and, by signs and gestures, 
 so far prevailed that they waited for him; and 
 coming up to them he embraced them all in the 
 most affectionate manner." 
 
 After putting into various ports along the coast, 
 on the 10th of December they entered the harbor 
 of San Miguel, then for the first time named San 
 Diego by Viscaino. Thus ended the third exami- 
 nation of Lower California, the two former having 
 been made by Ulloa and Cabrillo respectively. 
 From San Diego he proceeded north to about 
 the forty-third degree of latitude, in the vicinity 
 of the present city of Oregon, but finding the 
 weather unfavorable and several of his men suffer- 
 ing from scurvy and other diseases, he altered his 
 course and returned to Mexico, where he arrived 
 on the 29th of April, 1603. 
 
 The next priest who visited the coast was Padre 
 Diego de la Neva, who accompanied Don Francis 
 Ortega in his expedition of 1632. De Neva had 
 been appointed by the Bishop of Guadalaxara as 
 Yicar of California, though it is difficult to see in 
 .what his ministrations of Yicar were to consist, 
 none of the natives having been yet brought to a 
 knowledge of the truth. Ortega did not remain 
 more than a few months in the country, having 
 obtained a large quantity of valuable pearls, with 
 which he returned to Mexico and which he disposed 
 
82 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 of to the greatest advantage. He returned again 
 the following year, as also the year after, accom- 
 panied by his former missionary friend, and another 
 named Father Juan de Zuiiiga. 
 
 Sixteen years later, in 1648, we find two Jesuit 
 missionaries, Fathers Yacinto Cortes and Andreas 
 Baez, accompanying Admiral Casinate, but these, 
 like their predecessors, remained only as long as 
 the squadron lay on the coast. Indeed, all the 
 Religious, who hitherto entered the country, were 
 more in the character of chaplains to the expedi- 
 tions than missionaries to the natives. The time 
 had not yet come when the missionary priests 
 should enter unreservedly upon the conversion of 
 the natives, living their lives and sharing their 
 fortunes. I merely mention this fact in order that 
 the reader may not be unaware, that the country 
 had been casually visited by missionaries previous 
 to the date when, as we shall presently see, a reg- 
 ular organized effort was made for the conversion 
 of the people. 
 
 Again, in 1668, Francis Luzivilla, an enterpris- 
 ing citizen, fitted out an expedition at his own 
 private expense with the view of forming a colony 
 on the coast. He was accompanied by two Fran- 
 ciscans, Fathers Juan Caranco and Juan Ramirez, 
 who are represented as having made an earnest 
 but ineffectual effort, during their short stay in 
 the country, for the conversion of the natives. 
 Luzivilla's object was to make a settlement in the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 83 
 
 country, while the Religious were to employ them- 
 selves in the conversion of the people. He at- 
 tempted his project by forming a little colony at 
 Puerto de la Paz, but the difficulties proving too 
 great, he had to abandon his purpose. 
 
 The last expedition undertaken at the expense- 
 of government took place in 1683. It was com- 
 manded by Admiral Otondo, and attended by 
 three Jesuit missionary Fathers, named respect- 
 ively Father Kiihno, Juan Baptista Copart, and 
 Pedro Mathias Goni. The expedition landed on 
 the 2d of June, 1683, and remained till September, 
 1685, a period of over two years, during which 
 the Fathers laid the foundation of the missions, 
 and prepared the country for the introduction of 
 Christianity. The missionaries' first care was to 
 learn the language, after which they occupied 
 themselves in translating into it the principal arti- 
 cles of the Catholic faith. As can be readily un 
 derstood, not having any elementary works, the 
 difficulties they encountered were unusually great. 
 The entire absence, too, of appropriate terms 
 to express certain religious ideas was an addi- 
 tional obstacle in the way. The following may 
 serve as an instance of this: When occupied in 
 translating the creed, they were unable to find a 
 word proper to express "the resurrection from 
 the dead." That there should be in the language 
 such a term they could not reasonably doubt, but 
 to find it was the difficulty. Taking some flies, 
 
84 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 in the presence of the Indians, they put them 
 under water till they were supposed to be dead ; 
 then, exposing them to the rays of the sun till 
 their vital faculties were restored, the Indians, 
 on seeing the change, cried out in amazement, 
 " Ibimuhueite ! Ibimuhueite !" which the Fathers 
 took to express, ; ' they returned to life,' 7 and in 
 absence of a better expression, applied it to the 
 resurrection of the Redeemer. 
 
 During the two years they remained in the 
 country, four hundred adults were prepared for 
 the holy sacrament of baptism; but, as the mis- 
 sionaries were unable to remain longer than the 
 expedition, none were received into the church ex- 
 cept those in danger of death. Of these there 
 were thirteen, three of whom recovered, and were 
 brought away by the Fathers, with the consent of 
 their parents. In fine, the garrison being reduced 
 to the greatest extremities for want of provisions, 
 the admiral embarked his men and abandoned the 
 country, the barren and inhospitable nature of 
 whose soil, and not the hostility of the natives, 
 prevented him from making a permanent settle- 
 ment on the coast. Twelve years later, in 1697, 
 the reduction of the country was entrusted to the 
 care of the Fathers, and the missions regularly 
 established, as we shall afterward see. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 85 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 Etymology of California. — Character of the Country. — Extent. 
 — Capabilities. — Tribes. — Pericues. — Monqui. — Cochimes. — 
 Language. — Mode of Life. — Physical Character. — Unac- 
 
 quaintance with letters. hleroglyphical remains. mental 
 
 Condition, etc. 
 
 From the time of the discovery of California by 
 Cortes, in 1536, to 1701, when the fact of its be- 
 ing a portion of the main, land was fully estab- 
 lished by the Jesuit missionary, Father Kuhno, it 
 was generally regarded, in Europe, as an island, 
 or, indeed, a cluster of islands. That part of the 
 ocean was, in consequence, regarded as an archi- 
 pelago. Hence the name by which we find it some- 
 times mentioned in history, " Islas Carolinas," a 
 name given it in honor of Charles II. of Spain. 
 Previous to this, it had been known as Ciguatan, 
 Santiago, Santa Cruz, Islas de Perlas and Islas Am- 
 azones. The gulf was likewise honored with differ- 
 ent titles, as the Sea of Cortes, the Vermilion Sea, 
 the Mar Lauretana, etc. 1 
 
 Why it should have been regarded as an island, 
 later than the middle of- the sixteenth century, 
 seems difficult to understand ; as in a map, drawn up 
 in the year 1541, by Bernal Diaz del Castillo, an 
 officer in Ulloa's expedition, the country is repre- 
 sented as a peninsula, and almost in its actual 
 
 (1) See Exploration and Settlement of Lower California: by J. B. 
 Brown, p. 7. 
 
83 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 state. Whether Castillo formed his map after a 
 careful examination of the coast, or from a prob- 
 able conjecture of its character, I am unable to 
 sa) ; but that the Jesuit missionaries were the 
 first to establish the fact, and to obtain for it gen- 
 eral assent, must be admitted by all. The energy 
 and ability displayed by the Fathers in solving 
 this geographical problem, and in surveying the 
 inner and outer coasts, under the most difficult 
 circumstances, as we shall afterward see, entitle 
 them to the respect and admiration of all, and to 
 honorable mention in the annals of this country, 
 whether civil or religious. 
 
 The etymology of the word California is in- 
 volved in impenetrable obscurity. The oldest and 
 best informed writers have been unable to deter- 
 mine its meaning. Some are of opinion that it 
 owes its origin to accident; being, as they sup- 
 pose, a word used by the Indians, but, misinter- 
 preted and misapplied by the Spaniards. Others 
 are inclined to believe it a Latin polysyllable, com- 
 pounded of the words " calida fornax" (heated 
 furnace), by which they ingenuously suppose the 
 discoverers designated the country, on account of 
 the intensity of the heat. Others, again, as Father 
 Aroio, derive it from a word in the vernacular, sig- 
 nifying a species of gum, known to exude very 
 freely from a particular timber of the country. 
 How far any or all these opinions are worthy of 
 attention, is left entirely to the judgment of the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 87 
 
 reader to determine; nor, indeed, is it much to 
 our purpose, beyond gratifying an idle curiosity, 
 to be able to assign the true etymological meaning 
 of the word. 
 
 The great extent of coast, within which the two 
 Californias are comprised, makes it apparent that 
 a great diversity of climate must be the natural 
 result. There are not, perhaps, any other sections 
 of the American continent, of equal extent, pre- 
 senting such a diversity of climate, and so great a 
 dissimilarity in capabilities and natural produc- 
 tions. The one is, in general, with little excep- 
 tion, arid, barren and inhospitable, affording little 
 attraction for man or beast; while the other, though 
 in many instances, presenting like characteristics, 
 is yet, on the whole, fruitful, productive and salu- 
 brious. 
 
 Speaking of Lower California, the author of the 
 natural and civil history of the country, says : " It 
 may be said, in general, that the air is dry and hot 
 to a great degree; and that the soil is barren, rug- 
 ged, wild, everywhere overrun with mountains, 
 rock and sancl; with little water, and, consequently, 
 unfit either for agriculture, planting or grazing." 
 And in another place, the same author writes : "The 
 aspect of Lower California, generally speaking, is 
 disagreeable and forbidding, and its broken land is 
 extremely rocky and sandy; it lacks water, and is 
 covered with thorny plants, where it is capable of 
 producing vegetation; and where not, it is covered 
 
88 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 with heaps of rocks and sand. * * * * The whirl- 
 winds, which sometimes occur, are so furious, that 
 they uproot trees, and overturn the huts. The 
 rains are so rare, that should two or three showers 
 fall during the year, the Californians consider 
 themselves peculiarly blessed. Springs are few 
 and scarce, and so far as rivers are concerned, 
 there is not one on the whole peninsula; although 
 the rivulets of Mulege" and San Jose del Cabo 
 were dignified with that name. The latter runs 
 through San Bernabe, and, after a short course of 
 two miles, empties itself into the gulf, at twenty- 
 seven degrees. All the rest are brooks or torrents, 
 which, being dry the whole year, when it rains 
 contain some water, and their current is so rapid 
 that they upset everything, and carry destruction 
 to the few settlements which exist here." 
 
 This is confirmed by Baron Von Humboldt, who 
 made a voyage to the coast in 1811. " The soil," 
 writes the Baron, " is sandy and arid, like the 
 shores of Provence; vegetation is at a stand, and 
 rain is very infrequent." And again: " Old Cali- 
 fornia, on account of the arid nature of the soil, 
 and the want of water and vegetable earth in the 
 interior of the country, will never be able to main- 
 tain a great population, any more than the north- 
 ern part of Sonora, which is almost equally dry 
 and sandy." 
 
 That the foregoing is a tolerably accurate es- 
 timate of the country in its general aspect must 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA 89 
 
 be admitted. Hence the sparseness of the pop- 
 ulation by which it has been hitherto inhabited. 
 By the appliances, however, of modern science, 
 and under the indomitable energy of the Ameri- 
 can race, Lower California is likely, before long, 
 to assume a respectable position as a mercan- 
 tile, mineral and agricultural province. Indeed, 
 there are those who are of opinion, that by a well- 
 conducted system of irrigation, effected mainly on 
 the artesian-well principle, the valleys, plains and 
 table-lands of the country might be brought to a 
 high degree of agricultural perfection. The testi- 
 mony of one who has spent several years in the 
 country is decidedly to this effect. 
 
 " Throughout the territory," writes Mr. Sprague, 
 u are valleys, plains, table-lands and tracts on the 
 mountains that are first-class agricultural land. 
 Water is found in many places on the surface, and 
 almost anywhere by digging a moderate depth, or 
 by artesian boring, in much larger quantities than 
 superficial observers, or persons not well ac- 
 quainted with the country and climate, would sup- 
 pose. By artesian wells, or broad wells, or pits, 
 lifting the water by windmills, a large breadth of 
 the country can be cultivated in tropical and semi- 
 tropical productions, as well as wheat and corn of 
 a more northern climate. The climate of the 
 peninsula is undoubtedly one of the healthiest in 
 the world; and for persons of consumptive habits, 
 without a parallel. This fact is getting to be 
 
90 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 more and more known on this coast; and were the 
 facilities for purchasing land such as to afford en- 
 couragement, numbers from the population of this 
 coast would go up there to make their home." 
 
 Independent of artificial irrigation, the same 
 writer assures us that much might be made of the 
 country. Extensive crops of wheat, oats and bar- 
 ley are annually raised in different parts by the 
 ordinary means. Cotton, which is indigenous to 
 the soil, is represented as of a remarkably fine and 
 silken texture. Vines thrive exceedingly well, 
 and produce, we are told, a wine but little inferior 
 to Madeira. 
 
 Olives, elates, figs, and other tropical fruits, are 
 found there in considerable quantities; while, as 
 regards the esculents, the sweet potato is chiefly 
 remarkable both for size and quality. Added to 
 this, there can be hardly any doubt about the 
 existence of extensive mineral beds of a rich 
 quality of ore. 
 
 Already the greater part of the country has found 
 its way into the hands of American companies. 
 In 1866, the Mexican Government, under the Pres- 
 idency of Juarez, sold to the Lower California 
 Colonization Company forty-six thousand eight 
 hundred square miles of the country for the sum of 
 two hundred and sixty thousand dollars in gold. 
 The Peninsula Plantation and Homestead Associa- 
 tion also obtained from the government extensive 
 tracts along Mulege and ConcepcionBay, in the Gulf 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 91 
 
 of California. The companies propose to conduct 
 their respective investments on the principle of 
 cheap labor, imported from China and Africa; but 
 whether such shall not rather result in a species of 
 vassalage, and prove of little advantage to any, 
 except those forming the monopoly, remains to 
 be seen. It is, however, to be observed that the 
 companies are ready to dispose of a portion of 
 their allotments to emigrants desirous of settling 
 in the country. The entire extent of the penin- 
 sula is two hundred thousand square miles, with 
 a population of from forty to fifty thousand, 
 composed of natives, Spaniards, Mexicans, Amer- 
 icans, Germans and French. 1 The exports, which 
 consist of hides, salt, cheese, sugar, figs, etc., are 
 estimated at an annual value of between one and 
 two million dollars. In short, it is probable that 
 before long, Lower California will assume a far 
 more prominent position than she has hitherto at- 
 tained under Spanish or Mexican rule ; and most 
 probably, too, when that shall have been attained, 
 the country, like Alta California, will become a 
 portion of the American Republic. 
 
 Of Upper, or American, California, much more 
 may be said in its praise. Although in general 
 possessing somewhat similar characteristics, being 
 a continuation of the same line of coast, it possesses 
 numerous advantages which the other does not 
 
 (1) In 1867, the population was twenty-six thousand. Vide Explo- 
 ration Lower California j- p. 77. 
 
92 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 enjoy. A better and more appreciable climate, 
 heavier and more certain periodical rains, larger 
 and more productive valleys, and mineral resources 
 of a superior and more extensive character, may 
 be stated as among the advantages. 
 
 In dimensions, Upper California is the second 
 largest State in the Union, second only to Texas, 
 and comprising within it, as we have said, an area 
 of one hundred and eighty-eight thousand nine 
 hundred and eighty-two square miles. Its general 
 aspect, like that of Lower California, is hilly, 
 mountainous, and uneven. The Sierra Nevada, or 
 Snowy Range, on the eastern, and the Coast Range 
 on the western side, are the principal mountain 
 chains, some of which, as Mount Shasta and Mount 
 Whitney, rise to an elevation of between fourteen 
 and fifteen thousand feet above the level of the 
 sea. Between those extensive ranges, which run 
 irregularly through the entire length of the coun- 
 try, are several extensive valleys, of from twenty 
 to thirty miles in width, and from one to two hun- 
 dred in length, capable of maintaining large popu- 
 lations, and remarkable alike for the richness and fer- 
 tility of their soil, the beauty of their scenery, and 
 the salubrity of their climate. Of these, the Sac- 
 ramento, San Joaquin, Santa Clara and Yosemite 
 are the principal, the two former being regarded, 
 and justly, as the garden of California. The 
 scenery of the Yosemite is equal to any to be met 
 with on the American continent. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 93 
 
 The mountain ranges in the North are, for the 
 most part, covered with luxurious forests of oak, 
 pine, laurel, cedar and redwood; the latter, in some 
 instances, growing to the enormous proportions ot 
 thirty feet in diameter, and as many as three hun- 
 dred and fifty in height — characteristics which 
 have earned for them the soubriquet of "Big 
 Trees." Scattered through the country in various 
 directions are numerous beautiful lakes, to the 
 number of twenty or more, the largest being Tu- 
 lare, and the most elevated Lake Tahoe or Bigler, 
 situated at a distance of six thousand feet above 
 the sea. Eight and twenty rivers flow from these 
 lakes, or otherwise rise in the mountains, water- 
 ing and fertilizing the valleys on their way to the 
 ocean. The entire population of the State, ac- 
 cording to the latest returns for the year 1870, 
 was five hundred and fifty-six thousand six hun- 
 dred and thirteen, which is an increase of almost 
 two hundred thousand for the last decade; the 
 number in 1 860 being only three hundred and 
 seventy-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety- 
 four. 
 
 The agricultural and garden productions which 
 comprise many, both of the temperate and tropic- 
 al, regions, are comprehended mainly under the 
 head of wheat, oats, barley, grasses, oranges, lem- 
 ons, etc. The tropical productions are confined 
 exclusively to the southern parts of the State, in 
 the immediate vicinity of Los Angeles and the 
 
94 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 other neighboring towns. The yield of grain, being 
 greater than that required for the necessities of 
 the population, large quantities are annually ex- 
 ported to the Eastern States and to Europe. Two 
 y< j ars prior to this, in 1868, the wheat crop gave 
 a return of nineteen millions of bushels, and the 
 oats and barley seven millions, while the wine 
 crop for the same year is put down at five millions 
 gallons. 
 
 The raising of stock, and particularly of sheep, 
 has also begun to form one of the most important 
 interests of the State. In 1869, the wool amount- 
 ed to eighteen millions of pounds, which, after 
 some years, will doubtless be very considerably 
 increased. There is, however, one not very incon- 
 siderable danger which ever threatens the agricul- 
 tural and stock interests of the State. It is the 
 occasional droughts with which the country has 
 been visited at times. Deprived of the periodical 
 rains, the crops and the cattle suffer extremely. 
 The former are prevented from coming to maturity, 
 and the latter perish by thousands for the want of 
 necessary pasturage. But the danger from this is 
 now immeasurably less than in the past, as far as 
 the stock is concerned; for, in case of a drought, 
 either the cattle can be transported to the East by 
 the railway, or fodder supplies brought into the 
 country by similar means. The expense attend- 
 ing either resort would be undoubtedly great, 
 yet comparatively small, relatively to the entire 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 95 
 
 loss of the herds. But as it has not been the agri- 
 cultural resources of the country that have raised 
 California to her present position, as a principal 
 State of the Union, but her extraordinary mineral 
 wealth, unparalleled by any other in the world, it 
 is to the latter, and not to the former, she must 
 still look for assistance in advancing on the road, 
 of national prosperity. The total value of gold de- 
 rived from the country, since its discovery in 1848, 
 has exceeded the almost fabulous sum of one bil- 
 lion dollars. Of this enormous yield, sixty-five mil- 
 lions was the largest amount realized in any one 
 year. Independent of the gold and silver mines, the 
 country also produces copper, iron, lead, coal, pla- 
 tinum, nickel, salt, borax, tin, zinc and quicksilver. 
 The principal exports are gold and grain ; the annual 
 amount of which leaving the coast may be judged 
 from the fact of twenty-three million dollars worth 
 of merchandise having left the port in 1868. In 
 fine, the capabilities, natural resources and favor- 
 able mercantile position of the country are all so 
 strongly in its favor as to leave little to be doubted 
 that, before the present generation shall have 
 passed, California will have attained the rank 
 of one of the leading States of the Republic. 
 
 Before informing the reader of the labors and 
 exertions of the missionary Fathers in behalf of 
 the natives, it is proper to give an account of the 
 habits, manners and customs of the people. On 
 arriving in California, the Jesuit missionaries found 
 
96 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the country inhabited by different tribes, or more 
 properly, different nations, inasmuch as they 
 spoke different languages and were governed by 
 separate chiefs. There has been considerable 
 speculation regarding the division of the inhabi- 
 tants and the number of languages. The most 
 probable and judicious opinion classifies the abo- 
 rigines of Lower California into the following 
 tribes: The Pericues, who inhabited the south; the 
 Monqui, who dwelt in the interior; and the 
 Cochimes, who lived in the north. The Pericues 
 and Cochimes were also known under the names of 
 Edues and Laymones. The three principal bodies 
 were further subdivided into several minor tribes 
 known under special appellations, and speaking 
 different languages, or, at least, widely different 
 dialects of the same tongue. The most numerous of 
 these principal divisions was that of the Cochimes, 
 or Laymones, divided like the others into several 
 smaller bodies, differing exceedingly in their lan- 
 guage as regarded its idiom, pronunciation and 
 termination. To the north, on the west of the 
 Colorado River, inhabited the Bagiopos and the 
 Hoabonomas; while in Upper California, between 
 San Diego and Cape Mendocino, the country was 
 divided between the Washoes, the Piutes, Shos- 
 hones, etc., some thousands of whom still roam un- 
 converted through the mountains, encamping be- 
 times in the neighborhood of towns, and passing a 
 precarious existence. Among the inhabitants of 
 
:■-.; 
 
 A- Z.St: ■' 
 
 / . 
 
 .,/,' , - S/,-r •/''/, '■■ / , ,,.,--- I ■ . 
 
 
 - 
 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 97 
 
 Upper California, the diversity of language was 
 found to be even greater than among their brethren 
 of the south. In his history of the customs and 
 manners of the Indians, Father Boscana assures us 
 that within every fifteen or twenty leagues a dif- 
 ferent language prevailed — so different as to be 
 entirely unintelligible to those of the neighboring 
 missions. "The natives of San Diego cannot un- 
 derstand a word of the language used in this mis- 
 sion — San Juan Capistrano — and in like manner 
 those in the neighborhood of Santa Barbara and 
 further north." * How this is to be accounted for, 
 except by attributing it to a difference of race, is 
 difficult to be seen, and yet to admit such a variety 
 of origin is open to serious objection. 
 
 Of the present unconverted inhabitants, little 
 can be said in their favor. Like their ances- 
 tors of old, they lead a wandering, migratory life; 
 moving periodically from place to place, for the 
 purpose of hunting, fishing, amusement, or the 
 gathering of supplies. Being entirely unacquainted 
 with every form of civilized life, and the comforts 
 and advantages attendant thereon, they suffer 
 but little from their rude, nomadic existence. 
 Though averse to all manual labor, some of them 
 not unfrequently engage in little works for the 
 whites, for which they receive a trifling remunera- 
 tion. But, as a rule, they make no provision for 
 their wants, beyond what is offered them spontane- 
 
 (1) Historical Account of the Indians; by Father Boscana, p. 240. 
 7 
 
98 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ously by nature. Some, indeed, (but they are the 
 exceptions) sow little patches of corn and beds of* 
 melons; while others tend a species of clover, of 
 which they are exceedingly fond. The principal 
 staple commodities, however, on which they mainly 
 rely for a living, are pine nuts, grass seeds, roots, 
 berries, and the product of the chase. Yet, when 
 pressed by hunger, they will not refuse reptiles, 
 insects and vermin. In fact, there is hardly any- 
 thing in the shape of animal or vegetable food too 
 coarse and indelicate for the poor Californian In- 
 dian. One half of the }^ear is ordinarily spent in 
 making provision for the other half. How meagre 
 this must necessarily be, the reader may readily 
 imagine. 
 
 Their dwellings, which hardly deserve the 
 name, are ordinarily located on the banks of riv- 
 ers, or in the dells of mountains. They are 
 among the rudest and least comfortable habita- 
 tions of any people in the world. A few poles, 
 stuck circularly in the ground, and brought to- 
 gether in a conical shape, constitute the wood- 
 work of the hut. Over this, a few bundles of sage 
 brush, a species of brush-wood, are loosely thrown, 
 and in this consists the entire dwelling. Here, in 
 these cheerless abodes, through which the rain, sleet 
 and snow freely penetrate, the poor Californian 
 spends the long winter night, without any other 
 protection or defence against the inclemency of the 
 season, save that afforded him by his mantlet of 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 99 
 
 rabbit or deer skin, or by the heat of his camp-fire 
 from without. Yet, strange as it may appear, it is 
 one of the rarest occurrences to meet with one of 
 these children of nature suffering from the effects of 
 a cold. Custom, from infancy, has inured them to 
 their condition, and any change to a more delicate 
 mode of existence^ would, it is thought, be preju- 
 dicial to their health. 
 
 In respect to their raiment, they are as poorly 
 and meagrely supplied, as in the matter of diet. 
 Previous to the coming of the Americans among 
 them, their dress consisted of the skins of those 
 animals taken in the chase ; but now, as a general 
 rule, they are clad in the old, cast-off garments of 
 the whites; but with what taste and comfort, may 
 be readily imagined, from the life they lead. 
 
 The Indians that inhabited the country on the 
 arrival of the missionaries, differed little from 
 those of the present day. According to the most 
 reliable testimony, they could not be favorably 
 compared with the other American races. They 
 were, we are assured, as weak in body as in mind. 
 Like the South Sea Indians, those of Lower Cali- 
 fornia daubed and painted their faces with oint- 
 ment and colors, bored holes through their ears 
 and nostrils, and otherwise disfigured their general 
 appearance, so as to cause them to look, contrary 
 to their intention, to the greatest disadvantage. 
 Their complexion, was, in general, swarthier than 
 that of the Indians of New Spain. They had no 
 
100 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 idea of letters, nor of any method of computing 
 the time; being, in this, similar to all the other 
 American races, except the Peruvians and the 
 Mexicans; the former of whom, had a substitute 
 in their " Quipos," and the latter, in their hiero- 
 glyphical or symbolical representations. 
 
 The utter unacquaintance of the aborigines with 
 the use of letters, and every method of recording 
 historical events, is more to be regretted than may, 
 at first, appear to the reader. For, with such 
 a rule for our guidance, the origin of the people 
 might be readily determined, though the record 
 should not deal with the time, manner or circum- 
 stances of their migration. The only account the 
 Edues and Cochimes could give the Religious, re- 
 specting their original country, was that their an- 
 cestors had migrated from the north; but, as the} r 
 had no means of distinguishing the years, or of 
 computing the time, the period of their migration, 
 and the term of their abode in the country, could 
 in no way be determined. That they were not, 
 however, the descendants of the original inhabi- 
 tants, is almost beyond doubt; for, from evidences 
 which remained, it would seem that a more en- 
 lightened and intelligent race had previously in- 
 habited the peninsula. Shortly before leaving the 
 country, the Jesuit Fathers discovered in the 
 mountains several extensive caves, hewn out of 
 the solid rock, like those of Elephanta, in southern 
 Hindostan. In these, painted on the rock, were 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 101 
 
 representations of men and women, decently clad, 
 as well as different species of animals. One of 
 the caves is described by a missionary, as fifty feet 
 long, fifteen high, and formed in the manner of 
 an arch. The entrance being entirely open, there 
 was sufficient light to observe the painted figures. 
 The males were represented with their arms ex- 
 tended and somewhat elevated, while one of the 
 females appeared with her hair flowing loosely 
 over her shoulders, and a crown of feathers on her 
 head. The natural conclusion deducible from this 
 is, that as painting and sculpture were entirely 
 unknown to the Californians, at the time of the 
 first missionaries, and as the figures were not rep- 
 resentations of the people then inhabiting the 
 country, the male population, at that time, entirely 
 dispensing with clothes, they must have belonged 
 to another and different race from the modern in- 
 habitants. But whence this race had migrated, 
 how long they inhabited the land, and whither 
 they finally proceeded, there are now no means of 
 determining, except by conjecture. The only 
 thing approaching to certainty is, that they were 
 less savage, more enlightened, and of greater phys- 
 ical stature. The latter is confirmed, as well b^y 
 the assertions of the inhabitants themselves; who 
 unanimously affirmed to the Fathers the prior ex- 
 istence of a powerful, gigantic race, as well as by 
 the fossil remains found by the missionaries. As 
 an instance, it may be sufficient to mention, that 
 
102 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 at the mission of Kadakamong, Father Joseph 
 Rotea discovered a human skeleton, which meas- 
 ured about eleven feet ! 
 
 The cause of their own immigration they stated 
 to have been a quarrel excited at a banquet, in 
 which the chiefs of several nations we're engaged. 
 This, they asserted, was followed by a battle, from 
 which the vanquished had to fly, and seek refuge 
 in the woods and mountains of the peninsula. 
 Whether the contest referred to was real or ima- 
 ginary, is entirely unknown, just as there is no data 
 forjudging, supposing it to be true, where it oc- 
 curred. This was the only account they could fur- 
 nish the missionaries respecting their origin and 
 emigration. The candor displayed in acknowledg- 
 ing themselves the descendants of the vanquished, 
 when they might easily have pretended to be- the 
 offspring of the conquerors, speaks strongly in favor 
 of the truth of their assertion. The ancient Romans 
 and Carthagenians, by acknowledging themselves 
 the descendants of conquered races, the former of 
 the Trojans and the latter of the Tyrians, are in- 
 stances of a similar candor. Although time and 
 research have failed to bring forward any document 
 or monument by which it could be satisfactorily 
 proved that this portion of the American race 
 emigrated directly from Asia, the most probable 
 and only reasonable conjecture is that they did. 
 
 All the American Indians, if we except the na- 
 tions referred to above, whose laws, policy and 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 103 
 
 government exhibited a certain cultivation of 
 reason, differed very little in capacity, customs 
 and manners. Their chief characteristics are stu- 
 pidity, blindness of the sensual appetite and sloth. 
 A constant love of pleasure and amusement of 
 every kind, however trifling or brutal, pusillani- 
 mity, laxity; and a most wretched want of every- 
 thing tending to form the real man, and to render 
 him rational, inventive, tractable and useful to 
 himself and society, is the character drawn of them 
 by one who had the best means of being rightly 
 informed. 
 
 The Californian's will was apportioned to his 
 understanding. All the powers of his soul seemed 
 checked in their infancy, and necessitated to move 
 within the narrowest sphere. Ambition, he had 
 none — patriotism, none — love of religion, none. 
 Titles, honor, wealth and fame, which mean so 
 much to us, and are the springs and sources of ac- 
 tion, either for good or evil, were unmeaning 
 terms in his regard. To see a companion praised 
 or rewarded, to excel at the chase, the dance, or 
 public assembly, seemed to be the only check 
 upon sloth, the only incentive to activity. Ava- 
 rice, that most destructive of passions, had little 
 share in his character. 
 
 The simplicity of their lives, and the fewness of 
 their wants, rendered ambition unnecessary. The 
 entire extent of their desires was to obtain suffi- 
 cient food for the passing day, relying on chance 
 
104 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 for a supply for the ensuing. As they constructed 
 no regular dwellings, living during the greater 
 part of the year in the shade afforded them by 
 their native woods, and retiring during winter to 
 the natural caverns found on the coast, and in 
 the mountains, their articles of furniture were 
 neither numerous nor luxurious. They consisted 
 exclusively of those instruments necessary for 
 hunting, fishing and war. A boat, a bow and 
 arrow, a dart and a bowl, were among their chief 
 articles of use. A bone served them for an awl, 
 a net for canwing their fruits and their children, 
 and a couple of bits of hard wood for procuring 
 fire, which was obtained by rubbing them briskly 
 for some time between the hands. The only 
 difference between the Indians of that time and 
 this, some few thousands of whom are still scat- 
 tered through the country, is that the latter are 
 more civilized in the manner of dress, an acquire- 
 ment they have learned from their contact with 
 their American neighbors. 
 
 A people of such uneducated habits, whose 
 minds were never illumined by the feeblest ray of 
 religion or science, are necessarily the creatures 
 of fancy and impulse. The uneducated savage is 
 in many things a child. Fickleness is predomi- 
 nant in his character; his anger is easily aroused, 
 while fury is of no longer duration than while it 
 meets with no opposition. A people of this kind 
 is a nation that never arrives at maturity. The 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 105 
 
 full development of the moral and physical man 
 is the united work of religion and science. 
 
 One happy result of the deplorable ignorance of 
 the aboriginal Californians was their unacquaint- 
 ance with the use of intoxicating drinks; but, un- 
 happily, they found a partial substitute for them in 
 the smoke of an herb, with which they were accus- 
 tomed to become inebriated on festive occasions. 
 
106 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 Government. — Power of Chiefs. — Deess. — Festivals. — Polygamy. 
 Maeeiage Ceeemonies. — Caenivals. — Feats of Skill. — Methods 
 of Making Wae. — Religious Ideas Regaeding the Ceeation of 
 the Woeld. — The Chief Ouiot. ■ — Idol-Worship in Upper 
 California. — The Temple or Vanqiteech . — The God Chinigh- 
 chinigh. — Tradition Regaeding the Deluge. — Belief in the 
 Immortality of the Soul and the Resurrection of the Body. 
 
 From what has been said in the preceding chapter, 
 it must not be inferred that the native Californians 
 were destitute of every natural virtue. Harshness, 
 cruelty and obstinacy had little or no part in their 
 character. History represents them as exceeding- 
 ly docile, gentle and tractable. 
 
 Their government, if the name be applicable in 
 their case, may be judged from their manners. As 
 they had no specified division of lands, possessions 
 or immovables, laws were unneeded for the ad- 
 justment of rights or decision of cases arising out 
 of illegal intrusions or unjustifiable claims. And, 
 as in a state of society where law is unknown be- 
 cause all things are common, the power of the 
 chief was naturally limited. The punishment of 
 crime essentially implies the violation oflaw; and 
 as in that primitive state the people had neither a 
 written nor a traditional code whereby their ac- 
 tions were to be directed, but were governed en- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 107 
 
 tirely, either by fancy or the natural obedience 
 due by children to parents, the authority of the 
 chief was in consequence more nominal than real. 
 
 But, as the common exigencies of their state 
 rendered it necessary at times to seek counsel and 
 guidance, the brave, the artful and eloquent were, 
 by common consent, appointed as leaders, but this 
 dignity, such as it was, was never the appendage 
 of years, family or formal election. The duties of 
 the chiefs or Caziques consisted mainly in giving 
 orders for gathering the products of the earth, for 
 conducting the fisheries and directing the military 
 operations. "The leader or Cazique — writes Father 
 Venegas — conducted them to the forest and sea 
 coast in quest of food; sent and received the mes- 
 sages to and from the adjacent States; informed 
 them of dangers ; spirited them up to revenge of 
 injuries whether real or feigned, clone by other 
 rancheros or natives, and headed them in their 
 wars, ravages and depredations. In all other par- 
 ticulars, every one was entire master of his lib- 
 erty." 
 
 A people who live by the chase, and are utterly 
 unacquainted with the works and arts of civilized 
 life, cannot be supposed to be in the enjoyment of 
 a very costly and elegant wardrobe. It was so 
 with the Californians. The dress throughout the 
 entire country was almost unique. For the males 
 whether children or adults, it was nil, if we ex- 
 cept bracelets for the arms and an ornament in 
 
108 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the shape of a periwig for the head. As such, 
 dress was in their case more an ornament than a pro- 
 tection of virtue, or defence against the inclemency 
 of the seasons. The southern inhabitants were 
 somewhat in advance of their northern brethren 
 in the matter of finery, for, in addition to the orna- 
 ments spoken of, they generally wore an orna- 
 mented girdle round the loins, and a fillet of net- 
 work on the forehead. To these they sometimes 
 added a neckcloth* embroidered with mother-of- 
 pearl. The Cochimes wore the hair short, except 
 a few locks on the crown of the head, which they 
 permitted to grow long like the Hindoos of British 
 India of the present day. These also wore a more 
 elegant head-dress than their neighbors. 
 
 It is not to be supposed that the state of naked 
 simplicity, so akin to primitive innocence, had any 
 irregularity in their eyes; for, when requested by 
 the Fathers to cover at least what modesty de- 
 manded, they not only looked upon the demand 
 as unreasonable, but even became highly affront- 
 ed. In their eyes nothing could be more ludicrous 
 than one of their number dressed up in our fashion; 
 to do so was only to expose ones self to the jest and 
 ridicule of the tribe. As an instance : one of the 
 Fathers, having in his employ a couple of boys in 
 the character of servants and catechumens, thought 
 he could not more effectually inculcate the neces- 
 sity of modesty than by clothing the lads. Con- 
 trary, however, to his laudable intentions, they no 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 109 
 
 sooner appeared among their own, than they 
 became the subject of general ridicule and most 
 indecent remarks, so that to avoid being the butt 
 of their tribe, they doffed their newly-acquired 
 raiment, hung it upon a tree, and went puris natur- 
 alibus. Unwilling, however, to show themselves 
 ungrateful to the Father, yet unable to bear the 
 jests of their companions, they compromised the 
 matter most conveniently for themselves by going 
 naked in the tribe, and clad when returning to the 
 mission! 
 
 The women throughout the whole of the coun- 
 try appear to have paid greater attention to mod- 
 estj r . With hardly any exception, they seem to 
 have worn some defence of their virtue. The de- 
 centest and best clad were the Edues, who inhab- 
 ited the southern part of the peninsula. Their 
 garments consisted of a gown of the ordinary kind, 
 reaching from the loins to the feet, and formed 
 from the leaves of a species of palm-tree, beaten 
 into flax and manufactured into thread. Over 
 their shoulders was a garment of similar material. 
 The hair was allowed to flow loosely on the back, 
 while a net work of considerable ingenuity worn 
 on the head, bracelets on the arms, and necklaces 
 of shells, pearls and fruit-stones extending to the 
 waist, gave them rather a handsome and attrac- 
 tive appearance. 
 
 The Laymonides women had a still more meagre 
 wardrobe. They only made use of a garment made 
 
110 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 of pieces of sedge, which descended from the waist 
 to the knees. Sometimes they substituted the 
 skin of a deer or other animal, which their hus- 
 bands happened to kill in the chase. Like the 
 Edues, they wore a cloak or over garment, but of 
 a different kind, made from the skins of wolves, 
 bears, foxes, or the like. Tnis mode of attire is 
 still in use among their unconverted descendants, 
 for, though in most instances they have learned to 
 dress after the civilized fashion, I have frequent- 
 ly seen them in the mountains of Nevada clothed 
 in skins used as a cloak. The mode of carrying 
 their infants is now the same as before; they are 
 slung in baskets on the back. From what cause 
 I am not aware, but their families never appear to 
 be great, a couple or three children being the most 
 belonging to any parent. Little though their in- 
 tercourse with Americans be, it has not bettered 
 their morals or ameliorated their condition. The 
 use of intoxicating liquors, which has gone far to 
 diminish their numbers, they have learned from the 
 white man. As a rule, in every such case, the 
 savage learns the vices, rather than virtues, of his 
 masters. 
 
 As the people had no regularly appointed sys- 
 tem of divine woiship, as I shall presently show, 
 when I come to speak of their religious form of 
 belief, their festivals or gatherings partook more 
 of the character of social entertainments than of 
 religious assemblies. One of their principal fes- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. Ill 
 
 tivals was the day set apart for the distribution of 
 the skins of the animals taken during the year in 
 the chase. The delight exhibited on these occa- 
 sions, by the fair portion of the community, was 
 in keeping with, in their eyes, the importance of 
 the occasion. To them, a mantlet of beaver or 
 rabbit skin, was as precious and as much the beau- 
 ideal*of perfection, as a silken or satin one would 
 be to a Paris or London leader of fashion. 
 
 On the festival day, all the neighboring tribes 
 and rancheros assembled at an appropriate place, 
 where they erected an extensive arbor, the ground 
 in front being cleared, to give room for the diver- 
 sions of the people. In the arbor were placed the 
 skins of the animals killed during the year, and 
 spread out in regular order, so as to attract the 
 wondering admiration of the multitude. None 
 but the chiefs were permitted to enter the honored 
 circle; ignoble blood should be contented to re- 
 main at a distance. 
 
 At the entrance of the arbor, arrayed in his 
 habit of ceremony, stood a sorcerer, who, with 
 animated gesture and wild vociferations, duly pro- 
 claimed the praises of the hunters. Meantime, 
 the people, animated by the words of the orator, 
 ran hither and thither in the wildest confusion, 
 laughing, dancing, shouting and singing. The ora- 
 tion ended, as also the races, the skins were dis- 
 tributed, when the whole ended with a fandango 
 
112 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 or ball, in which every principle of honor, pro- 
 priety and virtue, was most shamefully outraged. 
 I have already remarked that this people passed 
 their days in the open air, seeking shelter, in sum- 
 mer, from the action of the sun, in the shade af- 
 forded them in their native forests, and retiring, in 
 winter, to the natural caves, found in the moun- 
 tains and on the coasts. It is also equally true, 
 that in some instances, they formed what, by some, 
 might be regarded as dwellings. In the southern 
 part of the peninsula, as also in Upper California, 
 a custom prevailed, of constructing little huts of 
 the branches of trees. In other parts, stone en- 
 closures, a yard high and a couple wide, but de- 
 void of a roof, served like purposes. In these 
 meagre enclosures, the people generally slept, in 
 a sitting posture. At present, the houses in use 
 are, as I have remarked, small, conical huts, about 
 four feet high, formed of sage brush, a kind of 
 stunted shrub, piled loosely around a number of 
 poles. Though thus greatly exposed to the in- 
 clemency of the seasons, rheumatic disorders are 
 almost entirely unknown to the people. More- 
 over, it is to be observed, that the civilized life 
 seems injurious to their constitutions, for, when 
 any of their number are induced to conform to 
 our customs, a general sickness and debility is cer- 
 tain to follow. The same was observed by the 
 missionaries, as we learn from Father Clavijero, 
 who assures us, that after the introduction of 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 113 
 
 Christianity, the Dumber of the population became 
 considerably diminished. From this, we might 
 readily conclude that much of what civilization 
 imposes upon us, as a necessity, is more the effect 
 of our training, or the result of imagination, than 
 an actual want of our nature. 
 
 Polygamy, or the custom of having a plurality 
 of wives, was admitted and practiced; yet, though 
 adopted by the people, it was more the exception 
 than the rule. None but the chiefs availed them- 
 selves of the privilege. Infidelity to the matrimo- 
 nial engagement was regarded as a heinous offence, 
 except at their festival gatherings, where usage 
 had legalized adultery, by granting to the victor in 
 the race, the dance, or the wrestling match, this 
 scandalous privilege. It would appear, however, 
 that this custom prevailed only among the south- 
 ern inhabitants; for, speaking of the northern 
 tribes, a missionary describes them as reserved in 
 their manners, and entirely free from debauchery 
 and illegal amours. 
 
 The manner of forming the contract of mar- 
 riage differed with the various localities. In one 
 section of the country, it consisted in the bride- 
 groom presenting his intended with a bowl made 
 of thread. The damsel's acceptance or refusal 
 formed or prevented the engagement. If the 
 suitor were acceptable, the fair one, on her part, 
 presented him with a net for his hair, the work of 
 
 her own hands, and in this consisted the entire 
 8 
 
114 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ceremony. Among others, the covenant was made 
 at the end of a fandango, which the lover gave in 
 honor of his intended, and to which the entire 
 tribe was invited. 
 
 In Upper California, the negotiations were gen- 
 erally conducted on more business-like principles. 
 The lover repaired directly, propria persona, to the 
 house of his inamorata, or loitered in the vicinity, 
 until an opportunity presented itself of his address- 
 ing his beloved, when he made the proposal by 
 saying, " I desire to marry you." To this, the 
 girl invariably answered, "All right; I'll tell my 
 parents, and you'll know." 
 
 Others, of a more timid and bashful disposition, 
 used the intervention of a friend to learn the 
 lady's intention, when, if not unfavorable, the as- 
 sent of the parents was solicited. Not unfrequently, 
 however, the parents themselves managed the 
 entire matter, leaving the girl entirely unconscious 
 of the affair until they addressed her as follows: 
 " You are to marry so and so: you will be happy, 
 because he is an excellent young man. You will 
 have plenty to eat, because he knows how to kill 
 the deer, the rabbit, and other game." A third 
 class conducted the suit on different principles, 
 by soliciting in the first instance the consent of 
 the parents or guardians, which, when obtained, 
 the girl was thus addressed by her father: "My 
 child you are to marry such a one, for we have 
 given you away to him." 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 115 
 
 From the moment the proffers were received, 
 the suitor was admitted into the family as one of 
 the household, taking upon him, at the same time, 
 the obligations of providing for the requirements 
 of all. The betrothed, on the other hand, imme- 
 diately assumed the character of matron, attending 
 to the domestic affairs, rising at dawn, bathing, 
 supplying the fuel, and preparing the repast, all 
 which she was required to perform alone. Thus , 
 the young man had an opportunity of witnessing 
 the admirable qualities of his intended. The wed- 
 ding feast, which always lasted between three and 
 four days, was attended not only by the friends 
 and relatives of the bride and bridesgroom, but by 
 the greater part of the village or rancheria where 
 they lived. It was celebrated, according to cus- 
 tom, at the residence of the man, where a tem- 
 porary arbor, capable of accommodating a large 
 number of guests, was erected. The ceremony 
 was begun by some of the chiefs, accompanied by 
 a few of the matrons, going for the bride. On her 
 arrival she was divested of her trinkets and super- 
 fluous garments, which her female attendants 
 claimed as their legitimate spoil. Thereupon, she 
 was placed on a mat by the side of her husband, 
 and in this consisted the entire ceremony. They 
 were then considered to be validly married. Be- 
 fore the termination of the feast, during which the 
 guests occupied themselves in dancing, singing, 
 and other amusements, the father ordinarily ad- 
 
116 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 dressed his daughter on her duties and obligations 
 as a wife: "Reflect, that you are the daughter of 
 respectable parents; do nothing to offend them. 
 Obey and serve your husband, who has been given 
 to you by Chinighchinigh. Be faithful to him, 
 for, if you are not, you will not only lose your life, 
 but we shall be disgraced; and, if your husband 
 does not treat you as he ought, tell us and you 
 shall come back and live with us." * 
 
 The matrimonial engagements were not consid- 
 ered indissoluble. The parties were at liberty to 
 withdraw from them whenever it suited their con- 
 venience. The idea of a perpetual obligation did 
 not enter their minds. Nor, indeed, are we to be 
 at all astonished at this; seeing that even the ad- 
 vanced enlightenment of the present day approves 
 the same, albeit the Lord hath said : " What G-od 
 hath joined let no man put asunder." 
 
 Those acquainted with the history of Brazil, 
 will remember a custom known to prevail in that 
 country, by which, contrary to every law of na- 
 ture and reason, the man, and not the woman, 
 was supposed to suffer the pangs of parturition. 
 In this, the Californians were alike remarkable, for 
 on the delivery of the wife, the husband affecting 
 an extraordinary weakness, lay stretched out in 
 his cave, or under a tree, while the unfortunate 
 woman was left to shift for herself, or to suffer by 
 
 (1) See Boscana. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 117 
 
 the neglect. 1 The husband, too, suffered on his 
 part, for custom obliged him to spend several days 
 in this manner on the meagerest diet. They were 
 prohibited leaving the place, except for water and 
 fuel. The use of fish and flesh was not permitted 
 them, while smoking and diversions of every kind 
 were absolutely unallowed. One of the unhappy 
 results of this ludicrous custom, or, more properly, 
 unnatural neglect on the part of the father, both 
 of the mother and her offspring, was the crime of 
 infanticide, to obviate which it was customary 
 with the missionaries to allow the newly-delivered 
 mothers a double allowance of grain. As in the 
 Jewish law, the widow married the brother or 
 nearest relative of the deceased. 
 
 In addition to the festival referred to above, 
 there was another of equal if not greater import-, 
 ance. which they celebrated with unusual mirth 
 and rejoicing. This was what in southern Europe 
 might be called the gathering of the vintage, but 
 with the Californians that of the pithahayas ) an in- 
 digenous fruit, on which they mainly relied for 
 subsistence during the greater part of the year. 
 The gathering lasted during the principal part of 
 one quarter, and was to the people, in a great 
 measure, what the carnival is to many in Europe. 
 The population on those occasions, remarks Father 
 Salva Tierra, threw aside whatever little reason 
 they had, and gave themselves up entirely to feast- 
 
 (1) This custom was not confined to America. Diodorus Siculus 
 speaks of a like observance which once prevailed in Europe. 
 
118 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ing, dancing, and buffoonery, to the great diver- 
 sion of all the spectators. As regards their dances, 
 the same Father tells us they had a great variety 
 of them, and that they acquitted themselves with 
 much gracefulness and agility. Even the children 
 were brought to engage in these festive entertain- 
 ments, and showed as much joy at having cleverly 
 performed their part as the older members of the 
 assembly. 
 
 The occasion of these festivals was generally 
 whenever fortune smiled on their efforts, or Provi- 
 dence was indulgent in their regard. Hence, 
 upon the occasion of success in the chase, victory 
 in war, a plentiful harvest, or the birth of a child, 
 they gave expression to feelings of joy in a dance. 
 Connected with the festivals were feats and trials 
 of strength, in leaping and running. In times of 
 peace, the greater part of their lives was spent in 
 that fashion; but these days of pleasure and enjoy- 
 ment were often interrupted by wars, factions, 
 and feuds, in which the whole people engaged. 
 Nor was the object of their wars the desire of en- 
 larging their fame or possessions, but more for the 
 purpose of revenging affronts and defending hered- 
 itary rights in the matters of fishing, hunting, or 
 the gathering of supplies. In the management of 
 war, they were as unskilled as they were ignorant 
 in the other departments of life. A frightful 
 noise and clamor, in which all engaged, indicated 
 the commencement of hostilities. Every one pre- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 119 
 
 pared to take part in the engagement, provided 
 himself with a bow and arrows, or a wooden spear, 
 carefully sharpened on the top, and hardened in 
 the fire. Firearms they had none. Their mode 
 of attack was as unskillful as their ideas were rude ; 
 without regularly disposing their men, or posting 
 them according to some principle of war, they 
 rushed forward tumultuously, and engaged without 
 any order, except, indeed, that one body was kept 
 in reserve, to take the place of the most forward 
 when the arrows should fail. While the engage- 
 ment was conducted at a distance, the arrows were 
 used; but, when a contest became close, the spears 
 were^ brought into play. The numbers slain on 
 these occasions were oftentimes considerable, so 
 that in several instances almost entire tribes com- 
 pletely disappeared. 
 
 In the matter of religion and the external wor- 
 ship of the Deity, the observances of the inhabit- 
 ants differed exceedingly in parts. On the arrival 
 of the missionaries in Lower California no formal 
 idolatry was found to exist. Neither altars, tem- 
 ples, groves or other appointed places of religion 
 were anywhere to be met with in the country; 
 But, though destitute of every outward profession 
 of faith in the character of public and private ad- 
 dresses to the Deity, there existed among them 
 certain traditional notions regarding the unity and 
 trinity of God, the fall of the angels, the deluge, 
 
120 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 and other articles of Christian belief, which must 
 be a matter of surprise to the reader. 1 
 
 In Upper California, on the other hand, idol- 
 worship was commonly practiced. There was hard- 
 ly a village or rancheria where the God Chinigh- 
 chinigh was not worshiped in the shape of a stuffed 
 Coyote. 2 In matters of religious belief their no- 
 tions, stripped of many extravagances, were re- 
 markably correct as regarded the leading dogmas 
 of biblical history. Almost identical with the 
 Christian idea, they held that the creation of the 
 world was the work of an invisible omnipotent 
 Being, to whom some gave the name of Nocumo, 
 and others Chinighchinigh. Having created the 
 earth and all organic irrational existence, the Deity 
 next formed man out of a handful of dust, and 
 gave him the name of Ejoni. How the first wo- 
 man came to be formed they were unable to say, 
 but the name she received was Ae, a word, as the 
 reader will note, not very unlike the Oriental 
 "Hawa" and the English "Eve." 
 
 Others accounted for the creation of the world 
 in a different fashion. According to them, previ- 
 ous to the existence of our globe, there were two 
 others, one above and one below, which stood in 
 the relation to each other of brother and sister. 
 
 (1) It would seem that on some of the islands off the coast idol- wor- 
 ship was practiced. Speaking of the island of St. Catherine, Torque- 
 rnada, the Mexican historian, says: "In this island are several ranch- 
 erias or communities, and in them a temple with a large level court 
 where they perform sacrifices." (See Torquemada's Hist. Mex.) 
 
 (2) The Coyote is a wild animal, something like a fox. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 121 
 
 In the superior world all was light, splendor and 
 magnificence, and in the inferior all was darkness 
 and gloom, there being neither sun, moon nor 
 stars. In time both were united in marriage, the 
 result of which was the present earth, with all its 
 material and animal life, and finally man, who was 
 called "Ouiot." What is especially deserving of 
 notice in the tradition is, that the creation of the 
 world and of all animal and inanimate existence, 
 was not, according to the Indian belief, the result 
 of a single, but of six different births in the man- 
 ner referred to, and hence the coincidence be- 
 tween this and the Mosaic account as given in 
 Genesis. The order of creation, too, according to 
 them, is worthy of remark. First earth and sand, 
 next rocks and stone, then trees, afterward grass, 
 subsequently animals, and finally man. 
 
 Ouiot, who became a great and powerful leader, 
 had a numerous family, though it is not stated 
 whence he obtained his partner in life. He finally 
 fell a victim to a conspiracy formed for his de- 
 struction by his people. After his obsequies were 
 performed, the Lord of the Universe, or Chinigh- 
 chinigh, appeared in the form of a spectre to his 
 descendants, and gave, them power over the ele- 
 ments and animal creation, enabling them at pleas- 
 ure to procure for themselves and their families 
 those objects necessary for their existence. Then, 
 from the clay found on the borders of a certain 
 lake, the omnipotent Being formed a man and wo- 
 
122 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 man, and from these the Indians acknowledged 
 themselves descended. Chinighchinigh at the 
 same time gave them a command in the following 
 words: "Him who obeyeth me not or believeth 
 not my teachings, I will chastise: to him I will 
 send bears to bite, serpents to sting, misfortune, 
 infirmities and death." He further ordered them 
 to erect a temple to his honor where they should 
 worship him by prayer and sacrifice. The plan of 
 the building he dictated himself. 
 
 It consisted of an oval enclosure a few yards in 
 circumference, within which a rude structure, four 
 or five feet in height, formed of stakes, branches 
 and mats, was erected. Here, elevated on a species 
 of hurdle, was the figure of Chinighchinigh, It was 
 formed out of the skin of the coyote, or prairie 
 wolf, carefully removed and prepared so as to repre- 
 sent the living animal. Within the sack was placed 
 a great variety of feathers, horns, claws, beaks, 
 etc., of those animals taken in the chase. Arrows, 
 too, were placed in the body of the idol, whilst 
 around its loins was a species of under garment 
 such as was used by the captains and chiefs. The 
 respect paid to this ludicrous object was of the 
 most remarkable kind, the people being careful 
 when in its presence not to commit the most trivial 
 act of irreverence. They never undertook any 
 work of importance, never engaged in war, hunt- 
 ing, or amusement of any kind, without first wor- 
 shiping the idol. The worship itself was as singu- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 12 
 
 o 
 
 lar as the figure was uncouth. It consisted of a 
 species of silent adoration performed puris natural- 
 ibus. "When in his presence," writes Father 
 Boscana, "the Indians were entirely naked and re- 
 mained for hours in a posture equally awkward 
 and fatiguing — a sort of squat, resting their heads 
 generally upon their right hands, without moving 
 during the ceremony of adoration." 
 
 On less solemn occasions the worship was of a 
 different but, perhaps, more ridiculous kind. It 
 had, however, at least the merit of being an in- 
 spiriting mode of devotion. It was conducted in 
 this fashion : A figure, not very artistic in its out- 
 line, having been formed in the presence of the 
 image, all the men of the tribe, led by the Cap- 
 tain, ran in regular succession, till arriving at the 
 spot where the leader uttered a hideous cry, bound- 
 ed high into the air, an evolution in which he was 
 followed by each in his turn. The females, on the 
 other hand, moved slowly up to the figure, to 
 which they offered their homage by bowing the 
 head and presenting their bateas, or instruments 
 required for the expedition on which they happen- 
 ed to be entering. 
 
 The privileges of the temple, or vanqueeeh, as it 
 was styled in the vernacular, were in keeping with 
 the respect and veneration paid it by the people. 
 Like several Christian Churches in former times, 
 it possessed the right of sanctuary. Whoever en- 
 tered within its sacred precincts and sought its 
 
124 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 protection, no matter what crime he may have 
 been guilty of — whether theft, adultery or murder, 
 was from that moment supposed to be free, and 
 could appear among his own without any fear of 
 the consequences of his crime. Should reference 
 ever happen to be made to the act, the aggrieved 
 would merely say: "You sought the protection of 
 Chinighchinigh, which, if you had not done, we 
 would have killed you; he will, however, chastise 
 you one day for your wickedness." 
 
 This immunity of crime was founded on the be- 
 lief that the Deity would not suffer any one to be 
 molested who sought his protection. It is proper 
 to observe that the God, Chinighchinigh, who was 
 known under the triple appellation of Saor,Quaguar 
 and Tobet, was, according their belief, a spirit and 
 immortal, and yet underwent the penalty of death. 
 Before leaving his people he instructed the leaders 
 in everything requisite to be observed by his fol- 
 lowers. When asked where he desired to be in- 
 terred, his answer was to the effect that he would 
 ascend into Heaven, where he would take an ac- 
 count of the actions of all, and reward and punish 
 them accordingly. "When I die I shall ascend 
 above the stars, where I shall always behold you ; 
 and to those who have kept my commandments I 
 shall give all that they ask of me. But those who 
 obey not my teachings, nor believe them, I shall 
 punish severely. I will send unto them bears to 
 bite, and serpents to sting: they shall be without 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 125 
 
 food, and have diseases that they may die." 1 In 
 short, Chinighchinigh, which is a synonym for 
 omnipotence, was regarded by the Indians as an 
 omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent being, the 
 reward er of good and the revenger of evil. 
 
 It is certain that this people had a very clear 
 and unhesitating belief in the deluge. Their tra- 
 ditions and songs bear the most undeniable evi- 
 dence of it. According to them, the sea at a 
 time rose up from its bed in the deep, rolled in 
 upon the land, and destroyed the entire human 
 race, with the exception of a few who had betaken 
 themselves to the summit of a lofty mountain 
 where the waters were unable to reach them. The 
 cause of the deluge they believed to have been the 
 wickedness of Ouiot and his followers, upon whom 
 Chinighchinigh took vengeance. The circum- 
 stances connected with it were embodied in their 
 songs. Ouiot, who, as has been remarked, was a 
 powerful chief, became so odious to his people on 
 account of his tyranny and oppression, that they 
 applied to Chinighchinigh, or the supreme one, 
 for protection. He appearing to them in the form 
 of a spirit, gave them power to destroy their op- 
 pressors by causing a ..general deluge. Addressing 
 them, he said: "Do this, i. e., cause it to rain, and 
 inundate the earth that every living being may be 
 destroyed ." 2 
 
 (1) Boscana, p. 256. 
 
 (2) See Boscana. 
 
126 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 The tradition goes on to the effect that the rain 
 fell, the rivers rose, the seas and oceans swelled 
 and passed their limits, and rolling in upon the 
 land, ceased not till they completely effected 
 their purpose by destroying every living creature, 
 except those capable of sustaining themselves in 
 the waters, and the few of the human family that 
 sought refuge on the top of the lofty mountain al- 
 readv referred to. Connected herewith was also 
 
 a/ 
 
 the idea that such a calamity would never again 
 befall the earth, for, when in moments of anger, 
 the vindictive and revengeful were wont to solicit 
 the destruction of their enemies in this fashion, 
 they, on the other hand, were accustomed to ex- 
 press their belief in the pacific disposition of the 
 Deity by saying: "We are not afraid, because 
 Chinighchinigh does not wish, neither will he de- 
 stroy the world by another inundation.^ 
 
 Respecting the resurrection of the body and the 
 immortality of the soul, there is no doubt but the 
 inhabitants of Upper California had a confused — 
 imperfect idea thereof. The former is clear, from 
 the fact that once in the month, on the appearance 
 of the new moon, all the rancherias assembled 
 and danced as on a festive occasion, singing and 
 shouting at the same time: "As the moon dieth 
 and cometh to life again, so we also, having to die, 
 will live again f thereby expressing, I think, their 
 belief in the resurrection of the body. Their be- 
 lief in the immortality of the soul is inferred from 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 127 
 
 the fact that when, at their funeral obsequies, 
 the body was burned. The heart, according to 
 them, was never consumed, but went to a place 
 destined for it by God. By the heart they evi- 
 dently meant the spirit or soul, for which they had 
 no word in their language, and, as their ideas were 
 utterly gross and material, they pictured to them- 
 selves the joys of the world to come as those of an 
 earthly paradise, something in the manner of the 
 Valhalla of the Scandanavians, or the Behisth of 
 the Mahometans, where they would be able to en- 
 joy every sensual pleasure and gratification. 
 
128 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 Californian Pagan Pkiests. — Their Knowledge r 0F Medicine. — 
 Treatment of Patients. — Mode of Disposing of the Dead. — 
 Influence of the Priests. — Their Decalogue. — Traditions 
 apparently Christian. — Mexican Christian Traditions. — The 
 Deluge. — The Cross. — Monastic Establishments. — Virgin- 
 ity. — Fasts. — Baptism. — Confession. — Eucharists. — Cruci- 
 fixion. 
 
 As the reader has been informed, no formal idol- 
 atry was found to exist in Lower California, upon 
 the arrival of the missionaries. At the same time, 
 as I have said, they had certain traditional no- 
 tions, which specially deserve the attention of the 
 reader. I shall first speak of the religious teach- 
 ers of the people, and then of the religion itself. 
 The Priests, or guides of the multitude, if they 
 so deserve to be styled, belonged to one or other 
 of two sects, called Tuparons and Niparons. They 
 also went by the name of Dichianochos and Va- 
 mos, or Guamos. Their duty was to preside at 
 festivals, to sing the praises of the deserving, to 
 teach the children destined for the sacerdotal of- 
 fice, the meaning and use of certain figures, repre- 
 sented on little wooden tablets, which, they af- 
 firmed, the visiting spirits had bestowed upon them. 
 They further exercised the medical faculty, and, as 
 such, combined the triple character of priest, bard 
 and physician. From the communications they 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 129 
 
 were supposed to hold with the spirits, their au- 
 thority among the people was great; but they did 
 not, according to the opinion of the missionaries, 
 hold any communication with the evil spirits. 
 Their imposture was entirely confined to impress- 
 ing the people with the belief that success was to 
 be acquired, and calamities averted, by liberality 
 to them. The choicest of the fruits, and the best 
 of the game, were supposed to be theirs; and, 
 whenever a neglect of this duty was shown, it was 
 visited with an invective, in which sickness, disas- 
 ters and death were liberally threatened, as a con- 
 sequence, on the unhappy delinquent. 
 
 Their supposed knowledge of the medical art, 
 served to increase their reputation with the peo- 
 ple. In this, the multitude only followed a natural 
 instinct; for, in eveiy instance, the hope of relief 
 from painful distempers leads us to regard with 
 respect and veneration the subject of our hopes. 
 The remedies used were two-fold, and consisted of 
 external appliances. The more common and effi- 
 cacious, was the fumigation of the affected member, 
 by means of a stone tube. With the view of 
 dispelling the disease, or of sucking it out, the 
 plrysician applied to the suffering member, a pipe 
 or tube formed of hard, black stone. Through 
 this he blew the smoke of the cinnamon or wild 
 tobacco, which, it would appear, produced, in some 
 instances, a beneficial effect. The simple process 
 of blowing through the pipe, was also resorted to, 
 9 
 
130 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 for it was thought, that by this means the disease 
 was either dispersed or exhaled. The remedies 
 used for external affections, such as tumors, swell- 
 ings and sores, were fomentations, ointments and 
 plasters of different herbs. Should the patient 
 happen to be a child, its little finger was cut, and 
 the blood suffered to drop on the part diseased. 
 
 In other parts of the country, the medical treat- 
 ment, though somewhat the same, differed a little 
 in detail. For all external, cutaneous diseases, 
 the application of certain medicinal herbs, chiefly 
 the sage, rosemary or nettle-plant, was the only 
 prescription, while for internal disorders, fever, 
 dysentery and the like, cold water baths were con- 
 stantly resorted to. A good whipping with nettles, 
 on the part affected, or the application of. a goodly 
 number of ants, was also regarded an excellent 
 remedy ! 
 
 The scientific principle on which the medical 
 faculty acted was, that the various diseases under 
 which the patients happened to suffer, were the re- 
 sult of the introduction of certain particles into 
 the system. Before undertaking a cure, they were 
 always sure to perform certain superstitious ob- 
 servances, after which, the entire body of the pa- 
 tient was carefully examined, when the unfailing 
 result was certain to be arrived at — that some ex- 
 ternal object, some bit of stone, bone or other, had 
 entered the body, and was the cause of the mal- 
 ady. The operation intended for removing this, 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 131 
 
 was then entered upon. It consisted in wrapping 
 the patient in grass, feathers, horse or human hair, 
 blowing at the same time toward the four cardinal 
 points, and uttering certain mysterious sounds, ac- 
 companied with antic gestures. This done, the 
 medical attendant applied his lips to the part 
 affected, and pretended to suck out the cause of 
 the disease; but, if this proved unavailing, he pro- 
 ceeded to the still more ludicrous extreme of at- 
 tempting to pluck it out physically, by thrusting 
 his fingers into the patient's month. 
 
 When every remedy had been exhausted, and 
 the patient seemed beyond the hope of recovery, 
 the friends and relatives gathered around, and gave 
 expression to their sorrow, in the bitterest and 
 most mournful lamentations. And should the suf- 
 ferer happen to slumber, they immediately aroused 
 him by beating him soundly on the head and the 
 body, in order, as they thought, to keep him alive, 
 though to others such a proceeding would seem 
 rather calculated to produce a contrary result. 
 The dead were either buried or burned, according 
 to the particular locality in which they happened 
 to live. In some parts, the fashion was to bury, 
 in others, to burn; but, in both instances, all the 
 effects of the deceased, whether bows and arrows, 
 feathers, skins and the like, shared the same fate 
 as himself, being either buried or burned, accord- 
 ing to circumstances. 
 
 The authority of the Californian priest was es- 
 
132 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 pecially noticeable on public occasions when a 
 whole tribe or rancheria celebrated a festival. It 
 is true the worship of God, or of deified mortals, 
 did not enter into their festivals, for, as I have re- 
 marked, they had no formal manner of worship. 
 Their gatherings partook entirely of social assem- 
 blies, wherein the people regaled and amused them- 
 selves by eating, drinking, dancing and buffoonery. 
 The presence of the priest, however, habited in 
 his sacerdotal appointments, gave them a solemn 
 and imposing effect, and obtained for the Religious 
 themselves a large share of public respect. The 
 sacredotal garments used on these occasions con- 
 sisted of a cloak, a necklace, a mitre and a fan. 
 The cloak, which somewhat resembled a cope, was 
 made of human hair, and completely enveloped the 
 figure from head to foot. The hair was ordinarily 
 obtained as fees for medical attendance, as well as 
 for the matriculation of students in the same act. 
 Hawks, owls, or other bird's plumage constituted 
 the material of which the mitre was composed, 
 but when these could not be procured, tails, hoofs 
 and horns of quadrupeds supplied their place. 
 The necklace was not of the most costly or elegant 
 material, being merely a string of deers' feet hung 
 around the neck. These, together with a mon- 
 strous fan, and the inevitable stone tube for suck- 
 ing the patients, constituted the whole parapher- 
 nalia of a Californian pagan priest. 
 
 The grotesqueness of their general appearance 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 133 
 
 was still further increased by daubing their faces 
 and bodies with different colors. The reader can 
 readily understand how such remarkable charac- 
 ters would be looked upon and revered by an 
 utterly ignorant and barbarous race. The enter- 
 tainment commenced by the priest smoking the 
 chucuaco, or pipe. When partially intoxicated he 
 began an oration accompanied with wild, extrava- 
 gant gestures, on the greatness and importance of 
 his tenets. The decalogue was not the same in 
 every part, but in substance, as favoring them- 
 selves, it did not materially differ. Father Ta- 
 raval, one of the first missionaries, has given the 
 following as the code of one of this class: 
 
 1st. The people were not to eat of their first 
 hunting or fishing, under pain of being disqualified 
 from hunting or fishing in future. 
 
 2d. They were not to eat of certain fish. 
 
 3d. They should forbear eating particular parts 
 of game — the fattest and best — for by doing so old 
 age would immediately ensue. Thus the best 
 pieces fell to the priest, but as they were advanced 
 in years they had no reason to fear. 
 
 4th. The people should not gather certain fruits 
 as belonging to the Hechiceros. 
 
 5th. If they caught a stag or fish of unusual 
 size they should not use it, as it belonged to the 
 priest, etc. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that they endeavored to en- 
 force a system of tithes, nor, indeed, were their ef- 
 
134 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 forts unavailing, for the people seemed to have 
 strictly attended to their injunctions. While de- 
 livering their tenets they pretended to be inspired 
 by the spirits, and even at times would have the 
 people believe that they were the spirits them- 
 selves. At other times they pretended to have 
 been in Heaven, and to have conversed with the 
 Deity. To prove the truth of their assertions, 
 they were wont to have recourse to the most ludi- 
 crous argument, producing a morsel of flesh which 
 they affirmed they received from the Almighty, 
 and by virtue of which they could," at their pleas- 
 ure, deprive any of their hearers of life. The ter- 
 mination of these feasts was the most odious and 
 shameful in the history of the world. The Roman 
 Lupercal alone offers a parallel to the horrible de- 
 pravity indulged in on the occasion. "Inflamed 
 (says Father Venegas) by gluttony, intemperance 
 and dancing, the whole concluded in the most 
 abominable gratification of their appetites, all 
 mingling indiscriminately, as if determined to vio- 
 late every principle of shame, reason and mod- 
 esty." 
 
 The religious convictions of the people next 
 demand the attention of the reader. They were 
 remarkable for several reasons. Like the people of 
 Upper California, the Pericues, who inhabited the 
 southern part of the peninsula, held the Christian 
 doctrine respecting the existence of one supreme, 
 omnipotent, omniscient being, the creator of 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 135 
 
 Heaven and earth and all things. This God, 
 whom they called Niparaya, they believed 
 to be a spirit having no body and there- 
 fore invisible. He had a spouse named Anayi- 
 coyondi, but though they never co-habited, he 
 had by her three sons: — one, who was called 
 Cuajup, or True Man, was born on earth in the 
 mountains of Acaraqui, and lived a long time 
 amongst men in order to instruct them. He was 
 most powerful, had a great number of followers, 
 having descended into the earth and brought them 
 thence; but these ungrateful persons, despising his 
 benefits, formed a conspiracy against him, put a 
 crown of thorns upon his head and slew him. Though 
 dead, his bod}' still remains incorrupt and extreme- 
 ly beautiful; blood constantly flows from it. he 
 does not speak, but he has a bird through which 
 he communicates. 
 
 Their tradition regarding the fall of the angels 
 was equally remarkable. There happened, ac- 
 cording to them, in former time a tremendous 
 battle between the celestial powers. A powerful 
 personage, whom some called Tuparon but others 
 Bac, or Wac, conspired with several companions 
 against the Supreme Niparaya. In a battle which 
 followed, Bac was overcome, driven out of Heaven, 
 and confined, with his followers, in a cave under 
 the earth. They further added, that all quarreling, 
 fighting, and bloodshed were displeasing to Tupa- 
 ron, but agreeable to Bac, for all who die under 
 
136 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 such circumstances go to bis kingdom, and become 
 subject to his dominion. The primary consequence 
 of this doctrine naturally led to two classes or 
 sects among the people. The one siding with Ni- 
 paraya were grave, circumspect and humane; 
 while those who espoused the principles of Tupa- 
 ron were false, deceitful, and bloodthirsty. With 
 the former, the missionaries had little or no diffi- 
 culty in prevailing upon them to accept the evan- 
 gelical truths; but, with the latter, their labors 
 were for years in a great measure unavailing. 
 
 The Guacuros, Laymones, Monqui, and others, 
 who inhabited the midland and northern part of 
 the peninsula, declared their belief in the great 
 Spirit of Spirits whom they called Guamongo, and 
 who they affirmed dwelt above. They had no 
 word in their language properly to express Heaven. 
 To Guamongo they attributed the existence of 
 sickness, infirmities and death. He sent, they be- 
 lieved, in former times, another Spirit, named 
 Gugiaqui, to visit the earth in his name, and to 
 relieve the natural wants of man. This Spirit oc- 
 cupied himself during his mission upon earth in 
 sowing the fruit trees, and in forming the ba)^s 
 and creeks along the coast. He was attended by 
 inferior spirits, who supplied him with all the 
 necessaries of life, in the shape of fish, fruits and 
 berries, for, though a spirit, he was not exempt 
 from the natural wants of man. During some 
 time, while he remained in retirement in the Bay 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 137 
 
 of Loretto, he occupied himself in making garments 
 for his priests. His mission accomplished, he re- 
 turned to the north, whence he came, and as- 
 cended into Heaven ; but, before leaving the earth, 
 he bequeathed as a memorial to his priests a 
 painted tablet, which they used at their entertain- 
 ments on festive occasions. The Gruacurian Doc- 
 tors also affirmed that the sun, moon and stars 
 were not what they appeared, but human beings 
 who shone in the firmament, and fell daily into 
 the sea in the west, but swam out by the east. 
 
 The Cochimes, who were the most numerous 
 and intelligent of all the aboriginal tribes, possessed 
 a still more remarkable tradition than the pre- 
 ceding. They believed in the existence in Heaven 
 of an omnipotent being, whose name in their lan- 
 guage signified "He who lives." He had, they 
 affirmed, two sons begotten unto him, without any 
 communication with woman. The first had two 
 names, one of which implied perfection, and the 
 other velocity. The title of the second was u He 
 who maketh Lords." Although they gave the 
 name of Lord indifferently to all three, when asked 
 by the missionaries how many spirits there were, 
 they answered "only one" — He who created 
 heaven, earth and all things. Like the Pericues, 
 the Cochimes had a remarkably clear and accurate 
 idea of the fall of the angels. Their belief in this 
 was quite in accordance with the divine, revealed 
 doctrine of the Church. The Lord who liveth ere- 
 
138 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ated, they said, numerous spirits, who revolted 
 against Him, and since then, are both His and our 
 enemies. To these spirits they gave the very ap- 
 propriate name of liars or deceivers. Their busi- 
 ness was to be ever on the alert, so that when men 
 departed this life they might seize them, take them 
 to their own place of abode, and thus prevent 
 them from ever seeing the ''Lord who lives." There 
 was also a tradition current among the more north- 
 ern Cochimes, of a man, who, in former times, came 
 from Heaven to benefit the human race; he was 
 called " Tamaambei ucambi tevivichi" which signifies 
 the Man from Heaven. They could not say what 
 benefits he conferred on the human family, or if he 
 had given them any form of religion or worship; 
 yet, in honor of the event, they wore accustomed 
 to celebrate annually the Feast of the Man from 
 Heaven. The festival was entirely devoid of every 
 semblance of worship, and consisted merely, like 
 their other national entertainments, in feasting, 
 dancing and rejoicing. For some da} r s previous, 
 the women were occupied in gathering such fruits 
 as the country afforded, in order to regale the Di- 
 vinity upon his arrival. On the morning of the 
 festival, a youth was secretly selected by the elders, 
 and told how to perform his part. Having been 
 painted with different colors, and dressed in vari- 
 ous skins, he was privately conducted to a retired 
 part of the mountains, where he lay concealed for 
 some time. When the hour arrived for making 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 139 
 
 his appearance, he showed himself on the summit 
 of one of the neighboring mountains, and, thence 
 descending, ran rapidly, till he joined the assem- 
 bly. After the feast, the youth returned the same 
 way, and disappeared among the hills. A portion 
 of the people, especially the females, were per- 
 suaded that their visitor was what he pretended to 
 be — a veritable god. The Cochimes also celebrated 
 annually another festival, of a somewhat kindred 
 character. The departed, whom they supposed to 
 inhabit the northern regions, came annually, ac- 
 cording to their opinion, to pay them a visit. As 
 in the former instance, the females were obliged to 
 procure large quantities of supplies for the occa- 
 sion. When the anniversary day had arrived, the 
 male portion of the community, in company with 
 the dead, who were supposed to have favored them 
 with their presence, assembled and feasted on the 
 provisions, while the women and children remained 
 at a distance, weeping and lamenting the death of 
 their friends and relatives. 
 
 The question will now occur to the reader, 
 whence the ancient California!] s obtained these 
 doctrines, so like those of the Christian relig- 
 ion, and of which the above are only a sample. 
 Before offering any opinion in solution hereof, it is 
 only proper to observe, that these were only a part 
 of a still larger body of, apparently Christian, tra- 
 ditions, held by many of the American races on 
 the arrival of the Spaniards. In his work on the 
 
140 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 missions, Charlevoy speaks of a tribe on the north 
 Atlantic border, whose customs, religious tradi- 
 tions and observances led him to believe them the 
 descendants of a once Christian community. In 
 Mexico, Central and South America, the similarity 
 was found to be still more striking. Like the Cal- 
 ifornians, the Aztecs or Mexicans believed in the 
 existence of one supreme, omnipotent Being, the 
 Creator of Heaven and earth. Their tradition re- 
 specting the great cataclysm, was to the effect that 
 the entire human race, with the exception of two 
 persons, Coxcox and his wife, were destroyed by 
 the waters. 1 These were represented as having 
 been saved by embarking in a little boat, which is 
 represented in the hieroglyphical writings as float- 
 ing; on the surface of the waters. 2 The dove and 
 the crow, had likewise their place in the tradi- 
 tions, the crow which, according to them, was an 
 eagle, being said to have acted exactly as repre- 
 sented in Scripture. 
 
 But it was not merely of the Biblical facts of 
 ancient history that the Spaniards found a record 
 amongst the people, and of which, no doubt, a 
 knowledge might have been had without an ac- 
 quaintance with the Christian religion. They 
 
 (1) "They said that when mankind were overwhelmed with the 
 deluge, none were preserved but a man called Coxcox, to whom others 
 gave the name of Teocipactli, and a woman called Xochiquetzel, who 
 saved themselves in a little bark, and having afterward got to land 
 upon a mountain, called by them Colhuacan, had there a great many 
 children." Hist. Mex.; Clavijero: vol. I., p. 244. 
 
 (2) History of the Conquest of Mexico: Prescott. Appendix, p. 379. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 141 
 
 further encountered what seemed to them the 
 most incontrovertible evidences of the former in- 
 troduction of Christianity into the country. What 
 first arrested their attention and led them to such 
 a conclusion, was the existence and frequency of 
 the cross which met them on all sides. Every- 
 where throughout the entire of the Mexican Em- 
 pire this symbol of our holy religion was worship- 
 ed and adored by the people. It was raised in the 
 villages, cut on the rocks, erected on the high- 
 ways, and adored in the temples. " Hardly had 
 the Spaniards," writes the learned Dr. Mier, "ap- 
 proached the continent of America in 1519, and 
 disembarked in Cozumel, near to Yucatan, when 
 they found several crosses within and without the 
 temples, and in one of the court-yards was an es- 
 pecially large one, around which it was customary 
 for the people to go in procession when asking 
 favors of the God. This was an especial object of 
 veneration to the people. Crosses were also found 
 in Yucatan, even on the breasts of the dead in the 
 sepulchres. Hence, it was that the Spaniards be- 
 gan to call that place New Spain.'' l 
 
 Yeytia, another learned writer, speaking of the 
 same period, also says: "Cortes found a great 
 stone cross in a beautiful enclosure, which, from 
 the most ancient times, was adored in Acuzamil 
 or Cozumel, and Groinara affirms that that place 
 was regarded as the common sanctuary of all the 
 
 (1) Supplemento al Libro Tercero de la Conquista de Mexico, por P. 
 Sahagun, p. 277. 
 
142 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 adjacent islands, and that there was no villnge 
 without its cross of stone or other material. They 
 also found crosses in Chollolan, in Tollan, in Tex- 
 coco, and other parts." * 
 
 Prescott, in his history of Mexico, affirms the 
 same: "He (Fernando Cortes) was astonished also 
 at the sight of large stone crosses, evidently objects 
 of worship, which he met with in various places. 
 Reminded by these circumstances of his own coun- 
 try, he gave the peninsula the name of New Spain, 
 a name since appropriated to a much wider extent 
 of territory." 2 
 
 There was even a temple, called the Temple of 
 the Holy Cross, where that sacred emblem was 
 worshiped, and what is especially deserving of at- 
 tention is, that this was regarded by the people as 
 the most ancient temple in the country. 3 
 
 Not only in Cozumel, Yucatan and the neigh- 
 boring provinces, but all through Mexico, in Brazil 
 and Peru, the same remarkable phenomenon was 
 observed. "The}^," (the Spaniards) writes Pres- 
 cott, ''could not suppress their wonder as they be- 
 held the cross, the sacred emblem of their own 
 faith, raised as objects of worship in the temples 
 of Anahuac. They met with it in various places, 
 and the image of a cross may be seen at this day, 
 
 (l)Uistoria Antigua de Mexico por El Lie. D. Mariano Veytia: vol. 1, 
 p. 1G7. 
 
 (2) Hist.. Conquest Mex.: vol. 1, p. 225. 
 
 (3) " Y etda en el primer templo de que. hallo memoria en las hislorias de 
 los Indios": Veytia, vol. 1, p. 203. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 143 
 
 sculptured in bas-relief, on the walls of one of the 
 buildings of Palenque, while a figure, bearing 
 some resemblance to that of a child, is held up to 
 it as if in adoration." * For the fact of its being 
 found in Brazil and Peru we shall see further on. 
 The existence of monastic establishments of 
 men and women, where the inmates led a retired 
 penitential life, did not fail, in like manner, to ex- 
 cite the surprise of the Europeans. Both in Mex- 
 ico and Peru, such establishments were found. " I 
 do not know," (writes Joseph Acosta, in his History 
 of the Indies) " that in Peru there are any proper 
 houses for men, but for the priests and sorcerers, 
 whereof there is an infinite number. But it seem- 
 eth that in Mexico the devil hath set a due obser- 
 vation; for, within the circuit of the great temple, 
 there were two monasteries, as hath been said be- 
 fore, one of virgins, whereof I have spoken, the 
 other of young men secluded,, of eighteen or 
 twenty years, whom they call Religious. They 
 wear shaved crowns, as the Friars in these parts. 
 * * * * All these had their superiors, who had the 
 government over them. They lived so honestly, 
 as when they came in public, where there were any 
 women, they carried -their heads very low, with 
 their eyes to the ground, not daring to behold 
 them. They had linen garments, and it was law- 
 ful for them to go into the city, four or six to- 
 gether, to ask alms." 2 The same writer, in another 
 
 (1) Prescoti's Hist. Mcx. 
 
 (2) Lib. 5, chap. 16, p. 372. 
 
144 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 part of Ids work, says: "There were, in Peru, 
 many monasteries of virgins — for there are no oth- 
 ers admitted — at the least one in every province. 
 * * * Every monastery had its superior, called 
 Appapanaca." The same is vouched for by Clavi- 
 jero, in his History of Mexico: "There were dif- 
 ferent orders of men and women, who dedicated 
 themselves to the worship of some particular god. 
 Some lived in community, others did not, but had 
 a superior in the district, or part of the town where 
 they lived; they used to assemble in a house at sun- 
 set, to dance and sing the praises of their god. The 
 most celebrated order was that of Quetzalcohuatl. 
 There were men and women of this order; they led 
 a most rigid life; their dress was very decent; they 
 bathed at midnight, watched until about two hours 
 before day, singing hymns, etc." 1 Speaking of 
 another order, a kind of monastic institution, de- 
 voted to* the worship of the goddess Centcotl, 
 which he takes to signify " Our Mother," the 
 same writer says: "They lived in great retirement 
 and austerity, and their life, excepting their super- 
 stition and vanity, was perfectly unimpeachable. 
 None but men above sixty years of age, who were 
 widowers, estranged from all commerce with wo- 
 men, and of virtuous life, were admitted into this 
 monastery. Their number was fixed, and when 
 any one died, another was received in his stead. 2 " 
 
 (1) History of Mexico: Clavijero. Translated from the original Ital- 
 ian, by Charles Cullen. London, 1787. Vol. I., p. 277. 
 
 (2) Ibid. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 145 
 
 The female Religious were equally remarkable 
 for the purity and austerity of their lives. They 
 took vows either for life or only for a time ; and 
 what is worthy of attention is, that upon entering 
 into the service of religion, the first thing required 
 of them was to part with their hair. " The first 
 thing done to those who entered into the service 
 on account of some private vow, was the cutting 
 of their hair. Both the former and the latter (i. e., 
 those consecrated for ever and only for a time) 
 lived in great purity of manners, silence and re- 
 tirement, under their superiors, without having any 
 communication with men. Some of them rose 
 about two hours before midnight, others at mid- 
 night, and others at day-break, to stir up and keep 
 the fire burning, and to offer incense to the idols; 
 and, although in this function, they assembled with 
 the priests, they were separated from each other, 
 the men forming one wing and the women the 
 other, both under the view of their superiors, who 
 prevented any disorder from happening. Every 
 morning they prepared the offering of provisions, 
 which was presented to the idols, and swept the 
 lower area of the temple; and the time which was 
 not occupied in these or other religious duties, 
 was employed in spinning and weaving beautiful 
 cloths for the dress of the idols, and the decora- 
 tion of the sanctuaries. Nothing was more zeal- 
 ously attended to than the chastity of these virgins. 
 10 
 
146 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Any trespass of this nature was unpardonable ; if 
 it remained an entire secret, the female culprit en- 
 deavored to appease the anger of the god, by fast- 
 ing and austerity of life; for she dreaded that, in 
 punishment of her crime, her flesh would rot." 1 
 
 The office of priesthood, though performed 
 equally by the females and the males, was limited 
 in the case of the former to the keeping of the 
 temples, tending the fires, and offering incense to 
 the idols; so that, in reality, they stood in relation 
 to each other as the deaconesses of the primitive 
 Church to the true ministers of religion. 
 
 Among their fasts, which were very numerous 
 and in some instances lengthy, varying from three to 
 one hundred and sixty days, and even to four years, 
 there was one of forty days. On the authority of 
 Torquemada, we learn that their ideas regarding 
 the future state in the world to come, were in a 
 great measure in harmony with the true doctrine 
 of the Church. 2 But the most striking and re- 
 markable of all their religious observances were 
 those of which we are now about to speak. Every- 
 where throughout Mexico, in parts of Central and 
 Southern America, a species of baptism, differing 
 very little from that as administered in the Chris- 
 
 (1) Hist. Hex., Clavijero: vol. I., p. 275-276. 
 
 (2) "Lo opinion, que estos Indios Occidentals tuvieran a cerca de 
 las partes, y lugares donde las Animas iban despues de haver dejada 
 aus cucrpos era en parte conforme a la verdad Catolica que professamos 
 los que tenemos Fe cierta y verdadera de la Lei de Gesu Christo y 
 en parte uni erada": Torqumtada, lib. 13, cap. 48, p. 529. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 147 
 
 tian religion was practiced by the people. 1 Father 
 Ramesal assures us that when the first Spaniards 
 arrived in Yucatan, they found commonly practised 
 a sacred ablution which the people termed a "new 
 birth," and by which they expected to arrive at 
 the Kingdom of Heaven. Such importance did 
 they attribute to this rite that it was rarely or nev- 
 er omitted. "They had such a devotion and reve- 
 rence for it," says Yeytia, "that no one failed to 
 receive it. They thought that they received in it 
 a new disposition to be good — the means of es- 
 caping damnation and of attaining everlasting 
 glory." 2 
 
 In the territories of Texcoco, Mejico, Tlacopan, 
 and others, there were certain festivals, at which 
 all the children were publicly baptized, but it was 
 ordinarily the custom to baptize on the seventh 
 day after the birth. What is further to be ob- 
 served in this regard is, that it was sometimes ad- 
 ministered by infusion and sometimes by immer- 
 sion. It seems to have been performed twice in 
 
 (1) "Es Constante que en todo este pais se hallo establecida una es- 
 pecie de bautismo que aunque variaba en las ceremonias segun loa 
 lugares en lo siistancial eonveian todos en este banc- de agua natural, 
 diciendo sobre el bautizado algunas formuelas, conic- preces y oraeiones 
 y poniendole nombre y esto observaban como rito de religion": Veytia, 
 vol. 1, p. 181. 
 
 " No solo averiguaran ellos lo mismo que Montejo sino que los In- 
 dios se bautizaban todos sin falto dando al bautismo el nombre de renas- 
 cencia como Tesucristo le llama en el Evangelio: nisi quis renatus fuerit, 
 etc. : y que lo recibian con las mismas ceremonias de los Ckristianos 
 hasta imponiendo el lienzo bianco, y con ecsorcismas, ayunando antes 
 tres dias los padres y guardando continencia ocho dias despues, y con- 
 fesandose los que eran grandecillos como en la primitiva Iglesia los 
 catecumenos. Y todos usaban la confesion y otras muchas ceremonias 
 de la Iglesia." (Sappkmento al Libro Tercero del P. Ldbagun, p. 277.) 
 
 (2) Veytia' s Hist. Hex., p. 182. 
 
148 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the case of every infant: — first privately, immedi- 
 ately on the birth of the infant, and afterwards 
 publicly in the presence of the friends and rela- 
 tives. The latter was by far the more solemn. It 
 was the midwife who officiated in both instances. 
 The first ceremonial consisted in bathing the child, 
 repeating at the same time the following prayer — 
 a kind of invocation to Chalchinhcuego, the goddess 
 of childbirth : "Receive the water, for the goddess 
 Chalchinhcuego is thy mother. May this bath 
 cleanse the spots which thou dearest from the womb of 
 thy mother, purify thy heart and give thee a good and 
 perfect lifer This was followed by another and 
 more formal address to the same Deity, after 
 which the midwife, or priestess, took up the water 
 in her right hand, blew upon it, wet the head, 
 mouth and breast of the child, bathed its entire 
 body and continued: "May the invisible God de- 
 scend upon this water and cleanse thee from every 
 sin and impurity, and free thee from all evil for- 
 tune;" and then, turning to the child, she thus ad- 
 dressed it: "Lovely child, the gods Oineteuctli 
 and Omecihuatl have created thee in the highest 
 place in Heaven, in order to send thee into the 
 world ; but know that the life that thou art enter- 
 ing is sad, painful, and full of uneasiness and mis- 
 eries ; nor wilt thou be able to eat thy bread without 
 labor. May God assist thee in the many adversi- 
 ties which await thee." The parents were then 
 congratulated on the birth of their child, and the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 149 
 
 astrologers consulted regarding the time considered 
 to be propitious for the second ablution. If the 
 sixth or seventh days were not regarded as such 
 it was deferred to a later date. Meantime, all the 
 friends and relatives were invited to be present 
 at the ceremonies, and to partake of the banquet 
 to be given in honor of the occasion. On the day 
 appointed, at a very early hour, before the sun 
 had risen, the entire household and guests assem- 
 bled in the court-yard, in the middle of which was 
 placed a pitcher, or vase of water, intended for 
 the ceremony. Having lighted a number of 
 torches, the child was received by the midwife, 
 who, after a certain ceremonial, such as turning 
 her face to the west, blowing upon the water, etc., 
 sprinkled the head of the child with the water, 
 saying: " 0, my child, take and receive the water 
 of the Lord of the world, which is our life, and is 
 given, for the increasing and renewing of our 
 bodies. It is to wash and purify. I pray that these 
 heavenly drops may enter into your body, and 
 dwell there; that they may destroy and remove 
 from you all the evil and sin which was given to you 
 before the beginning of the ivor^ld, since all of us are 
 under itspoicer, being all the children of Chalchivitly- 
 cue" l The midwife next bathed the entire body 
 of the child, uttering a kind of exorcism as she 
 proceeded, in this fashion : "Where art thou, ill 
 fortune ? In what limb art thou hid ? Go from 
 
 (1) History of Mexico. Clavigero, vol. 1, p. 317. 
 
150 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 this child." And, according to Sahagun : "Whence* 
 soever thou comest, thou art hurtful to this .child ; 
 leave him and depart from him, for he now liveth 
 anew, and is horn anew ; now is he purified and 
 cleansed afresh, and our mother Chalchivitlycue 
 again bringeth him into the world." 1 This was 
 followed by an invocation to the Deity in behalf 
 of the infant : " 0, Lord, thou seest here thy crea- 
 ture whom thou has sent into this world, this 
 place of sorrow, suffering and penitence. Grant 
 him, Lord, thy gifts and thy inspirations, for 
 thou art the great God, and with thee is the great 
 goddess." 
 
 Were we to stop here, and to compare the 
 manifest analogy that exists between these reli- 
 gious customs and observances, and those of the 
 Catholic Church, the suspicion would necessarily 
 force itself on our mind as to their origin and 
 identity. There is no impartial inquirer that 
 must not see in the worship of the cross, in the 
 existence of monastic establishments and the ad- 
 ministration of a baptism, such as we have spoken 
 of, a strong similarity with kindred observances of 
 our holy religion. Indeed, on any other hypoth- 
 esis, save that of the preaching of the Christian 
 religion in the country, it would be difficult to ac- 
 count on satisfactory grounds for the existence of 
 such practices amongst Pagans; for who but an 
 
 (1) Historia de Nueva Espagna Sahagun, lib. 6, cap, 37. Hist. Con- 
 quest of Mexico: Prescott, vol. 3, p. 385. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 151 
 
 Apostle would have taught them to reverence the 
 symbol of the Christian religion; who but a 
 preacher of truth would have taught them to prac- 
 tice that most difficult virtue for man — continence; 
 who, in fine, would have taught them the necessity 
 and efficacy of that baptism or ablution which they 
 administered, and by which they hoped to attain 
 life everlasting ? And the suspicion thus created 
 in the mind as to the origin of these practices is 
 further increased and confirmed by the other re- 
 ligious observances found to exist in the country. 
 On the first arrival of the Spaniards, auricular 
 confession was found to be practiced by the peo- 
 ple. There can be no doubt about the existence 
 of this practice in the country. All the Spanish 
 historians, Sahagun, Torquemada, Garcia and oth- 
 ers, speak of it as a certainty. Herrera assures us 
 it was practiced at Nicaragua, in Central America. 
 Joseph Acosta tells us it prevailed in Peru; and 
 Yeytia, than whom few are more reliable and 
 trustworthy in matters of history, speaks of it as 
 being in use in the Mexican dominions. 1 The ob- 
 ligation of secresy was attached to the rite, and 
 any violation of trust on the part of the confessor, 
 was visited with the severest penalties. The pen- 
 
 (1) "They confessed themselves almost verbally in almost all the 
 Provinces, and had confessors appointed by their superiors to that end, 
 there were some sins reserved for the superiors." (Hist, of the Indies : 
 Acosta. Book 5, chap. 25, p. 398.) 
 
 (1) " No es menos notable la costumbre que hallaron establecida de 
 confesarse con los sacerdotes, declarandoles aquellas cosas que tenian 
 porculpas, y acceptando la penitencia que les imponian:" (Veytia Hist. 
 Mex. ) 
 
152 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ances administered were often very severe, espe- 
 cially when the offender was poor, and had noth- 
 ing to pay. Attempts to conceal anything in con- 
 fession was looked upon as a most heinous offence-. 
 They confessed only their deeds and not their 
 thoughts, thereby leading us to conclude that they 
 ranked only the former in the category of sins. 
 The Confessors, or Ychuri, as the Peruvian Relig- 
 ious were called, were supposed to be able to know 
 whether the penitent was making an honest con- 
 fession or not. In the latter case, they beat him 
 on the shoulders with a stone, till he made a full 
 acknowledgment of all his misdeeds. Besides or- 
 dinary times, they always confessed when afflicted 
 by any calamity. Thus, when any member of the 
 family happened to fall sick, the entire household 
 confessed ; and, in like manner, the entire prov- 
 ince, when the Ingua or Monarch became ill; but 
 he never confessed, except to the Sun. 1 
 
 Prescott asserts the same: "The great cities 
 were divided into districts, placed under the charge 
 of a sort of parochial clergy, who regulated every 
 act of religion within their precincts. It is re- 
 markable that they administered the rites of con- 
 fession and absolution. The secrets of the confes- 
 sional were held inviolable; and penances were 
 imposed of much the same kind as those enjoined 
 in the Roman Catholic Churches." 
 
 (1) The custom in Mexico was different, for there they confessed 
 only once in their lives. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 153 
 
 The address made by the priests to the Deity 
 and penitent respectively on these occasions, the 
 penances enjoined, and the form of absolution em- 
 ployed, were very remarkable, and bore a striking 
 analogy to those of our holy religion. The con- 
 fession, it is proper to remark, was made only once 
 in one's life by the Mexicans; for, according to 
 them, a relapse into sin was inexpiable. Hence, 
 they ordinarily deferred unburdening themselves 
 to their confessors till the moment of death. The 
 belief respecting the efficacy of the rite was very 
 remarkable. By it, they deemed themselves freed 
 from their sins, and rendered agreeable to God; but 
 only, if we are to judge from the words of the 
 priest, on the condition of being contrite of heart, 
 and determined not to relapse into sin for the fu- 
 ture. The pardon conveyed to them by the min- 
 isters of religion, it is also proper to remark, they 
 regarded as only a delegated act, the power of for- 
 giving sin being, according to them, proper to the 
 Deity. " They said that they had also the power 
 to pardon them, and to purify them from their sins, 
 if they confessed them to their priests." 
 
 Before hearing the confession, the priest made 
 the following address to the Deity: "0 Lord, 
 Thou who art the parent and most ancient of all 
 the gods, behold this Thy servant, who presenteth 
 himself here before Thee in affliction, with much 
 sorrow and great grief, for having erred and been 
 guilty of crimes worthy of death, for which he is 
 
154 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 greatly grieved and afflicted. Most Merciful Lord, 
 who art the accepter and defender of all — receive 
 the repentance of this Thy creature and servant." 
 Then turning to the penitent, he addressed him 
 thus: "My son, thou hast come into the presence 
 of the most merciful and beneficent God: thou 
 hast come to declare thy hidden sins and crimes: 
 thou hast come to open to Him the secrets of thy 
 heart. * * * Lay open all without shame in pres- 
 ence of Our Lord, who is called Yoattichectla, that 
 is Tezcatlipoca. It is certain thou art in His pres- 
 ence, although thou art unworthy to see Him, al- 
 though He doth not speak to thee ; for He is in- 
 visible and not palpable. Take care, then, how 
 thou comest, what kind of heart thou bringest; do 
 not hesitate to publish thy secret sins in His pres- 
 ence, recount thy life, relate thy works in the same 
 manner as thou hast committed thy excesses and 
 offences. Lay open thy maladies in His presence, 
 and manifest them with contrition to Our Lord God, 
 who is the accepter of all, and who, with open 
 arms, is ready to embrace thee, and to receive thy 
 confession. Take care thou dost not conceal any- 
 thing through shame or heedlessness." The peni- 
 tent then solemnly promised to declare the truth; 
 after which he proceeded to the confession of his 
 Bins. This clone, the priest imposed on him the 
 penance to be performed, and imparted to him the 
 absolution, which was in the deprecatory form, as 
 in the Greek Church. The prayer, which was 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 155 
 
 very long, begun thus: u 0h, Most Merciful Lord, 
 protector and defender of all, Thou hast heard the 
 confession of this poor sinner. * * * Lord, 
 Thou who knowest all things, dost know that he 
 has not sinned with entire freedom of his will, but 
 from the influence of the sign under which he was 
 born. * * * Then, Most Merciful Lord, graciously 
 pardon him, cleanse him and grant him the pardon, 
 forgiveness and remission of all his sins, etc." 1 
 
 To the foregoing we will add an account of one 
 more most ancient and remarkable custom — in- 
 deed, the most remarkable of all. I allude to the 
 feast in honor of the god Huitzlipochtli, wherein 
 a ceremony was gone through and an offering 
 made, which remind us very forcibly of the sacri- 
 fice of the Mass and the Holy Communion. That 
 the reader may not accuse us of a too hasty and 
 unwarrantable conclusion, we give the account as 
 related by the Spanish historians: "Nothing is 
 better known," says Veytia, "than the offerings 
 they made of bread and wine, that is, bread of un- 
 leavened corn, for they had no wheat, and that 
 beverage which they used for wine. The Mexicans 
 celebrated a solemn feast in honor of Centcotl, the 
 god of corn, which was their food, and they did 
 this by forming the body of this god in a human 
 shape from a lump of unleavened corn paste, in 
 which they mixed some herbs. Having baked it 
 on the day of the feast, they took it in procession, 
 
 (1) Vide Sahagtin IBstoria General de Nueva Espagna, p. 12-13. 
 
156 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 with great solemnity, and around it they placed a 
 great quantity of small particles of the same com- 
 position, which the priests, having blessed with 
 certain formularies and ceremonies, they believed 
 that it was changed into the flesh of that god. The 
 feast or ceremony being concluded, the priest dis- 
 tributed all that bread to the people, in small par- 
 ticles. All, big and little, men and women, rich 
 and poor, eat of it, receiving it with great rever- 
 ence, humility and tears, saying that they eat the 
 flesh of their God ; they also took it to the sick as 
 a remedy. They fasted for four days previous, 
 and considered it a great sin to eat or drink any- 
 thing after having partaken of that bread until af- 
 ter mid-day. They even concealed the water from 
 the children lest they might drink. This was the 
 most solemn feast that they celebrated ; at the end 
 of it one of the elders delivered a kind of sermon 
 in explanation of the ceremonies." 1 
 
 Dr. Mier is equally explicit on this point. "At 
 the same time exactly," says Father Sahagun, 
 "that we celebrate the Pasque the Mexicans cele- 
 brated theirs after a fast of forty da)s, during 
 which they abstained from flesh, wine and the use of 
 matrimony. A public penance preceded the cele- 
 bration of the Pasque. The reader will remem- 
 ber that public penitents were formerly reconciled 
 to the Church at that time. Immediately water 
 
 (1) Hist. Antig Mex.: Veytia, vol. 1, p. 187-188. Vide etiam Saha- 
 gun XXI. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 157 
 
 was solemnly blessed, as we Catholics are yet ac- 
 customed to do on holy Saturday — when solemn 
 baptism was formerly administered. Then they 
 made from seeds the statue of their god Huitzil- 
 pochtli, (not of any other), which, according to 
 Torquemada, had to be made in the Chapel of the 
 Lord of the crown of thorns, whence they took it, 
 acccompanied by music, to the principal altar, 
 watching all night as the ancient Christians. All 
 the village then arrived to make its offering, 
 after which the priests came and consecrated the 
 statue. And Torquemada takes notice that they 
 made use of for this purpose certain words of con- 
 secration, and that from that moment they regard- 
 ed it as the very flesh and bones of the god 
 Huitzilpochtli. It was then taken in procession, 
 at the conclusion of which the priest, who pre- 
 sided over the ceremonies, and who necessarily 
 represented Quetzalcohuatl, pierced the heart of 
 the statue with the point of a spear — an opera- 
 tion they termed killing their god, in order to 
 eat him. That was the signal for dividing it, four 
 deacons taking from it to the parishes of the four 
 divisions of the city, in order to give communion 
 to the people, which they called teocualo, or eating 
 God, and the Totonacas, toyoliayatlacuatl, or eat- 
 ing our life, and they received it with much devo- 
 tion, compunction and tears, taking care that not 
 a crumb should fall on the ground, and they had 
 to be fasting, so that on that day they hid the wa- 
 
158 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ter, through the whole country, from the children, 
 who also communicated" 1 
 
 In fine, there was another great festival, on 
 which they sacrificed one of their number, by at- 
 taching him to a large wooden cross, and piercing 
 him with arrows. 2 
 
 To what we are to attribute the origin of these 
 customs, whence they were derived, and how far 
 they may have connection with the Christian re- 
 ligion, we shall investigate in the subsequent chap- 
 ter. 
 
 (1) Vide Sahagun, vol. 1, Suplemenco. 
 
 (2) Hist. Antig. Mex: Veytia, vol. I., p. 155. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 159 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 Probable Sources whence the Traditions were Derived. — Lord 
 Kingsborough's Opinion. — Adair's Opinion. — Probability of St. 
 Thomas having Preached in the Country. — Traditions to this 
 Effect. — The White Man who once Ppeached in the Country. 
 — Belief in a White Race to come. — Quetzalcohuatl Identi- 
 cal with St. Thomas. 
 
 From the instances adduced in the preceding chap- 
 ter, and others of a like nature, many have been 
 led to conclude that a communication must have 
 existed between the Old and the New "World, be- 
 fore the time of Columbus. Others, more imagin- 
 ative, as Kingsborough, and Adair, have flattered 
 themselves with having found a satisfactory ex- 
 planation for all the Mexican and Peruvian customs 
 and traditions, by supposing the aborigines de- 
 scended from the Jews. A third, and by no means 
 the most unreasonable class, would have us account 
 for the difficulty, by referring it to the natural 
 constitution of man, in accordance with which, 
 while seeking to supply a craving of his soul, he 
 may have been led to the adoption of such prac- 
 tices. Although it must be acknowledged that 
 this is not entirely devoid of foundation, for his- 
 tory informs us of peoples on whom it would be 
 difficult to show the light of Christianity had ever 
 been shed, having largely adopted customs and 
 
160 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 observances of a similar character; 1 yet, taking 
 all the circumstances and co-incidents into account, 
 and especially the traditions of the peoples them- 
 selves, respecting their origin, of which we shall 
 presently speak, the conviction grows strong on 
 the mind, and, indeed, seems to us a most prob- 
 able opinion, that these doctrines, customs and 
 observances were Christian in their origin. They 
 were, we believe, the result of the teaching of one 
 of the Apostles of our Blessed Redeemer, who, in 
 the discharge of his ministry, visited these shores. 
 The arguments in support of this theory, we shall 
 presently adduce, after laying before the reader 
 the opinions of Catholic writers respecting the 
 probable origin of the ancient Californian tradi- 
 tions and customs. 
 
 In the natural and civil history of the country, 
 written by Venegas, to which we have already re- 
 ferred, three opinions are given in explanation of 
 these doctrines and practices. The first is, that 
 the inhabitants were the descendants of a Christian 
 people, among whom the true doctrine and prac- 
 tices of religion had become entirely disfigured 
 and all but extinct. Secondly, that they were 
 learned from the Christians who landed on the 
 coast in the interval between the discovery of the 
 country in 1536 and the arrival of the Fathers in 
 
 (1) For the worship of the Cross among the Egyptians, see Lipsius 
 de Cruce Lutetoe Parisiorum. — Humboldt Oeographie du Nouveau Conti- 
 nent. For Penances and Monastic Establishments, see Hue and Gabet's 
 Travels. — Humboldt Vues des Cordilleres, etc. * * * 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 161 
 
 1683. And lastly, there are those who attribute 
 their origin to some western mariners who, 
 happening to be thrown on the coast, were neces- 
 sitated to live in the country. 
 
 According to the first, the Californians had 
 migrated from the north and entered the continent 
 by Asia. This, they maintain, is borne out by the 
 traditions of the people themselves; who, as has 
 been remarked, constantly affirmed that they had 
 come from the north and found the country inhab- 
 ited before them. To the second opinion, which 
 derives the faith and traditions of the people from 
 the presence of Europeans within the interval 
 spoken of, there is the most serious objection, for 
 the natives in all cases uniformly affirmed to the 
 Fathers that these doctrines had been transmitted 
 to them from time immemorial. .Nor, indeed, is 
 it at all probable that doctrine of such a nature 
 would come to be commonly adopted in that man- 
 ner, and so form a part of the traditional belief of 
 the people. 
 
 The third, and most plausible, of the assertions, 
 though merely a conjecture like the others, that 
 at a period, now entirely unknown, some Chris- 
 tians, happening to be wrecked on the coast, en- 
 deavored to instill into the minds of the natives 
 ideas of the Christian religion, is not entirely un- 
 deserving of attention. But, as the reader will 
 observe, it is also like the preceding, open to 
 11 
 
162 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 doubt, being merely conjectural and entirely un- 
 supported by any common or local tradition. 
 
 What we require to determine is, not the time 
 or the manner such doctrines may have been in- 
 troduced into the country, but whether in reality 
 they were Christian in their origin, and how they 
 came to be accepted by the people. As I have 
 stated, it is my conviction they were the result of 
 the teaching of one of the Apostles of Our Blessed 
 Redeemer. 
 
 Reasoning on general grounds, the probabilities 
 are in favor of this. It is more in harmony with 
 our idea of the mercy of God and the end of the 
 Christian religion, to suppose that the means of 
 salvation were offered to all from the beginning 
 rather than after the lapse of several hundred 
 years. Christ's coming upon earth was to be a 
 principle of life to all, without limitation of time 
 or place. No valid satisfactory reason has ever 
 been offered why, for fifteen hundred years, the sav- 
 ing truths of religion should have been withheld 
 from so many millions of the human race. Those 
 who have supported the contrary opinion have 
 done so unwillingly, and more from an unacquaint- 
 ance with the popular traditions of this country 
 than from any satisfactory reasoning of their own. 
 
 The various passages of Scripture, wherein re- 
 ference is made to the preaching of the gospel, 
 favor the same. The Evangelists, Mathew, Mark 
 and Luke, speak of the announcement of the divine 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 163 
 
 word to the world at large as a work to be ac- 
 complished apparently by the Apostles propria 
 persona. To this end, before separating at Jeru- 
 salem on their important commission, they divided 
 the world between them. It was not to one na- 
 tion or race that the work of their ministry obliged 
 them. They had a duty to perform to the illiter- 
 ate as well as the learned; to the distant as well 
 as the near; to the savage as well as the civilized. 
 The announcement that the Son of God had come 
 on earth as the Redeemer of Mankind had to be 
 made even unto the ends of the earth. And in 
 the division thus made of the world by the Apos- 
 tles, who will be ready to say that they excluded 
 from the field of their labors the one third of the 
 globe ? Did he who commissioned them to preach 
 the gospel "to every creature," leave them igno- 
 rant of the existence of this part of the world, or 
 unfurnished with means to arrive on these shores? 
 Had not the poor American savages a share in the 
 scheme of redemption as well as the Greeks and 
 the Romans ? Was not their salvation as dear to 
 the Saviour as that of the other inhabitants of the 
 earth ? 
 
 Again, it is the opinion.of some of the most em- 
 inent doctors of the Church that the commission 
 of the Saviour to the Apostles, "Go teach all na- 
 tions," etc., was understood by them in a general, 
 and not a particular sense, as regarded their own 
 immediate ministry. The words of the Saviour on 
 
164 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 other occasions certainly favor this. Answering 
 the Apostles touching the question as to when he 
 would restore the kingdom of Israel, he said: "It 
 is not for you to know the time or moment which 
 the Father hath put in his own power. But you 
 shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming 
 upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in 
 Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even 
 to the uttermost parts of the earth." x And in St. Luke : 
 "Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ 
 to suffer and to rise again from the dead the third 
 day. And that penance and the remission of sins 
 should be preached in his name unto all nations, 
 beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses 
 of these things." 2 In the latter half of the first 
 quoted passage from the Acts of the Apostles 
 there can be no doubt but Christ is speaking 
 of the Apostles themselves, and not of their suc- 
 cessors, when he says, "You shall be witnesses 
 unto me in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria." 
 And then, continuing the prediction, he says, 
 "and even unto the uttermost parts of the earth." 
 So that the same persons that were to be witnesses 
 to him in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, were 
 also to be witnesses to him in the most distant parts 
 of the world. 
 
 The same is implied in the other quotations. 
 Penance and the remission of sins were to be 
 
 (1) Acts: chap. 1, v. 7-8. 
 
 (2) St. Luke : chap, xxiv, v. 46-48. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 165 
 
 preached to all the nations of the earth in the 
 name of the Saviour, and the Apostles were to be 
 the witnesses thereof. No doubt their successors 
 in the ministry were also to be witnesses of the 
 truth, but by pre-eminence and in a particular 
 manner were the Apostles to be such, for the} T , 
 and not any others, had the privilege of witnessing 
 the miracles of the Redeemer, of hearing the doc- 
 trine from his lips and of receiving their commis- 
 sion from his hand. They, in consequence, were 
 more admirably suited in their individual capacity 
 for witnessing to the divinity of the Saviour and 
 the truth of his doctrine, the more especially still 
 as they were endowed with the gift of tongues and 
 the power of miracles. 
 
 It was not surely of the successors in the min- 
 istry, but of the Apostles themselves, that St.' 
 Mark wrote when he said: "But they going forth 
 preached everywhere, the Lord working withal, and 
 confirming the word with signs that followed." 1 
 The word "everywhere," I admit, is not to be 
 taken in its rigorous sense ; but how, even morally 
 speaking, the gospel could be said to have been 
 everywhere preached, while the entire of the New 
 World — the two continents of America — were ex- 
 cluded, is, indeed, not easy to be seen. 
 
 It is a principle admitted by all in the interpre- 
 tation of Scripture, that the literal and obvious 
 meaning is to be taken in preference to every 
 
 (1) St. Mark: chap, xvi., v. 20. 
 
166 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 other, unless the tenor of the context or the opposi- 
 tion to other scriptural passages calls for another. 
 But, in the instance before us, so far from this be- 
 ing the case, it is more in accordance with the 
 spirit of religion, more in keeping apparently with 
 the goodness of 'God, and the general tenor of 
 Scripture. 
 
 The passage on which some have founded a con- 
 trary opinion is the fourteenth verse of the twen- 
 ty-fourth chapter of the gospel of St. Mathew: 
 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preach- 
 ed in the whole world for a testimony to all na- 
 tions, and then shall the consummation come." * 
 The consummation here spoken of they take to 
 indicate the end of time and the destruction of 
 this world; but St. John Chrysostom, Enthimius 
 and Theophylactus interpret it as only having re- 
 ference to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Ro- 
 mans, before which time they maintain that the 
 faith was preached to every nation. 
 
 The Epistles of St. Paul to the Romans and the 
 Colossians also favor our theory. Speaking of the 
 Law of Christ and the necessity for all of submit- 
 ting to it, the Apostle quotes the words of the 
 Psalmist: "Their sound hath gone forth into all 
 the earth, and their words unto the ends of the 
 whole world." It is true the Psalmist's words are 
 generally interpreted in a mystical sense, as refer- 
 ring to the celestial powers, but the applications St. 
 
 (1) St. Mathew: chap. 24, v. 14. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 167 
 
 Paul intends to make of them is manifestly in re- 
 lation to the preaching of the gospel as clone by the 
 Apostles. For, in the previous verses, he had 
 said: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of 
 the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they 
 call on him in whom they have not believed ? Or 
 how shall they believe him of whom they have 
 not heard ? And how shall they hear without a 
 preacher ? * * * * Faith then cometh by 
 hearing: and hearing by the word of Christ. But 
 I say, have they not heard ? Yea, verily, their 
 sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their 
 words unto the ends of the whole world." * The 
 reader will here observe that the Apostle is speak- 
 ing of the Law as in Christ, and the necessity for 
 all without any distinction of embracing the same. 
 And, as if any one might excuse himself on the 
 plea of not having heard it, for faith cometh by 
 hearing, the sacred writer meets the objection by 
 affirming that the world at large had heard of the 
 gospel: "But, I say, have they not heard ? " Yea, 
 verily, "their sound (i. e. the preaching of the 
 Apostles) hath gone forth into all the earth, and 
 their words unto the ends of the whole world." 
 How an Apostle of Christ, a man inspired by God, 
 could solemnly aver that the preaching of the gos- 
 pel had been made known to the entire human 
 race, that it had reached the ends of the earth, 
 whereas in reality it had not been made known 
 
 (1) St. Paul to the Romans : chap, x., v. 13-18. 
 
168 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 beyond the limits of the Old World, is a difficulty 
 we leave for solution to those who denv the 
 preaching of the gospel in this country from the 
 beginning. 
 
 Equally strong, if not even more satisfactory 
 still, are the words of the same Apostle addressed 
 to the Colossians: "Yet now he hath reconciled 
 in the body of his flesh through death, to present 
 you holy and unspotted and blameless before 
 him. If so ye continue in the faith grounded and 
 settled and immovable from the hope of the gos- 
 pel which you have heard, which is preached in all 
 creation that is under Heaven." 1 And to the Ro- 
 mans: " I give thanks to my God through Jesus 
 Christ for you all, because your faith is spoken of 
 in the ivhole world." Words could not express more 
 emphatically than these the universality of the 
 preaching of the religion of Christ by the Apostles. 
 If they are not to be taken in their literal, obvi- 
 ous sense, some satisfactory reason should be as- 
 signed for making the change. But in vain do we 
 look for any such reason, the only assignable pre- 
 text being the absence of any historic account, or 
 the difficulty of the Apostles reaching the shores 
 of the Pacific, as if the words of the Evangelists 
 and of the Apostles were only to be taken as ex- 
 pressing a truth when supported by the authority 
 of secular history, or, as if the difficulty of com- 
 municating with the distant nations of the earth 
 
 (1) Colossians: chap. 1, v. 23. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 169 
 
 was to be a barrier to the Lord in the communica- 
 tion of his gospel to the whole world ! 
 
 Judging, then, in accordance with our ideas of 
 the infinite mercy and goodness of God who or- 
 dained the Christian religion to be a principle of life 
 and salvation to all, in accordance with the general 
 tenor and apparently obvious meaning of Scripture, 
 expressed as well in the charge of the Saviour to 
 the Apostles, as in the attestation of the Apostles 
 themselves, it seems to us a most reasonable and 
 probable opinion that the Christian religion was 
 preached throughout the whole world, America 
 included, from the earliest times. 
 
 The direct evidence bearing upon the subject, 
 also leads us to the same conclusion. In the Mex- 
 ican hieroglyphical writings, there is recorded an • 
 account of a great solar eclipse, and a terrible 
 earthquake, which, as we shall presently show, 
 could be no other than those which occurred at the 
 death of the Redeemer. The occurrences are rep- 
 resented as having taken place at the end of the 
 year, at mid-day, there being then full moon. The 
 entire solar body was completely hidden from view, 
 and the darkness became such that the stars were 
 visible, and the day turned into night. At the 
 same time, a terrible earthquake, such as never 
 was experienced before, shook the entire country, 
 rending large masses of rock in twain, and forming 
 many openings in the land. According to the na- 
 tive historians, these occurrences happened one 
 
170 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 hundred and sixty-six years after the correction of 
 their calendar, which would place the event in the 
 year of the world 4066. The chronology of the 
 globe, as is well known, differs exceedingly, as 
 given by different writers. I do not speak of the 
 order t as stated by Berosus, Sanconiathan, Zoroas- 
 ter, and others of that class; but, even among 
 Christians, the world's chronology varies between 
 three thousand and some hundred years and six 
 thousand and some hundred. 1 That given by 
 Hauberto and Suarez differs very little from the 
 Mexican; so that, without doing any violence to 
 the case, we have, in this agreement of the most 
 eminent Catholic writers, a proof that . the eclipse 
 and earthquake noticed in the Mexican symbolical 
 writings, were those which occurred at the death 
 of the Saviour. 
 
 Some years after these remarkable occurrences, 
 which, according to the statement of the native 
 historians, would appear to be the sixty-third year 
 of the present era, there came, from the north, a 
 celebrated personage — certainly the most remarka- 
 ble in the whole of Mexican mythology. He is 
 represented as a ivhite man, with flowing beard, of 
 
 (1) There are more than one hundred and fifty different opinions 
 regarding the chronology of the world from the creation to the coming 
 of Christ. They vary between 3,616 years and 6,484. The principal 
 are these, according to the Vulgate : Usserius, 4004; Eabbi Nahasson, 
 3740; Scaliger, 3950; P. Petau. 3984; P. Tormel, 4052; Eiccioli, 4184; 
 P. Labbe, 4053. According to the Septuagint: Euselius and the Roman 
 Martyrology, 5200; Vossius, 5590; Eiccioli, 3634; The author of the Al- 
 phonsian Fables, 6984. (See Encyclopedie Catholique, Tome Septierne, 
 p. 672.) 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 171 
 
 a good stature, clad in a long white robe, adorned 
 with red crosses, barefoot, his head uncovered, 
 and a staff in his hand. 1 He was Quetzalcohuatl, 
 the true signification of which we shall afterwards 
 state. The universal tradition regarding him is, 
 that he was a holy and venerable man — that he 
 tanght the people admirable laws — the suppression 
 of their unnatural lusts and desires, the hatred of 
 vice and the love of virtue. To him the popular 
 traditions ascribe the worship paid to the Cross, 
 the continency observed by the Religious, the an- 
 nual fast of forty days, the practice of confession, 
 and, in a word, all the customs and observances 
 found, on the arrival of the Spaniards, to bear a 
 coincidence with those of the Christian religion. 
 " In the adoration of one only God," says the au- 
 thor of the Historia Antigua de Mexico, u he en- 
 lightened those nations in the knowledge of the 
 most adorable Trinity, the coming of the Son of 
 God into the world, his birth from a virgin, and 
 his death upon the cross — whose powerful sign he 
 caused them to reverence, inspiring them with a 
 great hope of obtaining by its means an universal 
 remedy for all their evils." 
 
 It is true that several Catholic writers, even of 
 those who had the best means of forming an accu- 
 rate judgment, have formed an entirely different 
 opinion of this remarkable personage, setting him 
 down as an imposter, a magician, a necromancer. 2 
 
 (1) See Torquemada. 
 
 (2) See Torquemada. 
 
172 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 And it appears that they had been led into this 
 from the fact that his name is intimately asso- 
 ciated with several idolatrous customs and prac- 
 tices, as if, amid so much corruption, it were pos- 
 sible to preserve his doctrine intact. If he were 
 such as these writers represent him to be, there 
 certainly is no satisfactory way of accounting for 
 the doctrine and usages that he is credited with 
 having originated. It is also to be borne in mind, 
 as has been already remarked, that these traditions 
 and religious observances were not confined to any 
 particular locality, but were widely diffused through 
 the whole of that part of the two American con- 
 tinents where his name has been known, and where 
 he is said to have traveled. Thus Father Joaquin 
 Brulio tells us of a remarkable wooden cross in 
 Peru, which had been worshiped by the people 
 from time immemorial, and supposed to have been 
 erected by this venerable man. Speaking of this 
 cross, Father Garcia says, that when Drake, the 
 English commander of whom we have spoken 
 before, arrived on the coast, he endeavored to de- 
 stroy it, but was unable. Three several times he 
 cast it into the fire, and three times it came forth 
 entirely uninjured by the flames. 1 He then en- 
 deavored to break it into pieces, but in this he was 
 
 (1) Allegre says that Candish, and not Drake, was the person who 
 attempted to break it. Of the cross, itself, he says, " The cross is said 
 to be of an extremely heavy wood, and different from anything to be 
 found in the province." (See Hisloria de la Campania dt Jesvs Nueva 
 JEspana: Allegre, vol. 1, p, 103.) 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 173 
 
 alike unsuccessful. It was afterwards translated 
 to the city of Guaxara. by Bishop Cervantes, and 
 was there venerated, by the Christian inhabitants, 
 up to 1836, the latest date of which we have any 
 account. A smaller cross was made from one of 
 the arms, and placed in a chapel of the Discalsed 
 Carmelites of the town. 
 
 The Right Rev. Dr. Las Casas, Bishop of Chiapa, 
 having instituted an inquiry into its origin, tells 
 us that the tradition of the inhabitants regarding 
 it was, that it was erected in that place by a ven- 
 erable white man, with a long beard, flowing white 
 robes, and accompanied by several companions. 
 They further affirmed that he was the man who 
 had instructed their ancestors in those doctrines 
 and practices, which were found to resemble those 
 of the Christian religion; and had commanded, that 
 when a race would arrive in the countiw, which 
 would venerate that symbol, they should accept 
 their religion. By the Mexican historians it is 
 stated that he himself promised to return with his 
 followers; but this is immaterial, the principal part 
 of the tradition being, that his followers, or de- 
 scendants, white men, would one day come into the 
 country, and reverence the cross. What confirmed 
 the people in the truth of his prediction regarding 
 the coming of the whites, was the prophecy he 
 made regarding the fall of the temple of Chollolan, 
 which, in reality, is stated by the nativejiistorians 
 to have occurred eight days after he left; the ruins 
 
174 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 of which remained till the time of the Spaniards, 
 as an evidence of the fulfillment of his words. 1 It 
 would further seem certain that he had given as an 
 indication of the immediate arrival of his follow- 
 ers — the occurrence of certain marvelous events — 
 for, on the authority of Prescott, we know, that 
 in consequence of certain remarkable occurrences, 
 which happened shortly before the arrival of Cor- 
 tes, a wide-spread belief existed through the whole 
 of the Mexican Empire, that the hour had arrived 
 when the followers of Quetzalcohuatl would ar- 
 rive in the country. " He (Quetzalcohuatl) prom- 
 ised, on his departure, to return at some future 
 day with his posterity, and resume the possession 
 of the empire. That day was looked forward to 
 with hope or with apprehension, according to the 
 interest of the believer, but with general confi- 
 dence, throughout the wide borders of Anahuac. 
 Even after the Conquest, it still lingered among 
 the Indian races, by whom it was as fondly cher- 
 ished, as the advent of their king, St. Sebastian, 
 continued to be by the Portuguese, or that of the 
 Messiah by the Jews." 
 
 A general feeling seems to have prevailed in the 
 time of Montezuma, that the period of the return 
 of the Deity, and full accomplishment of his promise, 
 was near at hand. This conviction is said to have 
 gained ground from various preternatural occur- 
 rences, reported with more or less detail, by all the 
 
 (1) See Veytia, Hist. Ant'iq. Mex. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 175 
 
 most ancient historians} In 1510, the great lake of 
 Tezcuco, without the occurrence of a tempest or 
 earthquake, or any other visible cause, became 
 violently agitated, overflowed its banks, and, pour- 
 ing into the streets of Mexico, swept off many of 
 the buildings by the fury of the waters. In 1511, 
 one of the turrets of the great temple took fire, $ 
 equally without any apparent cause, and continued 
 to burn, in defiance of all attempts to extinguish 
 it. In the following year, three comets were seen ; 
 and, not long before the coming of the Spaniards, 
 a strange light broke forth in the east. It spread 
 broad at its base on the horizon, and, rising in a 
 pyramidal form, tapered off as it approached the 
 zenith. It resembled a vast sheet or flood of fire, 
 emitting sparkles, or, as an old writer expresses it, 
 seemed "thickly powdered with stars.' 7 At the 
 same time, low voices were heard in the air, and 
 doleful wailings, as if to announce some strange, 
 mysterious calamity! The Aztec monarch, terri- 
 fied at the apparitions in the heavens, took coun- 
 sel of Nezahualpili, who was a great proficient in 
 the subtle science of astrology. But the royal 
 sage cast a deeper cloud over his spirit, by reading 
 in those prodigies the speedy downfall of the em- 
 
 • „ "2 
 
 pire. 
 
 It is then undeniably certain that a popular tra- 
 
 (1) LasCasas, Hist, de las Indias, M. S., lib. 3, chap. 120; Camargo, 
 Hist, de Tlascala, M. S ; Sahagun, Hist, de Nueva Espagna; Acosta, 
 Herrera, etc. 
 
 (2) Hist. Conquest Mex. Piescott, vol. I, p. 313, 
 
176 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 dition existed in the minds of the people, to the 
 effect that a venerable white man once visited the 
 country, taught those doctrines and customs of 
 which we have spoken, and promised one day to 
 return with his followers. It further seems evi- 
 dent, from the local traditions, that this man, who- 
 ever he may have been, passed through California, 
 Mexico, Central and a part of Southern America. 
 Speaking of the traditions of Central America, 
 in the province of Yucatan, Bishop Las Casas as- 
 sures us that the natives had an idea of the prin- 
 cipal mysteries of religion, and that these doc- 
 trines had been taught them by the person of 
 whom we are writing. A very intelligent Indian, 
 he says, having been questioned as to the doctrine 
 of the people, answered, that they believed in one 
 God and three persons. To the first, whom they 
 called Igona, was attributed the creation of all 
 things; Bacab, the second, who was the son of 
 Igona, was born of a virgin, Chibirias, ivlw is now 
 with God in Heaven; while the third was Echuah. 
 The circumstances connected with the life of the 
 second, are, in their general outline, a counterpart 
 of those as taught by the Church regarding the 
 Redeemer. Respecting the latter part of his life 
 the tradition was to the effect that he was 
 made to suffer exceedingly — was cruelly scourged, 
 crowned with thorns, put to death upon a cross, 
 buried, rose again, and ascended to his father in 
 Heaven. Then came Echuah, to fulfill or accom- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 177 
 
 plish all that was to be done. This doctrine, they 
 affirmed, had come clown to them from the re- 
 motest ages, and had been taught them by men 
 who arrived there, to the number of twenty, the 
 principal of whom was Colalcan, a venerable man, 
 with flowing beard, white robes and sandals, and 
 who taught them to fast and confess, etc. 1 These, 
 and the religious customs and practices of which 
 we have spoken before, such as baptism, penances, 
 mortifications, continency, conventual life, and es- 
 pecially the great feast resembling the Eucharist, 
 are all supposed to have been introduced and es- 
 tablished by him. 
 
 That these doctrines and practices were not the 
 result of the teaching of an impostor, a magician 
 or necromancer, we can readily believe; for what 
 object could such have in view. But, that such 
 doctrines did exist, is a fact beyond all doubt, 
 resting on the authority of innumerable writers, 
 who, although they may have been deceived re- 
 garding the conclusions to be derived, could not 
 be deceived as regarded the traditions themselves. 
 It is then a clear and indisputable fact, that there 
 existed in Central, Southern, and parts of Northern 
 America, as well as in Mexico and California, certain 
 apparently Christian traditions, customs and prac- 
 tices, universally believed to have come down 
 from the earliest ages, and to have been introduced 
 
 (1) Veytia, Hist. Antig. Mex. 
 12 
 
178 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 by him who was known as Quetzalcohuatl, a white 
 man, who, as we have shown, came into the coun- 
 try in the year 63 of our era. 1 
 
 Again, on the arrival of the Dominican Fathers 
 in Mexico, immediately after the conquest by 
 Cortes, they found with a chief in the province of 
 Zapotecas a symbolical writing, said to have been 
 handed down from time immemorial, in which we 
 are assured were contained the doctrines of the 
 Christian religion. 2 Father G-arcia, a Franciscan, 
 on whose authority the above has been given, 
 further assures us that when a member of his or- 
 der happened to pass through the village of Nijapa, 
 in the province of Huaxaca, the Vicar of the Con- 
 vent, who was a Dominican, showed him some 
 ancient hieroglyphical writings containing all the 
 principal doctrines of the Christian religion and 
 the coming of the Apostle to the country. 
 
 Taking, then, into account all the customs, tra- 
 ditions and practices of the people, it seems to us 
 a most reasonable and probable opinion that the 
 
 (1) "Es constante y uniforme la noticia que se hallo en todas estas 
 gentes, cle que el fue quien les ensegno el ayuno de cuarenta dias, que 
 debian observar auuualniente, la niortificacion y penitencia, disciplin- 
 audose las espaldas, brazos y pantorillas con abropos y espinas, hasta 
 deremar sangre. Les exhorto a dar limosnas, y scorrer las necessidades 
 de los progenies, baciendoles entender che no solo debian hacerlo por 
 acto de kurnanidad sino de religion, por amor de Dios y en su obsequio 
 sin excepcion de personas ; y en esta materia era particolar una fiesta 
 che celebraban los Mejicanos en el mes Hueyte.cuilb.utl en honor de una 
 de sus deidades llamada Xilomen diosa del maiz tierno." Veytia, p. 175. 
 
 (2) "Hallaron en un lugar llamado Quichopa en poder de un casique 
 una Biblia de solas figuras que eran los caracteres que les Servian de 
 letras cuija significacion sabian porque de padres a hijos se iban en- 
 senando el modo de enterder aquelhis figuras y este libro le guardaban 
 de tiempo muy antiguo": Veytia, p. 174. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 179 
 
 Christian religion was preached in this country 
 long before the days of Columbus. 
 
 What is now incumbent upon us is to show that 
 the person, Quetzalcohuatl, who is said to have 
 been the originator of all the doctrines and cus- 
 toms alluded to, was none other than the Apostle 
 St. Thomas. For the truth of our assertion we rely 
 in the first instance on the true signification of the 
 name. In the Mexican and Peruvian annals the 
 names of all celebrated persons, it is well to re- 
 member, were allegorical. Although at the mo- 
 ment of baptism a name was given to the child, it 
 not unfrequently happened that another was con- 
 ferred during life on account of some remarkable 
 deeds or specialty of character. Hence the ap- 
 pellations by which the kings of Texcoco and 
 others were styled. 
 
 The literal signification of the word Quetzalco- 
 huatl is a " peafowl-serpent" or, less literally, a 
 feathered serpent. Metaphorically it meant, as 
 we shall show, a precious twin. It is composed of 
 two words, Quetzallin, a peafowl, and Cohuatl, a 
 serpent. The former was also used to express any 
 kind of excellent plumage, the peafowl's being the 
 most esteemed and most in use to adorn the head ; 
 and, as we know, the serpent has ever been regard- 
 ed by all as the symbol of wisdom. Hence both 
 words, used allegorically as a single appellative, 
 came to express the mental endowment, wisdom, 
 learning and respect of any individual ; so that to 
 
180 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 say he was a richly plumed serpent was equivalent 
 to saying he was a man of talent, much esteemed 
 and learned. 
 
 Luis Becerro Tanco, in his work on the appari- 
 tion of our Lady of Guadaloupe, tells us that the 
 word Quetzalcohuatl expresses exactly the Apos- 
 tle's name, it being a true translation of it. In the 
 Nahuatl dialect " Cohuail" which signified a ser- 
 pent, signified allegorically a twin, from the suppo- 
 sition that a serpent always brings forth two at a 
 birth. Dr. Siguenza, in a most learned work, which 
 unhappily has been lost, supports this opinion, and 
 proved, it is said, most satisfactorily, that Quet- 
 zalcohuatl was St. Thomas, but as this work is not 
 now in existence, we must only rely on the strength 
 of our own proof for the establishment of the case. 
 From the gospel we know that St. Thomas was 
 called Didymus, or the twin. The Indians, in trans- 
 lating the word, would naturally have followed the 
 rule adopted toward all remarkable men, by giving 
 it an allegorical rendering, adding as a mark of 
 respect for his person, Quetzallin, which, when 
 added to Cohuatl, signified, allegorically: " The 
 very learned or much esteemed twin." That 
 Cohuatl, or twin, was really the name that they 
 gave to him, and that the other was only an epi- 
 thet of veneration is clear, from the fact that all 
 his disciples forming those monastic establish- 
 ments of which we have spoken as existing in the 
 country on the arrival of the Spaniards, went by 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 181 
 
 the name of Cocomes, or twins, which is the plural 
 of Cohuatl. 
 
 It is also a very remarkable fact, which we 
 learn upon the authority of Father Kirker, in his 
 China Illustrated, and which is spoken of by Lu- 
 rena in his life of St. Francis, and by Garcia in his 
 work on the preaching of the gospel, that on the 
 tomb of the Apostle at Meliapoor, in the Indies, a 
 peafowl was represented holding the cross in its 
 beak, hereby connecting very significantly the 
 name of the Apostle with the Quetzallin, or pea- 
 fowl, of which we have spoken. It has also been 
 positively asserted by Calanche and Obalde that, 
 in several of the Mexican phonetic writings, the 
 true name of St. Thomas has been preserved^ 
 
182 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 CHAPTEK IX. 
 
 Leading Facts connected with the Histoet of Quetzalcohuatl. — 
 What he Taught. — How Banished. — His Prophecy. — Promis- 
 ing to Return. — A White People to Come. — Phenomena Prior 
 to the Arrival of the Spaniards. — Summary of Argument in 
 Favor of St. Thomas. — His Probable Place of Landing. — How 
 the Doctrine may have been Corrupted. — Means by which the 
 Apostle might have Arrived in the Country. — America known 
 to Europeans before Christianity. — Quotations from Hanno, 
 Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch and Seneca. 
 
 Independent of what has been said in the preced- 
 ing chapter, there is still further evidence ot a 
 similar character leading to the same conclusion. 
 The great similarity between the general character 
 of Quetzalcohuatl as represented in Mexican myth- 
 ology and that of an Apostle, is certainly very re- 
 markable. It would be idle for any one to at- 
 tempt to deny the existence of those popular tra- 
 ditions, which represent this beneficent man as vis- 
 iting the country and coming from the west, in 
 compan}^ with several disciples, for the purpose of 
 teaching the people. 1 Although known under dif- 
 ferent names in different parts of the continent, 
 the general character is so clearly defined that the 
 identity of the man can in no sense be a subject of 
 mistake. Hence, it is universally acknowledged 
 that Quetzalcohuatl of Mexico, Cozas or Cocalcan 
 
 (1) Vide Sahaguu, Mier, Prescott, etc. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 183 
 
 of Yucatan, and Viracocho of Peru, are one and 
 the same person. 
 
 The prominent facts connected with his history, 
 as handed down from time immemorial, are exact- 
 ly what we would expect to meet with in the life 
 of an Apostle. According to the popular tradi- 
 tion he was for some time high priest of Tula, or 
 Tollan, a town situated to the north of the Mexi- 
 can Valley, and once the capital of the Empire of 
 the Toltecs. Hence we are told he sent forth his 
 disciples through all the neighboring provinces to 
 preach a new and admirable law, the leading 
 points of which seem to have been the prohibition 
 of the worship of idols and human sacrifices, the 
 knowledge of the triune divinity or triple godhead 
 Tzentcotl, Huitzlopochtli and Touacayohua, pen- 
 ance, fasts, etc. 
 
 Having been persecuted^ by Huemac, king of 
 that place, who had apostatized from his religion 
 and put several of his disciples to death, he fled to 
 Cholula, whither being pursued by the implacable 
 monarch, he passed on to Yucatan, where he left 
 four of his disciples to propagate his religion, pro- 
 ceeding himself to the islands in the vicinity, which, 
 from that time, have been known by the name of 
 the place where the "Twin hid himself." After a 
 period he returned to Tollan, but finding his fol- 
 lowers mixed up witli the people, having inter- 
 married in the meantime with the other inhabi- 
 tants of the land, he set out for Huehuetlapallan, 
 
184 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 prophecying before leaving that his brothers in 
 religion, white men, would one day come into the 
 country to rule over the people and teach them 
 religion. That this prophecy was widely spread 
 through the country and firmly believed in by the 
 inhabitants, there cannot be a shadow of doubt. 
 Not only modern, but ancient writers attest its ex- 
 istence. Sahagun, who wrote at the period of the 
 conquest, speaks of it, and assures us that on the 
 arrival of the Spaniards on the coast the natives 
 proceeded in canoes to the ships, and offered ador- 
 ation to them, believing that the god Quetzalco- 
 huatl, with his followers, had returned, and that 
 the fulfillment of the prophecy was accomplished. 
 The words of the historian are these: "They en- 
 tered immediately into canoes and commenced to 
 row toward the vessels, and, as they arrived near 
 the ships and saw the Spaniards they kissed the 
 prows of their vessels as a sign of adoration, think- 
 ing that it wns the god Quetzalcohuatl, who had 
 returned, whom they were expecting, as appears 
 in the history of that god." 1 And in the follow- 
 ing chapter he says: "As Montezuma heard the 
 news he despatched persons to receive Quetzal- 
 cohuatl, for he thought it was he who had come, 
 for they were daily expecting him (cada dia le es- 
 taban esperando). And as it was known that 
 Quetzalcohuatl had departed toward the east, 
 and that the vessels had also come from the east, 
 for this reason they thought it was he. 
 
 >; 2 
 
 (1) Historia de a Conquista de Mexico: vol. 1, chap. 2. 
 
 (2) Ibid, chap iii. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 185 
 
 It is then undeniably true, that a popular tra- 
 dition existed in the country, respecting a proph- 
 ecy, made by Quetzalcohuatl, in which was fore- 
 told the future arrival of whites on the coast; and 
 this, while it proves the reality of the man, and 
 his character as a teacher of religion, also proves 
 the still more important and appreciable fact of his 
 being a Christian, and of western origin; for, it 
 was clearly set forth in the prophecy, that the per- 
 sons who should come would be whites, and of 
 the same religion as he. The time also seems to 
 have been specified by the Apostle, if we are to 
 judge from the expression that they were expect- 
 ing him every day. And, indeed, Boturini assures 
 us, that the time mentioned in the Mexican hiero- 
 glyphics, was that in which the Christians arrived. 
 The year ce acatl was that foretold by Quetzalco- 
 huatl, and in that year the Spaniards landed in 
 the country. 
 
 But what seemed to impress them especially 
 with the belief of his immediate arrival, were the 
 remarkable phenomena which occurred at this 
 time, and of which we have spoken before. They 
 were eight in all: the first, which occurred ten 
 years previous to the Christians' arrival, being a 
 frightful, appalling flame, or pillar of fire, that 
 seemed to reach from earth to heaven, and turned 
 night into day. It used to appear in the east, al- 
 ways after the hour of midnight, and continued 
 until morning, appearing regularly in the same 
 
186 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 way every night, for the space of an entire year. 
 The whole population was exceedingly terrified, 
 and believed that it portended some terrible ca- 
 lamity. The second, was the unaccountable burn- 
 ing of the great tower of the temple of the god 
 Huitzilipochetli, the flames seeming to proceed 
 from the very centre of the columns. Then there 
 was the sudden overflow of the lake, without any 
 assignable cause, there being neither storm nor 
 earthquake; and, more alarming still, there was an 
 unearthly, doleful voice, crying in the air, and say- 
 ing, "Oh, my children, we are lost! where now 
 shall I take thee ! " 
 
 It would be, then, for those who deny the Chris- 
 tian character of this man, to account in some 
 satisfactory way for these remarkable occurrences. 
 It is not in accordance with reason or religion, 
 to suppose that the Almighty would have made 
 use of a Pagan impostor, to foretell the introduc- 
 tion of His religion into this country. On the 
 other hand, Paganism is tolerant of its own; it 
 does not persecute its ministers of religion; there 
 is nothing in its system to contradict the nat- 
 ural desires. Neither do Pagans go forth in the 
 character of apostles, to teach men most admira- 
 rable laws, to inculcate veneration to the symbol 
 of the Christian religion, to enforce the advan- 
 tages and necessity of fasts, penances, baptism and 
 confession. But, least of all, do Pagans show 
 forth in their lives, and enforce, both byword and 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 187 
 
 example, the most admirable lessons of continency, 
 such as this man is accredited with having ob- 
 served. 
 
 To sum up, then, all that has been said in the 
 foregoing, our argument may be thus briefly 
 stated: 
 
 On the arrival of the Spaniards in America, 
 certain customs, practices and traditions, were 
 found to prevail, which, on any other lrypothesis 
 than that of the previous introduction of Chris- 
 tianity into the country, cannot be satisfactorily 
 explained. They had nothing in common with 
 Paganism; they were not in whole or in part in 
 harmony with it. In the Gentile mythology, 
 they were certainly out of their place. The wor- 
 ship of the Cross, the administration of baptism, 
 confession and communion, though very much al- 
 tered and disfigured, are yet easily recognized as 
 being essentially Christian, and not Pagan. So, 
 also, the belief in the unity and trinity of God, 
 the incarnation, death and resurrection of Christ, 
 which, as we have shown, appears to have been 
 held, at least, by some of the people. But, all 
 these customs, practices, and ideas of religion, the 
 popular traditions of the country, as embodied in 
 the Mexican hieroglyphics, and the Peruvian Qui- 
 pos, attribute to the venerable white man, Quet- 
 zalcohuatl, who, as was proved, visited the country 
 in the year of our Lord 63, and whose name has 
 been shown to be identical with that of the Apostle 
 
188 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 St. Thomas. When to this we add the positive 
 statement of Scripture, regarding the preaching of 
 the gospel in, apparently, every part of the world, 
 during the first age of the Christian religion, and 
 the absence, on the other hand, of all satisfactory 
 reason to the contrary, the reader, we feel certain, 
 will be ready to admit, that the presence of the 
 Apostle St. Thomas in this country rests on the 
 most reasonable and probable grounds. It com- 
 mends itself, too, to our acceptance the more, when 
 we remember the field of the Apostle's missionary 
 career in the East, he having, as it is thought, vis- 
 ited the Island of Sumatra 1 and the Philippines, 2 
 the direct route, which, if pursued, would have 
 brought him to the shores of the Pacific. 
 
 The part of the coast where he landed seems to 
 have been some point in Lower California. The 
 reason for our arriving at such a conclusion must 
 be obvious to the reader, for there, and not in Up- 
 per California, as we have seen, were Christian 
 traditions encountered among the natives. The 
 same was the opinion of the learned Dr. Mier, for, 
 speaking of the Saint's arrival, he says: "Hence 
 (namely from the west) he came according to his 
 history, entering by California, although Torquc- 
 mada says that he arrived at Tula, or Tollan, hav- 
 ing disembarked at Panuco, some say, with four- 
 teen, and others, with seven disciples, clad in long 
 
 (1) See Batter's Lives of the Saints. 
 
 (2) Veytia; Historia Aniig. de Mejivo. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 189 
 
 garments reaching to the feet, with tunic and Jew- 
 ish mantles similar to those of the Indians, which 
 they are accustomed to wear in their feasts. They 
 had not with them any women, nor had Quetzal- 
 cohuatl ever any, for he was most continent. This 
 was the great priest of Tula, and thence he sent 
 forth his disciples to preach in Huaxyacac and 
 other provinces, a new and holy law. He demo- 
 lished the idols, prohibited the sacrifices which 
 were not of bread, flowers and incense, abhorred 
 war, taught penance, the fast of forty or seventy 
 days, etc." 1 
 
 But objection may be taken to the foregoing by 
 inquiring how, if the true doctrine of Christ were 
 preached in the country, it could have eventually 
 become so exceedingly altered and disfigured as to 
 be hardly recognizable on the arrival of the Span- 
 iards. To my mind the question presents no seri- 
 ous objection. Nothing is more natural than that 
 a people, separated for fifteen hundred years from 
 all communication with the countries of Europe — 
 from all communication with the centre of Catho- 
 lic unity — the living fountain of truth — should, 
 from passion, prejudice, ignorance or persecution, 
 or all together, have fallen into serious mistakes 
 respecting the truth. Nor were these the only 
 reasons which might have succeeded in producing 
 so unhappy a result. They were further deprived 
 of that great and invaluable means of preserving 
 
 (1) Vide Mier, Apud, Sahagun. 
 
190 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 intact, the teaching of the Apostle, I mean the 
 written use of language or phonetic writing, with- 
 out which, unless by divine interposition, it would 
 be almost impossible for any body of doctrine to be 
 securely preserved for several centuries. When 
 everything has to be learned from memory and 
 handed down without books, through a long series 
 of years, for several ages, all that we can reason- 
 ably expect in the end is the general outline or 
 more prominent features of the religion as first 
 preached to the people. 
 
 Even in Europe and Asia, where so many facil- 
 ities have existed for preserving the truth in all 
 its original purity; where recourse was so easily 
 had to the Sovereign Pontiff; where so much learn- 
 ing and ability existed among all orders of the 
 clergy; where so many councils, diocesan, provin- 
 cial, national and general, have been holden for 
 the purpose; where the very doctrine itself was 
 carefully committed to writing and embodied in 
 the Scriptures, in the writing of the Fathers and 
 the Liturgies of the Church, yet how many errors, 
 how many corruptions, how many false systems 
 have there not originated ? Not a single century 
 has passed from the beginning that novelties have 
 not been broached, that new systems have not been 
 attempted, that the original faith has not in some 
 things been impugned. In the first century there 
 were the Ebionites, the Corinthians, the Nicholites; 
 in the second, the Marcionites, the Valentinians, 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 191 
 
 the Basilidians, and so on down to the present. 
 And in the change effected by many of these self- 
 constituted Apostles, the alterations have, in se- 
 veral instances, been such that with difficulty we 
 can recognize their adherents as the descendants 
 of those who once held Catholic doctrine. Who. 
 for instance, unless acquainted with the fact by 
 the positive testimony of history, would believe 
 that the Mormons, the Unitarians, the Quakers, 
 were the children of those who believed in the 
 divinity of Christ, the efficacy of the Sacraments, 
 and the divine mission of the Catholic Church. 
 What is there in Methodism, Calvinism, or Dunk- 
 erism, similar to Catholic doctrine ? And yet all 
 these, and hundreds of others, are indubitably de- 
 scendants of those who, only three hundred years 
 from the present, professed Catholic faith in all 
 its entirety — that is to say, children of those men 
 who believed in and frequented the Sacraments of 
 the Church, prayed to the Saints, acknowledged 
 and adhered to the teaching of Rome, and died in 
 that faith. 
 
 If, then, in our own countries, in our own midst, 
 under our own eyes, instances of this nature have 
 occurred, wherein men have departed so widely 
 from the original doctrine, are we to be astonished 
 that under less favorable circumstances the truth 
 should have been clouded, disfigured and largely 
 corrupted. In the fifteen hundred years' that 
 elapsed from the arrival of the Apostle till the 
 
192 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 landing of the Spaniards, what else but error, cor- 
 ruption and change could be expected. Ignorant 
 and uncivilized races could not be expected to do 
 more than preserve a general, indefinite idea of 
 the faith. The Church, in all probability, was 
 never securely established in the land. Persecu- 
 tion, if we may judge from the traditions, fell 
 heavily upon it from the beginning. The Saint 
 was early driven from the field of his labor. De- 
 prived of the advantages of his presence, the peo- 
 ple naturally fell back into a partial idolatry, pre- 
 serving withal an idea of the chief doctrines of re- 
 ligion. Indeed, this is the very account that 
 tradition furnishes us of the matter, for, as we 
 have seen, Quetzalcohuatl, after having been ban- 
 ished, returned after a time to visit the people of 
 Tula, and finding his followers there mixed up with 
 the other inhabitants of the land, he abandoned 
 the place, prophesying that his brethren would 
 afterwards come into the country to rule over the 
 inhabitants, and teach them religion. A couple 
 or more generations would accordingly have suf- 
 ficed in this way to blend up and confound the 
 Christian and Pagan religion, so that at the end of 
 one or two hundred years it would be difficult, 
 yea, almost impossible, to distinguish in the med- 
 ley the doctrine of Christ from that of the Pagans. 
 It may be that the reign of truth was of much 
 longer' duration than this, but the result in the 
 end, under the circumstances, could be hardly ex- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 193 
 
 pected to be other. Nay, it seems almost unac- 
 countable, how a people, situated as the ancient 
 inhabitants of this country, separated so com- 
 pletely from the fountain of truth; exposed so 
 much on every side, to the pernicious influences 
 of a corrupting idolatry; deprived of the use of a 
 phonetic writing, wherein, to record the dogmas of 
 their faith — not to speak of the numerous other 
 disadvantages of a kindred character, under which 
 they were laboring for so many centuries, and all 
 operating in a similar direction, tending to like 
 corrupting results — it is almost unaccountable, I 
 say, how, under such unfavorable circumstances, 
 they preserved so clear and well defined ideas of the 
 Christian religion. 
 
 But, some one might ask, how was it possible 
 for the Apostle to arrive on these shores, inas- 
 much as there was no communication between this 
 country and Europe in those da}^s. This is equal- 
 ly as illogical as the former is unreasonable. The 
 preaching of the gospel in America, need not ne- 
 cessarily have depended on a communication be- 
 tween the old and the new world. He who com- 
 missioned his Apostles to preach to every creature 
 could easily, had he desired it, have miraculously 
 transported them to the most distant parts of the 
 globe. Are we to suppose that distance of place, 
 or want of free communication with races, was to 
 be a barrier to the Lord, in the communication of 
 
 13 
 
 
194 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 his will to his creatures? Do not the Sacred Scrip- 
 tures furnish us with one instance, at least, of an 
 Apostle being miraculously translated through the 
 air, the distance of two hundred and seventy 
 stuclii, from Jerusalem to Azotus? "And when 
 they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of 
 the Lord took away Philip, and the Eunuch saw 
 him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing. 
 But Philip was found in Azotus; and, passing 
 through, he preached the gospel to all the cities, 
 till he came to Cesarea." 1 
 
 • It is the universal tradition of the Church, that 
 all the Apostles were present at the death of the 
 Mother of God, nor is it pretended that their as- 
 sembling was other than miraculous. 2 To com- 
 mand the Apostles to preach the gospel through- 
 out the entire world, and not to furnish them with 
 the means of reaching the most distant parts, 
 would be to enjoin an impossibility. He who gave 
 the gift of tongues, and the power of working mir- 
 acles, would not surely withhold the means of 
 transport. 
 
 But it is not true that a communication did not 
 exist between this country and the old world be- 
 fore the fifteenth century. Marco Polo is stated 
 to have spoken of a commerce existing between 
 
 (1) Acts: chap, viii, v. 39-40. 
 
 (2) "Ex antiqua accepimus traditions, quod tempore gloriosse dor- 
 mitionis beatte virginis, universi quidem sancti Apostoli qui orbem terrae 
 ad salutem Gentium peragrabant, momento temporis in sublime elaii con- 
 veneruntjerosolomis." (De Sermone S. Joannis Damasceni, Apud Bre- 
 viarium Romanum.) 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 195 
 
 southern India and this part of the world. An 
 author cited by Dr. Mier, brings proof of a com- 
 munication having existed between Mexico and 
 China, in the fifth century; and the early Jesuit 
 Fathers saw, on one occasion, a number of what 
 seemed to them Chinese junks on the coast; a fact 
 which would lead one to conclude, that the knowl- 
 edge of America was not unknown to that people. 
 But, even long before Christianity, it was known 
 to Europeans. Hanno, the celebrated navigator, 
 who lived about eight hundred years B. C, was 
 probably the first who visited its shores. In a 
 work called llie Periplus, he speaks of a land, 
 which those who have examined the writing, as- 
 sure us, can mean only the continent of America, 
 or some one of the neighboring islands. That on 
 which the authors rest their conclusion, is the as- 
 sertion of the navigator himself; who avers, that 
 after having passed the pillars of Hercules, and 
 having left the African coast, he sailed directly to 
 the west, for the space of thirty days, when he 
 met with land, which, from the direction he took, 
 and the time he was out, must either have been 
 the continent itself, or, as I have said, some of the 
 islands in the immediate vicinity. 
 
 Four hundred years later, the Greek philosopher, 
 Plato, speaks of the same in still more unmistak- 
 able terms. After alluding to the destruction of 
 that imaginary land, the Atlantis, he says: "There 
 existed an island at the mouth of the sea, beyond 
 
196 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the straits, called the Pillars of Hercules; this 
 island was larger and wider than Lib} 7 a and Asia; 
 from thence there was an easy passage unto the 
 other islands, and from the latter unto the continent 
 beyond those regions" This is farther strengthened 
 and supported by the testimony of Aristotle, Plu- 
 tarch and Strabo. The former gives it as the 
 common belief of his time, that such a land did 
 exist. " It is said," writes the philosopher, " that 
 the Carthagenians have discovered, beyond the 
 Pillars of Hercules, a very fertile island — but 
 which is without inhabitants — yet full of forests, of 
 navigable rivers, and abounding in fruits. It is sit- 
 uated many days voyage from the main land. 
 Some of the Carthagenians, charmed with the fer- 
 tility of that country, conceived the idea of get- 
 ting married, and of going and establishing them- 
 selves there; but it is said that the Carthagenian 
 Government forbade any one to attempt to colo- 
 nize the island, under penalty of death; for, in 
 case it were to become powerful, it might deprive 
 the mother country of her possessions there. v The 
 land here spoken of. with its forests, its navigable 
 rivers, its fertility, and distance from the main 
 land, can hardly be mistaken for the American 
 continent. 
 
 About the same time, or perhaps a little later 
 in the days of Alexander the Great, Theopompus, 
 another great writer and orator, in a work called 
 Thaumasia, a species of dialogue between a certain 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 197 
 
 Mida^, a Phrygian, and Silenus, speaks of the same 
 remarkable land. The work has been unhappily 
 lost, but it is quoted by Strabo and Alianus-, by 
 whom we are told that Theopompus, in the char- 
 acter of Midas, informs his friend that Europe, 
 Asia and Africa are islands, but that further on 
 there is a still greater land, where the animals and 
 productions are of prodigious size, where men are 
 of gigantic stature, and where there were numer- 
 ous cities, one of which he affirms contained at 
 that time more than a million of inhabitants. 
 Where or from whom the writer obtained his in- 
 formation there is now no means of determining, 
 but that the land he referred to was America, 
 there cannot be a reasonable doubt. 
 
 The next writer, who speaks of the country, is 
 Diodorus, the Sicilian, or Siculus, as he is more 
 commonly known, and who lived, about one hun- 
 dred years before Christ. , His language is even 
 plainer and more satisfactory than the foregoing: 
 ''After having passed the islands, which lie beyond 
 the Herculean Straits, we will speak of those 
 which lie much further into the ocean. Toward 
 Africa, and to the west of it, is an immense island 
 in the broad sea, many days sail from Libya. Its 
 soil is very fertile and its surface variegated with 
 mountains and valleys. Its coasts are indented 
 with many navigable rivers, and its fields are well 
 cultivated, and dotted with delicious gardens and 
 with plants and trees of all sizes." Who is there 
 
198 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 that does not recognize in this the America of 
 former days, with its fertile soil, variegated sur- 
 face, great navigable rivers, and diversity of trees ? 
 Later still, about the beginning of the present 
 era, we find the great rhetorician, Seneca, alluding 
 to it in the following words of one of his trage- 
 dies: 
 
 Venient annis 
 
 Sfecula seris, quibus oceanus 
 
 Vincula rerum laxet et * * * 
 
 Pateat tellus, Typhisque novos 
 
 Detegat orbes ; nee sit terris 
 
 Ultima Thule. 
 
 —Medea : Act. 3, v. 375. 
 
 When to this we add the allusions of the great 
 Greek and Latin Poets — Homer and Horace — re- 
 garding the situation of the famous Atlantides, 
 where were supposed to be the Elysian plains, 
 some ten thousand stadii, or furlongs, from Africa, 
 there can be very little doubt, but that the conti- 
 nent of America was known to Europeans even 
 before the establishment of the Christian religion. 
 That it was also visited by Europeans after the 
 coming of Christ, but some hundreds of years be- 
 fore the days of Columbus, we shall show in the 
 following chapter. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 199 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 Second Source whence the Christian Traditions of California 
 
 might have been derived. the irish in iceland previous to 
 
 its discovery by the northmen. — testimony of an irish monk 
 and of Icelandic Historians to this effect. — The Irish in 
 America prior to the Eleventh Century. — Proofs from Ice- 
 landic Manuscripts. — St. Brandon's voyage to America. — Eu- 
 ropean Traditions regarding the voyage. 
 
 Although the presence of St. Thomas the Apos- 
 tle in the country, as shown in the preceding 
 chapter, seems to us the genuine source whence 
 were derived the manifestly Christian traditions 
 and practices of which we have spoken, there is 
 yet another channel through which they might 
 have been obtained. Christianity was introduced 
 into America by the Irish, on the Atlantic border, 
 at or before the tenth century. This is establish- 
 ed from ancient Icelandic historic writings. The 
 route by which they entered the country seems to 
 have been by the Faroe Isles and Iceland, while 
 others, as the quotations to be adduced will show, 
 proceeded direct across the Atlantic. 
 
 In the Antiquitates Americana?, an elaborate work 
 published in 1837 at Copenhagen under the direc- 
 tion of the Royal Society of Northern Antiqua- 
 rians, the following passage from the second vellum 
 codex of the history of King Olaf Tryggvason, at- 
 tests the presence of the Irish in Iceland previous 
 
200 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 to the discovery of that island by the Northmen: 
 "But before Iceland was colonized from Norway, 
 men had been there, whom the Northmen called 
 Papas. They were Christians, for after them were 
 found Irish books, bells, croziers, and many other 
 things, whence it could be seen that they were 
 Christians and had come from the west over the 
 sea." * As Iceland was discovered by the North- 
 men early in the second half of the ninth century, 
 the Irish must have been there previous to that 
 date. In another Icelandic work, the Shedas of 
 AriFrode, surnamed the Learned, the same positive 
 evidence is found attesting the presence of the 
 Irish in Iceland at that early period: "At that 
 time, viz : before the coming of the Northmen, Ice- 
 land was covered with woods between the moun- 
 tains and the sea. There were then Christian peo- 
 ple here whom the Northmen called Papas, but 
 they subsequently departed, for they would not 
 be here among heathens: they left after them 
 Irish books, bells and croziers from which it could 
 be seen that they were Irishmen." 2 And in the 
 Prologue to the Landnamabock, the most accurate 
 and reliable ancient Icelandic history, similar testi- 
 mony, in almost the very identical words, is also 
 given. 3 
 
 (1) See Icelandic Original at end of chap. Antiquiiates Americance, p. 
 203. Discovery of America by the Northmen : Ludlow Beamish, Fel- 
 low of the Royal Soeiety of Northmen. 
 
 (2) See original at end of chap. 
 
 (3) Vide Antiquiiates Americance. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 201 
 
 To the foregoing, it may be objected that no ac- 
 count of such a colonization is to be found in the 
 pages of Irish history. This, the reader will ob- 
 serve, is but, at best, only a negative argument, 
 and of very little weight in presence of the posi- 
 tive evidence adduced. The most important and 
 brilliant period of Irish history, remains unsup- 
 ported by any authentic manuscript writings; the 
 Psalter of Cas7iel, written in the ninth century, 
 being the oldest of the kind. But it is not true, 
 that all Irish history is silent on this point. In 
 the Imperial Library, in Paris, there is a Latin 
 manuscript treatise entitled "Liber de Mensura 
 orbis terrae," written in 775, by the Irish monk 
 Dicuil, Abbot of Pahlarcht, in which he tells us ; 
 he had spoken with some Irish ecclesiastics, who 
 had been in Thule, with which he evidently asso- 
 ciates Iceland. "It is now thirty years since cer- 
 tain Religious, who lived in the Island of Thule 
 from the kalends of February to the kalends of 
 August, related to me, that not only in the sum- 
 mer solstice, but in the immediate days thereof, the 
 sun set as if behind a hillock, so that for the 
 shortest space of time there was no darkness, and 
 one could perform a work requiring the minutest 
 observation, "vel pediculosus de camisia abstra- 
 here tanquam in presentia solis potest!" And if 
 one were on the mountain's top, perhaps the sun 
 would not become invisible at all. * * * Besides, 
 those were deceived, who represented it as sur- 
 
202 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 rounded by a frozen ocean, and as enjoying per- 
 petual day from the vernal to the autumnal equi- 
 nox, and vice ver*sa, continued night from the 
 autumnal to the vernal; inasmuch as the Religious 
 arrived in the winter season, and, during their so- 
 journ, experienced both day and night alternately." 
 There is no one who can fail to recognize, in the 
 foregoing, the island of which we are speaking. 
 Iceland, alone, would answer to the description 
 given by the writer, as enjoying an almost perpet- 
 ual day for one half of the year; and, again, labor- 
 ing under the disadvantages of almost perpetual 
 night' for the other half. He then goes on to 
 speak of the Faroe Isles, leaving it still more 
 clearly to be understood, that he had first spoken 
 of Iceland. "There are many other islands in the 
 North Atlantic Ocean, which, from the Shetlands, 
 may be easily reached, with a fair wind, in a 
 couple of days. A certain Religious assured me, 
 that in two days and a night, he reached one of 
 them, in a four-oared boat. Some of these islands, 
 which are small — almost all being separated by 
 narrow straits — were inhabited, about one hun- 
 dred years ago, by hermits, from Ireland. But, 
 as from the beginning of the world, they had been 
 uninhabited, so also now, on account of the Nor- 
 man brigands, are they deserted by the anchorites ; 
 but they are stocked with large herds of sheep, 
 and a great variety of marine birds. We have 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 203 
 
 never found these islands mentioned by any au- 
 thor." 1 
 
 From this, it must appear evident to the reader, 
 that the Irish inhabited Iceland, previous to its dis- 
 covery by the Northmen, in the ninth century; for, 
 as has been remarked, Diculius wrote in the year 
 775. Whence they proceeded, on being banished 
 the island, we may reasonably conjecture, from 
 the historical evidence to be adduced. 
 
 In the Iceland historic work — the Landnama- 
 bock; to which reference has been already made, an 
 account is given of an Icelandic chief, Ari Marson, 
 who, in the year of our Lord, 982, while voyaging 
 at sea, was driven from his course and wrecked 
 on a land which will be subsequently shown to 
 have been the Atlantic coast of North America, 
 where he encountered some Irish, and received 
 baptism at their hands. The passage, as translated 
 from the Are-Magnean collection of Icelandic 
 manuscript histories, preserved in the Royal Li- 
 brary at Copenhagen, runs thus: " Ulf, the 
 squinter, son of Hogni, the white, took all Reyk- 
 janes between Tharkafjard and Hafrafel; he mar- 
 ried Bjorg, daughter of Byvind, the eastman, sis- 
 ter of Helge, the lean; their son was Atili, the 
 red, who married Tharkalta, daughter of Herjil 
 Neprass; their son was Ari, he was driven by a 
 tempest to White Man's Land, which some call 
 
 (1) The book of Diculius de mensura orbis terrce, from the two codex 
 manuscripts of the Imperial Library, at Paris, edited, for the first time, 
 by C A. Walckmaer, Paris, 1807. 
 
204 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Great Ireland. It lies to the west in the sea, near 
 to Vinland the Good, and six days sailing to the 
 west from Ireland. 1 Thence Ari was unable to 
 get away, and was there baptized. This account was 
 given by Rafn, the Limerick merchant, who had 
 lived a long time at Limerick, in Ireland. Thus, 
 also, said Tharkell Gellerson, that Icelanders had 
 stated, who had heard Thorfinn Jarl of the Ork- 
 neys relate that Ari was recognized in White 
 Man's Land, and could not get away from thence, 
 but was much respected." 
 
 It is now incumbent, before proceeding further 
 in the argument, to show that White Man's Land, 
 where Ari Marson was wrecked and baptized was 
 a part of the Atlantic border of North America. 
 The geographical position given it in the passage, 
 near to Vinland the Good, which all the most 
 eminent northern antiquarians, as Rask, Rafn, 
 Beamish, Pinkerton, and a host of others, recog- 
 nize as the present State of Massachusetts, may be 
 offered in the first place in evidence. But more 
 satisfactory still, as excluding all reasonable doubt, 
 is the unequivocal testimony of the Icelandic geog- 
 rapher. In the manuscript, codex B. 770 c. 8vo., 
 the following geographical fragment regarding the 
 position of Great Ireland is thus given : " Now, 
 there are, as is said, south from Greenland, which 
 
 (1) Antiqvitaies Americance, p. 21 — "The six days here spoken of, it 
 must be admitted, present a difficulty, but it is thought by the most 
 eminent men to have been an error on the part of the copyist, for the 
 original manuscript no longer exists. Rafn supposes that it was ori- 
 ginally written xxxvi, and not vi." 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 205 
 
 is inhabited, deserts, uninhabited places, and ice- 
 bergs, then the lands of the Skrelings, then Mark- 
 land, then Yinland the Good; next, and somewhat 
 behind, lies Albania Huitramanaland, which is 
 White Maris Land. Thither was sailing formerly 
 from Ireland; there Irishmen and Icelanders recog- 
 nised Ari, the son of Mar and Ratla of Reykjanes, 
 of whom nothing had been heard for a long time, 
 and who had been made a chief there by the in- 
 habitants." x 
 
 The position thus accorded to White Man's 
 Land, or Great Ireland, whence there was com- 
 munication formerly with Ireland, cannot, by any 
 possibility, be made to refer to any other than that 
 part of the Atlantic coast between New York 
 and Florida; for, to the south of Greenland there 
 is no other land than the American continent, 
 while the very appositeness of the names given to 
 the different parts of the coast leave no manner of 
 doubt as to the precise locality thereof. Thns, the 
 inhabitable places and icebergs mentioned in the 
 first part of the description as occurring immedi- 
 ately on leaving Greenland, are a faithful repre- 
 sentation of that part of the American coast in the 
 immediate vicinity of Davis' Straits and Hudson's 
 Bay. The land of the Skrelings, or Helluland— Flat 
 Stone Land — as it is also called in other Icelandic 
 manuscripts, as we shall presently see, is likewise 
 a most appropriate name for the country of the 
 
 (1) Autig. Amer., p. 215. 
 
206 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Esquimaux along the Labrador coast, the land 
 there being entirely barren, and covered with 
 enormous stones, as we learn from the works of 
 travelers. 1 Markland, or Woodland, which is 
 placed next in order, and is understood as repre- 
 senting the Nova Scotia coast, is thus described in 
 the Columbian Navigator: "The land about the 
 harbor of Halifax, and a little to the southward of 
 it, is in appearance rugged and rocky and has on 
 it in several places scrubby withered woods. Although 
 it seems bold, yet it is not high." And a writer 
 in the North American Pilot, published in London, 
 in 1815, represents it as low, barren, sandy, and 
 woody: " Near Port Hallimand are several barren 
 places ; and thence to Cape Sable, which makes the 
 southwest point into Barrington's Bay, is a low 
 woody island, at the southeast extremity of a range 
 of sandy cliffs." 2 The foregoing is corroborated 
 and confirmed by the account given in the cele- 
 brated Flatobogen codex of the voyages of Leif 
 Erickson, Thorwald, Thorfinn, and Karlsefne, as 
 also by numerous geographical notices, some of 
 which we shall introduce to the notice of the 
 reader. In 994, Leif Erickson, son of Erick the 
 Red, set out on an expedition from Greenland, in 
 order to visit the land we have been describing, 
 
 (1) This vast tract of land is extremely barren, and altogether inca- 
 pable of cultivation. The surface is everywhere uneven, and covered 
 with large stones, some of which are of amazing dimensions. There is 
 no such thing as level land. (Particulars of Labrador. Phil. Transac, 
 vol. L., c. xiv. ) 
 
 (2) See Beamish Hist. Northmen. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 207 
 
 which had been visited a few years previous by his 
 countryman Bjorni Herjulfson. " Erick went 
 home to Brathahild, but Leif repaired to the ship 
 with thirty-five men. There was a southern man, 
 Tyrker Hight, in the company. 1 After preparing 
 the vessel, they sailed into the open sea, and 
 found that land first which Bjarni had found last. 
 After casting anchor, they put off boats and went 
 ashore, but could see no grass. The mountains 
 were covered with enormous masses of icebergs, 
 while the country from the sea thereto appeared 
 as if a plain oiflat stones, and devoid of every good 
 quality. Leif then spoke and said : " It has not 
 happened to us as it did to Bjarni that we have 
 not landed. Now, I will give it a name, and call 
 it Helluland. They then returned to the vessel, 
 and after sailing for some time, came to another 
 land, where they cast anchor and went ashore. 
 This land was flat and covered with wood. Then 
 said Leif, it shall be called after its qualities, and 
 he named it Marhland (Woodland). 
 
 They next immediately returned to the ship, and 
 sailed into the open sea, with a northeast wind, 
 and were two days before they saw land ; whither 
 on proceeding, they came.to an island which lay to 
 the eastward of the coast. There they went ashore, 
 and observed that there was dew upon the grass; 
 and it so happened that they touched the dew 
 with their hands, and having applied their fingers 
 
 (1) This man was supposed to be a German. 
 
208 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 to their mouths, they thought they had never be- 
 fore tasted anything so sweet. After that, they 
 returned to the ship, 1 and sailed into a sound 
 which lay between the island and a ness, which 
 ran out to the eastward of the land, and then 
 steered westward past the ness. It was very shal- 
 low at ebb tide, so that their ship was unable to ad- 
 vance. 2 But, so much did they desire to land, 
 that they did not give themselves time to wait till 
 the water rose under their ship, but ran at once on 
 shore," etc. The narrative then goes on to state 
 how they put up there for the winter, and how 
 having found vines, they called the place Yinland. 
 " And, when the spring came, they got ready and 
 sailed away, and Lief gave the land a name after 
 its qualities, and called it Vinla?id. v 3 
 
 The above discovery was made in 994, from 
 which time till the expedition of Thorfinn Karls- 
 efne in 1007 it was visited respectively by Thor- 
 wald in 1002, and by Thorstein Erickson in 1005. 
 The description given of it by Karlsefne is ident- 
 ical with that of Leif Erickson: "In Brathahild 
 there was much talk about exploring Yinland 
 
 (1) This appears to have been Nantucket Island, where honey-dew 
 is known to exist. ( Vide communication of Dr. Webb to Rhode Island 
 Society.) 
 
 (2) This is a most correct description of the passage between Cape 
 Cod and Rhode Island. "The eastern entrance," says the Columbian 
 Navigator, "is impeded by numerous reefs and other shoals, as likewise 
 the central and western parts, and the whole presents an aspect of 
 drowned lands, which, there can be little doubt, were at some period 
 anterior to history connected with the mainland." (Vide Antiq. 
 Amer., p. 425. Ludlow Beamish.) 
 
 (3) Antiquitates Americanos. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 209 
 
 the good, for it was said that a voyage thither 
 would be particularly advantageous by reason of 
 the fertility of the land ; and it went so far that 
 Karlsefne and Snorri prepared their ships to ex- 
 plore the land in spring. * * * They had the 
 vessels which Thorbgorn had brought out from 
 Iceland. They had in all one hundred and sixty 
 men when they sailed to the western settlement, 
 and from thence to Bjorni. From here, having 
 sailed two days to the south, they saw land, and hav- 
 ing put off boats and explored the coast, they found 
 there great flat stones, and called the land Hellu- 
 land. Thence they sailed two days, and having 
 turned from the south to the southeast, they found 
 a land covered with ivoods, and many wild beasts up- 
 on it; and an island lay there out from the land to 
 the southeast. Having killed a bear there, and 
 called the place Bear-Island, they named the 
 neighboring land Markland." 
 
 The narrative then continues to speak of their 
 further adventures along the coast, and concludes 
 in the following manner: "When they sailed from 
 Yinland they had a south wind and came to Mark- 
 land, and found there five Skrelings, one of whom 
 was an adult, while two were girls and two were 
 boys. They took the boys, but the others escaped. 
 * * * * The youths said there was a land on 
 the other side, just opposite their country, where 
 people lived who wore white clothes, and carried 
 14 
 
210 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 poles before them to which they fastened flags, 
 and they shouted with a loud voice. And people 
 think that this was White Man's Land or Great 
 Ireland." 
 
 In testimony of the foregoing, as placing be- 
 yond the region of doubt the reality of Thorfinn's 
 voyage to America, and his presence in that part 
 of the country of which we have spoken, is the 
 runic inscription found on the eastern coast in the 
 neighborhood of Providence about the middle of 
 the seventeenth century. According to Professor 
 Pafn and Fin Magneusen, to whom a photograph 
 copy was forwarded to Copenhagen, the rude com- 
 bination of figures is illustrative of the visit of 
 the Northmen to the countrv, the name of Thor- 
 finn and the number of his companions being en- 
 graved on the rock. 
 
 The geographical notices contained in the vel- 
 lum and Gripla codexes are equally satisfactory: 
 " South of Greenland is Helluland, next lies Mark- 
 land, thence it is not far to Vinland the good," etc. 
 And in the Gripla it is said: "Now it is to be men- 
 tioned what lies opposite Greenland, out from the 
 Bay; it is Furdustrander; there are strong frosts 
 there, so that it is not habitable as far as is known. 
 South from thence is Helluland, which is called 
 Skrelingsland; south from thence it is not far to 
 Vinland the good," etc. 1 
 
 There can be no possible mistake, then, that the 
 
 (1) Antiq. Amur.: p. 215. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 211 
 
 Vinland and White 'Man's Land, or Great Ireland, 
 spoken of in the text, formed part of the Atlantic 
 border of North America. But in the manuscripts 
 from which we have quoted, it is expressly stated, 
 that communication existed between that country 
 and Ireland; that Ari Marson was baptized there 
 and recognized by Irishmen; hence it is to be 
 certainly concluded that some Irish Christians 
 existed in the country previous to the eleventh 
 century. 1 
 
 Such, indeed, is acknowledged by the greatest 
 and most accurate of modern investigators. Speak- 
 ing on the subject, Baron Yon Humboldt says: 
 " In the older Sagas — the historical narratives of 
 Thornfinn Karlsefne, and the Icelandic Landnam- 
 abock — the southern coasts between Virginia and 
 Florida are designated under the name of the 
 Land of the White Men. They are expressly called 
 Great Ireland (Irland-it-Mikla), and it is main- 
 tained that they were peopled by the Irish." 2 The 
 same is also admitted by Mons. Charney, the learn- 
 
 (1) " This country — Vinland — was supposed to be Huitrarnanna- 
 land, as it was called (the Land of the White Men) otherwise called 
 Irland-it-Mikla (Great Ireland), being probably that part of the coast 
 of North America which extends southward from Chesapeake Bay, 
 including North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Among the 
 Shawanese Indians, who some years ago emigrated from Florida, and 
 are now settled in Ohio, there is preserved a tradition, which seems 
 of importance here, viz: that Florida was once inhabited by white 
 people, who were in possession of iron implements. Judging from the 
 ancient accounts, this must have been an Irish Christian people, who, 
 previous to the year 1000, were settled in this region. The powerful 
 chieftain Ari Marson, of Reykjanes, in Iceland, was in the year 983 
 driven thither by storms, and was there baptized." (Abstract of the 
 Historical Evidence contained in the Antiquitates, or America Discovered 
 by the Scandivanians in the Tenth Century, xxxvii.) 
 
 (2) Humboldt Cosmos, vol. 1. 
 
212 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ed author of the ancient cities and ruins of the 
 Americans, 1 as well as by Beamish. After quoting 
 Professor Rafn's words to the effect that the coun- 
 try south of the Chesapeake Bay, including North 
 and South Carolina, Georgia and East Florida was 
 the part called White Man's Land, the last con- 
 tinues thus: " From what cause could the name of 
 Great Ireland have arisen, but from the fact of the 
 country having been colonized by the Irish? Coming 
 from their own green island to a vast continent, 
 possessing many fertile qualities of their native 
 soil, the appellation would have been natural and 
 appropriate; and costume, color or peculiar habits 
 might have readily given rise to the country being 
 denominated White Man's Land." 
 
 Nor should it be supposed that the Irish would 
 have found it impossible to have reached the 
 American shores at that period; for, as has been 
 shown, they discovered and inhabited Iceland, 
 previous to the ninth century; for the accom- 
 plishment of which, they had to traverse a stormy 
 ocean of several hundred miles. And, we are 
 told by O'Halloran, who gives as his authority the 
 Psalter of Cashel, the oldest Irish mauuscript ex- 
 tant, of a great expedition — a numerous fleet hav- 
 ing been prepared by Moghcorb, king of Leath 
 Mogha, in the year of our Lord 296, with which 
 
 (1) Dans les Sagas Islandaises tonte lacontree comprenant le Texas 
 la peninsule Floridienne et les bords du Mississippi, la Georgie, ac- 
 tuelle et les Carolines, est designee sous le nom d' Irland-et-Mikla ou la 
 Grande Irlande, et par celui de Hvitranianaland ou la Terre des homines 
 blancs." (Cites ei Euines Americaines: Charney, Paris, 1861, p. 18.) 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 213 
 
 he invaded Denmark. Also, in 367, Criomthan, 
 who is styled monarch of Ireland and Albany, dis- 
 patched a powerful fleet to Scotland, in behalf of 
 the Picts against the Romans ; while still later, in 
 396, Niall of the nine hostages, sent what O'Hal- 
 loran terms a numerous navy, for a like purpose- 
 Independent entirely of the foregoing — resting 
 solely on the ancient Irish traditions which were 
 known to exist, and were received in different 
 parts of the continent of Europe, it is almost im- 
 possible to arrive at any other conclusion, than 
 that America was visited by Irishmen, long before 
 the arrival of the Spaniards in the fifteenth cen- 
 tury. Every one acquainted with the history of 
 Ireland, must be aware that there existed in the 
 country, from the earliest time, a tradition of the 
 voyage of St. Brennen, or Brandon, to the west. 
 St. Brandon was born about the year 485, and un- 
 dertook his voyage, it is thought, in 545. The 
 local traditions of his adventure still exist on the 
 west coast of Ireland ; but he was not the first of 
 whom tradition speaks, as having crossed the At- 
 lantic. Barinthus, his cousin, it is said, had pre- 
 ceded him; from whom, having learned an account 
 of the country, and the^great number of idolators 
 who inhabited it, he resolved to carry to them the 
 tidings of redemption. The particulars of the 
 tradition are embodied in the following: "We 
 are informed that Brandon, hearing of the previ- 
 ous voyage of his cousin Barinthus, in the western 
 
214 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ocean, and obtaining an account from him, of the 
 happy isles he had landed on in the far west, de- 
 termined, under the strong desire of winning 
 heathen souls to Christ, to undertake a voyage of 
 discovery himself. And, aware that all along the 
 western coast of Ireland, there were many tradi- 
 tions respecting the existence of a western land, 
 he proceeded to the island of Arran, and there 
 remained for some time, holding communication 
 with the venerable St. Enda, and obtaining from 
 him much information on what his mind was bent. 
 There can be little doubt that he proceeded north- 
 ward along the coast of Mayo, and made inquiry 
 among its bays and islands, of the remnant of the 
 Tuatha Danaan people, that once were so expert 
 in naval affairs, and who acquired from the Mi- 
 lesians that overcame them, the character of being 
 magicians, for their superior knowledge. At In- 
 niskea, then, and Innisgloria, Brandon set up his 
 Cross, and in after time, in his honor, were erected 
 those curious remains that still exist. 
 
 Having prosecuted his inquiries with all dili- 
 gence, Brandon returned to his native Kerry, and 
 from a bay, sheltered by a lofty mountain, that is 
 now known by his name, he set sail for the At- 
 lantic land; and, directing his course toward the 
 southwest, in order to meet the summer solstice, 
 or, what we would call the tropics, after a long 
 and rough voyage, his little bark being well pro- 
 visioned, he came to summer seas, where he was 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 215 
 
 carried along, without the aid of sail or oar, for 
 many a long day. This, it is to be presumed, was 
 the great gulf stream, and which brought his ves- 
 sel to shore, somewhere about the Virginia capes, or 
 where the American coast trends eastward, and 
 forms the New England States. 
 
 Here landing, he and his companions marched 
 steadily into the interior, for fifteen days, and then 
 came to a large river, flowing from east'to west; 
 this, evidently, was the Ohio. And this the holy 
 adventurer was about to cross, when he was ac- 
 costed by a person of noble presence — but whether 
 a real or imaginary man, does not appear — who 
 told him he had gone far enough; that further dis- 
 coveries were reserved for other men, who would, 
 in due time, come and christianize all that pleasant 
 land. 
 
 The above, when tested by common sense, 
 clearly shows that Brandon landed on a continent, 
 and went a good way into the interior, met a great 
 river, running in a different direction from those he 
 heretofore had crossed, and here, from the difficulty 
 of transit, or want of provisions, or deterred by 
 increasing difficulties, he turned back; and, no 
 doubt, in a dream, he saw some such vision, 
 which embodied his own previous thoughts, and 
 satisfied him that it was expedient for him to re- 
 turn home. It is said he remained seven years 
 away, and returned to set up a college of three 
 
216 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 thousand monks, at Clonbert, and then died in the 
 odor of sanctity." 1 
 
 In the foregoing, the reader will not have failed 
 to observe, that as St. Brandon, who was born in 
 485, found several traditions existing in the coun- 
 try, regarding the existence of a western land, and 
 the connection therewith of the names of the Tu- 
 atha de Danaans, it is by no means improbable, 
 that even before the introduction of Christianity 
 into Ireland, America was visited by Irishmen. 
 Indeed, the very accounts given by Irish histo- 
 rians, of the overthrow and dispersion of the Ne- 
 medians, would seem to favor this opinion; for, 
 being overcome by the Fomarians, one thousand 
 eight hundred years oefore Christ, they split into 
 three bodies, and betook themselves to sea, in 
 quest of other lands; some, as is supposed, finding 
 a home, for the time, in North Britain; while oth- 
 ers proceeded to more northern countries, for a 
 like purpose. To this, we shall refer in a subse- 
 quent chapter, as tending to explain the most dif- 
 ficult problem of American history — the origin of 
 the mounds, fortifications, viaducts and other evi- 
 dences of ancient civilization, everywhere found 
 on the American continent. 
 
 As to the fact of the voyage of St. Brandon, 
 the traditions concerning it were not merely con- 
 fined to the country of the Saint, but were widely 
 
 (1) Olway's Sketches: pp. 98-99. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 217 
 
 diffused through the continent of Europe. 1 In 
 the thirteenth century, Jacobus Voraginius, Bishop 
 of Genoa, celebrated the Saint's voyage, in the 
 poem called the " Golden Legend,' 1 and in the map 
 drawn up for Columbus, prior to his voyage of dis- 
 covery, by Toscanelli, of Florence, St. Brandon's 
 land is expressly marked, from all which, it is to 
 be concluded that the voyage of the Saint was not 
 an imaginary but a real one, 2 and that from his 
 presence in the country, or, from the other Irish, 
 who have been shown, from Icelandic histories, to 
 have been on the coast at a later date, may have 
 come those manifestly Christian traditions, doc- 
 trines and practices, found to exist in California, 
 on the arrival of the Spaniards, and of which we 
 have spoken above. 
 
 (1) Vide Usher's Antiq. of British Churches ; Epistles of Irish Saints > 
 Humboldt's Cosmos: vol. I. 
 
 (2) Irish Settlers in North America: vol. I., p. 21. 
 
 Note . — The extracts from the original Icelandic will be found in Note 
 at end of volume. 
 
218 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 Reduction of the Country by the Civil Authoeity found to be 
 Impossible. — It is offeeed to the Jesuits. — They Refuse. — 
 Fathee Kuhno peoposes to undeetake the work. — He is 
 Joined by Fathee John Salya Tiekra. — Their Chaeactees. — 
 Theie Peeseveeing Efforts to obtain permission to enter 
 the Country. — Their Success. — Father Tierra Sails for 
 California. — The Lives of the Christians in danger from 
 the Natives. — Father Piccolo arrives. — Danger again feom 
 the Natives. — Ceitical Position of the Cheistians. — Theie 
 Provisions are exhausted. — On the Verge of Perishing from 
 want. ] — They make a Novena. — Supplies arrive. — Father 
 Tierea visits the Teibes in the Interior. — Success during 
 the First Three Years. 
 
 On the return of Admiral Otanclo's expedition, of 
 which we have spoken in the opening chapter, after 
 an absence of three years, during which two hun- 
 dred and twenty-five thousand dollars of the royal 
 exchequer were fruitlessly wasted, the probability 
 of reducing the country by such means was taken 
 into the serious consideration of Government. In 
 a council held on the occasion, after mature de- 
 liberation, the conquest of California was declared 
 entirely impracticable by the civil authorities. 
 But that such a dependency might not be lost to 
 the crown, it was proposed to entrust its reduction 
 to the Jesuit Fathers, with an offer of the neces- 
 sary means to be paid annually from the Govern- 
 ment funds. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 219 
 
 Father An gel o Marras, the then acting provin- 
 cial, with the unanimous consent of the chapter, 
 respectfully declined the offer of Government, al- 
 leging as a reason the many inconveniences the 
 society would be exposed to in taking upon itself 
 the temporal concerns of the country in the man- 
 ner required. The Fathers, however, expressed 
 themselves ready to furnish a number of mission- 
 ary priests, as they had done in the preceding 
 expeditions, whenever Government would deem 
 proper to renew the attempt. Thus the matter 
 was given over as hopeless, and no further attempt 
 was made for the ten following years. Meantime, 
 he Almighty, in his ineffable wisdom and good- 
 ness, was preparing in the person of an humble mis- 
 sionary priest, a power which, when all others had 
 failed, would prove eminently successful in accom- 
 plishing the work, thereby establishing the truth 
 of the words : " For the foolish things of the 
 world hath God chosen that He may confound the 
 wise ; and the weak things of the world hath God 
 chosen, that He may confound the strong. And 
 the base things of the world, and the things that 
 are contemptible hath God chosen, and the things 
 that are not, that He might bring to nought 
 things that are : that no flesh should glory in His 
 sight." x 
 
 " Arms and men," says Father Venegas, " were 
 the means for which men relied for the success of 
 
 (1) St. Paul's First Epistles Corinthians: chap. 1, v. 27-29. 
 
220 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 this enterprise. But it was the will of Heaven 
 that this triumph should be owing to the meekness 
 and courtesy of His ministers, to the humiliation of 
 His cross, and the power of His word. God seemed 
 only to wait till human force acknowledged its 
 weakness to display the strength of His Almighty 
 arm, confounding the pride of the world by means 
 of the weakest instrument. Possibly God was not 
 pleased to countenance the first enterprises to 
 California, whilst the capital object was temporal 
 good, and religion only a secondary motive. And, 
 on the contrary, lie prospered the design when 
 His kingdom was the motive, and the advantage 
 of the monarchy only considered as a probable 
 consequence." 
 
 After the failure of the expedition, the mission- 
 aries returned to their respective positions, but 
 the good dispositions they had witnessed in the 
 natives, made them desirous of returning to a land 
 where they might reasonably hope for the most 
 brilliant success as the result of their labors. The 
 most interested and confident in the future success 
 of the work was the Rev. Father Kulmo, a man of 
 high culture, great natural ability, and a profound 
 sense of religion. Father Kiihno was equally re- 
 markable for his piety, his zeal, and indefatigable 
 exertions on behalf of religion, of which he event- 
 ually gave such remarkable proofs, as for his 
 talent and natural endowments. 
 
 Born about the year 1650, at Trent, he entered the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 221 
 
 Society of Jesus at an early period ; and, after com- 
 pleting his course, in which he was eminently dis- 
 tinguished, he was appointed Professor of Mathe- 
 matics in the University of Ingolstadt, in Bavaria. 
 Here he was honored on account of his eminent 
 attainments, with the particular favors of the 
 crown. The highest honors and dignities were 
 certain to follow in time; but neither the favors of 
 the monarch, nor the applause of his pupils was 
 any impediment in preventing him from devoting 
 himself to the wants of the poor and abandoned, 
 as an humble missionary priest to a barbarous race. 
 Accordingly, he exchanged the precincts of the 
 court for the barren hills of California — the stu- 
 dents of Ingolstadt, for the poor savages of America. 
 Like his great prototype in the east, Father Rich- 
 ard, de jNTobili, his heart was inflamed with a 
 most ardent desire of promoting the kingdom of 
 God upon earth. 
 
 Pursuant to a vow made to his patron St. Fran- 
 cis, he quitted his post of mathematics in Europe, 
 and came over to Mexico, as missionary to the 
 natives. Such devotion in the cause of religion 
 could not fail to be attended with the most favor- 
 able results. Having proposed to himself the 
 Apostle of the Indies as his model in life, he imi- 
 tated his virtues, and practiced his austerities. 
 His heart was as large as his intellect. Not only 
 the conversion of the savage inhabitants, but their 
 amelioration, both social and religious, was the 
 
222 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 first and uppermost thought in his mind. The 
 consummate knowledge he had of the sciences, as 
 well as his gentleness and affability of manner, 
 which gained him an ascendancy over the minds 
 of others, contributed not a little to aid him in 
 effecting his purpose. 
 
 But, though the prime mover and principal 
 agent in bringing about the conversion of the 
 people, Father Kuhno was not the immediate 
 instrument used by the Almighty for this charita- 
 ble purpose, as we shall presently see. With the 
 view of facilitating his entrance into California, he 
 solicited permission to labor in the province of 
 Sonora, at the opposite side of the gulf. By this, 
 he contemplated being able to enter more readily 
 on the field of his labors, and the reduction of 
 the natives. On his request being granted, he 
 started from Mexico, on the twentieth day of Octo- 
 ber, 1686, and traversed the country in every di- 
 rection, seeking to impress upon the minds of his 
 brethren the importance and advantage of so 
 glorious an enterprise. During the course of his 
 travels, he was met by the Rev. Father John Maria 
 Salva Tierra, a man of like zeal and ability, of 
 much experience in missionary life, having spent 
 several years among the natives in the province of 
 Tarrahumara. 
 
 Father Tierra was then engaged as visitor of 
 the missions of Sinaloa and Sonora. His natural 
 abilities, the gentleness, earnestness and affability of 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 223 
 
 his disposition — the apostolic spirit evinced in his 
 life, joined to his naturally robust constitution, 
 recommended him to his brother Religious as a man 
 eminently qualified for so arduous an undertaking. 
 The description given of him by one who knew 
 him best, is worthy of the reader's attention : 
 
 " He was of a strong, robust constitution, bear- 
 ing fatigue and hardship without affecting his 
 health. His judgment and prudence had recom- 
 mended him to the unanimous approbation of the 
 society for the high position he had enjoyed. He 
 was of the most endearing gentleness in discourse; 
 had all the intrepidity and resolution requisite for 
 beginning and conducting the greatest enterprises. 
 The opinion of his wisdom and intellectual talent 
 had gained him universal esteem, which was height- 
 ened to veneration by his Christian virtues." 
 
 Such was the man destined by Heaven for the 
 introduction of Christianity into California; but, 
 as frequently happens, even in important concerns, 
 undertaken for the glory of God, he had to en- 
 counter great opposition in effecting his charitable 
 purpose. In vain did he look for encouragement, 
 from the members of his society, the Govern- 
 ment, or the public. The scheme was so large, 
 and the difficulties so great, while the means at 
 disposal, were, apparently, so inadequate, that the 
 work was consklered entirely impracticable by all. 
 There was one, however — the man who put the 
 project originally before him — who entered heartily 
 
224 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 into his views, encouraged and sustained him in 
 his purpose. While enjoying each other's society, 
 it was the general subject of conversation, the ob- 
 ject of their thoughts and desires. After weigh- 
 ing the matter maturely, it was resolved to seek 
 immediately for permission to enter the country. 
 Father Tierra applied to the society for permis- 
 sion, but the provincial, looking upon the scheme 
 as impracticable, refused his request; and, even 
 when repeatedly urged, it met with no better suc- 
 cess. The proposal was also rejected by the viceroy 
 and council, on the plea of the exhausted state of 
 the finances; although, as we have seen, his Ex- 
 cellency and advisers had proposed, on the failure 
 of Otando's expedition, to supply the necessary 
 expenses from the royal exchequer. 
 
 Meeting with no encouragement, either from the 
 Fathers of his society, or from the members of 
 Government in Mexico, this remarkable man re- 
 solved to appeal to the sovereign in person; but in 
 this he was doomed to a like disappointment. 
 The Court of Madrid rejected his plan as unfeasi- 
 ble and ideal. In short, everything but the faith 
 and confidence of the humble missionary, seemed 
 to declare absolutely against him and his project. 
 The country, the Government, the society, the 
 monarch — all, in a word, were opposed to his de- 
 signs; but no manner of obstacles, or repulses 
 from those in authority, was able to shake him in 
 his firm resolve. He had trusted in God, the work 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 225 
 
 was his, and the Lord was sure to be his strength. 
 Well, indeed, might he have said with the Psalm- 
 ist, when everything and every one seemed to 
 thwart his designs, and to frown upon his purpose, 
 "In te, Domine, speravi non confundar in ae ter- 
 mini. " 
 
 Ten years were thus wasted in vain and fruit- 
 less representations to the civil and religious au- 
 thorities, both at home and abroad. At length, 
 the difficulties seemed to give way: it was, how- 
 ever, only in appearance; for when Father Tierra 
 and his friend, Father Kiihno, arrived in Mexico, 
 being led to suppose that they would succeed in 
 their desires, their most earnest representations 
 for permission to enter California, were met with 
 a positive refusal, and they were obliged to return, 
 the one, to his mission in the province of Pimeria, 
 and the other, to the care of some novices at 
 Tepozatlan. 
 
 So many obstacles thus thrown in his way, and 
 such repeated refusals given, by those high in au- 
 thority, would have deterred any ordinary mind; 
 but, as the Father felt sure of his call, he was not 
 to be intimidated, or driven from his purpose, by 
 the most disheartening refusals, or the sternest 
 opposition. He repeated his request to the Father- 
 general of the society, earnestly soliciting permis- 
 sion to enter on the mission. The superior of the 
 
 society, at that time, was Father Gonzales de 
 15 
 
226 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Santa Ella, a man of remarkable ability and vir- 
 tue, whose learning, in the University of Sala- 
 manca, was as admired as his zeal for the conver- 
 sion of the Moors was conspicuous. In him, 
 Father Tierra found a sincere and devoted ad- 
 mirer and advocate. He was a man of a kindred 
 mind, of the same mould and cast of character, 
 learned, pious, zealous and trustful. Having had 
 occasion to come over to Mexico at that time, after 
 consulting with the Fathers, the possibility of con- 
 verting the aborigines and of reducing the coun- 
 try, was, for the first time, deemed a practicable 
 matter; permission was accordingly granted for 
 undertaking the work. Thus, after several years 
 of trial, disappointment and anxiety, during which, 
 the faith and perseverance of the Fathers were 
 rigorously tested, the holy and zealous Religious 
 had the pleasure of seeing one of their most se- 
 rious and formidable difficulties entirely removed. 
 Another and almost equally formidable obstacle, 
 however, still remained in their way ; for Govern- 
 ment was unwilling to supply the necessary means 
 for undertaking the work. The meanness and im- 
 policy of the civil authorities in refusing the mis- 
 sionaries the necessary means, after having previ- 
 ously promised them, cannot be too severely 
 condemned. But what Government was unwilling 
 to do, was clone by the faith and pious liberality 
 of the people. 
 
 On receiving permission from the General of the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 227 
 
 society, to enter on the accomplishment of that 
 work which in vain had occupied the attention 
 of Government for close upon two hundred years, 
 Father Tierra proceeded to Mexico to solicit the 
 alms of the faithful, for the commencement of his 
 enterprise. There he met with valuable aid in the 
 person of Father Ugarte, professor of philosophy, 
 and of whose missionary success we shall after- 
 wards speak. As the success of the expedition 
 depended not so much on the means requisite for 
 enabling the missionaries to land in the country, 
 as upon maintaining them in the field of their la- 
 bors, a no very inconsiderable sum was required 
 for the full accomplishment of the work. This, 
 the liberality and munificence of the faithful sup- 
 plied. Subscriptions to the amount of several 
 thousand dollars were soon in the hands of Father 
 Tierra. A government official, the Treasurer of 
 Acapulco, aided the work with the gift of a ves- 
 sel, and the loan of another; while the congrega- 
 tion of Our Lady of Dolores, in Mexico promised 
 an annual sum of five hundred dollars as a sub- 
 sistence for one mission. To this was added, by a 
 virtuous priest of Queretaro, the munificent sum of 
 twenty thousand crowns, as a fund for the estab- 
 lishment of two additional missions, with the fur- 
 ther assurance, that he would honor any bills 
 signed by the Fathers. 
 
 Matters being thus happily arranged and every- 
 thing pointing in the direction of a prosperous 
 
228 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 issue, the sanction of Government was sought and 
 obtained for the expedition, though not without 
 opposition on the part of some members of Coun- 
 cil. The royal warrant empowering Fathers 
 Kuhno and Salva Tierra to take possession of Cal- 
 ifornia was issued on the 5th of February, on the 
 following conditions : First, that they should not 
 demand anything of Government or draw for any 
 sums on the treasury without the express com- 
 mand of his Majesty; and, secondly, they were to 
 take possession of the country in the name of the 
 Sovereign. Both conditions were readily accepted 
 by the Religious. By virtue of the commission 
 they were empowered to enlist, appoint and main- 
 tain a certain number of soldiers and commanders, 
 retaining in their hands the right of discharging 
 them for offences or misdemeanors whenever ne- 
 cessity demanded it. In behalf of the soldiers it 
 was ordained that they should enjoy the usual im- 
 munities as if serving under the crown, and that 
 their services should be accounted the same as in 
 war. Lastty, the power of appointing civil officials 
 for the administration of justice and the internal 
 management of the country was granted to the 
 Fathers. 
 
 Father Tierra took his departure from Mexico on 
 the 7th of February, two days after he had re- 
 ceived his commission from Government. It was 
 not, however, till the middle of October of the 
 same year that he was able to sail on his voyage. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 229 
 
 He was detained at the harbor of Hiaqui for sev- 
 eral reasons, but especially awaiting the arrival 
 of his friend and companion, Father Kiihno, who 
 was to join him in the work. But he having been 
 unavoidably delayed on account of a rebellion 
 which broke out at this particular time among the 
 Indians, Father Tierra was necessitated to proceed 
 on his voyage alone. His entire expedition 
 amounted only to eight persons — five soldiers, in- 
 cluding their commander, and three Indians — re- 
 spectively from the provinces of Sinaloa, Sonora 
 and Guadalaxara. Of the soldiers, one was a 
 Creole, one a Maltese, a third a Sicilian, and the 
 fourth a Peruvian mulatto. With this insignifi- 
 cant band the Father started on his voyage, and 
 after a prosperous sail of three days, landed in 
 California, in St. Denis' Bay, on the 19th of Octo- 
 ber, 1697, a clay ever memorable in the annals of 
 the Calif ornian Church. A suitable place near the 
 shore having been chosen for the encampment, the 
 provisions, animals and baggage were landed from 
 the vessel. Temporary barracks were erected for 
 the soldiers, a hut served for a chapel, while the 
 symbol of the Christian religion, decorated with 
 garlands of flowers, was erected in a prominent 
 position, never again to be removed from the 
 land. 
 
 The immaculate Mother of God having been 
 chosen patroness of the mission, her statue was 
 brought in procession from the vessel and placed 
 
230 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 in the church. Thus, under such humble, yet not 
 entirely unfavorable auspices, was the first Catho- 
 lic mission for the conversion of the Californian 
 aborigines begun by the Rev. Father John Maria 
 Salva Tierra of the Society of Jesus, on the 19th 
 day of October, in the year of our Lord 1697. On 
 the 25th of the same month possession was form- 
 all}' taken of the country by the Father, in the 
 name of his majesty, Philip Y. 
 
 Father Tierra, now finding himself alone in the 
 field of his labors for which he had so long and so 
 persistently petitioned, must naturally have felt 
 the weight and responsibility of his position. Be- 
 fore him lay the whole of Lower and Upper Cali- 
 fornia, with their thousands of barbarous inhabi- 
 tants, for the conversion and civilization of whom 
 he had entirely to rely on the mild and persuasive 
 words of the gospel. For the accomplishment of 
 his purpose he applied himself in the first instance 
 to the acquisition of the vernacular. The difficul- 
 ties he had to contend with, however, lay not en- 
 tirely in his unacquaintance of the language. They 
 were of a more formidable and exceptional char- 
 acter. To the rudeness, barbarity and ignorance 
 of the people, the ordinary lot of every Apistle, 
 was also to be added the still more formidable im- 
 pediments — the rude and inhospitable nature of 
 the country, to which is to be attributed the fail- 
 ure of so many and such important expeditions 
 undertaken by Government and private specula- 
 

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 ifornia 
 
 <£ 
 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 231 
 
 tion during the century and a half previous. The 
 difficulty, too, of obtaining through agents from 
 the charity of the faithful what was denied them 
 by Government as well as the very precarious ar- 
 rival of the supplies, even when forwarded from 
 Mexico, rendered the work obviously arduous in 
 the extreme. But inasmuch as his mission was 
 approved of by Heaven, difficulties were not suf- 
 fered to interfere with its progress. 
 
 To obtain the more readily the affections of the 
 inhabitants, Father Tierra had recourse in the first 
 instance to those natural means best calculated to 
 win the esteem of the savages. To this end he 
 distributed daily amongst them a quantity of 
 pozzoli, or rice, of which they were exceedingly 
 fond, but on the condition of their learning some 
 prayers and attending the catechism. This they 
 continued to do for a time, but, liking the pozzoli 
 better than the prayers, they sought for the one 
 while they neglected the other. The Father's re- 
 fusal to grant their request was near leading to the 
 worst and most deplorable consequences. It so 
 angered their feelings as to arouse all the savage 
 characteristics of their nature, and they resolved 
 to get possession of all by murdering the Father 
 and his companions. , In this they must necessarily 
 have succeeded had not the providence of God in- 
 terposed in behalf of the Christians. They had 
 pitched upon the 31st of October for the accom- 
 plishment of their wicked design, but God, who is 
 
232 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ever present with his faithful apostles, defeated 
 their purpose in the following remarkable manner: 
 One of their number, a chief, happening to be 
 ill, and having formed the desire of dying a Chris- 
 tian, informed the Father of the people's intent, 
 and thus enabled him to take the necessary pre- 
 cautionary measures. These measures, however, 
 might have proved entirely inadequate had not the 
 presence of a vessel in the harbor dispirited their 
 numbers ; but as the vessel made only a little delay 
 they quickly resumed their former hostility. A 
 fortnight was thus passed by the Father and his 
 companions in the greatest trepidation and danger. 
 Night and day they were constantly on guard ex- 
 pecting momentarily to be attacked by the sav- 
 ages. At length, on the 13th of November, the 
 natives determined to carry out their design. The 
 attack was commenced by a shower of stones and 
 arrows from some five hundred Indians, who 
 rushed upon the camp from different quarters. 
 Then the great body advanced, shouting and vocif- 
 erating most wildly, but they were presently re- 
 pulsed by the bold and daring attitude of the 
 Christians. It may, however, be more correct to 
 identify the safety of the Father and his compan- 
 ions with the special protection of Heaven vouch- 
 safed in so noble a cause, for otherwise it is diffi- 
 cult to see how some hundreds of exasperated 
 savages would not have rushed upon that mere 
 handful of Christians, or that some of their arrows 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 233 
 
 in whose use they were such experts, would not 
 have proved fatal to the same. 
 
 A few effective shots from the beginning would, 
 indeed, have gone far to dispirit their numbers ; 
 but as the Father would not permit them being 
 fired on till matters came to the greatest extremity, 
 the natives were emboldened, and the action con- 
 tinued for a couple of hours, when the whole body 
 precipitately retired, but only to return with ad- 
 ditional fury and additional numbers. The Chris- 
 tians, now finding themselves sore pressed by the 
 enemy, were necessitated, unless they desired to 
 part with their lives, to make use of the piece of 
 artillery which they had in the camp; but un- 
 happily, instead of being a means of defence it 
 was well-nigh near being a cause of defeat, for 
 bursting at the first shot it flew into several pieces, 
 without, however, producing any more unfavorar 
 ble result than that of frightening the garrison 
 and encouraging the enemy. 
 
 The Indians, on noticing the result and seeing 
 that no damage was caused to their numbers, con- 
 cluded that as the cannon was ineffectual the mus- 
 kets were doubly sure to be so, an opinion in which 
 they were confirmed by reason of the fact that the 
 soldiers were commanded by the Father to fire in 
 the air, and not at the men. The attack, how- 
 ever, becoming more desperate, and the Father 
 having barely escaped with his life, orders were 
 given by the commander to fire upon the enemy, 
 
234 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 when presently, terrified by the effects of the 
 musketry, the assailants retired in disorder and 
 betook themselves precipitately to flight. 
 
 The salutary effect of this lesson was quickly 
 experienced by the Christians, for after a little a 
 deputation, headed by one of the chiefs, waited 
 on the garrison, declaring their sorrow for having 
 attempted the lives of their benefactors. A little 
 later on another deputation, consisting of women 
 and children, arrived with a similar object. Father 
 Tierra, it is hardly necessary to remark, received 
 them with kindness and affection, and after pointing 
 out to them the enormity of their crime, distributed 
 among them several presents as a pledge of for- 
 giveness. That night solemn thanksgiving was re- 
 turned to God and the immaculate Virgin for the 
 signal protection afforded the garrison on that try- 
 ing occasion. On the following morning one of 
 the vessels belonging to the mission, laden with 
 provisions, arrived in the bay — a circumstance 
 which added not a little to the general joy and re- 
 joicing occasioned by the success in the attack of 
 the natives. Father Tierra, thus seeing the pro- 
 tection of Heaven so manifestly vouchsafed to 
 him in the victory and opportune arrival of the 
 supplies, became doubly active in the discharge of 
 his functions, relying in all things for success on 
 the power and favor of Heaven. 
 
 The business of the mission was again regularly 
 resumed; the storm had blown over; the natives 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 235 
 
 were returned, and everything looked cheerful and 
 hopeful as before. Father Tierra now reaped the 
 first fruit of his mission. The sick chief, of whom 
 I have spoken above as having informed the Fath- 
 er of the intended attack on his life, was formally 
 received into the church. The circumstances con- 
 nected with his conversion were so remarkable 
 that they deserve to be noticed. Ten years prev- 
 ious, during the time of Otando's expedition in 
 the country, he had received a slight knowledge 
 of the religion, but was not received into the 
 church. Meantime, between then and the arrival 
 of the Fathers, it pleased the Almighty to afflict 
 him with an incurable disease — a terrible cancer, 
 whose ravages were fortunately stayed till the 
 coming of the missionaries. On learning of their 
 landing he immediately hastened to their presence 
 as speedily as possible, and had the double con- 
 solation of receiving the holy sacrament of baptism 
 and of saving the lives of the Christians, as we 
 have seen. His death was rendered still more 
 consoling from the fact that he had the pleasure 
 of seeing his children also received into the church. 
 Two other children and an adult were likewise 
 baptized at this time, to the great edification of 
 the garrison and the ^consolation of the Fathers. 
 
 While matters were thus satisfactorily progress- 
 ing, Father Tierra, was joined by his friend and 
 co-laborer, Father Francis Piccolo, who had been 
 detained at Hiaqui, on business. The new Father's 
 
236 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 arrival brought the greatest consolation to the 
 heart of the Apostle. Writing to a friend on the 
 subject, he sa} 7 s: "I cannot express to you the 
 comfort his coming has given me; not so much for 
 my own person alone, as for the Spaniards and In- 
 dians; for the conversion of the latter has now an 
 appearance of certainty. Henceforth, the stand- 
 ard of Christ will not be removed from these 
 countries, and Mary will, undoubtedly, lay the 
 foundation of her holy house among the elect." 
 
 In order to fortify themselves against any sud- 
 den attack on the part of the natives, as also to 
 add more to their personal comfort, the Fathers 
 and soldiers now began the erection of works of 
 defence, and the enlargement of their dwellings. 
 The former consisted of a trench and a palisade, 
 drawn round the camp, and the latter of huts for 
 the Religious and their companions. A little 
 chapel, formed of clay and stone, with a thatched 
 roof, was erected, under the patronage of the Vir- 
 gin, and took the place of the tent which hitherto 
 served for that purpose. In the interval between 
 then and the great festival of Christmas, every 
 preparation was made for the dedication of the 
 little building, the first permanent one of the 
 kind which had been erected on Californian 
 soil. The pomp and ceremony usual on such 
 occasions were, in great measure, compensated 
 for by the number of masses, and the fervent 
 devotion of the Christians. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 237 
 
 Letters demanding an additional number of 
 missionaries and troops, were forwarded at this 
 juncture, to Mexico — a precaution, which, as 
 far as the military were concerned, evinced a care- 
 ful prudence and foresight on the part of the 
 Fathers. 
 
 Up to this time, the general impression in the 
 minds of the natives was, that the Spaniards had 
 come to the coast with the object of fishing for 
 pearls, and trading with the inhabitants. But 
 when they came to find out that their purpose was 
 of a different nature — the establishment of religion 
 — their evil propensities were immediately awak- 
 ened, and a bitter antipathy created in their minds 
 against the Religious and their doctrines. The 
 teachers, whose authority and gains had suffered 
 by the influence of the Fathers, were not wanting 
 in magnifying the causes of discontent, and there- 
 by succeeded in increasing the rancor of the peo- 
 ple. At the same time, a part of the people was 
 strongly inclined to the Fathers, but the majority 
 was on the side of the sorcerers. Their frequent 
 and bitter complaints, at last took the shape of 
 open hostilities. After destroying a boat belong- 
 ing to the mission, a large number of them en- 
 countered a few of the troops ; but, as in the 
 former engagement, were speedily routed; and, 
 what was of still greater importance, seemed to 
 recognize, in their defeat, their utter inability to 
 conquer the Christians. 
 
238 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 The captain of the Europeans was for making 
 an example of the leaders, but the Father in whose 
 hands the entire control of the garrison was 
 placed, would not listen to the proposal. He had 
 come to preach the gospel of the New Law — to 
 set an example of patience, forbearance, and for- 
 giveness of injuries — and could not see the pro- 
 priety of punishing even the guilty. On seeing an 
 apparent repentance on the part of the savages, 
 he granted them a general pardon and forgiveness 
 of the past. This generous and ready forgiveness 
 on the part of the Father shows the true charac- 
 ter of the man, and the spirit by which he was 
 animated, in the same manner as the revolt of the 
 natives reveals to the reader one of the numerous 
 obstacles and difficulties he had to contend with, 
 in establishing the faith in the country. The sav- 
 age character is, in many things, puerile. It is 
 that of the child — fickle, volatile and impet- 
 uous, easily roused, violent and unreasoning, but 
 presently returning to duty upon an exercise of 
 authority. 
 
 Six months had already gone by, since the 
 Fathers had landed. It was now the month of 
 April, that part of the ecclesiastical year, observed 
 all over the Catholic world with such fervor and 
 solemnity. Those who have had the happiness of 
 being in Rome, or in any of the other Catholic 
 capitals of Europe, during the week preceding the 
 great festival of Easter, must have been deeply 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 239 
 
 impressed with the solemnity and impressiveness 
 of the Catholic ritual. But, on the Californian 
 coast a century and a half since, when Chris- 
 tianity was only barely struggling into existence, 
 little could be expected. A mud chapel, with a 
 thatched roof, and little or no interior decora- 
 tions, was badly suited to elevate the mind and 
 impress the audience with the solemnity of the oc- 
 casion. Yet it was, we are told, with inexpressi- 
 ble amazement that the Indians beheld, for the 
 first time, in Father Tierra's little church, the 
 ceremonies of Holy Week. The plaintive chant, 
 the numerous lights, the sacred vestments, and the 
 pious demeanor of the Christians, struck them 
 with awe, and inclined them most favorably to- 
 ward our holy religion. 
 
 The evil disposition of the people in general, as 
 shown in the late attempts on the lives of the 
 Christians, were largely compensated for by the 
 piety and devotion of some of the children. 
 u Such boys and girls," writes Father Tierra, in a 
 letter to one of his companions, " as were cate- 
 chumens, and had been instructed in the prayers, 
 and other devotional exercises, drew tears from 
 my eyes, particularly a little boy called Juanico 
 Cavallero, not yet four years of age, who, with his 
 little shell on his head and his wand in his hand, 
 conducted the questions, putting his little finger 
 to his mouth when any one talked or did any- 
 thing wrong. Sometimes he would take the rosa- 
 
240 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ries and reliquaries of the soldiers, then fall on his 
 knees and devoutly kiss them, and put them to 
 his little eyes, and bid all to do likewise , and, if 
 any one did not take notice, it vexed him to such 
 a degree that he was not to be quieted till the 
 offender fell on his knees and kissed a rosary or 
 reliquary, while all blessed the devout importunity 
 of the child." 
 
 The Fathers had two great sources of trial at 
 this time well calculated to test their faith and 
 confidence in God and his Blessed Mother, under 
 whose powerful patronage the mission was placed. 
 The first was the abrupt and entirely unexpected 
 departure of the natives Catechumens and others 
 from the Mission, the cause of which, for the time, 
 was unknown to the missionaries. They had gone 
 into the interior for the gathering of the pithahayas, 
 of which I have spoken above, and which usually 
 occurred in the months of June and July. The 
 second was the fear of being obliged to perish of 
 want, their entire stock of provisions being re- 
 duced to three sacks of maggoty maize, and three 
 of badly-ground corn. As the vessel they had 
 dispatched for supplies had been entirely over 
 her time, a circumstance easily accounted for by 
 the late tempestuous state of the weather, to 
 which her certain destruction had been attributed 
 by their terrified imaginations, little or no hope 
 was entertained by any of a speedy relief ; and all, 
 as a necessary consequence, looked forward with 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 241 
 
 the greatest apprehension to what seemed to them 
 their deplorable but inevitable end. 
 
 The Fathers, while accepting with humility and 
 resignation as the will of Divine Providence their 
 critical condition, never failed to exhort those 
 under their charge to faith and confidence in God ; 
 yet, so if necessity demanded it, to die cheerfully 
 in the cause of religion. A more trying and per- 
 ilous condition does not often fall to the lot of the 
 missionary in a foreign land. On a barren, inhos- 
 pitable coast, deprived of almost all the necessaries 
 of life, and their own and the lives of their fellow 
 companions resting on the slender probability of 
 the safe arrival of a vessel within a few days ! It 
 is only in the greatest of peril and need that the 
 Christian virtues appear entirely to advantage. 
 Faith, hope, and confidence are ever sure to bring , 
 their reward. The mission had been placed under 
 the auspices of the glorious Mother of God, she was 
 its patron and protectress ; why not, therefore, 
 supplicate her to hasten the propitious arrival of the 
 supplies? The proposal was agreeable to all;- and, 
 while each encouraged his neighbor to die cheerfully 
 in the cause of religion, should the sacrifice be 
 demanded, a nine days devotion in honor of the 
 immaculate Virgin was immediately begun. It is 
 hardly necessary to mention that the fervor and 
 earnestness of their supplications increased as their 
 stock of provisions ran low. Peril is oftentimes 
 
 the greatest stimulant to piety. The man who is 
 16 
 
242 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 oblivious of his Maker in the time of prosperity, 
 thinks of Him in the hoar of adversity. 
 
 The first days of the exercises are passed, but 
 no relief is obtained. The chances of life are daily 
 and hourly growing slenderer and slenderer; at 
 length the end of the provisions is reached. 
 Every face is then turned to the sea. It must be 
 presently one thing or the other — either immedi- 
 ate relief or speedy death. Mary must either hear 
 their prayers and obtain their release, or she must 
 close her ears against their earnest and continuous 
 cries. The latter she is unable to do, charity 
 forbids it. The nine days devotions are not 
 yet ended, but yonder, on the u deep, blue sea," 
 the aid is seen. It is, it is a sail! The vessel is 
 heaving to! and now, ye faint-hearted, desponding 
 Christians, why did you doubt ? Did you not know 
 the Saviour's word: " Amen, amen, I say to you; if 
 you ask the Father anything in my name, he will 
 give it to you." Did ye not know, too, the words 
 of Bernard, Mary's greatest servant : " It was 
 never known, in any age, that those who implored 
 thy aid, sought thy protection, or solicited thy 
 mediation, did so in vain." 
 
 The day on which the vessel arrived was the 
 twenty-first of June, the festival of St. Lewis of 
 Gronzaga. She brought, together with a large and 
 ample supply of provisions, seven volunteer sol- 
 diers, whose pious dispositions had prompted them 
 to offer their services to the Fathers. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 243 
 
 The missionaries being now tolerably acquaint- 
 ed with the vernacular, and having abundant 
 supplies for several months, deemed it advisable 
 to take a general survey of the country, and to 
 enter, if possible, into friendly relations with the 
 different tribes, with the view of establishing mis- 
 sions among them. In accordance with this reso- 
 lution, Father Tierra, accompanied by some of his 
 men, proceeded some distance into the interior, 
 to where they had learned some of the natives were 
 residing. Upon seeing the Father and his party, 
 the Indians became so alarmed that they imme- 
 diately took to the woods, and remained out of 
 sight so long as the Christians remained in the 
 place. 
 
 The following Spring the Father revisited the 
 tribe, and with better success, for their fears be- 
 ing allayed from what they had learned from their 
 brethren in the interval, they received him with 
 kindness and listened attentively while he spoke 
 to them on matters of religion. The kindness and 
 benevolence he evinced in their regard were soon 
 talked of in the different tribes, and amongst others, 
 drew to the garrison a clan, or rancheria, from 
 a place called Vigge Biabundo, situated at a con- 
 siderable distance from the mission. Their object 
 was to make the acquaintance of the Religious, and 
 to invite them to visit their country. One of their 
 number, a youth of remarkable promise, showed 
 such an admirable disposition that he was admit- 
 
244 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ted to baptism, and shortly after one of the Fath- 
 ers visited the tribe in their home. They received 
 him with the greatest affection and kindness, and 
 supplied him with all the requirements their pov- 
 erty permitted. 
 
 During the days he remained in the camp, the 
 news of his arrival having spread through the 
 neighboring tribes, he was visited by Indians from 
 different parts, but as far as his mission was con- 
 cerned he was unable to do more than to make 
 their acquaintance and promise to return on a fu- 
 ture occasion. And it is to be borne in mind that 
 his object in thus casually visiting the tribes was 
 none other than that of determining the favorable 
 disposition of the people and the facilities the lo- 
 cality afforded of forming a permanent settlement 
 there. As will be seen in a subsequent page, sev- 
 eral missions and rancherias were attended from 
 the principal settlements : they were what at pres- 
 ent would be regarded as out-stations. The re- 
 quirements indispensably necessary for the estab- 
 lishment of missions in any part of the country 
 were fertile, well-watered valleys, and extensive 
 pasturage for black cattle and horses. 
 
 The result of the Father's exertions during this 
 visit was the baptism of several children and the 
 instruction of a large number of adults, in whose 
 hearts the first seeds of the gospel were happily 
 sown. But as that part of the country was not 
 well suited for agricultural purposes, Father Tierra 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 245 
 
 shortly after returned to the garrison at Loretto, 
 the name given to the mission already established ; 
 thence he despatched his co-laborer, Father Pic- 
 colo, to the country of the Viggi, with the view of 
 forming a second mission. Father Piccolo com- 
 menced the good work by constructing a few lit- 
 tle huts for himself and his followers, for it is to 
 be remembered that there was not a house, proper- 
 ly so called, in the entire country. The labor and 
 inconvenience the erection of the buildings entail- 
 ed on him may be judged from the fact that he 
 he had not only to direct but to lead in their con- 
 struction as well in preparing the mud, raising the 
 walls , hewing the wood, and roofing and thatch- 
 ing the building. But of what consequence was 
 labor or inconvenience to such a man when the 
 kingdom of God was to be promoted thereby ? 
 The truly apostolic missionary is ever ready to 
 sacrifice his comfort, convenience, liberty, 3 r ea, 
 even life, for the advancement of the interests of 
 religion. It is the same noble, generous spirit — 
 the desire of winning souls to the Redeemer — that 
 prompts one to live amid the glaciers of the north, 
 and another under the burning suns of the south 
 — that induces one to adopt the habits of the wan- 
 dering tribe, and another to settle down in the 
 humble cot on the coast. 
 
 Three years had now elapsed since the landing 
 of the expedition, and already the second mission 
 was founded under the patronage of the great 
 
246 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 apostle of the Indies. There are no means of de- 
 termining exactly how many conversions were 
 made up to this period ; but, from the happy re- 
 sults which attended the Fathers' exertions later 
 on, it is not unreasonable to suppose that even the 
 first years of their apostolic career were marked 
 with considerable success. The chief work, how- 
 ever, which occupied them at the outset was the 
 preparation of the people for the future reception 
 of the gospel. 
 
 The joy the missionaries experienced in thus far 
 accomplishing the work of their master was em- 
 bittered by the narrowness of the circumstances to 
 which they were reduced, having out of their mea- 
 ger supplies to provide for the necessities of a large 
 number of followers — six hundred in all — both 
 Spaniards and natives. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 247 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Difficulties of the Missionaries at first. — They Petition the 
 vlceeot for aid. — they are accused of avarice. — their jus- 
 TIFICATION. — Orders to the Mexican Government, by Philip 
 V., in favor of the Fathers. — Prejudice against the Religious. 
 — They prove California to be a Peninsula. — Revolt of the 
 Indians of Vigge Biabundo. — Mode of Life at the Missions. 
 Father Kuhno's treatment of a refractory Indian. — His suc- 
 cess in reclaiming the People. — Massacre of the Christians 
 at the Mission of St. Xavier. — Punishment of the Murderers. 
 
 The numerous and expensive wars in which Spain 
 was engaged, from the accession of Philip II. till 
 the reign of Charles III., is put forward by some, 
 as a palliation for the constant neglect with which 
 that country treated the missionaries, while labor- 
 ing to extend the limits of her possessions in this 
 part of the world. The Mexican authorities, too, 
 naturally anxious to hasten to the relief of the 
 monarch, in all his embarrassments, forwarded to 
 Europe, to be employed for purposes of ambition 
 and vanity — instead of expending on the require- 
 ments of the province those considerable sums 
 poured into the treasury by Cortes, Pizarro and 
 Almagro. The natural consequence of this short- 
 sighted policy, was the discouragement of every 
 generous effort for the national interests of the New 
 World, as is clearly evinced in the treatment the 
 missionaries received at the bands of the Mexican 
 officials. 
 
248 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 During the first years of their labors, not hav- 
 ing yet obtained any important subsistence from 
 the country, they had to rely, almost entirely, for 
 their supplies on the vessels belonging to the mis- 
 sions. But, as these were of the poorest descrip- 
 tion, consisting only of three rickety barks, in 
 which, any one careful of his life, would be un- 
 willing to sail, their lives were oftentimes placed 
 in the most imminent danger. One of them, the 
 San Fermin, shortly after ran aground and was 
 lost, on the Mexican coast. To meet the emer- 
 gency, Father Tierra respectfully petitioned the 
 viceroy, requesting him to bestow on the mission 
 a vessel, to be speedily dispatched to the relief of 
 the settlers. He also took occasion to point out 
 to his excellency, the well-grounded hopes there 
 were of the entire submission of the country to 
 the gospel of Christ, and the dominion of His 
 Catholic Majesty. The principal point, however, 
 in his address, was the very imminent peril in 
 which the settlers were placed; unless immediate 
 relief was sent to their aid. So urgent and rea- 
 sonable a request, one would have thought, ought 
 to have met with a ready response; but the only 
 reception it found at the hands of the authorities, 
 was silence on the part of the viceroy, and cal- 
 umny on the side of his subordinates. For what 
 reasons, it would be difficult to determine, except 
 from the promptings of an utterly malevolent 
 mind, the Fathers were accused of dishonesty, and 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 249 
 
 charged with the loss of the vessel. By the de- 
 struction of the San Fermin, the Religious, it was 
 said, were entertaining a hope of establishing a 
 claim on the royal exchequer. 
 
 Such was the manner in which the faith, labors 
 and exertions of these generous and self-sacrificing 
 men were shamefully rewarded by their country 
 and king. Thoroughly devoted to the interests of 
 religion and the crown, they had left their friends, 
 their homes and their brethren, and come to these 
 barren, inhospitable shores, in order to plant the 
 Cross in the country — to teach the people the 
 way of salvation, and thereby to gain them 
 to God and the State. And, while nobly and 
 generously applying themselves to these lauda- 
 ble ends, amid a thousand dangers, privations and 
 sufferings, the only reward they received from 
 their own, was coldness, ingratitude and calumny. 
 But this was not without a purpose on the part of 
 the Almighty: the work of God is ever known by 
 tribulation. It was in suffering and sorrow that 
 the first foundations of the Church were laid. In 
 establishing His kingdom upon earth, the Son of 
 God drank deep of the cup of affliction, and all 
 who come after him must be prepared for the 
 same. 
 
 More with the view of removing the stigma 
 from the members of the society than from any 
 care of himself, Father Tierra forwarded letters to 
 Mexico, establishing the accidental loss of the ves- 
 
250 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 sel, and clearing himself of any collusion in the 
 matter. These letters, it is consoling to think, 
 were sufficient to disabuse the authorities of the 
 injustice of the charge, but failed to move them in 
 aid of the settlers. Although the critical state of 
 the garrison demanded the speediest aid, all that 
 could be obtained from the Mexican Government 
 was, that the matter would be referred to the 
 Court of Madrid, ^and his majesty's pleasure so- 
 licited! Even at the loss to the crown of the 
 country and the colonists, the old, hereditary, 
 stately routine, was not to be infringed. 
 
 During the years 1698 and 1699, favorable ac- 
 counts of the Fathers' endeavors had been for- 
 warded by the viceroy to his majesty in council. 
 The death of Charles II., at this critical moment, 
 diverted the minds of the authorities from Cali- 
 fornian affairs, and thus prevented any succor be- 
 ing"^ granted. On the accession of Philip V., or- 
 ders were sent to the Mexican Government, 
 strongly in favor of the missionaries, ordering that 
 all their requirements should be supplied, and that 
 an annual sum of six thousand dollars be paid for 
 the support of the garrison. This was the first aid 
 received by the Fathers from the authorities. An- 
 other warrant was also issued, at this time, by her 
 majesty, Mary of Savoy, in favor of the Religious : 
 
 "The King and Queen Regent, to the Duke of 
 Albuquerque, my cousin, Governor and Captain- 
 General of the province of New Spain, and Presi- 
 dent of the Royal Audiencia of Mexico, etc. : 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 251 
 
 " The Provincial of the Society of the Jesuits, in 
 the province of Toledo, has represented to me that 
 it is now some five years since some missionaries 
 of his order undertook the spiritual and temporal 
 conquest of the Californias; and that, in August 
 of last year (1701), they had reduced the Indians, 
 for the space of fifty leagues, to a settled obedi- 
 ence, and founded four towns, with above six 
 hundred Christians, most of them young, and no 
 less than two thousand adult catechumens," etc. 
 
 From this the reader may learn the result of 
 the Fathers' exertions during the first years of 
 their missionary labors, even while thwarted by 
 Government, and calumniated by foes. 
 
 The Mexican authorities being engaged at this 
 time in prosecuting a war for the subjugation of 
 Florida and Texas, found means of neglecting the 
 royal instructions, on the plea of inability to fur- 
 nish such a considerable sum. The true cause, 
 however, would seem to have been the antipathy 
 that existed in the minds of the civil authorities 
 against the Religious. Short-sighted, worldly- 
 minded, indifferent religionists, could never con- 
 ceive how any, even those dedicated to the imme- 
 diate service of God, would willingly expose them- 
 selves to continual dangers, privation and suffer- 
 ing, without the hope of an earthly reward. And, 
 as in the former expeditions undertaken at the ex- 
 pense of the crown, many were raised to a posi- 
 tion of affluence, either by fishing, or trading for 
 
252 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 pearls, or by moneys received from the royal ex- 
 chequer, it was freely concluded that the labors 
 of the Fathers were not entirely directed to the 
 glory of God, in the conversion of the natives. 
 Even modern writers, w'hose means of knowing 
 the truth have been all that could be reasonably 
 desired, have unhappily indulged in similar ideas, 
 and thus perpetuated the calumny against the Re- 
 ligious. As an instance, the following may be 
 taken as an example: "In order to prevent the 
 Court of Spain from conceiving any jealousy of 
 their designs and operations, they seem studiously 
 to have depreciated the country, by representing 
 the climate as so disagreeable and unwholesome, 
 and the soil as so barren, that nothing but a zeal- 
 ous desire of converting the natives could have 
 induced them to settle there." 1 As a Protestant 
 and a foreigner, little else could be expected from 
 the Principal of the Edinburgh University ; but, 
 inasmuch as he goes out of his way to misrepre- 
 sent the statement of a Catholic writer, he shows 
 the motive by which he was influenced. Father 
 Miguel Yenegas, on whose authority he has stated 
 the above, has not a word about the insalubrity or 
 unwholesomeness of the climate, as stated by Rob- 
 ertson. 2 
 
 As error is more readily credited and propa- 
 gated than truth, the evil report no sooner got 
 
 (1) Ifist. America: Robertson, book 7, p. 75. 
 
 (2) Venegas: vol. I., p. 26. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. £53 
 
 abroad than many believed, because the Fathers 
 were masters of the country, they must necessarily 
 be in the possession of fabulous wealth. The 
 former accounts of the country, and the really 
 valuable pearls that had been obtained by several 
 persons, augmented and confirmed these malicious 
 reports. Nor, indeed, would this be so much to 
 be lamented had it not tended from the outset to 
 materially injure religion by cooling the ardor 
 and fervor of those who were so liberally contribut- 
 ing in behalf of the missions. The natural conse- 
 quence attending the decrease of the pious dona- 
 tions on the part of the faithful, was the utter ina- 
 bility of the missionaries to maintain any longer' 
 in the country the European portion of the com- 
 munity. Hence, with the exception of a dozen 
 soldiers, who voluntarily remained as a guard that 
 the Fathers might not be entirely abandoned, the 
 others were ordered to return to Mexico. At the 
 same time the baptism of the catechumens was 
 deferred, nothing being certain regarding the fu- 
 ture of the mission. The perilous and utterly des- 
 titute state of the missionaries at this juncture may 
 be judged from the following extract of a letter 
 from Father Tierra — the superior of the mission — 
 to his friend, the Solicitor of Guadalaxara. After 
 acquainting him with the discharge of the soldiers, 
 and the reasons which necessitated it, he adds: 
 " But for the discharge of the remainder I only 
 await the resolution of the Mexican Council, to 
 
254 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 which I have sent my final appeal. After the en- 
 tire withdrawal of the soldiers we shall consult 
 about liquidating the arrears ; and if, for want of 
 a military force, our Californian sons should send 
 us to give an account to our God, our Lady of 
 Loretto will undoubtedly look to our debts." 
 
 All hope of Government aid being now entirely 
 precarious, while the wants of the garrisons be- 
 came more urgently pressing, Father Ugarte, the 
 agent of the missions at Mexico, collected what 
 private contributions he could and hastened to the 
 relief of his brethren, whom he found in the ut- 
 most despondency and want. Three days after 
 his arrival they were further relieved by the ar- 
 rival of a vessel laden with provisions, which he 
 had dispatched to their aid a little before. 
 
 The slowness and indifference of Government in 
 supplying the Fathers with the necessary means of 
 support; the growing apathy and lukewarmness 
 of the subscribers, on account of the above men- 
 tioned reason, as well as the difficulty, delay and 
 uncertainty of obtaining provisions from the op- 
 posite coast, compelled the venerable missionaries 
 to seek other and more reliable means of support. 
 At the opposite side of the Gulf, in the provinces 
 of Sonora and Sinaloa, where missions were es- 
 tablished, the land was partially tilled. There 
 were also in that region several mines wherein 
 Spaniards were employed. To this, though a poor 
 and unreliable source, Father Tierra turned his 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 255 
 
 eyes when all other means were denied. Landing 
 on the opposite coast he hastened, without any de- 
 lay, to join his brother Religious, Father Kuhno, 
 who, as we have seen in a previous chapter, in 
 common with Fathers Copart and Goni, had laid 
 the foundations of the Californian missions. Like 
 Father Tierra, Father Kuhno was a man of the 
 most generous mind and the noblest ideas. The 
 spiritual conquest of the natives as far north as 
 the present limits of Upper California was the holy 
 and praiseworthy design of those zealous, indefat- 
 igable souls. That they did not accomplish the 
 whole of their purpose is not to be attributed to 
 them as a fault, but to the impolicy and injustice 
 of Government in driving them from the country 
 at a moment when their influence was being ex- 
 tensively felt, and when they had a well-grounded 
 hope of accomplishing all. 
 
 As the spiritual conquest of California was as 
 much an object of desire to the one as the other 
 of these venerable men, it may be easily imagined 
 how readily the latter entered into the feelings of 
 the former, and hastened with all his endeavors to 
 supply the wants of his brethren. But, as the 
 cause of the distress was likely to remain unless 
 other and more precautionary measures were taken, 
 it was proposed to open a means of communica- 
 tion by land with the missions on both sides of the 
 Gulf. But, as it was not then very certainly 
 known that California was a peninsula, it was re- 
 
256 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 solved that Father Ktihno should make an exam- 
 ination of the coast, and establish beyond doubt 
 the fact of its being a portion of the main land or 
 not. Father Tierra was also to accompany him on 
 the journey. On the 1st of March, 1701, they 
 started on their expedition, and after a march of 
 twenty days arrived at the junction of the land. 
 
 Satisfied with the object of their inquiry, they 
 returned, the one to his mission in Sonora, and 
 the other to collect funds for his Californian breth- 
 ren; a work in which he was engaged for some 
 weeks, when he returned to his people. The joy 
 occasioned by the Father's arrival at the garrison 
 with the opportune aid, was speedily followed by 
 the darkest and most gloomy forebodings. Indeed, 
 it appeared to be the lot of these venerable men 
 to be ever destined to suffer from one cause or 
 another. Coldness, indifference and neglect 
 were, as we have seen, the reward they received 
 from the Government; misrepresentation and 
 calumny from their secular brethren, and dan- 
 gers and perils from the natives. Well, indeed, 
 might they say with the Apostle: ,( In journey- 
 ing often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, 
 in perils from my own nation; in perils from the 
 G-entiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the 
 wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils from 
 false brethren." 1 
 
 When their lives were not threatened by famine, 
 
 (1) Second Cor.: chap, xi, t. 26. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 257 
 
 they were in danger from Indians, and that not 
 unfrequently at times when the means at their 
 disposal seemed utterly inadequate to avert the 
 calamity. In the newly-formed mission of Vigge 
 Biabunclo, the natives, instigated by the sorcerers, 
 resolved upon murdering the Father, and destroy- 
 ing the settlement; in this they were fortunately 
 disappointed by the resistance they met with from 
 some of their own, who remained faithful to the 
 Fathers. On a second attempt, however, they un- 
 happily succeeded in destroying the church and 
 the presbytery ; losses which, though very consid- 
 erable, were only a trifle when compared with the 
 safety of the Religious. As this Mission was re- 
 garded by the Fathers as very important, the land 
 there being remarkably adapted to agricultural 
 purposes, it was deemed proper, and in some meas- 
 ure necessary, to restore it to its former condition. 
 Its reorganization was intrusted to 1he care of the 
 the Rev. Father Ugarte, as Father Piccolo had to 
 proceed to New Spain on business connected with 
 the mission. 
 
 To secure himself against any sudden attack, 
 he deemed it advisable to take with him as a 
 guard some of the troops; but, as these became 
 troublesome and insolent, he dispensed with their 
 services, and committed himself entirely to the 
 protection of Providence, a proceeding which at 
 once reveals his strong confidence in God, and his 
 
 great zeal for the salvation of the people. The 
 17 
 
258 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 natives on seeing the soldiers, imagining they had 
 come to punish their crime, fled precipitately to 
 the mountains, but when the military had departed, 
 they returned gradually to the mission, and after 
 a little, the Father had the pleasure of seeing him- 
 self surrounded by the former congregation, man}^ 
 of whom had unhappily the weakness of joining 
 the gentiles in their attack on the church. In 
 reorganizing the mission, Father Ugarte had a 
 double object in view. The first was to instill into 
 the minds of the savages an elementary notion of 
 the Christian religion, by inducing them to be 
 present at the offices of religion; second, to accus- 
 tom them to the cultivation of the land and the 
 tending of the flocks, for he saw that the success 
 of the missions, as a whole, and, indeed, for 
 that matter, the introduction of Christianity into 
 the country at all, depended exclusively on the 
 internal resources of the peninsula, and not being 
 necessitated to rely upon precarious supplies from 
 the coast of New Spain. 
 
 Up to this period, it is important to know that 
 nothing was raised in the country; the clothes 
 and provisions requisite for the settlers being 
 brought from the opposite coast, a course which 
 was frequently attended with danger and delay. 
 Nor must it be supposed that the Fathers were at <s 
 fault in not attending to this want, for, at the 
 mission of Loretto, the ground was so un suited 
 for tillage, that, with the exception of a garden for 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 259 
 
 vegetables, they were unable to raise any crops; 
 while, as regarded the other localities, the natives 
 were unwilling at first to labor at their request. 
 It was, then, to supply this serious defect, and 
 thus place the mission on something like a per- 
 manent basis, that Father Tierra sought to accus- 
 tom the people to work ; but as his individual la- 
 bors directed to this end would be only of trifling 
 account, unless joined by the Indians, he was 
 necessitated to use eveiw means in his power to 
 gain them over to his views. 
 
 For the accomplishment of this, there was re- 
 quired all the prudence and zeal of an Apostle, 
 for the sloth and indifference of the people were 
 most difficult to overcome. An idea of the Fa- 
 ther's exertions and difficulties may be had from 
 the following: In the morning, after the holy sac- 
 rifice of the Mass, at which all were required to 
 be present, he distributed the pozzoli, and set the 
 people to work. Some were appointed for clear- 
 ing and preparing the ground; others were en- 
 gaged in making the flumes for the conveyance of 
 water; while others, again, were allotted for dig- 
 ging the soil and planting the trees. To secure a 
 uniform attention, and induce all to engage in their 
 respective employments, the Father had to give 
 the example, and continue engaged, else they 
 would presently slacken, and lapse into their ac- 
 customed indifference and natural sloth. In re- 
 ality, the missionary was the hardest and severest 
 
260 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 worked member of the community. Now, he was 
 to be seen fetching the stones for the building, 
 mixing the mortar, or hewing the wood; again, 
 digging the ground, splitting the rocks, or herding 
 the cattle. He had to teach by example rather 
 than precept; nor was this always sufficient, for, 
 owing to the very limited ideas of the people, and 
 the natural dullness of their understanding, 
 joined to their constitutional sloth, and abhorrence 
 of work, they could not or would not enter en- 
 tirely into his views. So great was the difficulty 
 he had to encounter, in this particular alone, that 
 nothing but the most apostolic virtue, the greatest 
 meekness, affability and gravity, could enable him 
 to keep them together. Repeatedly would they 
 violate every rule set for their observance, either 
 by coming too late, refusing to do what was 
 commanded, or running away when it suited their 
 purpose; while some went even so far as to con- 
 spire against the life of the venerable man. But 
 patience, meekness and zeal, finally overcame their 
 evil propensities, and succeeded in forming them 
 into an obedient, docile and tractable people. 
 
 Life at the mission, in those days, was simple 
 and uniform. The mornings were spent as has 
 been related. In the evening, after the labors 
 were ended, all the community, native and Euro- 
 pean, Christian and catechumen, assembled in the 
 church for evening devotions; which consisted of 
 the ordinary prayers, the rosary, and an explana- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 261 
 
 tion of some point of our holy religion; after 
 which they retired for the night. At first, the 
 conduct of the natives, during the catechetical 
 instruction, was anything but respectful.. The 
 mistakes, into which the Father was accustomed 
 to fall, in the pronunciation of the vernacular, 
 were the cause of their mirth; which, when he 
 came to understand, he readily corrected the de- 
 fects. In the beginning, however, he attributed 
 their merriment to a different cause; and, as they 
 were not to be restrained by entreaties, he deter- 
 mined to see what impression a lesson of fear 
 might produce. Near him, and among the most 
 troublesome during the sermon, was a chief, re- 
 markable for his great physical strength and for 
 his authority among the people. Leaning over 
 the pulpit, Father Ugarte, who was a powerful 
 man, seized the chief by the hair of the head, 
 lifted him from the ground, and swung him from 
 side to side, in the presence of the people — a pro- 
 ceeding which so alarmed the people as to pro- 
 duce the contemplated effect. 
 
 In a few years, this venerable missionary had 
 the gratification of witnessing the first fruits of 
 his labors. Many were brought to a knowledge of 
 the Christian religion^- reclaimed from their wild 
 and barbarous state, and brought to live without 
 any of the disorders or irregularities which had 
 hitherto marked their existence. On the other 
 hand, he had succeeded in supplying all their tern- 
 
262 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 poral wants, with plentiful harvests of different 
 cereals — a result not easily appreciated, consider- 
 ing the barrenness of the soil of Lower California, 
 and the very inhospitable character of the country 
 in general; which, even yet, under modern skill 
 and modern appliances, has failed to produce any 
 important supplies. The Father's energy and 
 ability also enabled him to produce considerable 
 quantities of wine, a portion of which he exported 
 to New Spain, in exchange for the more necessary 
 articles. Still remaining was another requirement. 
 Those who had hitherto roamed naked through the 
 land had to be provided with clothes and thus 
 taught the first elementary principles of virtue and 
 civilization. To this end, in order to provide them 
 with the necessary garments, he imported h, num- 
 ber of sheep from the opposite coast. The prepa- 
 ration of the wool, the spinning and weaving of 
 it into pieces, and its further adaptation to the re- 
 quirements of the people, were entirely his work. 
 He it was who formed the distaffs, the wheels, the 
 looms, and everything connected with the manu- 
 facture of the cloth. If later on, he saw the ad- 
 vantage and importance of employing mechanical 
 aid, for forwarding and improving so beneficial a 
 scheme, the credit is no less due to himself, for 
 having originated the work and brought it to tol- 
 erable perfection. 
 
 The zeal and assiduity of Father Ugarte in thus 
 providing for the material requirements of the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 263 
 
 people is deserving of the highest commendation, 
 not merely because of the works in themselves as 
 showing forth his charity and benevolence of pur- 
 pose, but especially because of their close and in- 
 timate connection with the existence and progress 
 of religion in the country. The great evil, as has 
 been remarked, under which the first missions had 
 to labor was the want of the necessary means of 
 support — a difficulty which could only be success- 
 fully combated by producing the requisite supplies 
 within the peninsula itself. This was the more 
 plainly to be seen during the years 1701 and 1702, 
 when, in consequence of an unusual drought, and 
 the failure of the arrival of the expected provis- 
 ions, the mission was placed in the most imminent 
 danger. At first the garrison had to exist on 
 limited fare, but when all was consumed they 
 were necessitated to live on the little the country 
 afforded — roots, berries and shell-fish. As an 
 aggravation of their misfortune an insurrection 
 broke out among the Indians, by which the lives 
 of the Spaniards were placed in the most immi- 
 nent danger. 
 
 The mission of Father Piccolo to New Spain, of 
 which I have spoken above, was not without its 
 important advantages. By his frequent and earn- 
 est representations he succeeded in obtaining from 
 Government the payment of the sum assigned by 
 his Majesty for the conquest of the country and 
 also the establishment by private donations of 
 
264 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 four additional missions. The great number of 
 missionaries then required for the missions of 
 Mexico and New Spain prevented him from ob- 
 taining more than two additional laborers for the 
 Californian coast. The arrival of the Father with 
 his confreres, on the 28th of October, changed the 
 entire aspect of affairs, and infused new life into 
 the garrison and the Spaniards in general. The 
 opportune presence of a friend is never so accept- 
 able and calculated to elicit an exuberance of joy 
 as when life and religion are made to depend upon 
 his arrival. 
 
 With their new reinforcements and the promises 
 made by the members of Government, their hopes 
 were increased and their fears almost entirely 
 allayed. They accordingly entered upon larger 
 and higher designs for the conversion of the peo- 
 ple. In a council held on the occasion it was de- 
 termined that Father Ugarte should proceed to 
 New Spain for the purchase of cattle to be employ- 
 ed in the service of the mission for journeying to 
 the different stations, as well as for supplying the 
 necessary means of support. Meantime Father 
 Tierra, accompanied by some of his men, made ex- 
 cursions into the interior seeking new tribes and 
 localities suitable for the establishment of missions. 
 The greater part of the country he found to be un- 
 inhabited, but in one particular locality they came 
 upon a body of the natives, who, no sooner ob- 
 served them, than they precipitately fled from their 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 265 
 
 presence. In another part of the mountains, 
 about a hundred miles from the mission, they came 
 on another rancheria, or camp, where the people 
 in like manner mistaking their intention, regarded 
 them at first in the character of enemies, and pre- 
 pared to defend themselves against their apparent 
 hostility; but, on learning their real intention and 
 the true nature of their visit, they presently chang- 
 ed their attitude of defiance and received them 
 with kindness and affection. 
 
 The reader will not have forgotten that the sec- 
 ond establishment formed by the Fathers was the 
 mission of St. Xavier, in the country of the Viggi. 
 This mission, as has been related, was destroyed by 
 the savages, but re-established under considerable 
 difficulty by the zealous and untiring exertions of 
 the Rev. Father Ugarte. Its subsequent flourish- 
 ing state, however, — the quiet and steady progress 
 made by the Father in reclaiming the people and 
 the soil — was no sufficient protection against ulti- 
 mate dangers. The fickleness and inconstancy of 
 the savages were ever a subject of alarm for the 
 Religious. No amount of kindness, benevolence 
 and sacrifice procured them an immunity against 
 sudden attacks. Instigated by the evil advice of 
 the leader of the former rebellion, a body of the 
 Pagans fell suddenly upon the mission, and massa- 
 creed all who happened to fall in their way. To 
 look on with indifference and allow such an act of 
 wanton barbarity to pass without its merited pun- 
 
266 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ishment, would be under the circumstances entire- 
 ly impolitic and highly injurious to the interests 
 of religion; for, if the immediate result of embrac- 
 ing the Christian religion was imminent, or prob- 
 able danger of death, the progress of truth was 
 certain to be seriously injured. It was therefore 
 resolved that an example should be made of the 
 rebels, and that they be taught to understand that 
 their murderous deeds would not be permitted to 
 pass without an adequate punishment. Pursuant 
 to this resolution the Pagans were surprised in 
 their camp, and some of them made to suffer for 
 the cruel and barbarous massacre of the Chris- 
 tians. The leader artfully managed to escape for 
 the moment, but was afterward taken and given 
 up to the authorities, by whom he was made to 
 suffer the penalty of death for his crime — a pun- 
 ishment certainly not beyond his deserts when it 
 is remembered that he had several times compassed 
 the death of the Father and his followers; that he 
 was the author of the destruction of the chapel 
 and mission in the first instance, and had finally 
 excited his countrymen- to fall upon and massacre 
 all the Christian communities. It is only just, 
 however, to the memory of the Fathers to state 
 that they had no hand in his death ; they even 
 pleaded for his life, begging that the sentence 
 might be changed into banishment from the coun- 
 try, but to this the military commander was un- 
 willing to listen — a course which the circumstances 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 267 
 
 seem to have demanded. The consequence of this 
 merited chastisement was the peace of the mis- 
 sions and the security of the Christians for a con- 
 siderable time. 
 
 During the tranquillity that succeeded this vio- 
 lent outburst on the part of the Pagans, new and 
 favorable opportunities were offered the Fathers 
 for extending the field of their labors. The evil 
 dispositions of some was no reason why the Reli- 
 gious should slacken in their endeavors to gain the 
 country to God. The truly zealous and apostolic 
 missionary is not checked in his career of be- 
 nevolence by the crimes and atrocities of the 
 multitude. New missions had already to be found- 
 ed, the old ones were not sufficiently accessi- 
 ble to all; religion had to be presented to every 
 tribe; and in order to this, the Fathers ex- 
 amined the country in every direction, with the 
 view of determining the most eligible places for 
 the foundation of the contemplated missions. 
 While thus prosecuting their pious intentions, an 
 occurrence took place which, while it afforded 
 an opportunity for an exercise of Christian benev- 
 olence, proved very embarrassing to the Religious. 
 
 In order to avoid a series of inconveniences fore- 
 seen by the missionaries, it had been strictly prohib- 
 ited to all without a license from Government and 
 the sanction of the local authorities, to resort to the 
 California coast for the purpose of fishing for 
 pearls. Contrary to this positive order, some bold 
 
268 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 and adventurous spirits were found to embark in 
 the work ; and, in a storm which happened at the 
 time, it occurred that some of their number were 
 wrecked on the coast; a circumstance which, while 
 it necessitated the exercise of charity, so crippled 
 the Fathers' resources, at best only limited, as to 
 reduce them to a very inadequate quantity. This 
 was at the close of 1703. The following year 
 opened upon the Religious with the gloomiest and 
 most anxious forebodings. Father Piccolo did 
 what lay in his power, by forwarding supplies from 
 the opposite coast, but his efforts were entirely 
 inadequate to provide for such a considerable 
 number. 
 
 Meantime, another of the Religious, Father Bas- 
 saldua, proceeded to Mexico, to solicit the aid of 
 the Government authorities, but in this he was 
 doomed to disappointment. The year previous, 
 a memorial had been presented to the Court of 
 Madrid, setting forth the spiritual and temporal 
 advantages to be gained by the missions, and re- 
 questing his Majesty to encourage the work. The 
 memorial was read before the council of ministers, 
 and resulted most favorably for the Fathers. On 
 the twenty-eighth of September, 1703, the royal 
 signature was put to the warrant, of which the 
 following is the substance. By the first clause of 
 the document, it was ordered that the supplies 
 hitherto granted to the missions of Sinaloa and 
 Sonora, on the opposite coast, be henceforth trans- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 269 
 
 f erred to the California missions. The second 
 made provision for the •furnishing of the necessary 
 articles required for the use of the Religious in the 
 newly-erected missions. By the third, the viceroy 
 was commanded to establish on the coast, as far 
 north as was possible, a military post, with the 
 view of protecting the Philippine vessels, which, 
 as we have stated, were the great object of British 
 buccaneer ambition in those days. Lastly, a ves- 
 sel was ordered to be purchased for the use of the 
 mission, and an annual sum of seven thousand dol- 
 lars to be paid out of the treasury of Guadalaxara, 
 independent of the six thousand dollars already 
 assigned for that purpose. The other terms of 
 the warrant were merely of a congratulatory na- 
 ture, and, as such, deserve no particular mention. 
 The authorities in Mexico received the instruc- 
 tions on the eleventh of April, 1704, but faithful 
 to their hereditary policy, they were not wanting 
 in finding means to evade them, though, on the 
 mere ground of humanity, independent of his 
 Majesty's pleasure, they were bound to have 
 hastened to the relief of their Californian brethren. 
 On the plea of being obliged to employ the re- 
 sources at the disposal of government on works of 
 greater importance, the claims and the cries of the 
 perishing settlers were entirely unheeded by the 
 Mexican government. 
 
270 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 ■ 
 
 Critical Condition or the Fathers for want of provisions. — 
 Arrival of Supplies. — Dedication of the Church of Loretto. 
 — Father Tierra appointed Visitor of the Missions of Sonora 
 and [slnaloa. ungenerous action of the mexican govern- 
 MENT. — The Duke of Linares. — Difficulties in establishing 
 New Missions. — Father John Ugarte's zeal for the Conver- 
 sion of the People. — He surveys the Coast. — Loss of a 
 Vessel. — Prejudice of the Natives against the Fathers. 
 
 The close of the seventeenth and the commence- 
 ment of the eighteenth centuries were perilous 
 periods in the history of Spain. The death of 
 v Charles II., in 1700, and his appointment of Philip 
 of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV., as sole heir to 
 the Spanish dominions, involved the nation in a 
 long and expensive war. England, Germany and 
 Holland opposed the arrangement, and contested 
 the validity of Charles' will, but eventually came 
 to acknowledge the claims of the Sovereign. Dur- 
 ing the entire period that the struggle was con- 
 tinued, his Majesty stood in need of all the re- 
 sources at the command of the crown. It is only 
 reasonable to suppose that the Mexican govern- 
 ment was anxious to render all the assistance in 
 its power, by contributing as largely as its re- 
 sources would permit. Hence the neglect of Cal- 
 ifornian interests, though it is also equally true 
 that the jealousy and antipathy of ministers had 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 271 
 
 something to do in withholding the necessary aid. 
 Be it, however, attributable to one cause or the 
 other, neither of which is a justification of the 
 Government's course, the result was equally un- 
 happy to the well-being of the missions. 
 
 As an aggravation of the Christians' misfortunes, 
 at this particular time the vessels which were 
 dispatched to the Mexican coast for a supply of 
 provisions, were obliged to return, on account of 
 the boisterous state of the sea. The utter desti- 
 tution to which this unexpected event finally re- 
 duced the entire garrison, made it a matter of 
 consideration with the Fathers whether they should 
 not return the troops, and rely for their own per- 
 sonal subsistence on the protection of Him who 
 provides for the wants and requirements of all. 
 As far as the Religious themselves were concerned, 
 having come to the country to labor, and, if neces-. 
 sary, to die for the savages, they were determined 
 under the most unfavorable circumstances to re- 
 main with their people. But such a resolution, 
 however laudable and praiseworthy, was not to be 
 forced on the members of the garrison, inasmuch as 
 it would deprive them of the glory and merit of 
 dying in so noble a cause. Hence, it was left op- 
 tional with them either to return immediately to 
 Mexico, or to take the probable chances of perish- 
 ing in the cause of religion, in common with the 
 missionaries. Accordingly, in a council held on 
 the occasion, Father Tierra, after declaring his 
 
272 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 determination to remain in the country at every 
 hazard, addressed the military in substance as 
 follows : He had no need of pointing out to them 
 the melancholy state of affairs, and the immi- 
 nent danger in which they were placed. To him, 
 however, they were aware that no fault was to 
 be attributed, for he had done all in his power 
 to avert the calamity. If the supplies assigned by 
 his Majesty, and expected from Government, had 
 not been obtained, that was not to be imputed to 
 him. The question, then, they were called upon 
 to determine was whether they would abandon 
 the place, retire to the coast of New Spain, and 
 there await a more favorable opportunity for re- 
 turning to the conquest of the country. The other 
 Religious having expressed themselves conforma- 
 bly to this, it was then the moment for the soldiers 
 to speak, and, to their honor and praise be it said, 
 that they all to a man unanimously declared that 
 they would stand by the Fathers, and die for reli- 
 gion, if necessary, under the shadow of the Cross! 
 Noble and generous resolve, worthy of the chiv- 
 alrous sons of Catholic Spain! the first champions 
 of the religion of the Redeemer in this part of 
 the world. 
 
 To supply their natural wants, or at least to pro- 
 long their existence as far as was possible, in the 
 hope that aid might arrive, they had now to be- 
 take themselves to the country, in search of the 
 little that Nature, in her wildest and barren est 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 273 
 
 state, might be able to afford them. A melancholy 
 but edifying spectacle it was to behold the ven- 
 erable missionary Fathers, with their converts and 
 soldiers, roaming through the land in search of 
 berries and roots rather than abandon, even for a 
 time, the post to which religion had called them. 
 Acts such as these are rarely recorded of any, but 
 certainly never except of the Catholic missionary. 
 The heroic patience, however, displaj^ed by the 
 missionaries on this occasion, and their devoted 
 adherence to the cause of religion, was not the 
 most remarkable feature in their character. In 
 the very midst of their poverty, when nothing but 
 the strongest reliance on the providence of God 
 could have influenced them to look hopefully to 
 the future, Father Tierra, and his venerable con- 
 freres, were even then actually contemplating the 
 extension of their missionary labors in the estab- 
 lishment of an additional mission. 
 
 About the commencement of July, Fathers 
 Tierra and Ugarte, accompanied by a soldier and 
 two Indians, and living as best they could on the 
 little sustenance afforded them by nature, set out 
 on a tour of inspection and had the gratification of 
 finding a place and a tribe in every way according 
 to their desires. The people were most anxious 
 that the Fathers should remain in their country, 
 but as the difficulties under which they were then 
 laboring would not suffer them to commence the 
 erection of a church and the other necessary build- 
 18 
 
274 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ings, they merely took possession of the place by 
 the baptism of a number of children voluntarily 
 offered by the parents. As if to reward them for 
 this extraordinary charity and zeal in so holy a 
 cause, the Almighty sent to their aid the neces- 
 sary long-expected supplies. We will not here 
 enter into the feelings of the Religious and of the 
 garrison on the arrival of the vessel with the pro- 
 visions. Their patience and devotion were at 
 length crowned with success; though not in real- 
 ity, they were in affection, martyrs of charity in 
 the noblest of causes. To the trials and hardships 
 of the past succeeded the abundance and security 
 of the present. Roots, pithahayas and berries 
 were no longer required to support their existence. 
 The sad and gloomy forebodings which for so long 
 had hung over their minds had given way to the 
 most favorable and joyful anticipations. The en- 
 tire situation was changed; the succor of their 
 temporal wants was to be followed by a feast of 
 spiritual joy. At the end of September, on the 
 feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Yirgin Mother 
 of God, the new church of Loretto was dedicated 
 amidst the greatest rejoicing, and to add to the 
 solemnity, several adults were baptized on the oc- 
 casion. 
 
 Father Tierra, having been appointed at this time 
 minister of the missions of Sinaloa and Sonora, 
 was obliged to take leave of his Californian friends 
 for a little. On his arrival in Mexico he found, to 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 275 
 
 his regret, that he had been appointed to the 
 position of Provincial by his brethren. Though 
 entirely unwilling to accept so important an office, 
 especially as it would necessitate his absence from 
 the scene of his missionary labors, yet in obedience 
 to the voice of authority he entered at once on his 
 spiritual charge. His separation from California 
 did not prevent him from aiding the progress of 
 religion. Shortly after his arrival in Mexico he 
 waited upon his excellency the Viceroy, and 
 represented to him the propriety of carrying out 
 the royal command regarding the provision made 
 for the missions. As there were then no hopes of 
 a junta assembling, the Father prepared a me- 
 morial relating to the royal instructions and had it 
 presented to the Governor. In the document he 
 took occasion to show the impossibility of sub- 
 sisting in the country unless aided more liberally 
 by Government. At that moment the missions 
 were only in possession of one little bark, for the 
 transport of the necessary supplies, which even 
 granting it were not attended by danger at sea was 
 manifestly inadequate for all their requirements. 
 He therefore was led to expect that the mem- 
 bers of council would see the propriety and neces- 
 sity of making more ample and securer provision 
 for future contingencies. He also took occasion 
 to bring under the notice of the council that up to 
 that time, a period of seven years, the entire Gov- 
 ernment aid received by the Fathers had only 
 
276 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 amounted to eighteen thousand dollars, or three 
 thousand six hundred pounds, while the private 
 donations and subscriptions expended on the six 
 missions then established, showed an outlay of no 
 less than one hundred and eighty-three thousand 
 dollars. He then continued to state that, in con- 
 sequence of the poverty and barrenness of the soil, 
 they would for several years have to depend in a 
 great measure on a regular supply of provisions 
 from abroad — a circumstance which necessitated 
 for a time a considerable outlay. In fine, he beg- 
 ged to state for the information of his Majesty's 
 advisers that the crown was then in possession of 
 an extent of territory of no less than one hundred 
 leagues in circumference, and in such peaceful 
 subjection that it might be traversed by any one 
 without the slightest impediment. 
 
 The memorial was laid before the Assembly on 
 the 27th of June, but the only result of its read- 
 ing was, that a report should be sent to his Ma- 
 jesty, and his pleasure consulted. That it was 
 more with the view of evading the question, than 
 of consulting the king, the council had acted, seems 
 clear from the fact that the resolution of Govern- 
 ment was not communicated to Spain for nearly 
 three quarters of a year after that date. And 
 when, in due course, the royal assent was obtained, 
 even then the claims of the Father were left in 
 abeyance. After adducing the hereditary reasons 
 for not carrying out the royal instruction — that is, 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 277 
 
 the exhausted state of the treasury, and the con- 
 sequent inability of meeting any further demands 
 — the council resolved that, as the memorial con- 
 tained several points on which his Majesty's plea- 
 sure was not expressly declared, it would be well 
 to re-forward the document to Spain, and await a 
 reply. In 1709, the memorial was returned to 
 Mexico, after receiving the royal assent; but, even 
 then, on the ground that it was necessary to have 
 the consent of the General Assembly, the payment 
 was further delayed. Meantime, the Viceroy con- 
 tinued in office, but was succeeded the following 
 year by the Duke of Linares, a nobleman of a very 
 virtuous disposition, and strongly attached to the 
 interests of the Fathers. Being left for a time 
 unacquainted with the monarch's instructions res- 
 pecting the missions, the newly-appointed Governor 
 was unable, in his capacity of Viceroy, to hasten 
 to the relief of the Religious. From his own pri- 
 vate resources, however, he aided them as far as 
 he could, and even solicited subscriptions in be- 
 half of the missions from several of his personal 
 friends. As a further proof of his affection and 
 zeal in behalf of religion, at the expiration of his 
 viceroyalty, when preparing to return to Spain, he 
 willed the one third of his property, in case of his 
 death, to the support of the Californian church. 
 
 While matters were thus slowly proceeding at 
 Mexico, every artifice being employed by the 
 agents of government to counteract or evade the 
 
278 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 royal commands, the Fathers were equally zealous 
 in seeking to meet, by private donations, the ne- 
 cessary wants. They were also most zealous in 
 extending, according to their limited means, the 
 sphere of their ministry. During the time that 
 Fathers Piccolo and Tierra were soliciting sub- 
 scriptions on the opposite coast, Fathers Peter and 
 John Ugarte were occupied, the one in learning 
 the language, and the other in clearing the ground 
 preparatory to forming a new mission. They had 
 also made several journeys into the interior, 
 preached the Divine word, and induced several 
 tribes to form into villages, and to accept the first 
 rudiments of the Christian religion. Meantime, 
 at the missions of Loretto and St. Xavier, the 
 usual exercises of religion were being performed, 
 and so favorably that, on the return of Father 
 Tierra, the establishment of two additional mis- 
 sions was taken into immediate consideration. 
 But, as there were then only three priests in the 
 country, a difficulty was experienced; not such, 
 however, as to materially interfere with the pro- 
 ject, for a lay-brother, who had just come to the 
 mission, supplied the necessity. This excellent 
 man, of whom we shall afterward speak, was 
 subsequently raised to the priesthood, and accom- 
 plished much for the interests of religion. In ac- 
 cordance with the Father-provincial's instructions, 
 the contemplated missions were immediately be- 
 gun, their organization having been entrusted to 
 Fathers Peter Ugarte and Manuel de Bassaldo. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 279 
 
 The savages being unaccustomed, in their na- 
 tive condition, to every convenience and social en- 
 joyment, the establishment of missions among 
 them was attended with the greatest discomfort. 
 Exposure to the inclemency of the weather, mea- 
 ger and unwholesome food, and constant, unre- 
 mitting physical exertions were, in these cases, 
 the ordinary lot of the Religious. Invariably, 
 while engaged in laying the foundations of the set- 
 tlements, their only protection from the powerful 
 action of the sun during the day, and of the cold 
 at night, was that afforded them by a rude little 
 hut; for, in every case, they directed their at- 
 tentions in the first instance to the formation of 
 a chapel for their Heavenly Master. The difficul- 
 ties that Father Ugarte met with from the sloth 
 and the indifference of the natives, were greater 
 and more embarrassing than one would readily be- 
 lieve. Seeing that all his endeavors were unavail- 
 ing to induce the older members of the tribe to 
 engage in the work, he had recourse to the boys, 
 whom he allured by presents and sweetmeats 
 to join him in the work. A holy and edifying 
 spectacle, indeed, it must have been, for the peo- 
 ple to have witnessed this venerable and devoted 
 Religious thus laboring with the young in laying 
 the foundation of his contemplated mission. And, 
 as children are often incited to the performance of 
 duty by motives of rivalry, the Father laid hold 
 of this means and adapted it to his purpose. At 
 
280 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 times, he would wager with the little ones who 
 would be first in clearing the ground, and remov- 
 ing the shrubs; at others, he would offer rewards 
 for transporting the earth and forming the bricks; 
 while again, he would gain their assistance by 
 making the work a source of amusement and pleas- 
 ure to all. "The Father used to take off his san- 
 dals," says Father Venegas, " and tread npon the 
 clay, in which he was followed by the boys, skip- 
 ping and dancing ; the boys sung, and were highly 
 delighted — the Father also sung, and thus they 
 continued, dancing and treading the clay in differ- 
 ent parts, till meal-time.' 7 
 
 Thus it was that Father Ugarte succeeded in 
 constructing his little temporary church, thereby 
 evincing a spirit of simplicity and of practical piety 
 in vain to be sought but in the life of an apostle. 
 No wonder that such labors and exertions should 
 have been blessed with more than an ordinary 
 measure of success. And, indeed, such was the 
 fact, for after a little this zealous apostle had the 
 pleasure of admitting to baptism several of this 
 tribe, thus happily reaping the first fruits of his 
 labors. 
 
 While congratulating himself on the success of 
 his labors, an occurrence took place which greatly 
 endangered his life and those of his followers. 
 Happening to be sent for to administer the last 
 sacrament to a person in danger of death, he found 
 on his arrival a sorcerer, or pagan religious, whom 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 281 
 
 he immediately obliged to depart, rebuking at the 
 same time the convert and her friends for having 
 permitted such an act. The Christians, either mis- 
 taking his meaning or desirous of giving a practical 
 proof of their sorrow, immediately followed and 
 slew the unfortunate man, for which, when stern- 
 ly rebuked by the Father, they turned their anger 
 on himself, and would also have deprived him of 
 life had they not been deterred by his coolness 
 and intrepidity of manner. Happening to learn 
 by accident that the people were preparing to kill 
 him, he immediately sent for the leaders, and with 
 an air of resolution and determination addressed 
 them somewhat as follows: "I am aware of your 
 wicked designs. I know you have formed the res- 
 olution of killing me to-night. With this musket 
 (pointing to an old carbine) I will slaughter you 
 all, if you make the attempt. Go then, abandon 
 your purpose and quickly repent for having con- 
 ceived so nefarious a purpose." The address was 
 effective, it produced the expected result; the In- 
 dians were exceedingly terrified, and so far from 
 attacking the Father, they abandoned the mission 
 that night and refused to return until assured by 
 the missionary that he loved them as children. 
 From this, which was only one of a number of 
 similar instances, it can be readily seen how pre- 
 carious and uncertain were the lives of the mis- 
 sionaries. Owing to the people's natural ferocity, 
 their stupidity and fickle disposition, neither zeal, 
 
282 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 patience or long-standing amongst them offered 
 any protection against sudden attack. In fact the 
 missionaries' lives were ever at stake, and some- 
 times unhappily forfeited, as will appear further 
 on. 
 
 While Father Ugarte was engaged, as we have 
 stated, in founding his mission in the face of the 
 greatest and most unusual difficulties, both moral 
 and physical, Father Manuel Bassaldo was also 
 engaged in establishing his, but under more favor- 
 able and agreeable circumstances. The great dif- 
 ficulty this Father encountered at first was the 
 formation of a road from the garrison to the mis- 
 sion, a distance of one hundred miles through a 
 woody, mountainous country. So rugged, uneven 
 and hilly was the land that it was with the great- 
 est difficulty the Father was enabled to form a way 
 for himself and his companions. But once the 
 natural difficulties surmounted, his labors were 
 of a more agreeable kind than those of his brother 
 Religious. The people in this section of the coun- 
 try were of a better and more lively disposition, 
 less variable and fickle in their habits, and conse- 
 quently better adapted for the reception and pro- 
 fession of truth. For four years, till necessitated 
 by sickness to leave for a time, the Father remain- 
 ed at this place, instructing the people, reclaiming 
 them from their savage existence, and teaching 
 them the knowledge and worship of God. He was 
 succeeded in his charge by Father Francis Piccolo, 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 283 
 
 a man of equally remarkable virtues, whose zeal 
 in behalf of the natives showed itself especially in 
 the preaching of the word, and the conquest of 
 souls effected in different parts of the country. 
 The fruits of his labors were especially noticeable 
 in the great number of communicants at the festi- 
 vals of Easter and at different times through the 
 course of the year. 
 
 Although the lives of the last mentioned mis- 
 sionaries present us with many rare and singular 
 virtues, they do not show forth so clearly and em- 
 phatically the character of the missionary as that 
 of the Rev. John Ugarte, to whom the venerable 
 Father Tierra was wont to give the name of Apos- 
 tle. Father John Ugarte was one of those rare 
 and eminent men who are ever foremost in every 
 noble and meritorious employment. He left the 
 impress of his zeal and ability on every work he 
 engaged in; and his success was certainly in keep- 
 ing with his energy and devotion. Ever on the 
 alert for an opportunity for advancing the interests 
 of religion, his thoughtful, active, zealous mind 
 never suffered him to rest for a moment. Now 
 admonishing, reclaiming, instructing the ignorant ; 
 now administering the sacraments of the church, 
 or attending to the temporal concerns of the mis- 
 sion — laboring in the fields, working on the build- 
 ings, repairing the roads, or preparing the vessels 
 for sea — in each and every capacity, he joined to 
 the sweetness and mildness of the saint the activity 
 
284 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 and energy of the missionary. To such an extent 
 did he succeed in reclaiming this naturally lazy 
 and indolent people, and in bringing them to ob- 
 serve a system of order, that they even submitted 
 at his command to the penalties enjoined, and ac- 
 cepted the merited punishment due to a violation 
 of the rules of the mission. To the children, how- 
 ever, it was that he gave the greatest share of atten- 
 tion, knowing that they were more susceptible of 
 religious impressions, and more likely to influence 
 the coming generation. But his zeal and devotion 
 were not unfrequently richly rewarded, even in 
 the pious and virtuous sentiments of the aged, at 
 the moment of death. As an instance, this may 
 serve as an example: In the hospital under his 
 care for the spiritual and temporal comfort of the 
 afflicted, was a native, whose death was remarkable 
 for virtue. Repeatedly would he enter with his 
 confessor into the particulars of his former con- 
 fessions, and beg him to come and assist him by 
 prayer. So genuine and heartfelt was his sorrow 
 for his former transgressions, that he frequently 
 manifested his willingness to die in that sickness, 
 lest he should unhappily return to his former ex- 
 cessess, and thus peril his eternal salvation. Thus 
 piously and holily inclined, he approached the end 
 of his earthly career, took leave of his friends, 
 bid adieu to the Father, and with sentiments of 
 the liveliest confidence in the goodness and mercy 
 of God, resigned himself into the hands of his 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 285 
 
 Maker. Another instance, of a similar kind, was 
 that of a sorcerer, who was brought to a knowl- 
 edge of God by the kindness shown to his son by 
 the Father. At first, he had the strongest natural 
 repugnance to learn the principles of our holy re- 
 ligion. His office, position, self-interest and asso- 
 ciations strongly opposed his design. Throwing 
 open his soul, however, to the influence of Divine 
 grace, he finally submitted to the yoke of religion, 
 received the holy sacrament of baptism, and be- 
 came a model of piety, spending the greater part 
 of his time in the exercise of devotion till the 
 hour of his death. Another still more remarkable 
 instance of the goodness and mercy of God in en- 
 lightening the blind and calling sinners to repent- 
 ance, was witnessed in the case of an enemy of 
 the cross, who, for a considerable time, had been 
 embittering the minds of the gentiles against the 
 Christian religion. From what cause his repent- 
 ance arose we are not given to learn; but, with 
 tears in his eyes and solemn promises of amend- 
 ment on his lips, he voluntarily presented himself 
 at the door of the church, promising never to re- 
 turn to his gentile companions, and earnestly 
 begging to be admitted to baptism. Father Ugarte, 
 seeing the entire change of his life, and the truly 
 virtuous disposition by which he was animated, 
 immediately admitted him to the sacrament, con- 
 ferring on him the name of the great doctor of 
 Milan, on whose festival he was added to the ranks 
 
286 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 of the faithful. That the Father was not deceived 
 in his judgment regarding his truly virtuous sen- 
 timents appeared later on, from the fact that 
 from then till the moment of death, which hap- 
 pened soon after, he evinced the most evident 
 marks of being specially called to the faith by 
 the goodness and mercy of God. 
 
 Father Ugarte now made arrangements for sur- 
 veying the southern coast. On the 26th of No- 
 vember, 1706, he set out, accompanied by a small 
 number of troops and some Indians. The difficul- 
 ties he had to contend with were not confined to 
 the character of the country or the dangers to be 
 encountered from barbarous tribes, but extended . 
 to the necessary means of existence — the only pro- 
 vision for water being wells dug by the natives in. 
 the sand, and which were often unequal to the 
 wants of the company. After marching several 
 leagues they were from this cause placed in the 
 most imminent danger of death. Unable to find 
 the necessary supply, they resolved upon retracing 
 their steps through the interior of the country, 
 hoping to find in the mountains the aid that was 
 denied them on the coast. In this, however, their 
 hopes were but slight, for the parched aspect of 
 the land and the well-known absence of rain, made 
 it very precarious whether it would not be their 
 misfortune to fail in discovering a rivulet or spring 
 on the way. Depressed in mind and body, they 
 traveled a considerable distance through the in- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 287 
 
 terior of the country without finding the object of 
 their search. At length they arrived at the dry 
 bed of a river, which in vain they examined in 
 both directions. Thus disappointed, exhausted 
 and dying of thirst, they resigned themselves into 
 the hands of the Lord. Another four-and-twenty 
 hours of like disappointment, and some, if not all, 
 would certainly have succumbed to their fate. 
 Before making a final attempt, on the morning of 
 their greatest distress, the Father began by offer- 
 ing the holy sacrifice of the Mass to beg the Al- 
 mighty to hasten to their aid. The Mass was that 
 of the Immaculate Conception. All earnestly joined 
 with the Father in supplicating the Deity to hasten 
 to their relief. The holy sacrifice ended, the Litany 
 was commenced, but before being finished an 
 Indian came running to the camp crying: "Water, 
 water ! " At a short distance a little well, sufficient 
 to satisfy the wants of the company, was found, and 
 what was especially remarkable was that on the day 
 previous, while search was being made in every 
 direction, several had passed by that place without 
 being able to observe any appearance of water. 
 Whether it was a miraculous supply afforded them 
 by Providence, or a natural spring to which they 
 were -propitiously directed, I leave to the judg- 
 ment of the reader to determine, but in either sup- 
 position the providence of G-od seems clearly dis- 
 played. 
 
 Father Salva Tierra, whose appointment as Pro- 
 vincial of the Society in Mexico, we have spoken 
 
288 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 of above, obtained permission at this time to re- 
 turn to the country. On leaving California he 
 took with him five of his converts in order to en- 
 able them to form a higher idea of the splendor 
 and magnificence of religion, so that upon their 
 return they might be able to give an account of 
 the same to their brethren at home. Contrary to 
 his expectations the five natives, in consequence 
 of the change of food and climate, fell sick upon 
 his hands and had to be sent back to the country. 
 During the voyage one of them was seized with a 
 mortal illness, but exhibited the greatest humility 
 and resignation to the divine will during his suf- 
 ferings. He even most fervently prayed that the 
 Almighty might remove him from life before 
 reaching California, if his services were no longer 
 required upon earth — a desire in which he was 
 gratified, for before the end of the voyage he was 
 called by the Lord to the reward of the just. 
 
 That the people were in many instances brought 
 to a high sense of religion, and exhibited in their 
 lives many rare and singular virtues, we are not to 
 be astonished considering the truly admirable and 
 apostolic spirit with which the missionary Fathers 
 were animated. In their zeal for the salvation of 
 souls, they were entirely unmindful of self. The 
 case of Father Mayarga is an instance of this. Pros- 
 trated by sickness, it was deemed necessary to re- 
 move him to the coast of New Spain ; but, on learn- 
 ing the determination of his brethren, he so earn- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 289 
 
 estly begged to be permitted to die in the country 
 that he obtained his request. And as it would seem 
 to reward his fidelity the Almighty restored him to 
 health and enabled him to labor for several subse- 
 quent years in behalf of his flock. In the centre 
 of the mountains, some ninety or a hundred miles 
 from the principal mission, it was that this truly 
 virtuous and zealous apostle fixed his abode, and 
 established a mission to the patriarch Joseph. 
 His constitution soon became accustomed to the 
 hardships of the place, and his natural strength 
 was restored by degrees. 
 
 By patience, prayer and unwearied exertions he 
 succeeded in inducing the greater part of the sav- 
 ages of that special locality to abandon their wan- 
 dering life, and to settle down at and in the vicin- 
 ity of his mission. His charity and zeal for the 
 necessities of all showed themselves in different 
 ways. A seminary for the boys, another for the 
 girls, and an hospital for the infirm, were among 
 the evidences of his goodness and benevolence of 
 mind. His spiritual functions were discharged 
 with such profit and advantage to his people that 
 we are told it was most pleasing and agreeable to 
 observe the devotion and religious deportment of 
 his little community. - Nor was his mind entirely 
 engaged with those in his immediate locality. 
 Around in every direction were numerous tribes 
 whose souls had never been illumined by the faint- 
 est ray of gospel truth. Salvation to them through 
 19 
 
290 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the Redeemer was an unmeaning expression ; they 
 had never heard of the Saviour of the world. No 
 wonder then that the heart of that venerable man 
 should be touched at their state and filled with 
 compassion for their unhappy condition. But the 
 losses sustained by the mission at this time put it 
 entirely out of his power to hasten to their aid, 
 however important and necessary he may have 
 deemed the establishment of a mission amongst 
 them. A vessel, the San Xavier, while proceed- 
 ing to Sonora for a supply of provisions with a 
 sum of three thousand dollars in specie on board, 
 was driven back by a storm, wrecked on the coast 
 and plundered by the gentiles. This, for the mo- 
 ment, checked the progress of the missions, yet not 
 so as to materially injure them, for under every, 
 even the most unfavorable, circumstances, the work 
 of the Lord was sure to advance. 
 
 On the news of the disaster being made known 
 at the mission, Father Tierra immediately hasten- 
 ed to the aid of the sufferers, whom he found in 
 the greatest distress, having lost their entire stock 
 of provisions and being obliged to live on the shell- 
 fish and herbs found on the coast. As the refitting 
 of the vessel occupied a considerable time the 
 Father in the interval directed his attention to the 
 preaching of the gospel; and in order the more 
 readily to give the people an idea of the truth of 
 religion, he had portions of the cathechism trans- 
 lated into the vernacular, which, by persuasion 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 291 
 
 and kindness, he got them to learn. It is also to 
 be remarked that this people had previously re- 
 quested the Father to instruct and baptize them, 
 but the great difficulty of acquiring their language 
 had prevented this for a time. The presence of 
 Father Tierra amongst them awakened their former 
 desires, but as he was unable to remain in their 
 district, he merely admitted the children to baptism, 
 and promised at the earliest opportunity to pro- 
 vide them with missionaries. It is impossible, on 
 reading the virtuous disposition of these gentiles, 
 not to feel sorrow that more missionary priests 
 were not in the country to instruct them in the 
 principles of religion. Under the circumstances the 
 Fathers did all in their power to meet the emer- 
 gency. The Government being unwilling to come 
 forward with the necessary aid, and the private 
 subscriptions being barely sufficient for the . mis- 
 sions already established, further missionary hands 
 could not be employed, thereby causing the great- 
 est embarrassment and anxiety to the Fathers in 
 the way of accomplishing their noble designs. To 
 add to their difficulties a terrible epidemic broke 
 out in the tribe, and extended its ravages on all 
 sides. The greater part of the children and several 
 of the adults fell victims to the malady; nor was 
 this the extent of their misfortune, for, in conse- 
 quence of a great dearth of provisions and being 
 necessitated to live exclusively on maize and dried 
 meats, other distempers were generated among the 
 
292 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Europeans and resulted fatally to many. The pre- 
 valence of these disorders, independent of their na- 
 tural result, contained a still greater danger to the 
 missions. They were laid hold of by the malig- 
 nant in order to bring religion into disfavor. In 
 consequence of the great number of deaths, both 
 amongst the children and adults, the sorcerers suc- 
 ceeded in persuading the people that the mission- 
 aries were killing the community — the little ones 
 by the waters of baptism and the others by the 
 sacrament of unction ! The credulity of the 
 multitude accepted the cheat, and for a time it 
 was firmly believed that the priests were the cause 
 of the mortality. 
 
 Nor were the venerable missionaries' trials con- 
 fined to the foregoing. Christian and Pagan, Eu- 
 ropean and Native, seemed ready to thwart their 
 designs, and overreach their simplicity. In 1711, 
 one of the Fathers was dispatched to the opposite 
 coast, for the purpose of having a vessel belonging 
 to the mission repaired ; but, such was the unscru- 
 pulousness and fraud of those engaged in the work, 
 that after an outlay of several thousand dollars 
 the condition of the vessel was but little improved. 
 The building of another was, in consequence, im- 
 mediately begun; but here, in like manner, the 
 simplicity of the Father was turned to profit; 
 and taken advantage of by the unscrupulous specu- 
 lators, for, after an expenditure of twenty-two 
 thousand dollars or more, the vessel was found to 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 293 
 
 be entirely unfit for the sea, and was actually lost 
 on its first voyage, on the coast of Sinaloa. 
 
 Amid all these grave and continuous obstacles, 
 difficulties and disappointments, the missionaries' 
 labors were in no way abated. Ever extending the 
 sphere of their apostleship, they made several jour- 
 neys to the interior, reduced several wandering 
 tribes, taught them the principles of religion, and 
 induced them to settle down in particular locali- 
 ties, where they were easily accessible for pur- 
 poses of instruction. Oftentimes, the Indians 
 themselves would repair to the Fathers, and beg 
 them to go and live in their country. This was 
 particularly so in the case of the Cadigomos, who, 
 on several occasions, repaired in great numbers to 
 the Religious. Unable to resist their pious im- 
 portunities, though poorly in health, and fully em- 
 ployed where he was, Father Ugarte resolved to 
 visit their tribe. Accordingly, in 1712, he set 
 out for their country. On coining among them, 
 they received him with the greatest demonstrations 
 of love and affection, entreating him to settle 
 among them; and, as an inducement, promised to 
 bestow upon him their best pithahayas and feath- 
 ers, and their children for baptism ! Though thus 
 admirably disposed, and ready for the acceptance 
 of the gospel, yet, in consequence of the scarcity 
 of priests and the difficulties of maintaining the 
 missions, five years were necessarily suffered to 
 elapse before the spiritual wants of this tribe could 
 
294 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 be fully attended. Meantime, though situated at a 
 distance of one hundred miles or more, in a wild, 
 mountainous portion of the country, the Father 
 visited them occasionally, while several, on their 
 part, visited him. 
 
 The Cochimes, another tribe of that part of the 
 country, also begged the Father at this time to 
 form a mission among them. In a visit which he 
 paid them in the month of November, of the year 
 1706, they had received him with even greater 
 demonstrations of affection than the Cadigomos ; 
 but, how inscrutable are the ways of Divine Prov- 
 idence ! That people was not to be blessed with 
 a mission for two-and-twenty years from that date. 
 
 During the short time of the Father's stay 
 in their camp, he was only enabled to give them 
 the faintest ideas of religion; but, finding them 
 so admirably disposed, he administered the sac- 
 rament of baptism to fifty of the children. In 
 1728, a mission under the title of St. Ignatius, 
 was ultimately established among them. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 295 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 The Fathers invest the moneys belonging to the Mission in real 
 estate. — flrst attempt at government. routine at the mis- 
 SION. — Military Government. — Amount spent on the Missions. — 
 Natural Phenomena. — Floods, whirlwinds, etc. — Father Ugarte 
 
 PREPARES TO MAKE A SECOND SURVEY OF THE COAST. — He RUILDS A 
 
 vessel. — Establishment of the Mission of La Paz. — Mission 
 of Our Lady of Guadalupe. — Famine and Epidemic in the 
 country. — Devotion of the Missionaries. 
 
 Up to the present, the missions existed in great 
 measure on the private subscriptions and donations 
 of the faithful. The moneys assigned for their 
 foundation remained in the hands of the benefac- 
 tors, the interest only being applied for the con- 
 templated purposes of the donors. The failure of 
 Don Juan Lopez Baptista, founder of the mission 
 of Luigi, showed the danger of such an arrange- 
 ment. It was, therefore, deemed safer that the 
 moneys charitably donated should be laid out in 
 the purchase of land, a course which was subse- 
 quently adopted and served to promote the best 
 interests of religion. From the rentals, the mis- 
 sionaries were supplied with sufficient for their 
 necessary personal expenses. Those incurred in 
 the service of the altar for the purposes of divine 
 worship were met by the Government, in accord- 
 ance with an order from the crown. 
 
 At first, the Fathers provided for the temporal 
 wants of all the people, provided they settled at the 
 
296 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 missions, and received catechetical instructions. 
 It was thus the chief part of the revenue was liber- 
 ally applied. After a time, when the numbers 
 increased, it was found difficult to continue this 
 rule, and then only such as attended the regular 
 services of religion were entitled to the allowance. 
 Morning and night they received a measure of 
 atole or pinole, and at noon another of pozzoli, 
 and fresh or salt meat, as the supplies were on 
 hand. The children, aged and infirm of every 
 tribe, whether Christian or Pagan, were carefully 
 attended, and provided with an abundance of food. 
 Baize, serges, and panillos were imported from 
 Spain, and blankets from Mexico for their partic- 
 ular use. The product of the land was entirely 
 their own, the only restraint placed upon them 
 being that of preventing them from wasting the 
 crops, which they would have certainly done if not 
 prevented by the Religious. 
 
 As the people had now become tolerably civil- 
 ized, having almost entirely abandoned their former 
 wandering life, some method for establishing 
 order amongst them became necessary. An at- 
 tempt was accordingly made at the principal mis- 
 sion. The civil government, if we may be per- 
 mitted the expression, consisted merely of a few 
 simple regulations, adapted to the character and 
 condition of the people. It was provided, in the 
 first place, that the Father who was the chief of 
 the executive should be attended by a soldier, who 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 297 
 
 within a certain limit assigned should enjoy the 
 same powers as the captain of the garrison. By 
 the second proviso, the Father was empowered to 
 appoint a Mayor, or Governor, in every tribe, 
 whose duty it would be to preserve order and har- 
 mony, and to see that the commands of the mis- 
 sionaries were duly observed. A churchwarden 
 was appointed to the care of every church. His 
 office was to cause all to be present at the exer- 
 cises of religion, and to see that they conducted 
 themselves becomingly in the church. The cate- 
 chist summoned the tribe daily to morning and 
 evening devotions, and reported to the Father any 
 want of attendance. During the unavoidable ab- 
 sence"^ the missionary while visiting the neigh- 
 boring tribes, the soldier was his vicegerent, and 
 empowered to punish delinquents except for cap- 
 ital crimes, when the case was to be referred to the 
 captain of the garrison. The punishment awarded 
 to minor offences was flogging, imprisonment, or 
 the stocks. 
 
 The spiritual government was uniform through- 
 out the whole of the missions. It embraced, be- 
 side the daily attendance at the holy sacrifice of 
 the mass, morning and night prayer, catechetical 
 instructions, the care of the infirm and the educa- 
 tion of the young. The more apt and better 
 disposed were brought up at the principal mission, 
 where they were instructed in reading, writing 
 and music, a course which fitted them for the office 
 
298 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 of wardens, or catechists, in their respective locali- 
 ties. The daily routine in the villages where the 
 missionary resided, was as follows: In the morn- 
 ing the warden summoned the people to church; 
 when, after prayer, the Te Deum was sung. Then 
 followed the holy sacrifice of the mass, the cate- 
 chism in the vernacular, and not ^infrequently a 
 prone or instruction, animating them to fervor 
 and perseverance in virtue. This ended, the peo- 
 ple retired to their respective employments — some 
 to the fields, some to the workshops, and some to 
 the woods. At noon, they assembled for dinner, 
 which, as has been remarked, consisted of flesh 
 meat and pozzoli, to which, in some instances, 
 vegetables were added. After a reasonable recess, 
 they returned to their respective occupations in 
 which they were engaged till the evening, when 
 they repaired to the church, and recited the rosary 
 and litany of the Blessed Virgin and a hymn in 
 honor of the most adorable sacrament. This con- 
 cluded, they retired, each one to his respective 
 dwelling, for the night. 
 
 The same order, to a great extent, was observed 
 at the out-stations, which were placed under the 
 care of a warden. Every morning the catechist 
 assembled the people in church, and after the 
 usual prayers and catechism, dismissed them to 
 their work. The better to instruct the more ig- 
 norant in the principal mysteries of religion, inas- 
 much as they had only an occasional visit from the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 299 
 
 missionary, it was required of them to reside for 
 some time at the principal mission, where they 
 were maintained by the Father. After being tol- 
 erably instructed, their attendance was only de- 
 manded on Saturdays and Sundays. On all the 
 principal festivals, as well as during the last week of 
 Lent, all the inhabitants from every quarter assem- 
 bled at the principal mission." How touching and 
 edifying, to witness these poor, simple-minded peo- 
 ple, who, but a little before, were alike unconscious 
 of the God who created them, as well as the Saviour 
 who redeemed them, now hastening with cheerful 
 accord, from considerable distances, in order to be 
 present at the offices of religion, and to receive 
 instruction from the lips of their pastor. Every 
 Sunday and festival day, and oftentimes during the 
 week, the missionaries preached to the people. In 
 the administration of the sacraments, but espe- 
 cially of the most adorable Eucharist, the Fathers 
 used the most scrupulous care, never admitting to 
 holy communion any but those sufficiently in- 
 structed, and who had given the most satisfactory 
 guarantees of the sincerity of their faith by the 
 purity and simplicity of their lives. Of this class 
 there were several, who not only fulfilled the an- 
 nual precept of the Church, but who were even 
 permitted to approach the table of the Lord fre- 
 quently during the year. The religious training 
 of the children was especially attended to by the 
 missionaries; the boys were under the care of a 
 
300 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 master, and the girls under that of a matron. On 
 Sundays, besides the accustomed exercises ap- 
 pointed by religion, the people went in procession 
 around the village, singing hymns and rejoicing; 
 after which, they returned to the church to assist 
 at a sermon. 
 
 The military government of the garrison was in 
 the hands of the Captain, subject, however, to the 
 authority of the Father — an arrangement which 
 seems to have given the greatest displeasure, espe- 
 cially as the Religious strictly prohibited all from 
 engaging in the pearl fishery on the coast. It was 
 not, indeed, without cause, that such a prohibi- 
 tion had been made ; for, during the first expe- 
 ditions under Alarcon, Viscaino and others, the 
 natives were not unfrequently disedified and scan- 
 dalized at the conduct of the Spaniards. And 
 entirely apart from this, there was another, and, 
 perhaps, a more necessary reason why such a reso- 
 lution should be enforced ; for, were the soldiers 
 permitted to occupy themselves thus, their ser- 
 vices would be lost to the mission, and their 
 presence, in consequence, unavailing for good to 
 the country. Repeatedly did they petition the 
 Father for permission to fish; but, in every in- 
 stance, their request was met with an absolute re- 
 fusal; for he was aware of the consequences that 
 would necessarily ensue. At times, however, they 
 managed to avoid the vigilance of the authorities, 
 and engaged in their illicit pursuit, but only to the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 301 
 
 great scandal and detriment of the natives, whose 
 barks and service they made use of in their search 
 for the pearls. After a time, the severity of this 
 resolution was somewhat relaxed; and it was per- 
 mitted to those who had the royal permission to 
 engage in the fisheries. 
 
 By the prudence and foresight of the Abbe 
 Alberoni, who was then at the head of public 
 affairs in the old country, the missions were saved 
 at this juncture from inevitable ruin. A man of 
 great wealth, in New Spain, had aspired to the of- 
 fice of Governor of California; and, as an induce- 
 ment to Government to confer the position upon 
 him, he offered to the authorities a very consider- 
 able bribe. A compliance with his desires, it is 
 hardly necessary to say, would have resulted most 
 unfavorably to the country; for, as generally hap- 
 pens in such cases, when offices are purchased,, 
 measures are afterwards taken for indemnifying 
 the outlay b}f the oppression of the poor. Like 
 the great Ximenes, Alberoni had a mind above 
 such miserable chicanery. The eighty thousand 
 dollars offered by the citizen for the viceroyalty 
 of the Californias, only served to direct his atten- 
 tion to that country, and caused him to form 
 extensive designs in .its regard, which, if fully 
 developed, would undoubtedly have advanced the 
 material prosperity of the country in general. 
 His object was, in the first instance, to colonize 
 the North American coast, and to extend the 
 
302 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Spanish dominions into the then unexplored re- 
 gions north of the Gila and Colorado. He also 
 designed, by extending the trade of the Philip- 
 pines, and making them the centre of the com- 
 merce of the East, to render the colonists inde- 
 pendent of Old and New Spain. From the Philip- 
 pines, a trade was to be carried on with the eastern 
 and western shores of America, while from New- 
 Spain the commerce would readily find its way 
 into Europe. 
 
 The vastness and importance of this plan was 
 worthy of the man by whom it was projected ; 
 and, if carried out, would, in all probability, have 
 been attended with the most important results to 
 the nation. With the sanction of the crown, Albe- 
 roni wrote to the Viceroy at Mexico, recommend- 
 ing the project to his care. Pursuant to his instruc- 
 tions, a council was immediately held by his 
 excellency, in which were discussed the best 
 means for carrying out the royal intentions. The 
 project, however, did not meet with the approval 
 of the members. It appeared either too vast, and 
 the members of the council were unwilling to as- 
 sume the responsibility of so important a scheme, 
 or they were indifferent regarding the colonization 
 of the country at all. The meeting, however, was 
 not without its important results as regarded the 
 Fathers. After a careful examination of the case, 
 it was resolved that the Californian missions should 
 be supplied with everything necessary for the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 303 
 
 maintenance of a limited number of troops; that 
 two vessels should be constructed and placed at 
 the disposal of the Fathers ; and that, if the thir- 
 teen thousand dollars already granted by govern- 
 ment were found insufficient for defraying the 
 general expenses, the deficit should be supplied 
 from the royal exchequer. 
 
 From the wording of the resolution, it appears 
 that the money hitherto raised by private subscrip- 
 tion, and expended on the missions, amounted in 
 the gross to five hundred thousand dollars. The 
 council next took into consideration the necessity 
 of establishing a garrison for the protection of the 
 Philippine vessels; as, also, the importance of 
 making an accurate survey of the coast. At the 
 request of the Fathers, it was further determined 
 to maintain fifty additional soldiers at the Cape, 
 and to provide for the education of the youth of 
 the country. But these resolutions not having 
 passed in regular form, were afterwards altered by 
 the Viceroy, the number of soldiers being reduced 
 from fifty ^to five-and-twenty, while the provision 
 for the education of the children was entirely neg- 
 lected. 
 
 This illiberal and short-sighted policy on the 
 part of the authorities, was only in keeping with 
 their previous decrees, and highly injurious to the 
 interests of the nation. A ready and generous aid 
 granted to the Fathers at this time, by which they 
 would be enabled to form garrisons and establish- 
 
304 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ments on the coast and in the interior, would 
 have tended materially to have strengthened the 
 hands of the executive, and to have preserved to 
 the country those important dependencies. 
 
 We will now turn for a moment from the labors 
 of the Fathers and the action of Government, to 
 the consideration of some natural events. Upper 
 and Lower California have been frequently visited 
 by terrible storms, whirlwinds and rains. In the 
 autumn of 1717, a hurricane of unusual violence, 
 accompanied with thunder, lightning and rain, 
 burst over the country and extended its ravages 
 throughout the peninsula. The missions, in sev- 
 eral instances, suffered severely from its effects. 
 Father Ugarte's presbytery and church were lev- 
 eled with the ground, his life placed in the most 
 imminent v danger, and the crops belonging to the 
 mission completely destined. At Loretto, the 
 violence of the storm was such that a boy was 
 taken up into the air and never heard of again. 
 Along the coast, the fragments of vessels and small 
 boats were evidence of its terrible nature. Though 
 frequent in their occurrence, this was the greatest 
 disaster of the kind experienced by the mission- 
 aries during their time in the country. It is to 
 such causes, we are assured, that is to be attrib- 
 uted, in great measure, the poverty of the soil, for 
 on such occasions the floods are so strong, that the 
 greater part of the upper surface of the soil is 
 borne away, the rocks only remaining. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 305 
 
 The disastrous effects produced by the storm in 
 the mission of Father Ugarte were repeated at 
 Purissima, where the soil was very much damaged 
 by the rains. Shortly after this terrible visitation, 
 Father Tamaral proceeded to the village of San 
 Miguel, where, as if to recompense him by a spirit- 
 ual gain for the temporal losses sustained by the 
 missions, the Almighty was pleased to grant him 
 unusual success. As the first fruits of his labors, 
 Father Tamaral baptized on that occasion two 
 entire tribes of the gentiles, who earnestly sought 
 to become Christians: Thence he made his way 
 through the mountains to the Indians of Cadi- 
 gomo, whence he proceeded to La Purissima, 
 where, after extraordinary toil and continued ex- 
 ertion for several years, he succeeded eventually 
 in forming a flourishing mission, from which, as a 
 centre, he visited, at .regular intervals, the tribes 
 in the vicinity. This venerable missionary's labors 
 can best be appreciated from the fact, that though 
 constitutionally weak and suffering from frequent 
 attacks of a chronic disease, he extended the 
 sphere of his ministry to the considerable distance 
 of one hundred miles, in a wild, mountainous 
 country, inhabited by forty different tribes. 
 
 An accurate knowledge of the peninsula being 
 important, for purposes both civil and religious, 
 Father Ugarte now applied himself to making a 
 careful survey of the coast. For the accomplish- 
 ment of his purpose, a vessel of considerable pro- 
 20 
 
306 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 portions was needed; but, as such was not to be 
 had on the coast, he had either to have it con- 
 structed in New Spain, the Philippines, or the Old 
 World, unless, indeed, he could find means of 
 building it himself in the country. The latter he 
 eventually determined on doing, though to most 
 persons under the circumstances the construction 
 of a vessel would have proved an insurmountable 
 obstacle. In the mind of the Father, however, 
 difficulties were only a stimulant to energy. In 
 September of the year 1719, accompanied by 
 some of his people, he set out for the interior in 
 search of the necessary timbers. After traveling 
 two hundred miles through a mountainous district, 
 he eventually found the object of his search in a 
 low, marshy part of the country. How to trans- 
 port it thence to the mission, over hill and dale, 
 was the question then to be solved. Considering 
 the great natural difficulties of the journey, all, 
 with the exception of himself, were of opinion that 
 the work was impossible — that the timber could 
 not be transported to the shore. As the party 
 had only gone out for the object of inspection, 
 they immediately returned to the mission, where 
 the failure of the project was made the subject of 
 general jest. Meantime, the Father did not suffer 
 himself to be influenced by the incredulity of his 
 companions. Having made the necessary prepara- 
 tion for transporting the trees, he again set out on 
 his mission, cleared a road through the mountains, 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 307 
 
 felled the timber, and carried it by means of oxen 
 and mules to the coast, where, within an incredibly 
 short period, he constructed a vessel, which for 
 beauty, strength and size was admitted by all to 
 be superior to any that had yet been seen on the 
 coast. 
 
 Thus was built by a Jesuit Father, in the face 
 of the greatest difficulties, the first vessel that 
 was ever constructed on the Californian coast. She 
 received from the Father the very appropriate 
 title of the " Triumph of the Cross;" and was em- 
 ployed, in the first instance, for the establishment 
 of a mission at La Paz, two hundred miles south of 
 Loretto. 
 
 Inasmuch as the whole of the missions, for 
 their greater security, were connected by land, 
 with the double object of opening a readier com- 
 munication, and of civilizing the intermediary 
 tribes, this expedition was twofold in its char- 
 acter — one part proceeded by land, and the other 
 by sea. The land force was entrusted to the care of 
 Father Guillen of the mission of St. John the Bap- 
 tist, while the other was led by the indefatigable 
 Father Ugarte, in the trial trip of his newly-built 
 vessel. The mission itself was placed in the hands 
 of Father Bravo. The naval expedition, which 
 arrived before the land party, was at first received 
 with feelings of mistrust by the natives; but, on 
 tbeir intentions becoming known, the people ex- 
 pressed their delight, especially, as it seemed to 
 
308 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 them, that by the presence of the missionaries, a 
 reconciliation would likely be effected between 
 them and their inveterate enemies — the inhabit- 
 ants of the neighboring islands. 
 
 The news of the Father's arrival was soon spread 
 through the country, and drew from the neigh- 
 boring districts numbers of savages, whose respect 
 and esteem Father Ugarte was not slow in attain- 
 ing. Thus, under the happiest and most favorable 
 auspices, the foundations of this additional mis- 
 sion were laid, and the first measure for the con- 
 version of this section of the country begun. 
 Shortly after, Father Ugarte was joined by the 
 land party, after traveling two[hundred miles, with 
 incredible difficulty, through a barren mountain- 
 ous country. The inconveniences undergone by 
 the Fathers during the formation of the mission, 
 need not be referred to; they were in keeping 
 with what has already been noticed under similar 
 circumstances. The huts, first formed of branches 
 of trees, gave place after a little to more com- 
 fortable dwellings and greater convenience. During 
 the six years that Father Bravo governed this 
 mission, he baptized over six hundred children 
 and adults; and, when succeeded in 1728, left in 
 the three villages eight hundred Christians. 
 
 Another mission, under the title of " Our Lady 
 of Guadalupe," was founded shortly after that of 
 La Paz. While Father Ugarte had been occupied 
 in cutting timber for the vessel which now brought 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 309 
 
 him to La Paz, his kind and amiable disposition 
 so attracted the inhabitants of those parts, the 
 Cochimes, that they frequently asked him to re- 
 turn. All that he could then promise them was 
 that if circumstances permitted he would revisit 
 them on some future occasion, or, at least, have a 
 missionary sent. The arrival of Father Everard 
 Helen, in 1719, enabled him to comply with their 
 desires. On the twentieth of December, Fathers 
 Ugarte and Helen arrived at Huasinopi, the place 
 destined for the formation of the new mission. 
 Thither the Indians of all the neighboring tribes 
 immediately repaired, expressing their greatest 
 delight that the Fathers had come to settle amongst 
 them. The good dispositions by which they were 
 animated could not be mistaken. A church, a 
 presbytery, and huts for the natives were imme- 
 diately begun and, while in the course of erection, 
 messages were brought from the tribes living at a 
 distance begging the Father to visit their camps, 
 for the sake of the aged and infirm, who were un- 
 able to repair to the mission. In a couple of weeks, 
 the buildings were sufficiently advanced so as to be 
 habitable, and then was begun in good earnest the 
 instruction of the gentiles. By the festival of Easter 
 the Father was enabled to celebrate his first solemn 
 baptism of adults. The readiness manifested by 
 the people for the sacrament was very remarkable. 
 On being made acquainted by the missionary that 
 one of the conditions requisite was that they should 
 
310 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 deliver up all the religious objects used at their 
 festivals, they immediately brought the objection- 
 able articles, and laid them at his feet. Their readi- 
 ness in thus complying with his desires may 
 be accounted for on account of their unac- 
 quaintance, as has been stated at the outset, with 
 every species of formal idolatry. But, as the leaders 
 of the people pretended to a certain knowledge of 
 spiritual and medical science, thereby assuming 
 the double character of priest and physician, and 
 in consequence exercising a great influence over 
 their minds, the compliance of the converts with 
 the Father's injunctions must be regarded as a 
 great triumph of grace. After a large quantity of 
 these articles had been brought by the neighboring 
 tribes, they were publicly burned, and the people 
 admitted to baptism. A like course was followed 
 by all the missionaries of the peninsula. 
 
 The means used by the Almighty for the con- 
 version of nations are not always the best calcu- 
 lated in the eyes of the world for such an end. 
 Indirect, as well as direct means, are not unfre- 
 quently used by the Lord; nor are the former less 
 efficacious than the latter. If it be true that He 
 chastiseth those whom He loveth, it may be per- 
 mitted to interpret the calamities that fell on the 
 country at this period in a favorable light. In the 
 year 1722, the peninsula was invaded by incredible 
 swarms of locusts, which almost completely de- 
 stroyed the chief means of the natives' support 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 311 
 
 — the pithahayas and other fruits of the country. 
 The maize crops at the mission happily escaped 
 the ravages of the noxious insects, and thus the 
 Fathers were enabled to save from inevitable death 
 many who would otherwise have certainly perished 
 of want. As it was, the distress was appalling; 
 and out of it grew another calamity equally dan- 
 gerous to the lives of the people. Seeking to 
 satisfy the cravings of hunger, the Indians fed upon 
 the locusts themselves, a resort which, as might 
 have been anticipated, resulted eventually in a 
 general epidemic, in the shape of most virulent 
 ulcers, to which thousands fell victims. As soon 
 as the epidemic had ceased, it was followed by a 
 dysentery, which raged with still greater destruc- 
 tion. 
 
 This complication of evils, coming rapidly one 
 upon another, afforded the Father an opportunity 
 of gaining the love and affection of the people by 
 his constant and devoted attention to their wants. 
 The epidemic being general, the missionary was 
 constantly on foot moving from place to place; 
 now in the character of priest, then in that of 
 physician, again exercising the duties of nurse, 
 and thus uniting in his person the triple char- 
 acter of father, friend and physician. So con- 
 stant and unremitting were his duties, and so little 
 account did he make of himself, that his health 
 was at length undermined, and he was obliged to 
 retire for a time from the field of his labors. As 
 
312 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 soon, however, as he was somewhat restored, he 
 returned to his people, who received him with all 
 the marks of affection and gratitude which the 
 numerous lessons of Christian benevolence they 
 had witnessed in his life taught them to feel. 
 
 During the time of the mortality, Father Helen 
 attended in their last moments, and prepared for 
 eternity, two hundred and twenty-eight of the 
 adult population. The numbers that owed their 
 recovery to his kind and unremitting attention, 
 we have been unable to learn, but it is not unrea- 
 sonable to suppose they were many. The Father's 
 faithful and heroic exercises of the office of his 
 ministry so won the love and esteem of the savages 
 as to aid him most powerfully in establishing the 
 Christian religion amongst them. In three years 
 from this date, he had succeeded in converting no 
 less than thirty-two tribes, numbering over seven- 
 teen hundred persons of all ages. The difficulty 
 of attending these Christians was greater than one 
 would be inclined to suppose, for of the thirty-two 
 tribes, twenty-two were dispersed through the 
 mountains, on account of the great scarcity of wa- 
 ter and fruits. These wandering families he event- 
 ually succeeded in gathering into particular locali- 
 ties, where they lived in great order and harmony. 
 In each of the villages was a chapel for daily devo- 
 tions, such as has been noted above. The barren 
 nature of the soil in this section of the. country 
 preventing the very extensive production of corn 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 313 
 
 Father Helen was necessitated, in order to provide 
 for the wants of the people, to import cattle and 
 distribute them through the villages. These, to- 
 gether with the little maize he was enabled to 
 raise, and the fruits they were accustomed to gath- 
 er in the woods, constituted their entire means of 
 support. 
 
 After nine years unremitting attention to the 
 duties of his calling, Father Helen's constitution 
 again sank under his labors. The old infirmity, 
 accompanied by another distemper, returned in all 
 its force. Zeal, charity, benevolence could do no 
 more ; nature was exhausted. He had fought the 
 good fight, and now there only remained that he 
 should prepare himself for the reward. To live 
 and die among his people — those poor, simple 
 Indians, whom he had reclaimed from a rude, bar- 
 barous condition, was the most earnest desire of. 
 his soul. But his superiors, thinking that a cessa- 
 tion from labor might prolong his existence, or- 
 dered him to repair to New Spain. Obedient to 
 the voice of authority, he immediately prepared 
 for his departure, and, as he turned his face to the 
 shore and bid aclieu to his flock, great was the 
 grief and abundant the tears of the multitude, re- 
 minding one forcibly of the affection of the Ephe- 
 sians and Miletians for the great apostle of the 
 gentiles, under similar circumstances : "And when 
 he had said these things, kneeling down he prayed 
 
314 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 with them all: and falling on Paul's neck they 
 kissed him, being very much grieved for the word 
 which he had said, that they should see his face 
 no more. And they conducted him to the ship." 1 
 
 (1) Ads: ch. xx., v. 36-38. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 315 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 Project to establish Garrisons and Colonies along the Coast. — Ex- 
 amination of the Coast. — Reception of the Fathers' Party by 
 the Savages. — Danger at Sea. — Return Voyage. — Terrible 
 Storm. — Advantages resulting from the Voyage. — Establish- 
 ment of Missions. — Success of the Fathers. — Singular Encoun- 
 ter with the Savages. — Conversions. — Mission founded for the 
 Cadigomo Indians. — Success of the Same. 
 
 With the view of extending the civil and commer- 
 cial relations of California, and of protecting the 
 eastern trade, it had long been an object of desire 
 to the Court of Madrid, to find shelter for the 
 Philippine vessels on this coast. It had also been 
 proposed, as we have seen, to establish colonies 
 and garrisons in the country. The effectual ac- 
 complishment of this having been entrusted to the 
 Fathers, was met with numerous obstacles. It was 
 required, in the first instance, before anything 
 could be determined, to make an accurate survey 
 of the coast; but, as the ''Triumph of the Cross," 
 built under the direction of Father Ugarte, was 
 then the only vessel of any worth belonging to the 
 mission, the survey could not be made without un- 
 usual risk. A careful examination by land, it is 
 true, might bave answered the purpose; but, as 
 this had been unsuccessfully attempted before, it 
 could not be safely relied on again. 
 
 In order, however, to remove all ground of com- 
 plaint on the part of the Government, and to com- 
 
316 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ply as far as was possible with the royal instruc- 
 tions, the Fathers, with the very limited means at 
 their command, resolved to engage in the work. 
 To ensure the greater success, they determined on 
 dispatching a naval and land expedition. Father 
 Ugarte, being the oldest and most experienced, 
 took charge of the former, and Father Guillen of 
 the latter. From the time of Yiscaino's expedi- 
 tion, it was known that a bay of considerable di- 
 mensions, called La Magdalena, existed in the vi- 
 cinity of the twenty-third or twenty-fourth degree 
 of latitude. Thither, according to arrangement, 
 Father Guillen directed his course, accompanied 
 by a party of soldiers and Californians. After 
 traveling continuously for five-and-twenty days, 
 subject to all the inconvenience resulting from 
 journeying in so inhospitable a land, they finally 
 attained the object of their search. The great 
 sense of gratification experienced by the party in 
 thus far accomplishing their enterprise, was very 
 much lessened on learning of the great scarcity of 
 water, without which the advantages of the bay as 
 a place of resort would be entirely unavailing. 
 On inquiring from the natives, they learned that 
 the only fresh water in the vicinity was that of a 
 well, dug in the sand, and of which the Indians 
 made use. They were, however, informed that 
 on the neighboring island, since called Santa Ro- 
 salia, water was abundant; but, as they were 
 unable to cross from the main land, in order to as- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 317 
 
 sure themselves of the truth of the statement ; 
 and, as it would have been unimportant, even if 
 true, they examined the country in every direc- 
 tion, but to no purpose; when they resolved to re- 
 turn to the mission. Father Guillen endeavored 
 to dissuade them from this, and did all in his 
 power to induce them to make a further examina- 
 tion of the country, yet they were unwilling to 
 listen to his words. Fifteen days later they ar- 
 rived at Loretto, after having traveled a distance 
 of two hundred miles. 
 
 Father Ugarte had not yet put to sea, for he 
 awaited the result of the land expedition. By no 
 means discouraged at the unfavorable report, he 
 immediately embarked in his own little vessel, hav- 
 ing on board six-and-tvventy hands all told; the 
 greater part being Chinese and native Californians. 
 After a sail of some days, they landed on that part 
 of the coast inhabited by the Tepoquis and Seris, 
 who received them in a very unusual manner. 
 
 The venerable Father Salva Tierra, who had 
 formerly visited this people, and had given them 
 some elementary notions of religion; recommended 
 to their care all vessels belonging to the missions, 
 which might happen to call at that place. They 
 were to distinguish them by the symbol of our holy 
 religion, which they were certain to carry. 
 
 Before leaving the ship, and going ashore, Fa- 
 ther Ugarte and his companions observed on the 
 strand one of the natives, who, after fixing a cross 
 
318 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 in the sand, immediately retired out of sight. 
 What his object could be was entirely unknown to 
 the party; but, inasmuch as it was the emblem of 
 faith, the Christians, who had been ordered ashore, 
 approached it with every mark of respect. There- 
 upon, the savages, who had been watching them 
 from a distance, instantly rushed from their con- 
 cealment, being confirmed in their opinion of the 
 strangers; the more so, on seeing, as they ap- 
 proached, the bowsprit of the bilander surmounted 
 by the emblem of salvation. Their greatest am- 
 bition was, then, to see who would be first to wel- 
 come the Father, and congratulate him upon his 
 arrival among them. Impatient of the smallest, 
 delay, they threw themselves into the sea, and 
 swam to the ship. On board, the scene was touch- 
 ing and edifying in the extreme. On recognizing 
 Father Ugarte as the missionary and leader of the 
 party, they fell at his feet, kissed his garments and 
 hands, and otherwise evinced their esteem and re- 
 gard for his person. Next day, great numbers of 
 them brought an abundant supply of fresh water 
 from a considerable distance — a service of no little 
 importance to the Christians, as their own pro- 
 vision on board was nearly exhausted. 
 
 At the earnest request of the people, Father 
 Ugarte consented to visit their kinsmen inhabit- 
 ing an island at some distance on the coast. Three 
 days sailing in continual danger, amid reefs, shoals, 
 crooked and narrow ways, brought them to a spa- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 319 
 
 cious bay, whence they had a view of the island 
 whither they were bound. The natives, unaware 
 of their intentions, and fearing their presence 
 amongst them, appeared in great numbers on the 
 shore with evidently hostile intentions. Armed 
 with bows and arrows, and wearing on their heads 
 a species of helmet of feathers, they made the coast 
 ring with their voices. Their object was to in- 
 timidate the party on board; but, as soon as their 
 friends who accompanied the Father had informed 
 them of the kindly intentions of the missionary, 
 and his desire for their welfare, having merely 
 come amongst them as a teacher of religion, they 
 presently laid their arms aside, ceased their vocif- 
 erations, and received all with affection. 
 
 It was then agreed upon by the people to give 
 the Father the best reception in their power. A 
 levee, in which each should be presented to the 
 missionary and receive his benediction, seemed to 
 them the ceremony best befitting the occasion. A 
 hut was accordingly improvised, a short distance 
 from the shore. Thither the Father was borne, 
 though suffering intensely from an internal affec- 
 tion, induced by over-exertion and exposure to 
 damp. Seated in the little hut, to which there 
 were two openings, one for ingress and the other 
 for egress, the reception begun. It consisted, as 
 we have intimated, in each one presenting himself 
 before the missionary, bowing profoundly, and 
 receiving his blessing. The ceremony ended, the 
 
320 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Father returned to the vessel, and proceeded on 
 his mission of surveying the coast. For several 
 days, his sickness allowed him not a moment's re- 
 pose, night and day he suffered the most excru- 
 ciating torments. The unpleasantness of his 
 position was further increased by a scarcity of 
 provisions, and the dangers which now threatened 
 his vessel. The unusual tempestuous state of the 
 sea at that time, made it very uncertain whether 
 the bilander would be able to weather the storm. 
 She had already parted her cable, and was rolling 
 heavily in the trough of the sea. A wave had 
 carried away the bowsprit and cross, a circum- 
 stance which the Christians interpreted most 
 unfavorably for themselves ; for, with the emblem 
 of salvation, they imagined that the protection of 
 Heaven had gone. Cheered and sustained, how- 
 ever, by the encouraging voice of the Father, they 
 labored, each at his post, and succeeded event- 
 ually in recasting the anchor. The danger then 
 passed, the storm abated, the waves subsided. He 
 who said to the waters of Galilee, " Peace, be 
 still," had come to their aid, and saved them from 
 death. The following day the cross was recovered 
 and again fixed in its place. 
 
 It being now manifest from the evidence ob- 
 tained that a harbor such as they sought was not 
 to be found, they resolved upon abandoning the 
 inhospitable shore, and returning to Loretto. Ac- 
 cordingly, on the second July, the anchor was 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 321 
 
 weighed, and the vessel on her way back to the 
 mission. Three days later, they arrived at the op- 
 posite side of the gulf, where an unexpected oc- 
 currence caused the party the loss of one of the 
 boats, and well nigh proved fatal to some of the 
 crew. In consequence of the rapidity of the coast 
 current, the bilander was prevented from riding 
 with her head to the wind. To remedy this, the 
 pilot, with some of his companions proceeded in a 
 boat along the coast in search of a more suitable 
 anchorage. While visiting some Indians at a dis- 
 tance, they found, on returning to the shore, that 
 the sea had risen with great violence, dashed the 
 boat on the rocks and completely disabled her. 
 So entire was the ruin, that no hope of repairing 
 her for permanent use could be entertained by 
 any. In their necessity, in order to get back to 
 their companions, they were obliged to have re- 
 course to invention. The boat having been parted, 
 the pieces were fastened with nails extracted from 
 the oars, the line and painter supplying the place 
 of oakum, while a few handfuls of clay were used 
 instead of tar. In this frail, unseaworthy craft, 
 the water rushing in at every part, they had to 
 take the chances of reaching their comrades. It 
 was indeed, a perilous adventure; but there was 
 no avoiding the danger, unless they were ready to 
 accept the still more terrible alternative of perish- 
 ing from want. Their danger seemed to increase 
 at every moment, for the water was gaining rapidly 
 21 
 
322 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 upon them, so that, even when in sight of the 
 bilander, they had despaired of their lives. The 
 little craft, however, carried them through, and 
 brought them to their companions. 
 
 The pinnace meantime had been coasting on a 
 similar errand. Her crew in like manner were 
 threatened with danger, but of a different £ind. 
 Their stock of provisions having been entirely ex- 
 pended ,they were thrown into the greatest distress, 
 from which they were only relieved by the kind- 
 ness of the natives who happily came to their aid. 
 
 On returning to the ship, where the result of 
 their search was anxiously awaited, the intention 
 of immediately returning to the mission was aban- 
 doned, and a more thorough examination of the 
 coast determined on. Orders were accordingly 
 given for proceeding still further to the north on 
 the eastern side. After some days they arrived 
 at the head of the Gulf. The color of the water 
 as they approached the junction of the land show- 
 ed them that they were in the vicinity of the Col- 
 orado; a little further on and they came to its em- 
 brOchure, which then, in consequence of the late 
 storm, was pouring a great volume of turbid water 
 into the sea. The frequent recurrence of logs, 
 trees and huts borne down by the current was evi- 
 dence of the havoc made on the land by the tem- 
 pest. When the flood had subsided the men were 
 desirous of ascending the river and examining the 
 country, but were dissuaded by the Father, whose 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 323 
 
 judgment led him to suppose that another storm 
 was imminent, by which, if overtaken, their lives 
 would be in the most imminent peril. Moreover 
 a further examination was unnecessary, as they 
 had now obtained all the information they sought. 
 The danger, too, to be apprehended from the tides, 
 which in those parts rose with frightful impetuos- 
 ity, overflooding the country to a considerable dis- 
 tance, was an additional motive why they should 
 hasten their return. A council was accordingly 
 held, in which it was resolved, that as the vessel 
 was in danger from wind and tides, it was more 
 prudent to return immediately. The decision was 
 received with expressions of joy, and so on the 
 16th of July the anchor was weighed, and the ves- 
 sel on her way to Loretto. 
 
 Their return was not as favorable as they antici- 
 pated. As they sailed down the coast they were 
 visited by a violent storm, accompanied with rain, 
 which threatened their imminent destruction. The 
 violence of the tempest was such that the Father, 
 fearing the loss of some of his men, ordered the 
 mate and those who were with him to abandon the 
 pinnace and get aboard the bilander. That officer, 
 however, was unwilling to abandon his craft; she 
 had brought him to the head of the Gulf, and he 
 trusted she would carry him home. Arrived at 
 the isles of Puedes they were in the midst of their 
 danger, being constantly in the peril of being 
 driven on the shoals and rocks by the winds and 
 
324 HISTORY -OF THE 
 
 currents they experienced. The currents were 
 dangerous, not only on account of their force and 
 rapidity, but especially because of their irregular 
 course, running, as it is stated, in intersected gyra- 
 tions. Meantime the storm, which had increased 
 to a tempest, raged with terrible fury. The angry 
 waters leaped and howled around the devoted 
 bark. Through the spars and rigging the roaring 
 of the wind was a portent of immediate destruc- 
 tion, while from stem, to stern, as each succeeding 
 wave hurled its foaming water against the vessel's 
 side or swept in fury over its decks, every plank 
 and beam was shivered, and trembled as if ready 
 to start from its place. Everything, indeed, but 
 one looked ominous and foreboding to the crew. 
 For three successive nights around the cross on 
 the bowsprit might be seen the fire of St. Elmo, 
 which, under the circumstances, the faith of the 
 party construed into a pledge of divine favor. The 
 name of the vessel, too, the Triumph of the Cross, 
 inspired them with additional confidence, and 
 partially sustained them in their more perilous 
 moments. Their position was yet a most critical 
 and dangerous one. Of the eight-and-twenty men 
 who were on board only five were now capable of 
 duty. Colds, scurvy and rheumatic disorders had 
 disabled the others. Father Ugarte himself was 
 suffering from scurvy. The whole safety of the 
 crew then depended on the five able-bodied men. 
 For eight successive days they battled with the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 325 
 
 winds and currents, when at last their efforts were 
 crowned with success, and they cast anchor at one 
 of the islands. This was the more fortunate, as 
 the storm increased at this time to such a terrible 
 pitch that the bilancler would certainly have 
 foundered had she not been sheltered by the 
 land. 
 
 After a stay of four days at this place, during 
 which the condition of the sick became somewhat 
 improved, they started on their return on the 18th 
 of August. A favorable wind soon brought them 
 beyond the last of the currents which run toward 
 the Californian coast. The unusual appearance of 
 three rainbows over the island which they had 
 quitted, was regarded by all as a favorable omen. 
 The danger over, their hearts again grew light. 
 The expectation of quickly joining their friends, 
 made them forget past trials and dangers; nor was 
 any further trouble anticipated by any. But, 
 in this their calculations were erroneous. Be- 
 fore reaching their homes, one of those storms, or 
 violent hurricanes, which are the terror of the 
 mariner, burst suddenly on the vessel. Hardly 
 was there time to furl the sails. The storm was 
 accompanied by a darkness which completely ob- 
 scured the light of day: The rain fell in torrents 
 from the clouds; the sea swelled and broke fright- 
 fully over the vessel. The thunder boomed with 
 appalling force, while the lightning, which at in- 
 tervals lit up the momentous scene, revealed the 
 
326 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ocean in its wildest and most terrible state. What 
 added to the peril of the moment was, that, amid 
 the lurid glare of the forked lightning, they could 
 see distinctly approaching them, an enormous col- 
 umn or spout of water, which, unless stayed or 
 changed from its course, would inevitably carry 
 them to a watery grave. Amid this general com- 
 plication of evils, they had one encouraging 
 thought to sustain them. They were engaged in 
 the service of religion ; their voyage had been un- 
 dertaken in the interest of Heaven; and, surely, 
 that Providence, in whose hands are the destinies 
 of all, would not be unmindful of their danger. 
 With hopeful, trustful minds, they turn their eyes 
 to the symbol of salvation — the cross on the ves- 
 sel's prow. The winds may blow, the sea may 
 swell, the thunder roar and the lightning flash, but 
 the cross is ever the sign of safety and salvation. 
 Mary, too, whose honor they are seeking to pro- 
 mote, will not fail to be an advocate in their cause. 
 Fondly and fervently they pray to the God of 
 heaven and earth to come to their aid — to avert 
 the dreaded calamity. Their prayers are heard; 
 the Deity is propitious to their cries. The course 
 of the spout is changed, the winds are shifted, the 
 thunder dies on the deep, the darkness is dis- 
 pelled and the danger is over ! With grateful, 
 thankful minds, they pursue their course, and 
 safely arrive at Concepcion Bay, on the Califor- 
 nian coast, at the beginning of September, 17 — . 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 327 
 
 The advantages resulting from this voyage and 
 survey of the coast, were chiefly the following: 
 It was proved, in the first instance, to the satis- 
 faction of all, what some, even till then, regarded 
 as uncertain, that California was a peninsula, and 
 that the Philippine vessels never sailed into the 
 gulf by a northern passage. In the second place, 
 the examination was important, as serving to give 
 a proper idea of the coast; for, in the previously 
 formed maps, harbors, bays and islands were rep- 
 resented where they did not exist. In this sense, 
 then, the voyage answered one of the ends for 
 which it was undertaken. In a religious point the 
 results were alike important, for the places where 
 missions might be established with advantage on 
 the coast were carefully noted. But as no bay 
 with the proper accommodations of water and fuel 
 was found, it was clear, that to provide for the 
 safety of the Philippine vessels, it would be neces- 
 sary to establish a colony and garrison on the 
 southern coast, and in order to this the indefat- 
 igable Father Ugarte, on returning from the ex- 
 pedition of which we have spoken, set out for its 
 survey. Father Tamaral, another of the mission- 
 •ary Fathers, also surveyed at this time, in accord- 
 ance with the desire of .the Viceroy, a large por- 
 tion of the western coast. An account of these 
 surveys was transmitted to Madrid, but whether 
 it safely arrived is unknown. This, however, is 
 certain, that no action was taken by Government 
 in the matter. 
 
328 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Besides the general advantages resulting from 
 these expeditionary surveys of the coast, there 
 were also, as we have intimated, the probable ad- 
 vantages likely to result to religion. The north- 
 ern part of the country, because of the more fer- 
 tile nature of the soil and the larger supply of 
 fresh water, was manifestly better adapted for the 
 establishment of permanent missions than the 
 southern extremity of the peninsula. The char- 
 acter of the northern inhabitants, too, their capa- 
 bilities and natural virtues showed them more 
 fitted for the reception of the gospel. From the 
 information received it was learned that while the 
 one was of a more peaceful and faithful disposi- 
 tion, of a purer morality and a better and higher 
 development of intellect, the others, or southern 
 people, were for the most part implacable, vindic- 
 tive and treacherous, the other vices common to 
 their nature, such as sloth, fraud and lasciviousness, 
 assuming equally grievous proportions amongst 
 them. The same motives, however, which under 
 different circumstances would have determined the 
 Fathers to have given the preference to the north- 
 ern people in the matter of missions, compelled 
 them in this case to begin with the south. Until 
 the southern tribes were brought to a knowledge 
 of the truth and reclaimed from their barbarous 
 state, the missions already established were in 
 danger of ruin, and free communication entirely 
 impossible. On different occasions the southern 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 329 
 
 gentiles gave evidence of the spirit by which they 
 were led, frequently molesting their neighbors, 
 and carrying their depredations so far as to plun- 
 der the Christians. 
 
 To proceed, then, with order and security, it 
 was necessary rather to continue the establish- 
 ment of missions to the south than to the north. 
 To this end two additional establishments were 
 formed between Cape St. Lucas and the Mission 
 Dolores. The funds for the establishment of these 
 missions were supplied by the Marquis of Villa 
 Puente — a nobleman whose name deserves the 
 most honorable mention, on account of his large 
 and munificent donations in behalf of religion. The 
 first of these missions, which was formed between 
 the countries of the Uchities and the Guacuros, 
 was entrusted to Father Guillen, and dedicated to 
 our Lady of Dolores. The labors this Father en- 
 dured in forming this mission exceeded everything 
 undergone by his brethren, while the happy re- 
 sults were in keeping with his noble exertions. 
 Not content with preaching the gospel to those in 
 whose immediate vicinity he had fixed his abode, 
 he sought out all the neighboring tribes scattered 
 in every direction, and after converting them to 
 the faith, induced them to settle in little communi- 
 ties, to which he gave the following beautiful 
 names : Conception, Incarnation, Trinity, Redemp- 
 tion and Resurrection. Three other villages were 
 also among the results of his labors. In fine, so 
 
q 
 
 30 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 eminently successful were his earnest efforts in the 
 behalf of the gentiles, that by his individual labor 
 alone all the inhabitants of that section of the 
 country, for one hundred miles, from the Pacific 
 to the Gulf, were brought to a knowledge of the 
 faith. Nor must it be imagined that he only gave 
 them a tincture of religion, without grounding 
 them in the principal duties thereof; for, in the 
 subsequent rebellion which happened in the south, 
 the Christians belonging to these missions not only 
 remained firm in their attachment to the faith, 
 but even offered an asylun\to the Fathers who had 
 been banished by their own. 
 
 The other mission, of which T have spoken as 
 having been founded at this time, was established 
 among the Coras, not far from the Cape. On the 
 arrival of the party, they found that the Indians 
 had withdrawn from the locality, and retired to 
 the north. Why they should have clone so, was 
 entirely unknown to the Father; nor were his sus- 
 picions diminished, but rather increased, on seeing, 
 while walking one evening on the shore, a number 
 of people rushing furiously toward him, shouting 
 and threatening at the same time. They were 
 headed by a leader of enormous proportions, 
 painted with variegated colors, and fantastically 
 dressed. A hair cloak hung loosely over his 
 shoulders, a girdle of antelopes' feet encircled his 
 loins, in one hand he had a fan, and in the other 
 a quiver and bow. The wild and frightful appear- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 331 
 
 ance of the men, their dreadful howlings and threat- 
 ening gestures, caused the Father to believe that 
 they were certainly bent on his destruction, and 
 that his last hour had inevitably come. In the 
 emergency, he. found he had only one thing to do 
 — to offer the sacrifice of his life to the Almighty, 
 and to await the result. Suppressing, as much as 
 he was able, his natural timidity, conformably to 
 the instructions he had received, he advanced 
 boldly, without betraying his internal emotions, 
 though at the time, from the very fantastic appear- 
 ance of the leader, he was inclined to believe it 
 was the Spirit of Darkness who was urging the 
 savages to attack him, as the minister of Christ. 
 On the approach of the party, he gave them to 
 learn that he was highly affronted at their extra- 
 ordinary conduct, in seeking to frighten him by 
 numbers and gestures; and then, in order to con- 
 ciliate their affections, he distributed amongst 
 them some trifles he happened to have on his per- 
 son, inviting them at the same time to accompany 
 him to the camp, where he would be able to 
 give them a better proof of his esteem. The 
 firmness and resolution, combined with the pres- 
 ents, produced the most favorable results, and the 
 people agreed to accompany him as he desired. 
 Arrived at the camp, he bestowed on them such 
 articles as he had brought for that purpose, with 
 which they were highly delighted; but, on depart- 
 ing, requested him, if he would have them return, 
 
332 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 to get rid of the dogs and other animals he had, of 
 which they were exceedingly afraid, never having 
 seen such in their lives. On the following day, 
 they returned in great numbers, bringing such 
 presents as their poverty permitted, to which a 
 suitable return was made in pozzoli, sackcloth and 
 trifles. 
 
 On the arrival of the party that proceeded by 
 sea, the establishment of the mission was begun, 
 the ground was cleared, the position of the build- 
 ings determined, the foundations dug, and the clay 
 prepared; as soon, however, as the works began 
 to assume a definite form, the Indians on a sudden 
 disappeared. Their suspicions were aroused. In 
 their minds, the labors of the Father were to 
 be interpreted unfavorably for them. The Coras 
 and Guacuros were inveterate enemies. The Father 
 had come from the territory of the latter, and had 
 even brought with him some of that nation. The 
 walls of the church, though only of clay, were in- 
 tended as a fortress. The fact of entering into 
 friendly relations with them at all, was none other 
 than with the view of securing their ruin. At a 
 favorable moment, the Guacuros would come, at 
 the Father's monition, and destroy them as a race. 
 It was, therefore, incumbent they should abandon 
 the district, and consult for their safety, by retiring 
 to a distance. 
 
 The Father, on noticing their absence, immedi- 
 ately sought out their retreat; and, although he 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 333 
 
 succeeded in allaying the fears and removing the 
 suspicions of some, the majority were unwilling to 
 trust his assertion. And, in order the better to 
 secure themselves against their imaginary enemy, 
 the men took the precaution of watching by night, 
 aided by the blaze of great fires they kept burning 
 for that purpose. For two days they remained 
 confirmed in their opinion; nor was it any use to 
 attempt to dissuade them therefrom, for as soon as 
 the Father made his appearance, they invariably 
 fled from his presence. Left to themselves, they 
 gradually returned to the mission, and when con- 
 vinced of their error, requested their children 
 might be admitted to baptism, and a friendship 
 formed between them and their hereditary ene- 
 mies, the Coras. Thus, what at first seemed the 
 destruction of the mission, resulted eventually in 
 a work of the highest importance — the reconcilia- 
 tion of those inveterate enemies, and their prepara- 
 tion in this manner for the truths of religion. 
 
 The reconciliation of the tribes was followed by 
 the baptism of a large number of children, which 
 was only the beginning of greater success, for the 
 women were constantly bringing their offspring 
 and begging a like favor of the Father. After a 
 time the seat of the mission was removed nearer 
 to La Paz in consequence of the greater facility in 
 obtaining provisions, but through accident the 
 change was near proving its ruin. While the walls 
 of the new building were yet devoid of a roof there 
 occurred one of those terrible storms of which we 
 
334 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 have spoken above. The Father was absent at 
 the time assisting the dying. The natives, in or- 
 der to save themselves from the violence of the 
 hurricane, took refuge in the church, but unhap- 
 pily, the walls being weak, the building was*over- 
 turned and resulted in the death of some of the 
 people, the mutilation of others, and a most ter- 
 rible fear to the remainder. The general impres- 
 sion created in the minds of the friends was of the 
 most unfavorable kind. The Father, they be- 
 lieved, was the cause of the calamitv ; it had been 
 premeditated by him, nor could they be persuaded 
 to the contrary till they learned from the people 
 themselves that they had retired there unasked. 
 
 It has been stated above that on the occasion 
 of Father Piccolo's visit to the Cadigomos, that 
 people requested a mission to be established 
 among them, but that circumstances at the time 
 prevented the Father from complying with their 
 request. An occasional visit from the neighbor- 
 ing mission for the next two-and-twenty years was 
 all that could be done for this tribe in order to 
 preserve their holy desires. The time had at last 
 arrived when their wants could be supplied. In 
 1727 there arrived in California Father John Bap- 
 tista Laymundo, a Mexican Jesuit, who not only 
 offered to take upon himself the care of that peo- 
 ple, but even put his. fortune at the disposal of his 
 superior for a like end. In January of the follow- 
 ing year he set out from Loretto for the scene of 
 his labors, and on the 20th of the month arrived 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 335 
 
 at the place. The first impressions created in his 
 mind were most favorable. The people expressed 
 their satisfaction at his coming amongst them, by 
 crowding around [him and offering to perform for 
 him the little services he needed. When his pres- 
 ence became known through the country hun- 
 dreds of the inhabitants hastened to pay their re- 
 spects. On the other hand the difficulties he had 
 to encounter were not so embarrassing as in ordi- 
 nary cases, for, in consequence of the occasional 
 visits previously made to that people, they were 
 found to be partly instructed in the principal doc- 
 trine of faith. Moreover, the assiduity with which 
 they applied themselves to the essentials of relig- 
 ion enabled him within a little to confer baptism 
 on several. How many he admitt^ to the sacra- 
 ment is not known, but it would appear that the 
 number was large, inasmuch as from the com- 
 mencement of the mission he had five hundred 
 catechumens under instruction. The Father's 
 spiritual functions were so numerous that he had no 
 time to devote to the temporal concerns of the mis- 
 sion, but in this his place was supplied by the sol- 
 diers and Indians who speedily erected the neces- 
 sary buildings. The successes he met with from 
 the outset so encouraged and animated him in the 
 discharge of his duty that, like others of his breth- 
 ren, he extended his labors to the neighboring 
 tribes, reclaimed them from a wandering life, 
 opened their minds to religion and science, and 
 finally established them in Christian communities. 
 
336 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Difficulty in Conveeting the Religious Teachers. — Insurrection 
 and Massacre of Christians. — Retaliation. — Capture of In- 
 surgents. — Death of Fathers Piccolo and Ugarte. — Establish- 
 ment of Missions. — Fathers Echiveria and Sigismund Taraval. 
 
 — Insurrection. — Massacre of Fathers Caranco and Tamaral. 
 
 — Great danger to the Missions. — All the Fathers retire to 
 Loretto. — Government refuses to come to their aid. — Sup- 
 pression of the Rebellion. — A Philippine vessel arrives at St. 
 Lucas. — Thirteen of the crew Massacred. 
 
 From what has been said in the closing part of the 
 preceding chapter, it must not be inferred that 
 Father Laymundo's labors were uniformly success- 
 ful in bringing the savages to a knowledge of the 
 Christian religion. Though in most instances his 
 teaching met with a ready response at the hands 
 of the people, there were those who remained 
 steadfast in error and persistently disregarded his 
 ministry. Of these the sorcerers and aged were 
 especially remarkable; nor, indeed, are we to be 
 astonished at this, for while their conversion from 
 error to the religion of Christ put an end in the 
 one instance to their sources of profit and power, 
 and in the other to the indulgence of their unna- 
 tural lusts and desires, to which, from their child- 
 hood, they were habitually given; it further placed 
 on their liberty a most painful restraint by requir- 
 ing their regular attendance at the obligatory du- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 337 
 
 ties of the mission. Neither was it without a strug- 
 gle with themselves that those who before had 
 been in the capacity of teachers could now be in- 
 duced to take the rank of disciples and receive in- 
 struction at the hands of a stranger. A few years, 
 however, of constant, patient attention on the part 
 of the Father, aided by divine grace, brought even 
 these to a knowledge of God, and then the venera- 
 ble missionary had the consolation of seeing his 
 labors crowned with success upon all sides. What 
 aided him materially in the correction of vice and 
 the reform of manners, was the communication 
 maintained between him and the more virtuous, by 
 whom he was kept constantly informed of the ir- 
 regularities which happened to occur. The con- 
 struction of roads from the principal mission to the 
 different stations by which easy access was ob- 
 tained to the whole of the people, was also an ad- 
 ditional means whereby religion was greatly sub- 
 served. But even with all his successes and 
 spiritual conquests, Father Laymundo was not 
 without his reverses. 
 
 Instigated, no doubt, by the malice of the enemy 
 of mankind at the great progress of religion, 
 and the nourishing state of the missions in general, 
 a body ol the gentiles, living at a distance, made 
 an incursion against some of the Christians, fell 
 upon a village, killed three of the faithful, and 
 would have butchered the others had they not fled 
 for protection to the principal mission. The 
 

 8 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 neighboring Christians immediately took up the 
 cause of their brethren, and were proceeding 
 against the marauders till prevented by the Father, 
 who falsely supposed that forbearance would effect 
 what arms might fail to accomplish. In this he 
 was greatly deceived, for according to their bar- 
 barous notions kindness proceedeth from weak- 
 ness, and forbearance from cowardice. They were 
 accordingly only encouraged in their iniquitous 
 course, plundering and pillaging before them, and 
 carrying their insolence so far as to threaten the 
 principal mission. It being then clearly apparent 
 to all, that forbearance and moral persuasion were 
 entirely inadequate to repel the invaders, the 
 Christians of the different villages assembled and 
 armed in order to punish the guilty. Their arms 
 consisted of bows and arrows, and spears, to which 
 knives were attached with the view of rendering; 
 them still more effective. Even the very women 
 engaged in the movement, and lent a hand to make 
 the expedition a success. Every preparation be- 
 ing made, the warriors were reviewed, when it was 
 found that their numbers were seven hundred or 
 more, but the commissariat not being sufficient for 
 so many, they were reduced to one half. They were 
 formed into two companies, commanded each res- 
 pectively by a captain appointed, one by the Father, 
 and one by the natives. Thus equipped, they set out 
 in quest of the enemy and soon discovered his posi- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 339 
 
 tion, but in order to guard against a reverse it was 
 resolved to await the cover of night before making 
 the attack. The tactics answered remarkably well, 
 for the enemy, finding himself surrounded by the 
 Christians, surrendered at pleasure without strik- 
 ing a blow. Two of the number, however, favor- 
 ed by the darkness of the night, found means to 
 escape, and with some others of their companions, 
 who happened to be detached from the main body, 
 precipitately fled from the locality and returned to 
 their homes. 
 
 The Christians now returned in triumph to the 
 mission with their captives, and repaired in the 
 first instance to the church, where solemn thanks- 
 giving was offered to God for the victory they had 
 obtained over their enemies. The following day, 
 the prisoners were made to appear, and on being 
 convicted of rebellion, robbery, and murder, were 
 sentenced to be removed to Loretto, there to un- 
 dergo the penalty of capital offences. The result 
 of the trial was received by the Christians with 
 general joy, for now they imagined an opportunity 
 was offered them of revenging themselves on their 
 inveterate enemies. In this they were mistaken; 
 for, at the earnest request of the Father, the sen- 
 tence of death was commuted to a certain number 
 of lashes; and even this was further reduced, the 
 principal murderer or ringleader only being made 
 to suffer the penalty. The effect of this unusual 
 lenity was not without its beneficial results on the 
 
340 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 minds of the Christians and Pagans. In it the 
 former received a lesson of moderation, and the 
 latter an idea of the mildness and lenity of a sys- 
 tem which, while in its power to punish, was con- 
 tent with so little. 
 
 On being restored to their liberty, the savages, 
 touched by the kindness of the Fathers, and edified 
 at what they had seen at the mission, begged to 
 be received among the number of the faithful. In 
 order to test their sincerity, it was deemed more 
 advisable not to readily accede to their request; the 
 matter was accordingly deferred for a time. That 
 they were, however, sincere in their desires was af- 
 terwards seen, for after a little they returned to the 
 mission and begged as a favor that their children, at 
 least, might be admitted to baptism. To this the 
 Fathers complied, and after some time admitted 
 the adults themselves, who, together with their 
 families and friends, had come to the mission for 
 that purpose. 
 
 The time had now come when the missions were 
 to be deprived of some of their ablest and most 
 devoted supporters. Father Francis Piccolo and 
 Father John Ugarte were of this number. The 
 former, after a life of remarkable fidelity and suc- 
 cess, ended his life in the garrison of Loretto, at 
 the venerable age of seventy-three, two-and-thirty 
 of which he spent as missionary in' reclaiming the 
 California aborigines. The latter closed his career 
 at the age of seventy, at the little village of St. 
 
CATHOLIC CHUECH IN CALIFORNIA. 341 
 
 Paul, after having spent thirty years of his life in 
 the country. The remarkable works effected by 
 these venerable men should never be forgotten; 
 they were, indeed, apostles in the true sense of 
 the word. To their exertions, in a great measure, 
 must be attributed the establishment and progress 
 of religion in the country. Not only the numbers 
 they brought into the church, which were great, 
 but the heroic endeavors they made to provide 
 for their temporal wants, rank them amongst 
 the most remarkable missionaries of the Catholic 
 Church, and the greatest benefactors of mankind. 
 
 In 1729, the year in which Father Piccolo died, 
 Father Echiveria, formerly agent for the missions 
 at Mexico, was appointed visitor of California. 
 From a letter of his to a friend, dated February 
 10th, 1730, we get a glimpse of the character of 
 the converts made by the missionaries: 
 
 " I set out to visit the missions, beginning with 
 with St. Xavier, and continuing to St. Ignatius, of 
 the north, which is the last and most distant from 
 here, about eighty leagues. The whole took me 
 forty-eight days, the cold being severer here than 
 in Guapungo in January. But I was well rewarded 
 for all these fatigues, were it only in seeing the 
 fervor of these new Christian establishments; and the 
 least I could do was to shed tears of joy at so fre- 
 quently hearing God praised by the mouths 01 
 poor creatures who very lately did not as much as 
 know that there was any such Being." 
 
342 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 After visiting the different Christian settlements, 
 Father Echiveria determined upon establishing 
 two additional missions,, one of which was en- 
 trusted to the care of the Rev. Father Taraval. 
 The reader will appreciate the labors of this mis- 
 sionary, on learning that in the space of a single 
 year he reclaimed from their savage state, and 
 brought to a knowledge of religion, no less than 
 one thousand and thirty-six of the inhabitants. 
 The importance of tjiis conquest can only be prop- 
 erly estimated by remembering the character of 
 the people, and their utter disinclination to lead a 
 virtuous and orderly life. The constant and nu- 
 merous restraints laid on their passions by the 
 principles of religion, to which they eventually 
 submitted, was an evidence of the triumph of 
 divine grace, and the success of the missionaries' 
 endeavors. 
 
 According to the intentions of Father Echiveria, 
 the other mission was established for the Coras, 
 and to this Father Sigismund Taraval was ap- 
 pointed as pastor. This excellent missionary was 
 a man of more than ordinary ability and virtue. 
 His father, who was a Milanese, served with dis- 
 tinction in the army, in which he held the rank of 
 Lieutenant-Gen eral. Young Taraval entered the 
 novitiate at Madrid, and, after going through a 
 part of his studies at Alcala, was sent to complete 
 them at Mexico. There his virtues, ability and 
 earnest desire to consecrate himself to the service 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 343 
 
 of the gentile's, pointed him out as a suitable per- 
 son for the arduous mission of California. 
 
 While awaiting instructions to proceed to the 
 immediate scene of his labors, lie visited some of 
 the neighboring islands, where he found a few 
 scattered inhabitants, whom he persuaded to ac- 
 company him to the mainland in order to be in- 
 structed in the Christian religion. All, with the 
 exception of a sorcerer, readily complied with his 
 request, and even he, on learning that he was to 
 be entirely abandoned, changed his ideas and ac- 
 companied the people. All things being in readi- 
 ness, the missionary now proceeded to his mission 
 in the vicinity of Palmas Bay. The visits previ- 
 ously made to that people by Fathers Napoli, Ca- 
 ranco and Tamaral, had partly prepared them for 
 the work of conversion, and to this, in a great 
 measure, must be attributed the success that at- 
 tended the Father's exertions from the beginning. 
 Though in every instance his preaching was not 
 followed by any practical result, for there were 
 those who, on account of their irregular lives, re- 
 fused to listen to his words, yet, such were the 
 general fruits of his labor, that by the end of the 
 year he had instructed and baptized the greater 
 part of the people in his district, and to the fidel- 
 ity and affection of these he was afterward indebted 
 for his life during the general rebellion which 
 subsequently happened. 
 
 Up to the year 1731, when the last mentioned 
 mission was established, the labors of the Fathers 
 
344 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 had been attended in almost every instance with 
 remarkable success. The missions established and 
 the conversions effected were evidence of this. 
 Another twenty or thirty years of like success,, 
 and the entire country would be brought to a 
 knowledge of God. But from the successes of the 
 past we are not to judge of the future. A new 
 and unexpected embarrassment was now thrown 
 in their way, and all but resulted in the ruin and 
 destruction of their hitherto well-earned conquests. 
 
 The greatest difficulties the missionaries found 
 from the beginning in reclaiming the savages was 
 that of inducing them to observe the principles of 
 the natural law by placing a proper restraint on 
 their irregular lusts and desires. The debauchery 
 and brutal excesses in which they had previously 
 lived, without the smallest remorse, rendered the 
 morality and obligations of the Christian religion 
 most irksome and disagreeable in their eyes. To 
 this is to be attributed the calamities that origi- 
 nated at this time, and unhappily resulted in the 
 death of two of the Fathers and the destruction of 
 all the southern missions. 
 
 The Governor of the Mission of Santiago de la 
 Coras, who was a Christian, born of a mulatto and 
 an Indian, was a lewd, dissolute man. His name 
 was Botan. It is proper to remark that he had 
 been promoted to his post because of his superior 
 intelligence, and the influence he possessed with 
 his countrymen. For a time his conduct was good, 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 345 
 
 but unwilling to submit to the constant restraint 
 of religion, he returned to his former excesses, for 
 which he was frequently rebuked by the Father. 
 When it was found that neither rebuke nor en- 
 treaties had any effect on his conduct it was deem- 
 ed necessary to deprive him of his office and pub- 
 licly punish him, lest his evil example might be 
 the cause of ruin to others. Instead of bringing 
 him to a sense of religion, the well-merited chas- 
 tisement only filled him with rancor and caused 
 him to form a conspiracy against the life of the 
 Father. In this he would in all probability have 
 accomplished his end had not the missionary been 
 forewarned of his design. But though the nefarious 
 attempt was abortive, the consequences were still 
 injurious to religion, for by it the minds of the 
 people were upset and the seeds of rebellion ex- 
 tensively sown. 
 
 Defeated in his impious purpose, Botan immedi- 
 ately betook himself for counsel and shelter to a 
 gentile Cazique, who was also a dissolute character, 
 living in like manner with a great number of women. 
 Chicori, for this was the gentile's name, had also 
 been incensed against the Religious, and had made 
 an attempt on his life for having been reproved 
 for stealing a girl from the mission. The resolu- 
 tion come to by these two profligate men was to 
 murder the Father, and root Christianity out of that 
 part of the country; that thus they might be the 
 better enabled to indulge in their accustomed de- 
 
346 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 baucheries. The influence they possessed over 
 the minds of the people made them most formid- 
 able enemies, especially as the Father had nothing 
 to rely on but the fidelity and affection of the 
 newly-made converts. The more readily to carry 
 out their wicked designs, these two dissolute 
 chiefs, with armed bodies of followers, lay in wait 
 for Father Taraval, who was then about to return 
 from a visit to a brother Religious. Owing to the 
 vigilance and fidelity of the Christians, the Father 
 was apprised of the danger, as in the first instance, 
 and thus narrowly escaped with his life. The 
 danger to religion being then manifestly great, the 
 Christians of the neighboring mission, at the sug- 
 gestion of the pastor, took up arms to rid them- 
 selves of the enemy, and not without purpose. On 
 seeing the faithful in such overwhelming numbers, 
 the gentiles hastily withdrew from the locality and 
 returned to their homes. 
 
 The two chiefs, Chicori and Botan, thus finding 
 their plans unavailing, and their numbers greatly 
 diminished, through motives of policy, lest the 
 Christians would fall on them and massacre them 
 without pity, thought best to make their submis- 
 sion, and ask pardon for their offences. A peace 
 was accordingly sued for and granted. But, inas- 
 much as it was unreal on the part of the chiefs, 
 having been merely solicited with the view of 
 strengthening their position, and of maturing their 
 plans; as soon as circumstances permitted, they 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 347 
 
 assumed their former hostility and this time with 
 unhappy effect. From the beginning, under the 
 delusive appearance of a general tranquillity, there 
 was alive a spirit of revolt, created by the leaders 
 and shared in by their followers. What is most 
 humiliating, and almost unaccountable is, that even 
 some of the Christians entered into the conspiracy 
 — lent a willing ear to the suggestions of Chicori 
 and his friend, and this at a time when ^they were 
 receiving the bounty of the Father, and attending 
 the regular exercises of the mission. 
 
 As soon as the conspirators considered them- 
 selves sufficiently strong, they resolved to make 
 the attack, and put an end to religion. The only 
 opposition they expected was on the part of the 
 soldiers; but as their number was small — amount- 
 ing only to three — they looked upon success as a 
 certainty. To make certainty, however, more cer- 
 tain, they waylaid one of the soldiers, and having 
 slain him, hastened to the mission, and informed 
 the Father that his friend had been taken suddenly . 
 ill in the woods, and begged him to go and con- 
 fess him, or at least to send one of the guards to 
 bring him to the housed The strangeness of the 
 case, and the confusion and embarrassment be- 
 trayed by the actors, led the Father to suspect 
 that something was wrong, and that a project 
 existed for murdering himself and his guard, by 
 dividing their strength. His suspicions were fur- 
 ther increased, and, indeed, the truth all but satis- 
 
348 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 factorily seen, on learning that the same or another 
 body of rebels had killed the other member of the 
 guard then in charge of the mission of La Paz. 
 At such a critical juncture, prudence might have 
 dictated to the missionary to retire for a time from 
 the field of his labors; but under the circumstances, 
 he did not consider himself justified in abandoning 
 his post. Meantime the spirit of rebellion was 
 daily increasing, till at length, unable to be fur- 
 ther restrained, it burst forth in all its terrible vio- 
 lence, and swept as a torrent over that and the 
 other southern missions. Friday, the first day of 
 October, was the day fixed upon for the rising. 
 The conspirators had determined upon attacking, 
 in the first instance, the mission of which Father 
 Caranco was pastor; when they would next direct 
 their attention to other reverend missionaries. 
 What renders the crime the more odious and un- 
 natural is, that some of those belonging to the 
 missions, on whom the Father had especially relied, 
 . were engaged in the plot. Before making the 
 attack, the conspirators happening to encounter a 
 body of the neophites, returning from the neigh- 
 boring mission, with a letter for the Father, 
 made use of them to carry out their design. The 
 plan was to throw the Religious off his guard, and 
 prevent him from using any means of defence — a 
 proceeding which resulted entirely according to 
 their desires; for, while engaged in reading the epis- 
 tle, the conspirators rushed violently into the dwell- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 349 
 
 ing, seized upon the venerable man, and dragging 
 him without, as he prayed for his enemies, pierced 
 him with arrows, finishing the deed of blood with 
 clubs and stones. Meantime, some of the mur- 
 derers happening to espy the Father's little at- 
 tendant weeping for the fate of his master, imme- 
 diately seized him by the feet, and dashed out his 
 brains on the floor. The noise of the attack drew 
 the entire village to the spot, and though several 
 expressed their horror at the enormity of the crime, 
 they were unable to render any assistance in saving 
 the mission as they beheld among the murderers 
 some of the principal men of the place. 
 
 From this the reader may learn the fickle and 
 giddy dispositions of the natives. Those who in 
 the morning joined with the Father in his devo- 
 tions, an hour or two later united with his enemies 
 in depriving him of life. To finish their bloody 
 intent, they resolved upon burning the body, but 
 before doing so, subjected it to the most shameful 
 and execrable insults, at which the biographer has 
 only delicately hinted: "The several shocking 
 enormities they perpetrated on his lifeless corpse," 
 (says Father Yenegas,) "together with abomina- 
 ble scurrilities, before they committed it to the 
 flames, are best passed over in silence, only ob- 
 serving that their barbarity and brutal insults 
 evidently showed that the great object of their 
 rage and indignity was the doctrine newly intro- 
 duced by the Father, especially as it required 
 
350 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 chastity and moderation." Then, amid the wildest 
 scene of ribaldry, tumult and execration, the bodies 
 of Lorenzo Caranco and his little attendant were 
 tossed into the flames. Thus died on the first of 
 October, in the year of our Lord 1734, the first 
 martyr of the Californian Church. 
 
 The murderers, having now nothing to fear, di- 
 rected their attention to the pillage of the presby- 
 tery and church. Whatever articles they could 
 appropriate to any use they retained ; the remain- 
 der they burned. Pictures, statues, mass-books, 
 chalices, etc., were hurled indiscriminately into 
 the fire. The Father's two domestics happening 
 to return at this moment, arrived on the scene 
 only to share the same fate as their master. 
 
 From Santiago, the name of the mission thus 
 ruined, the murderers directed their steps to the 
 mission of San Jose. Their numbers had now 
 considerably increased, for independent of the ac- 
 cession they received at the last mentioned place, 
 others had flocked to them from different parts. 
 On Sunday, the 3rd of October, two days after the 
 massacre at St. James, they arrived at San Jose. 
 It was about eight o'clock in the morning. Father 
 Tamaral, who was entirely unprepared for their 
 visit, was sitting quietly in his apartment when he 
 was aroused at seeing a great body of men rushing 
 tumultuously for the door. On entering they be- 
 gan demanding different articles, which, if denied 
 them, they were ready to turn into an occasion of 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 351 
 
 quarrel, that thus they might have a pretext for 
 murdering the venerable man. Realizing their evil 
 designs, the Father, in order to leave them with- 
 out an excuse, mildly replied that there was suf- 
 ficient for all. Thus disappointed in finding a pre- 
 text for crime, they fell presently upon him, 
 knocked him to the ground, dragged him from the 
 house, and, as in the case of his brother Religious, 
 dispatched him with arrows and stones. As if to 
 put a climax to their infamy and to render ingrat- 
 itude more patent, while breathing his last, they 
 resorted to the horrible extreme of cutting his 
 throat with one of those knives which he had pur- 
 chased for their use ! Such was the death of the 
 Rev. Father Tamaral, the second Californian mis- 
 sionary of the Society of Jesus, who died for the 
 faith after having labored for the conversion of the 
 people eighteen years and some months. By birth 
 Father Tamaral was a Spaniard, having been born 
 in Seville in 1687. In 1712 he proceeded to Mex- 
 ico, whence four years later he entered on the 
 field of his labors. The same shocking enormities 
 were practiced on his corpse as in the case of 
 Father Caranco, the only' difference, if any, being 
 that there was less restraint and decorum observed 
 by the infuriated rabble. 
 
 The rebels next proceeded to the mission of St. 
 Rose, but here they were happily disappointed, 
 for the Father, having received information of their 
 coming v found means of escape. Disappointed in 
 
352 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 their designs on the life of the Religious, they 
 turned their rage against the Christians of the 
 place, and butchered, without mercy, all that fell 
 into their hands, to the number of eight-and-twen- 
 ty, the others having succeeded in making their 
 escape. 
 
 The consequences likely to result to the coun- 
 try in general from this fierce spirit of rebellion 
 were of the most dangerous and deplorable kind. 
 As soon as the news of the murder of the mis- 
 sionaries and the destruction of the southern mis- 
 sions reached the ears of the other inhabitants, the 
 half-subdued passions of many were fiercely arous- 
 ed, and a malevolent desire created in their minds 
 of ridding themselves of their new obligations in 
 order to return to their former excesses. That 
 this was not the sentiment of the majority was 
 clear from the outset, but the danger which threat- 
 ened the Fathers and their missions was, lest the 
 Christians in general might be influenced by the 
 voice and authority of the popular leaders, as often 
 occurs in times of commotion. Did only the north- 
 ern Indians follow the example of their southern 
 brethren, spirited on by the advice of a few disso- 
 lute men, Christianity was lost in the country and 
 the labors of a generation undone. 
 
 Whatever may have been the actual sentiments 
 of the northern tribes I am unable to say, but it is 
 certain that a general rising, having for its object 
 the entire destruction of religion, was very much 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 353 
 
 feared. At this very critical juncture prudence 
 dictated to the Superior of the missions to summon 
 all the Religious to the principal station of Loretto, 
 that by the protection of the garrison their lives 
 might be saved. He also sent an account of the 
 atrocities committed, and the ruin which threat- 
 ened the country in general, to the Viceroy at 
 Mexico, requesting his excellency, who comprised 
 in his person the office of Governor and Arch- 
 bishop, to take the necessary measures for the 
 safety of his subjects and the interests of religion. 
 The answer returned to the Father Superior, it is 
 lamentable to think, was entirely unequal to the 
 occasion. It was as unworthy of a minister of 
 state as of a chief of religion. Spanish diplomacy 
 never, indeed, seemed up to an emergenc}^. The 
 old stately routine of consulting the sovereign was 
 to be maintained under every circumstance, even 
 in the most exceptional cases. Thousands might 
 perish, religion might suffer, the dependency may 
 even be lost to the crown, but without conferring 
 with the monarch, and learning his pleasure, no 
 aid, not a soldier could be sent to the country. 
 The answer of his excellency was in substance as 
 follows : He was conscious of the dangers to which 
 the country and religion were exposed — the per- 
 ilous position of the Fathers could not for a mo- 
 ment be doubted. His powers, however, of Gov- 
 ernor prevented him from acting in the matter. 
 
 Should the Fathers think well of addressing his 
 23 
 
354 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 majesty, he would use his endeavors to forward 
 their interests. 
 
 The unfitness of a Governor for his position, 
 was, probably, never more strikingly shown than 
 in this. Language cannot too strongly condemn 
 the weakness and imbecility of a man who would 
 thus vainly trifle with the lives of the people and 
 the best interests of religion. Four of the south- 
 ern missions had been already destroyed, two of 
 the missionaries massacred, the spirit of revolt on 
 the increase, a general rising daily expected, and 
 yet, with the knowledge of this, the archiepiscopal 
 Governor of Mexico should wait till he received 
 positive instructions from his majesty in Europe ! 
 The heartlessness of the proceeding was, indeed, 
 only in keeping with the previous action of the 
 Mexican Council, and proved most effectually that 
 a government so managed required the first ele- 
 ments of power, and could not, for any great length 
 of time prevent the dependency from falling into 
 other and abler hands. 
 
 At the same time that Father Guillen, the Su- 
 perior, wrote to the Governor of Mexico for aid, 
 Father Bravo made a similar appeal to the Gover- 
 nor of Sinaloa, on the opposite coast, praying his 
 excellency to send to their aid some fifty or more 
 of the Indians, with a few of the soldiers. The 
 Indians of that part were the Yaqui, and to their 
 honor be it stated, that no sooner had they learned 
 the state of affairs, and the very critical position 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 355 
 
 of the Fathers, than five hundred of them pre- 
 sented themselves armed, at the Bay, ready to 
 start for California. As the vessel dispatched for 
 the purpose was unable to accommodate that num- 
 ber, sixty of the ablest were chosen for the occa- 
 sion; but, that the others might not be deprived 
 of a share in the work, they presented their arms 
 to their companions, and requested them to put 
 them into the hands of the faithful, on landing. 
 Thus the aid which might and ought to have been 
 granted by a responsible government and a civi- 
 lized people, was furnished by rude, recently con- 
 verted aborigines. 
 
 From the moment that the Fathers, in obedience 
 to the call of authority, had abandoned the mis- 
 sions and retired to Loretto, the general state of 
 affairs assumed a more favorable aspect. The 
 great majority of the Christians were, at least, 
 sensible enough to understand that the priests 
 were truly their friends, and that socially and 
 morally they had improved their condition. The 
 cause of the missionaries' retirement was clear to 
 their minds; for, on leaving, they had carried away 
 the ornaments and valuables of the churches. For 
 the first time in their lives, these poor children of 
 impulse began to realize a void in their lives — to 
 see the necessity of their dependence on others, 
 and the sweets and advantages of the Christian 
 religion. To attempt the practice of Christianity 
 without the Fathers, was impossible; to return to 
 
356 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 their former wandering, miserable existence, they 
 were unwilling. Gratitude, too, to those who so 
 faithfully labored in their cause, providing not 
 only for their spiritual; but temporal wants, spoke 
 most forcibly to the hearts of the more reflective 
 and better disposed, and failed not to elicit a ready 
 response at their hands. In a word, their sorrow 
 was real; and so, after a joint consultation, it was 
 resolved to proceed to Loretto, in solemn proces- 
 sion, to implore the venerable missionaries not to 
 abandon them to their miserable state. According 
 to arrangement, numbers of the principal Chris- 
 tians started in procession for the garrison, bear- 
 ing on their shoulders the crosses of the missions, 
 and giving expression to their sorrow in an abun- 
 dance of tears. Their petition was to the effect 
 that as the Fathers had baptized and reclaimed 
 them, they would not abandon them now, and 
 suffer them to return to their former excesses. 
 Their first and most earnest desire was to live and 
 die in the holy Catholic Church; and, surely, it 
 was unfit that the crimes of a few should be vis- 
 ited on all, especially as they were willing to de- 
 nounce the insubordinate, and to deliver up to the 
 authorities all who had spoken and acted amiss. 
 Should the Fathers refuse to return, they would 
 settle at Loretto, as they could not bear to be sep- 
 arated from their tmstors. 
 
 These and other like arguments were urged 
 with such an earnestness and apparent sincerity, 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 357 
 
 that the missionaries were moved to compassion; 
 but, to assure themselves of the people's real in- 
 tentions, they refused, at the outset, to comply 
 with their request, yet suffered them to remain at 
 the garrison. No evidence of an evil intent ap- 
 pearing in their conduct, the Fathers consented to 
 return to the missions, where they were received 
 by their flocks in a most gratifying manner. In 
 order the better to maintain their authority, as 
 also to satisfy the wishes of many, a nominal pun- 
 ishment was awarded the more culpable, and thus 
 four of the principal disturbers were banished for a 
 time, that the seeds of rebellion might not remain 
 in the country. 
 
 The opportune arrival of the troops from Sina- 
 loa, aided in establishing general tranquillity, and 
 in strengthening the Father's position. The south- 
 ern inhabitants, however, remained in a state of 
 open hostility, and their insolence and animosity 
 were even increased through an accident. Shortly 
 after the massacre of Fathers Caranco and Tamaral, 
 while the southern part of the peninsula was en- 
 tirely in the hands of the rebels, the annual Phil- 
 ippine vessel called at the Cape, expecting to meet 
 with a hospitable reception. On landing, thirteen 
 of the men were sent by the Captain to give in- 
 telligence to the Father of the vessel's arrival, a 
 few being left in charge of the pinnace. While pro- 
 ceeding from the beach in the direction of the vil- 
 lage, they were suddenly attacked by a body of In- 
 
358 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 dians, who rushed from an ambush, and massacred 
 all on the spot. The murderers next rushed upon 
 those in charge of the boat, and, as they were not 
 on their guard, they too fell victims to their fury. 
 This atrocity did not go without its reward. The 
 Captain, surprised at the delay of his men, sent 
 some of the crew to report on the matter. These, 
 on seeing the mangled corpses of their companions 
 became so enraged, that they rushed madly 
 upon the savages, and fully revenged the blood of 
 their fallen companions. Immediately after, the 
 Captain sailed for Mexican waters, where the news 
 of the tragedy excited universal regret, and 
 caused steps to be taken for the further chastise- 
 ment of the offenders. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 359 
 
 CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 Punishment op the Ringleaders in the late Rebellion. — Orders 
 from his Majesty Philip V. to establish a Garrison. — Restor- 
 ation of the Missions. — Orders of Ferdinand V. for estab- 
 lishing Mexican Colonies. — A Juncture to be formed between 
 the Missions of California and Sonora on the Colorado. — 
 Father Kuhno's Labors in' Sonora. — Father Sedelmayer ex- 
 amines the Colorado. — State of Religion in California at 
 that period. — Terrible Epidemic. — Death of Father Brayo 
 and Father Tempis. — Departure of Father Sestiago. 
 
 Upon learning of the disaster to the crew of the 
 Spanish galleon, the Viceroy, for once in his life, 
 acted as a responsible government agent. Without 
 waiting to consult his majesty's pleasure, he imme- 
 diately sent orders to the Governor of Sinaloa to 
 proceed with all haste to California to check the 
 rebellion and punish the ringleaders. Though 
 obedient to the commands of the Viceroy, the 
 course pursued by the Governor was but ill- 
 suited to the object in view. By a constant dis- 
 play of benevolence and clemency, he vainly 
 wasted his time and the means at his command. 
 At the end of a couple of years, he learned that 
 the reduction of the country was not to be effected 
 as he expected. A just appreciation of the char- 
 acter of the people, and of the wild, ungovernable 
 state in which they were then, might have assured 
 him of this from the beginning. But neither the 
 
360 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 advice of the Fathers, nor the lawlessness of the 
 people was sufficient to disabuse him of his error. 
 Experience eventually taught him the lesson. 
 
 Tired and disgusted at the continued hostility 
 of the savages, he ultimately resorted to rigor, and 
 made the disaffected understand the necessity of an 
 immediate submission. In a general engagement, 
 to which he had the fortune of bringing the rebels, 
 he inflicted such losses on their numbers as to very 
 much dishearten the leaders, yet not so as to cause 
 them to retire entirely from the contest. A show of 
 opposition was still maintained for a time, but ended 
 in a second general encounter, wherein they were 
 completely undone, when they surrendered at dis- 
 cretion, on the hope of a pardon. Among the 
 captured were the two principal murderers of the 
 recently massaered Fathers. On these, at least, 
 justice should have demanded the exercise of cap- 
 ital punishment; but the incapacity and ill-timed 
 clemency of the Governor only subjected them, 
 with their companions in blood, to banishment to 
 the coast of New Spain. This immunity, however, 
 at the hands of the Governor, did not save them 
 from the anger of Heaven ; for a little while after, 
 both of them fell victims to the Divine justice, 
 having met with miserable and untimely deaths. 
 
 Letters were now received from his Majesty 
 Philip V. ordering the Vicero}?" to establish a gar- 
 rison at or near some of the southern missions, 
 with the view of re-establishing and promoting 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 361 
 
 the conquest of the country. The establishment 
 of garrisons had been already commanded by Gov- 
 ernment, as we have previously said, but from the 
 supineness of underlings, nothing was done; and, 
 to this inattention of Mexican officials must be 
 attributed the losses sustained by religion during 
 the rebellion. 
 
 One of the provisions of the newly-made order 
 was to the effect that neither the officers nor sol- 
 diers should, in any way, depend upon the Fathers 
 for their position, promotion or discharge. The 
 reasonableness of this resolution may appear to 
 the reader only in accordance with propriety and 
 justice ; yet the numerous evils to which it neces- 
 sarily led, were even more detrimental to religion 
 than the entire absence of all military aid. It was, 
 in reality, only deciding in favor of the military 
 the old question of trading and fishing for pearls. 
 Experience, as we have said, had taught the Reli- 
 gious the dangers and inconveniences of this, and 
 so, to avoid such an evil, it was necessary to strictly 
 prohibit the speculation to all. Moreover, were 
 the Fathers to tolerate such a system, independent 
 of all acts of oppression, the soldiers would become 
 negligent of their military duties ; they would 
 grow discontented with their subordinate position, 
 and, in all probability, refuse to accompany the 
 missionaries on their various excursions. That 
 they were not mistaken herein, the subsequent 
 state of affairs abundantly proves, for to such a state 
 
362 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 of confusion and disorder did all things arrive, in 
 consequence of the natives being sorely aggrieved, 
 that the country was brought to the verge of an- 
 other rebellion, which if it happened would, in all 
 probability, have destroyed^every vestige of Christ- 
 ianity in the land. The abnormal and confused 
 state of affairs produced at length so many and 
 such frequent complaints, that the Viceroy saw the 
 necessity of changing his policy, and putting the 
 garrison, as before, under the control of the Reli- 
 gious. To this wise regulation, which should 
 never have been altered, was due the subsequent 
 tranquillity of the peninsula, and the happy res- 
 toration of religion among the people. 
 
 As soon as the disturbed state of the country 
 was brought into order under the renewed author- 
 ity of the Fathers, new efforts were made by the 
 society for the restoration of the lately destroyed 
 missions. The dispersed Christians were once 
 more gathered together, churches erected, and the 
 services of religion revived. Those places stained 
 with the blood of the missionaries were objects of 
 special attention. The mission of Sanjago, where 
 Father Caranco had been martyred, was entrusted 
 to Father Anthony Tempis, a man of rare and 
 solid virtue. By his constant and unwearied ex- 
 ertions he succeeded in winning back to religion 
 and to habits of piety a remnant of the former in- 
 habitants, among whom he continued to labor till 
 death. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 363 
 
 The outlay demanded for quelling the rebellion, 
 as also for the establishment of the lately ruined 
 missions, being more than the Father's resources 
 could conveniently meet, an appeal to the monarch 
 became necessary. The application, it is pleasing 
 to think, was not without fruit. On the 10th of 
 April, 1737, the Viceroy acquainted his Majesty 
 with the state of affairs, and humbly represented 
 that the Society stood in need of the favor of the 
 crown. The representation was immediately at- 
 tended to. On learning the critical state of affairs 
 and the crippled resources of the Fathers, the 
 King ordered that a garrison should be immedi- 
 ately formed, and the expenses required for com- 
 pletely reducing the country to be paid from the 
 royal exchequer. He demanded, however, that 
 the scheme for the general reduction of the penin- 
 sula be forwarded to himself for inspection and 
 approval. A plan was accordingly drawn up and 
 forwarded to Spain, to which, in due time, the 
 royal assent was affixed with instructions for carry- 
 ing it into effect. But before this could be done, 
 on the 13th of November, 1744, another warrant 
 was forwarded to the Viceroy demanding addition- 
 al information on the matter. To this an answer 
 was given by the Provincial of the Society at Mex- 
 ico, but it did not arrive at Madrid till after the 
 death of the King. His successor, Ferdinand VI., 
 was equally interested in the scheme, and repeated 
 his father's instructions to the Viceroy. The 
 
364 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 purport of his letter to the Governor was to the 
 effect, that it was the opinion of his council that 
 measures should be immediately taken for the spir- 
 itual and temporal subjugation of the peninsula, 
 and that such a result was only to be expected 
 through the energy and zeal of the Jesuit missionary 
 Fathers, under whose fostering care so many and 
 such numerous infidel tribes were brought to a 
 knowledge of the truth. He further expressed a 
 desire that, in the neighborhood of all the principal 
 harbors, there should be formed, as soon as cir- 
 cumstances permitted, Spanish or Mexican settle- 
 ments, which would serve as a safeguard for ves- 
 sels and a protection for the missionaries. A 
 Spanish colony was likewise suggested to be set- 
 tled in the interior, with the view of affording re- 
 fuge to the Fathers in case of rebellion ; while the 
 whole of the frontier missions were to be guarded 
 by troops subject to the Religious, and employed 
 as their escorts when journeying through infidel 
 territory. Further the royal instructions went on 
 to suggest that a point of communication should, 
 if possible, be established between the missions of 
 Sonora and those of California at the entrance of 
 the Colorado, or Red, river. But as the Pimas, the 
 Cocomaricopas and Yumas, the inhabitants of those 
 parts, were still pagan, the missionaries, in order 
 to effect such a junction, should direct their atten- 
 tion to the conversion of those tribes. By these 
 and other like means it was hoped that the entire 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 365 
 
 reduction of the country, both spiritual and tem- 
 poral, would be securely accomplished. The royal 
 instructions concluded by assuring the Keverend 
 Fathers that the sums necessary for the accomplish- 
 ment of these works would be furnished from his 
 Majesty's treasury. 
 
 The instructions thus directed to the Governor 
 of New Spain were in every way worthy of an en- 
 lightened and politic ruler. It has been stated 
 above, that at the commencement of the Californian 
 missions, Fathers Ktihno and Salva Tierra had 
 formed the noble and extensive design of convert- 
 ing and subjecting to Spain all the inhabitants 
 along the Pacific from Mexico to Oregon. In the 
 accomplishment of this it was contemplated that 
 the one — Father Tierra — should carry on the work 
 of conversion through the whole of the peninsula, 
 and the other through the territory of Sonora and 
 the countries of the Papagos and the Cocomarico- 
 pas, till he arrived as far north as the present lim- 
 its of Alta California. That they would have suc- 
 ceeded in the scheme, had they from the begin- 
 ning had such a monarch as Ferdinand for a patron, 
 there is little reason to doubt. 
 
 Before acquainting the reader with the endeav- 
 ors of the Fathers in seeking to accomplish the 
 royal instructions regarding the juncture to be 
 made on the banks of the Colorado, it is proper, in 
 the first instance, to speak of the situation and 
 boundaries of Sonora. The smallest of the once 
 
366 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Spanish- American possessions, Sonora lies on the 
 eastern side of the California Gulf. It extends 
 from the mouth of the Hiaqui to the country of 
 the Apaches, in a northeasterly direction. The 
 most northern mission was that of Concepcion de 
 Caborca, about three hundred miles from Hiaqui. 
 This mission, which was founded about 1690, was 
 totally destroyed by the savages in an insurrection 
 in 1751, when two of the venerable missionaries, 
 Fathers Thomas Tillo and Henry Rohen, received 
 the palm of martyrdom. In circumference, So- 
 nora is about three hundred and fifty leagues, or 
 one thousand and more miles. It was inhabited 
 by various tribes, known as the Opates, the Topas, 
 the Tejuaianas, etc., among whom the Jesuit Fathers 
 established as many as four-and-twenty mis- 
 sions. The climate is mild, and the general ap- 
 pearance of the country agreeable — diversified 
 mountain ranges and fertile valleys meeting the 
 eye in every direction. Along the coast runs a 
 succession of barren, sandy hills, inhabited, in 
 those days, by a few wandering tribes, who ob- 
 tained a precarious existence by fishing; but 
 among whom, in consequence of the impediments 
 offered by nature, a mission could never be es- 
 tablished. 
 
 Besides being a country remarkably adapted for 
 agricultural purposes, as possessing numerous fer- 
 tile valleys and extensive pasture ranges, Sonora 
 was also known, even then, to be rich in mineral 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 367 
 
 productions of considerable value. With this 
 double advantage, however, the province was poor, 
 in consequence of the difficulty and expense of 
 working the mines, and the necessity of import- 
 ing several commodities from abroad. 
 
 In 1687, when Father Kuhno entered the terri- 
 tory, there was then only one mission in the coun- 
 try, that in the vicinity of Pimeria Alta. How 
 much this remarkable man effected, in reclaiming 
 those wandering savages will never be known. A 
 mere glimpse of his labors is all that is given us by 
 his brother Religious. With a zeal and a fervor 
 worthy of the greatest Apostle, he traversed the 
 country in every direction, preaching the gospel 
 and reclaiming the natives. Neither the priva- 
 tions necessarily connected with a wandering life 
 among the savage inhabitants, whose only means 
 of subsistence was the chase or the spontaneous 
 offerings of nature, nor the fear of falling among 
 barbarous hordes, who might demand, as the pen- 
 alty of his daring, the sacrifice of his life, were 
 sufficient to prevent him from acting the part of 
 the Apostle. No wonder, under such circum- 
 stances, that success should have attended his la- 
 bors. Everywhere he succeeded in teaching the 
 people religion, and in prevailing upon them to 
 abandon their barbarous state. 
 
 The people being of different tribes, and speak- 
 ing different languages, he had the patience and 
 zeal to learn those different tongues, into which 
 
368 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 he translated the catechetical instructions and 
 prayers. He also formed vocabularies and ele- 
 mentary works for the use of his assistants and 
 successors. So great was the success he met with 
 among all classes, that had he, according to his 
 often repeated request, been aided by others, he 
 would, in all probability, have converted the en- 
 tire country from the Hiaqui to the Colorado. As 
 it was, he baptized with his own hand, and caused 
 to settle down into regular civilized life, forty thou- 
 sand of the inhabitants ! * But the great difficul- 
 ties he had to contend with were not so much 
 those arising from an absence of aid, as from the 
 demoralizing, unjustifiable conduct of the Spanish 
 inhabitants. As colonists, it was in the interests 
 of the Europeans, that the Indians should be kept 
 in a state of subjection, and made to serve in the 
 capacity of slaves on the farms and in the mines. 
 Against this system of violence and oppression the 
 venerable man sternly lifted his voice, and con- 
 stantly struggled with all his endeavors, not only 
 because of the injustice and demoralizing effects it 
 produced on his people, but because it acted as a 
 powerful barrier against future conversion. If the 
 
 (1) Bautizo este grande obrero de la viSa del Senorinas de quarenta 
 mil de estos Infideles, y pudiera haverse, alargado a muchas mas mil- 
 lares, si buviera tenido esperaiiza de poderlos en adelante assistir 
 senalandos missionero, que ciudasse de doctrinarles . * * * Lo singu- 
 lar es, que no solo formo Pueblos, y bautizo Indios, sino cbe en gran 
 parte les reduxo a vida politia, y les enseSo a fabricar Casas, construir 
 Iglesias, beneficiar tierras, formar estancias, cuidar gavades, bacer pro- 
 vision de frutos, etc." Apostolicos Afanes de la Compania de Jesus; p. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 369 
 
 vassalage of the farms and the mines was the only 
 immediate reward to be obtained by embracing the 
 Christian religion, why should the savage cease to 
 be free? 
 
 By his constant and unwearied exertions, Father 
 Kiihno succeeded at length in obtaining a modifi- 
 cation of the atrocities perpetrated on his people. 
 The inhumanity of the Mexican council was re- 
 laxed to the extent of only demanding the forced 
 services of the natives five years after the date of 
 their conversion ! This was afterwards lengthened 
 by Charles II. to a term of twenty years, but unfor- 
 tunately for the interests of religion and humanity 
 this order was never observed, and the Father had 
 the mortification of seeing his converts, whom he 
 had civilized with infinite pains, constantly dragged 
 from their homes and buried in the bowels of the 
 earth, whither they were consigned by the avarice 
 and heartlessness of the Spanish inhabitants. The 
 odiousness of this system has rarely or never been 
 equaled by a conquering race; certainly never by 
 a Christian community. 
 
 Beside the injustice of the proceeding and the 
 obstacle it was likely txT offer to the future con- 
 version of the still uncivilized races, it was further 
 attended with the most lamentable and deplorable 
 consequences as regarded the purity and morality 
 of the people. Huddled together in the greatest 
 confusion, without any restraint or surveillance, 
 
 the masters having only in view their personal 
 24 
 
370 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 profit, the morals of the neophytes suffered most 
 fearfully, and crimes were committed, both on the 
 farms and in the mines, over which it is better 
 to draw the vail of oblivion. 
 
 To contend successfully against such formidable 
 obstacles was more than an apostle could be ex- 
 pected to do, yet under such special and enormous 
 disadvantages Father Kiihno continued to advance 
 the state of religion, and succeecled-in establishing 
 even in the face of those formidable difficulties 
 several Christian communities. Some idea of this 
 remarkable missionary's labors may be had from 
 the following: In 1698 he set out on a tour of in- 
 spection, and after proceeding as far north as the 
 Gila, turned west till he came to the head of the 
 Gulf. Thence continuing his course to the south, 
 on arriving at the Mission Dolores he had traveled 
 on foot from nine to ten hundred miles. This, in a 
 country destitute of every convenience, wild, rug- 
 ged and mountainous, and inhabited only by un- 
 civilized races, was a most arduous and perilous 
 adventure. But it was only one of many of a sim- 
 ilar kind. During the subsequent years of his 
 ministry he made other equally lengthened, ardu- 
 ous and perilous journeys, sometimes for the pur- 
 pose of preaching the gospel, sometimes for quell- 
 ing rebellion, sometimes for reconciling enemies, 
 and sometimes with the view of promoting the 
 people's social condition by instructing them in 
 the means necessary for providing for their tem- 
 poral wants. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA 371 
 
 Such was the life of that truly great and re- 
 markable minister of G-od, and, unhappily for the 
 cause of religion, none others were found of like 
 zeal and ability to continue his noble endeavors. 
 After his death, which happened in 1710, the mis- 
 sions were in a great measure abandoned, the 
 churches in many instances fell into ruins, the cul- 
 tivation of the land was neglected, and the Chris- 
 tians almost entirely abandoned. For five-and- 
 thirty years after his death some of the faithful 
 never saw the face of a priest, and under such cir- 
 cumstances it is not difficult to see how the faith 
 must have suffered. The old converts in a great 
 measure died out, those who survived retained 
 only a feeble idea of what had been taught them 
 a quarter of a century previous, while the children 
 born in the interim differed but little in habits and 
 customs from the gentiles. Of the fourteen mis- 
 sions founded by the Father only three remained 
 at this time. In 1731 an effort was made to re- 
 establish the missions and revive the religion. At 
 the request of the Bishop of Durango, in whose 
 diocese this section of the country was, his Majesty 
 made an assignment for "three missionary priests, 
 to be paid from the royal exchequer. Three Jesuit 
 Fathers accordingly entered the territory and 
 founded, in addition to the missions already estab- 
 lished, three others, thereby making in all a total 
 of six with their respective sub-stations. This 
 was the actual state of Pimeria in 1742, when, as 
 
372 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 I have stated above, instructions were sent from 
 the Court of Madrid for forming a junction at the 
 mouth of the Colorado with the view of reducing 
 the entire population. 
 
 In order to carry out his Majesty's wish as 
 speedily and effectually as possible, two expedi- 
 tions were now undertaken to determine the state 
 of the country, and the places most proper for 
 forming the new settlements. In 1745, Father 
 Ignatius Keller, in obedience to orders received 
 from his ecclesiastical superiors, set out on a tour 
 of inspection in the direction just named. On 
 arriving at the G-ila, he found it impossible to ad- 
 vance, his attendants having refused to accompany 
 him further. The following year, instructions to 
 the same effect were sent to Father Sedelmayer; 
 in accordance with which he proceeded to the point 
 last reached by his predecessor, where he was 
 kindly received by the gentiles. From thence 
 he examined the country in every direction, and 
 found several well-watered tracts, remarkably 
 adapted for agricultural purposes. Here, too, were 
 several tribes, on whom Father Kuhno had made 
 the most favorable impression. Taking, then, the 
 natural advantages of the country, as well as the 
 favorable disposition of the people into account, 
 it was thought that by means of six or eight mis- 
 sions, the country could be brought to obedience, 
 and his Majesty's wishes accomplished. But, as 
 the project was one of the greatest importance, 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 373 
 
 it was deemed proper for the Father to proceed in 
 person to Mexico, and lay an account of his ob- 
 servations before the proper authorities, with the 
 view of having the same made known to the Kino;. 
 The report drawn up and forwarded to Madrid 
 by the Father Provincial of the Society, amongst 
 other things, contained a petition requesting that 
 the Jesuit missionaries in the diocese of Durango 
 be suffered to relinquish their charge in favor of 
 some others, in order to devote themselves to the 
 conversion of the northern gentiles. In this man- 
 ner, the number of missionaries being increased, 
 the hopes of success would be proportionately aug- 
 mented. The Father Provincial further submitted 
 that the allowance of three hundred dollars a 
 year was insufficient for the decent support of those 
 missionaries situated at such distances from Mexico, 
 and that a garrison of one hundred and fifty sol- 
 diers should be formed on the Gila for the protec- 
 tion of the Fathers. Although there was nothing 
 directly mentioned in the letter respecting Cali- 
 fornia, it was understood that, if the project suc- 
 ceeded, the Fathers would continue their labors 
 through the northern part of the peninsula till 
 they reached the missions contemplated. While 
 an answer was being awaited from Europe, a sta- 
 tistical account of the Californian missions was 
 drawn up and forwarded to Mexico. From that 
 list, and another formed at a subsequent period, 
 the following was then the general state of religion 
 in the country: 
 
374 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 I. The mission of Our Lady of Loretto, situated 
 on the coast in 25 degrees thirty minutes; founded 
 by Father Salva Tierra, October, 1697. This was 
 the capital of the country. Missionary in charge 
 at that date, Father Gaspar de Truxillo. The num- 
 ber of Christians, including soldiers, sailors, etc., 
 was more than four hundred. 
 
 II. The mission of St. Francis Xavier; founded 
 by Father F. Piccolo, 1699. Villages— St. Zavier, 
 in 25 degrees 30 minutes; St. Rose, seven leagues 
 W.; St. Michael, eight leagues N. ; Augustine, eight 
 leagues S.E.; Dolores, two leagues E.; St. Paul, 
 eight leagues N. W. Missionary, Father Michael 
 Barco. Population, 480. 
 
 III. Our Lady of Dolores; founded by Father 
 Tierra, 1699. Villages — Our Lady of Dolores, 24 
 degrees 30 minutes ; Conception ; Incarnation ; 
 Trinity; Redemption; Resurrection. Missionary, 
 Father C. Guillen. Population, 450. 
 
 IV. St. Louis of Gonzaga; founded by Father 
 John Ugarte. Villages— St. Louis of Gonzaga, 25 
 degrees; St. John of Nepomucene; St. Mary 
 Magdalen. Missionary, Father L. Hotel. Pop- 
 ulation, 310. 
 
 V. St. Joseph of Comandu; founded by Father 
 Mayorga, 1708 ; without a missionary at that date, 
 on account of the death of Father "Wagner, 1744. 
 Villages, — 1. St. Joseph, 26 degrees; 2. One 
 league W.; 3. Seven leagues N. ; 4. Ten leagues 
 E. Population, 360. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 375 
 
 VI. St. Rose of Mulege; founded by Father 
 Basualda, 1705. Villages — St. Rose, 26 de- 
 grees, 50 minutes; Holy Trinity, six leagues S. S. 
 E.; St. Mark, eight leagues 1ST. Missionary, Father 
 Peter Mary Nascimben. Population, 300. 
 
 VII. Immaculate Conception; founded by Fa- 
 ther Nicolas Tamaral, in 1718. Villages — six. 
 Missionary, Father Druet. Population, 330. 
 
 VIII. Our Lady of Guadalupe; founded by 
 Father John Ugarte and Father Everard Helen, 
 1721. Villages— Our Lady of Guadalupe, in 
 27 degrees; Conception, six leagues S.; St. Mi- 
 chael, six leagues S. E.; Sts. Peter and Paul, 
 eight leagues E.; St. Mary, five leagues N". Mis- 
 sionary, Father Casteige. Population, 530. 
 
 IX. St. Ignatius; founded by Father Luyando, 
 1728. Villages — St. Ignatius, in 28 degrees; St. 
 Borgia, eight leagues distant; St. Joaquin, three 
 leagues distant; St. Sabas, three leagues distant; 
 St. Athanasius, five leagues distant; St. Monica, 
 seven leagues distant; St. Martha, seven leagues 
 distant; St. Lucay, ten leagues distant; St. Nymfa, 
 five leagues distant. Missionary, Father Sebastian 
 de Sestiago. Population, 650. 
 
 X. Our Lady of Dolores of the North. This 
 mission was connected with that of St. Ignatius, 
 and attended byJFathers Sestiago and Consag. It 
 was situated in the 29th degree of latitude, and 
 comprised a district of some thirty leagues. Pop- 
 ulation, 548. 
 
376 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 XT. St. Mary Magdalen; established by Father 
 Consag. Population not given. 
 
 XII. St. James. Villages — Three; missionary, 
 Father Tempis. Population, 350. 
 
 XIII. All Saints; founded about 1737. Popu- 
 lation, 90. 
 
 XIV. St. Francis Borgia. Population, 1500. 
 
 XV. St. Gertrude. Population, 1000. 
 
 XVI. St. Mary. Population, 330. 
 
 Total number of Christians in all the missions, 
 7,628. 
 
 "While negotiations were being carried on with 
 the Court of Madrid, for the conversion of the 
 northern tribes on the opposite side of the gulf, 
 the southern missions were visited by Heaven with 
 a terrible chastisement, in punishment, it would 
 seem, for the crimes of the people during the time 
 of revolt. New and irremediable distempers broke 
 out in the community, to which thousands fell vic- 
 tims. So great were the numbers that died from 
 those various diseases, from the year 1742 to 1748, 
 that hardly a sixth of the whole population sur- 
 vived. The labors of the missionaries during those 
 calamitous years, were proportionately great. The 
 general spread of the disease, and its continuance 
 in the country, constantly demanded their presence 
 in almost every quarter. Their anxiety was not 
 even confined to the due discharge of their spirit- 
 ual functions, for, at such a time, the corporeal 
 as well as the spiritual wants of the sufferers 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 377 
 
 called for relief. In such a continuous struggle 
 with death and disease, it is not to be regarded as 
 strange, that their overtaxed energies should have 
 succumbed to the difficulties by which they were 
 surrounded. Hence the ravages death began to 
 make in their numbers. Two years after the ap- 
 pearance of the disease, Father Bravo fell a vic- 
 tim to his charitable endeavors. He was one of 
 the oldest and most efficient of the body. On 
 coming to the country, he was only a lay-brother; 
 but, on account of his remarkable merits, and the 
 great want of missionary hands, he was subse- 
 quently raised to the priesthood. He arrived in 
 California in 1705, in company with Father Salva 
 Tierra, and had, consequently labored for the mis- 
 sions at the time of his death nineteen years ; during 
 eight of which he governed the mission of La Paz. 
 Father Bravo' s death was followed by that of 
 Father Anthony Tempis, who, as we have seen, 
 was charged with the restoration of the mission of 
 Santiago, destroyed by the Pericues. At the time 
 of his demise the mission was in a better and more 
 prosperous condition than before its destruction. 
 His persevering, apostolic exertions succeeded re- 
 markably in conciliating the people and winning 
 them back to a virtuous life. Impressed with the 
 great importance and necessity of early instruc- 
 tion, he took every means of teaching the young, 
 and of instilling into their minds sentiments of 
 piety and virtue. He had them constantly with 
 
378 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 him, corrected their faults, strengthened their 
 weaknesses, supported their failings, and in every 
 manner as the most tender of parents endeavored, 
 both by word and example, to impress upon their 
 minds lessons of holiness and sanctity. His affec- 
 tion for the young was no greater than his care of 
 the infirm. In the epidemic, of which I have 
 spoken, and to which so many fell victims, his 
 charity was more than remarkable. When unable 
 to walk, whenever duty demanded his presence, 
 he would have himself carried through the moun- 
 tains to the sufferers, his continual expression be- 
 ing that of the Society: "All for the greater glory 
 of God." In fine, after a most holy and apostolic 
 career, he died in the odor of sanctity at the mis- 
 sion of Santiago in 1746 — a victim to his zeal and 
 unwearied exertions in behalf of the poor. 
 
 The following year the missions suffered an 
 equally irreparable loss in the departure for Mex- 
 ico, at the command of authority, of Father Sebas- 
 tian Sestiago. One by one the great lights were 
 passing away — either sinking into the grave or ne- 
 cessitated to abandon the field of their labors by 
 reason of infirmity. Father Sestiago, who was of 
 Mexican extraction, was born at Tepustucula in 
 1084. He entered the Society when young, and 
 gained the general esteem of his companions, as 
 well by his virtue as by his ability. While pro- 
 fessor of belles-lettres he was appointed to the 
 California!! mission, whither he immediately re- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 379 
 
 paired. During the twenty-nine years he lived in 
 the country he propagated religion across the 
 whole of the peninsula. Frequently he would 
 sally forth into the mountains in quest of the sav- 
 ages, having only for his support a little corn in a 
 sack. There, deprived of the ordinary comforts 
 of life, he would remain preaching and catechizing 
 till his presence was demanded elsewhere. What 
 he suffered on those occasions, having to accom- 
 modate himself to the barbarous life of the people 
 — exposed to the inclemency of the season — can 
 be hardly conceived. It was thus he learned to dis- 
 pense with the use of a bed (a luxury he never al- 
 lowed himself toward the end of his days), for hav- 
 ing to lead the same life as the people, he was 
 obliged to sleep on the ground. He always slept 
 in his clothes, and rose ordinarily two hours before 
 day, in order to occupy himself in prayer and pre- 
 paration for the holy sacrifice of the Mass. At 
 times while making excursions through the woods 
 in company with his neophytes, he would cry out in 
 a transport of zeal: "Come — oh! come all to the 
 faith of Jesus Christ; oh ! who will make them all 
 Christians and conduct them to Heaven !" So lit- 
 tle was his heart attached to temporal things, that 
 on an occasion when his people presented him 
 with some pearls they had picked up on the shore 
 after a storm, he ordered them to go and throw 
 them back into the sea ! At last, worn out by in- 
 
380 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 firmities and tormented by scruples to which he 
 became an involuntary prey, he was temporarily 
 ordered to Mexico, where he departed this life in 
 most eminent sanctity, on the 22d of June, 1756. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 381 
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 Death of Father Guillen. — Death of Don Rodriguez Lorenzo. 
 — Progress of the Missions. — Conversions by Father Retz. — 
 His Death. — Attempt of the Gentiles to destroy the South- 
 ern Missions. — Death of Father Neumayer. — Silver Mines 
 opened in the Country. — Evil Counsel of the Spaniards. — 
 Discontent of the Converts. — Decrease in the Female Popu- 
 lation. — Dangers threatening the Society in Europe. — Un- 
 just PROCEEDINGS TAKEN AGAINST IT IN PORTUGAL AND FRANCE. 
 
 The year following the departure of Father Ses- 
 tiago, the mission was deprived by death of the 
 presence of Father Guillen, who had acted for 
 some time as Provincial of the Society in Califor- 
 nia. This missionary's career extended over a 
 period of four-and-twenty years; during which, 
 his life was admittedly a model of ^every virtue. 
 It was to him that the Mission of Dolores, in the 
 country of the Guacuros, owed its existence ; and 
 his success may be learned from the fact that by 
 his individual exertions he converted the greater 
 part of that barbarous people. A single example 
 will suffice to illustrate his zeal for the salvation of 
 the gentiles. 
 
 Shortly prior to his death there happened to ar- 
 rive at the mission, from a distant part of the 
 country a gentile woman considerably advanced 
 in jrears. As no one in the vicinity understood a 
 word of her language, it was found impossible to 
 
382 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 properly instruct her in the principles of religion. 
 That, however, an opportunity might be afforded 
 her of embracing the truth, Father Guillen, with 
 the weight of years already pressing heavily upon 
 him (being then seventy or more), undertook to 
 learn her language. He did not, indeed, succeed 
 in his purpose, for he was overtaken by death 
 while engaged in his charitable work; but, if he 
 did not gain the soul of the poor creature to Christ, 
 he has left upon record one of the noblest and most 
 praiseworthy deeds to be met with in the history 
 of missionary life. * 
 
 During those calamitous years, while death was 
 so rife among the missionary body, it was not to 
 be expected that the Government officers would 
 escape without loss. The same year that witnessed 
 the death of Father Tempis, saw also the last mo- 
 ments of Don Rodriguez Lorenzo, who for sev- 
 eral years had held the post of Captain and Gov- 
 ernor of the country. This was by no means an 
 unimportant event in the history of the missions; 
 for, by his ability, prudence and zeal, this venera- 
 ble Catholic had contributed much to the inter- 
 ests of religion. Indeed, it was to him that the 
 Fathers were indebted for a large share of the suc- 
 cess they attained in the country. Wherever a 
 new mission was to be established, he invariably 
 attended in person, accompanied by his men; and 
 this not merely with the view of defending the 
 Religious against the attacks of the savages, but 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 383 
 
 to aid in making the roads and erecting the build- 
 ings. Though Captain and Governor, he was first 
 in every laborious employment; in order that by 
 his example, the soldiers and Indians might be 
 encouraged to labor. His morals were as pure as 
 his example was attractive. Daily he assisted at 
 the holy sacrifice of the Mass, and the other ex- 
 ercises of the missions. Duty never found him 
 for a moment absent from his post. In fine, after 
 a life remarkable for several virtues, he died on 
 the first of November, 1746, at the ripe old age 
 of four score years. He was succeeded by his son, 
 Bernard, who inherited all his remarkable quali- 
 ties, both civil and religious. 
 
 The very severe and, indeed, in some instances, 
 apparently irreparable losses to the missions of the 
 above-mentioned persons, was not suffered by Di- 
 vine Providence to interfere with the progress of 
 religion in the country. On the retirement of 
 Father Sestiago from the Mission of St.' Ignatius, 
 in 1747, Father Consag took charge of that place, 
 and labored with such profit, that in the space of 
 four years, he had converted, in the vicinity of 
 the mission, five hundred and forty-eight of the 
 gentiles — a work of no ordinary moment, when 
 we consider the constant call upon his labors by 
 the converted during those calamitous times. A 
 sufficient number of converts being thus formed, 
 it was desirable they should be gathered together, 
 and a mission established for their special advan- 
 
384 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 tage. With this object in view, Father Consag set 
 out from St. Ignatius, in 1751, in order to deter- 
 mine a locality proper for the new mission. He 
 was accompanied by the Governor, an escort, and 
 some neophytes. After traveling a considerable 
 distance without meeting with the object of their 
 search, they at last chanced upon a path which, 
 when followed, brought them to a point where 
 their attention was arrested on seeing a number of 
 arrows pierced through a branch. This they un- 
 derstood as an intimation on the part of the sav- 
 ages that any one daring to pass by that way 
 would be similarly treated. But, as the escort was 
 strong, they continued their journey till they came 
 up with the Indians, who, instead of being hostile, 
 received them as friends. The people were, how- 
 ever, very much alarmed on beholding the horses, 
 never having seen such in their lives. The object 
 of the expedition was now fully attained. Here 
 was a place with all the requirements proper for 
 a new settlement — a fertile valley, abundant water, 
 and friendly Indians. Before returning, the Fa- 
 ther administered baptism to the little ones dan- 
 gerously ill, and, as some of them died shortly 
 after, he had the consolation of knowing that even 
 so far his journey was not without profit. 
 
 On returning to St. Ignatius, Father Consag 
 immediately set about dispatching a number of 
 workmen for the erection of the necessary build- 
 ings. These being completed, the mission was 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 385 
 
 entrusted to the Rev. Father Retz, an Austrian, 
 who took possession of it in the Summer of 1752. 
 According to an old established custom, by which all 
 the missionaries were expected to contribute some- 
 thing to every newly-established settlement, each 
 of the Fathers bestowed on his brother Religious 
 the little his limited means would permit* These 
 offerings were chiefly of corn and cattle. In this 
 manner the first wants of the people were supplied 
 and the interests of religion subserved. The mis- 
 sion commenced under the most favorable auspices ; 
 for it numbered from the outset about six hun- 
 dred converts, collected from different parts. To 
 these others were speedily added, for as soon 
 as the newly-made Christians informed their 
 brethren of the character of the religion, the ne- 
 cessity of baptism and the kindness of the Father, 
 the people began to flock to the place, and 
 what was at first only a mere curiosity, ended at 
 length in conversion to the faith. Thus in a few 
 years Father Retz found himself at the head of a 
 congregation of fourteen hundred Christians. 
 Every convert, on being received into the Church, 
 received from the Father a little crucifix, which he 
 was expected to wear on his neck that he might 
 be constantly reminded of his faith, and the inval- 
 uable blessings of the work of redemption. 
 
 Shortly after the establishment of this mission 
 a camp was formed at a short distance on account 
 
 of the great abundance of water. Here the Father 
 25 
 
386 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 took care to produce the necessary supplies for 
 his people — the plantation of a vineyard and fruit- 
 trees being amongst his earliest cares. Before 
 long he had an abundant supply of maize, wheat 
 and garden productions for his flock. His method 
 of making and preserving the wine deserves a 
 passing notice. The construction of barrels being 
 under the circumstances entirely impossible, he 
 resorted to the ingenious method of hollowing 
 great masses of rock, in which he fermented and 
 preserved the precious liquor. The rapid increase 
 of the faithful suggested the importance of form- 
 ing another little settlement, but before carrying 
 out this benevolent purpose death summoned him 
 to his heavenly reward. He died in the month of 
 September, 1759, at the age of fifty-six years, 
 seven-and- twenty of which he spent for the benefit 
 of the people. By birth, as we have said, he was 
 Austrian, and arrived in California in 1732. It is 
 difficult, says his biographer, to estimate the ex- 
 traordinary efforts he made for the establishment 
 of the faith. Though laboring under a constitu- 
 tional weakness, he was constantly on the alert 
 seeking new places for the establishment of addi- 
 tional missions ; preaching the gospel to the gen- 
 tiles, or instructing his own. When, on his jour- 
 neys, necessity compelled him to halt in order to 
 refresh his companions, he invariably, unmindful 
 of his own toil and weariness of body, betook him- 
 self to prayer, and sought refreshment in com- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 387 
 
 munion with his God. Indeed, it is impossible, 
 on reading the lives of such men, not to be struck 
 with the remarkable likeness they bear to the 
 most eminent saints of the Church. Dead to the 
 world, to society, to themselves and everything 
 human, they seem to have been animated with 
 only one ardent desire, that of propagating the 
 kingdom of God amongst men. To this end they 
 labored, they toiled, prayed, preached and con- 
 formed to the miserable life of the people. Un- 
 der such circumstances it is not to be wondered 
 that a country, hallowed by the foot-prints of such 
 men, should have turned from paganism and bar- 
 barism to Christianity and civilization. 
 
 The death of Father Consag prevented for the 
 time the establishment of the newly-projected 
 mission, for the Religious destined for that pur- 
 pose had to continue where he was. Mean- 
 time, everything was done to facilitate its future 
 establishment. A road of communication was 
 formed between it and the last mentioned mission; 
 a church, barracks and a presbytery constructed, 
 the people further enlightened, and nothing save 
 the appointment of the missionary himself left un- 
 accomplished. Nor was the presence of the Father 
 delayed very long; for Father Wenceslaus Link, 
 a native of Bohemia, having arrived in the country 
 at this time, was sent to take charge of the place. 
 He found on arrival three hundred Indians, con- 
 verts of the late Father Retz; to these others were 
 
388 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 speedily added by himself, the numbers continuing 
 to increase till after a time it was found necessary 
 to enlarge the little church. 
 
 While congratulating himself on the success of 
 his labors, the enemy of mankind was plotting the 
 destruction of his work. The more evil-disposed 
 of the gentiles living at a distance, seeing that 
 numbers were constantly repairing to the Father 
 and enrolling themselves among the believers, 
 took umbrage at this encroachment on their faith; 
 and in order the more effectually to prevent its 
 continuance, determined, by a general massacre, 
 to destroy every vestige of Christianity in that 
 part of the peninsula. News of the intended revolt 
 happening by some means to reach the ears of the 
 Christians, it was determined to give the savages 
 such a lesson that they would not readily enter- 
 tain so bloody a purpose; and it was even deemed 
 proper not to await the approach of the enemy, 
 but to go forth and encounter him on his own 
 ground. The forces of the two missions which 
 were to be the object of the attack were accord- 
 ingly marshaled, and on marching into the enemy's 
 territory, fortunately surprised and captured him 
 without striking a blow. The prisoners were con- 
 ducted to the mission, where they were incarcer- 
 ated for some days, and then set at liberty. The 
 leaders, however, received a fuller measure of jus- 
 tice, for before being granted their liberty they 
 received a certain number of lashes. Thus the 
 
CATHOLIC CHUKCH IN CALIFORNIA. 389 
 
 incipient rebellion was quelled, and a result never 
 contemplated by the people attained; for, affected 
 at what they had seen at the mission, these very 
 barbarians, as in the case of those who attacked 
 the Christians under the care of Father Laymundo, 
 requested to be enrolled among the believers, a 
 favor which was granted them after the sincerity 
 of their request has been sufficiently proved. 
 
 Two years after the foundation of the last men- 
 tioned mission, dedicated to the great St. Francis 
 Borgia, another of the old pioneer missionaries, 
 Father Charles Neumayer, departed this life at All 
 Saints. Father Neumayer's career in California 
 extended over a period of twenty years, during 
 which, like his brethren, he was remarkable for 
 great zeal and holiness of life. His character seems 
 to have been to accommodate himself to every cir- 
 cumstance, the better to gain the affections of all, 
 and thereby promote more securely the interest of 
 his heavenly Master. In the fields, he labored in 
 company with the cultivators of the soil. On sea, 
 he took his net and assisted the fishermen. At 
 home, he was an architect, a carpenter, a black- 
 smith, or whatever else the circumstances de- 
 manded. The wonderful providence of God, 
 which overruleth and disposeth all things according 
 to appointment, never failed to provide for the 
 pressing wants of the missions. Whenever death 
 removed any of the Fathers, others were found 
 ready to step into their place. Two months before 
 
390 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the death of the above-mentioned Father, two 
 other Religious, Fathers Franco and Ames arrived 
 in the country. 
 
 We now approach a perilous period in the his- 
 tory of the Californian missions, when the conduct 
 of the Spanish inhabitants began to prove the 
 most serious embarrassment to the Fathers. Hith- 
 erto the missionaries had to contend, as we have 
 seen, against the coldness, neglect and indiffer- 
 ence of government, the inhospitable nature of 
 the country, and the evil dispositions of the peo- 
 ple. Now an additional, and in some measure 
 more formidable, obstacle was thrown in their 
 way, by the evil example and pernicious advice of 
 the Spanish inhabitants. While the missions were 
 successfully progressing through the country, Don 
 Manuel de Ocio, an enterprising Spaniard, entered 
 upon a mining speculation in the southern part of 
 the peninsula, in the country of the Pericues. For 
 the accomplishment of his object, miners were im- 
 ported from New Spain ; but, unhappily, their 
 lives were not a model for Christians to follow. 
 Demoralization, debauchery, and neglect of reli- 
 gion followed as natural consequences. Their 
 advice was even more pernicious than their morals. 
 Hostile to the system established by the Fathers, 
 they everywhere disturbed the peace and tran- 
 quillity of the Christian congregations, by telling 
 them that the Mexican Indians were entirely in- 
 dependent of the Religious; that they paid tribute 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 391 
 
 to none but the monarch ; possessed their own 
 lands free from control, and were in all things in- 
 dependent to act as they pleased, provided only 
 they attended the services of the church. The 
 consequence of these unseasonable suggestions was 
 that the newly-converted Indians, so unfit to pro- 
 vide for their own natural wants, unless directed by 
 authority, immediately demanded that the lands 
 be handed over to their charge, that they might be 
 at liberty to dispose of them as they pleased. They 
 further required that the vessels belonging to the 
 mission be put at their disposal, that they might 
 be able to go whithersoever they chose. To 
 some their demands may appear only reasonable, 
 but when it is remembered that this people, only 
 recently reclaimed from a savage, indolent life, 
 ahhorred every manner of labor, and never took 
 thought for the future, the matter assumes a dif- 
 ferent aspect in our eyes. To hand over the lands 
 to them at such a time, while their habits were 
 only yet partially forinecl, would be to consign 
 them to certain neglect, and to fail in making the 
 necessary provision for the future. 
 
 As regarded the restriction laid on their liberty, 
 they were in a better position under the rule of 
 the Fathers than in their savage condition; for, 
 while gentile, they were prohibited entering each 
 other's dominions on account of the hereditary 
 feuds that existed between them, whereas, on be- 
 coming Christians, they could pass from one sec- 
 
392 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 tion of the country to the other at the will of the 
 missionaries. Had the Fathers readily complied 
 with their desires the loss would not, indeed, have 
 been theirs, but the people's. 
 
 Another cause of considerable discontent was 
 the remarkable decrease in the female community. 
 To what this is to be attributed it might be diffi- 
 cult to say, yet it is none the less certain, that 
 while polygamy existed, the female population was 
 considerably greater than the male, 1 whereas, on 
 the introduction of Christianity, nine tenths of the 
 people in some of the missions were males. As it 
 is not stated by any author whether the number 
 of births was unequal, perhaps the key to the solu- 
 tion of the difficulty may be found in the numer- 
 ous disorders which at that period prevailed in 
 the country, and to which the female community 
 may have the more readily succumbed as being 
 the weaker. 
 
 The ill-disposed, turbulent Christians, seeing 
 that the Fathers were unwilling to accede to their 
 petition, assembled in council, and petitioned the 
 Mexican government to banish the Religious from 
 the country, and put in their stead government 
 officials, to whom they would pay tribute for his 
 Majesty. The pretensions set forth in the peti- 
 tion were the extreme of extravagance. Men who 
 were unable to provide for themselves 'could not 
 be reasonably expected to pay tribute to a gov- 
 
 (1) See Clavigero's Life. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 393 
 
 ernment. In order to carry their complaint be- 
 fore the proper authorities, twenty of the conspir- 
 ators seized upon the vessel of the mission and 
 set sail for Mexican waters. On reaching the op- 
 posite coast they altered their purpose at the en- 
 treaty of the missionary Father at that port, 
 and returned to California. Their minds, how- 
 ever, being unsettled, another attempt was made 
 by them a little later on, but with equal success, 
 after which they abandoned their foolish preten- 
 sions, and reconciled themselves to the existing 
 state of affairs. 
 
 At this time the Provincial of the Fathers' So- 
 ciety at Mexico — Father Francis Cevallas — offered 
 the Viceroy to renounce all the Californian mis- 
 sions, and those of New Spain, in order that the 
 missionaries might be employed to greater ad- 
 vantage among the gentiles of the north. As the 
 matter was one of the greatest importance the 
 Governor was unwilling to act of himself, but con- 
 sulted his council, by which it was determined 
 that the matter should be referred to the Bishops 
 and their opinion demanded. An answer in the 
 negative having been received the offer was de- 
 clined. The singleness of purpose manifested in 
 this cannot be too highly extolled. These vener- 
 able men, after toiling for near three quarters of 
 a century, were now ready, after having brought 
 the people to a tolerable degree of civilization, to 
 resign their advantages in favor of less self-sacrific- 
 
394 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ing ministers of religion, and to go forth to do bat- 
 tle anew against paganism, idolatry and barbar- 
 ism in the hitherto unexplored regions of the 
 north. This generous offer was followed by an- 
 other equally worthy of record. In 1767, the 
 year before the expulsion of the Fathers, a wealthy 
 Mexican Lady, Donna Josepha de Arguellas, do- 
 nated to the mission property to the amount of 
 six hundred thousand dollars. The due applica- 
 tion of this would doubtless have advanced the 
 state of religion considerably, but the Fathers, un- 
 willing to give the enemies of the Society any 
 grounds for reproach, generously came to the con- 
 clusion of renouncing the whole in favor of Gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 The time was now near at hand when their 
 labors were to draw to a close in the Cal- 
 if ornian missions, after a remarkably successful 
 career of seventy years. For a considerable time 
 a triple alliance had been formed in Europe against 
 the Society of which they were members. Jansen- 
 ism, Protestantism and Infidelity, had joined in 
 their efforts to accomplish their ruin. On the ac- 
 cession to the Portuguese throne of Joseph I., Don 
 Sebastian Carvallo, Count of Oeyras, and after- 
 wards Marquis of Pombal, was raised to the posi- 
 tion of first minister of the crown by the influence 
 of Father Joseph Moreira, who unhappily mistook 
 the character of the man. From that moment the 
 destruction of the Society within the limits of the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 395 
 
 Portuguese kingdom was a matter of certainty. 
 Its accomplishment was only a matter of time and 
 detail. Pombal's design from the outset was even 
 larger than the ruin of the Jesuit body. He con- 
 templated the entire destruction of Catholicity in 
 the country. This he hoped to effect by placing 
 a member of the Protestant religion on the throne 
 — a scheme, for the realization of which, he look- 
 ed for success by forming a marriage alliance be- 
 tween the Princess of Berry and the representative 
 of the dukedom of Cumberland. In this he had 
 naturally to expect much opposition at the hands 
 of the Jesuit Fathers, then highly in favor with 
 royalty. Hence the necessity in the first instance 
 of removing the Religious from the precincts of the 
 court. This done, the unscrupulous minister 
 would be able to manage, according to pleasure, 
 the naturally weak-minded, indolent monarch by 
 flattering his inclination and passions. But as the 
 matter was one of greatest importance it was ne- 
 cessary to proceed with much caution. Suspi- 
 cions were first to be created in his Majesty's breast 
 regarding the loyalty of the Fathers, a matter 
 which was to be effected by imputing sinister de- 
 signs to their conduct. Then all the charges and 
 crimes, no matter how atrocious and unscrupulous, 
 which the libertinism, infidelity and heresy of the 
 period had made against the Society, were to be 
 brought under his notice, all of which was to be 
 guarded by the king with the most scrupulous 
 secrecy. 
 
396 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 The plan succeeded remarkably, according to the 
 desire of the author. Don Pedro, the king's 
 brother, who was then popular with all classes of 
 the community, was seeking to ingratiate himself 
 into the affections of the people, with the view of 
 supplanting his brother. In this he was aided by 
 the members of the Society, whose influence with 
 all classes was no secret to any. A little more 
 and the monarch would be deprived of his throne. 
 Such were the unblushing and audacious assertions 
 of the unscrupulous minister; and, unfortunately 
 for justice and humanity, they found favor with 
 the king. To back up and confirm the calumnious 
 charges, all the accusations that free-thinkers, lib- 
 ertines and heretics had ever put into writing 
 against the Society were laid before Joseph, and 
 scattered broadcast among the people. The result 
 is fearful to contemplate. Iniquity triumphed for 
 the time. The king's mind was embittered to a de- 
 gree ; good men were amazed ; society was taken by 
 surprise; the scheme was a success. Pombal saw 
 his advantage, and that the moment had arrived 
 for striking the first blow. 
 
 On the pretence of having cast improper reflec- 
 tions on the conduct of the minister, two of the 
 Religious, Fathers Ballister and Fonseca were ar- 
 rested and banished the country. This was to 
 prepare the way for a fuller measure of injustice, 
 which was to be the banishment of the entire body. 
 The terrible earthquake, however, which visited 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 397 
 
 the country at that moment, shaking the capital to 
 its foundation, stayed for a while the atrocities of 
 the Government. But it was only for a little, for 
 as soon as the effects of the disaster began to pass 
 from men's minds, the former iniquitous proceed- 
 ings were resumed. New charges were laid to the 
 count of the Fathers, but of an entirely different 
 character. Before it was ambition, now it is av- 
 arice. Some difficulty having been experienced 
 in the management of the Paraguayan dependen- 
 cies, the Fathers were charged with being the au- 
 thors of the dissension, with the view of obtain- 
 ing possession of the gold mines. One of the So- 
 ciety, too, it was audaciously asserted, was made 
 Emperor of the country under the title of Nicolas 
 I. ! A currency was issued bearing the e&igy of 
 the Jesuit monarch ! The clumsiness of this cal- 
 umny was too much for the country. Wise men 
 smiled — wicked men laughed ; while the virtuous 
 and upright treated it with the scorn and contempt 
 that it merited ; yet, with all its absurdity, there 
 were those who, because it originated at Court, 
 made it the fashion of the hour and the test of 
 good breeding to give it, at least, an external as- 
 sent. 
 
 Meantime, the Jesuit Fathers continued at Court 
 as confessors to the king and his family; but Pom- 
 bal, seeing that his artifices were likely to be una- 
 vailing as long as the monarch could be approached 
 by the Religious, had all the members of the So- 
 
>1 
 
 98 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ciety attendant on Court banished from the palace, 
 on the plea of conspiring against the State. At 
 the same time, he removed from their offices all 
 the secular officers opposed to his plans; handed 
 over the universities to Protestants, Jansenists 
 and infidel teachers, and isolated the king from all 
 but those of his part}^. 
 
 While these iniquitous proceedings were being 
 enacted at Lisbon, the philosophers and free-think- 
 ers of France were working for a like end at the 
 Court of Louis XV. Among other things, the de- 
 struction of the Parliament, in 1753, was charged 
 to the Jesuits, though, in reality, they had nothing 
 to do with it. They were also accused of influ- 
 encing the queen and the dauphin, of ruling the 
 Archbishop of Paris and the Bishop of Mirepoix; 
 but the chief accusation brought by their enemies, 
 was that they had procured an assassin to take the 
 life of the monarch. The only proof that could 
 be advanced in support of this terrible charge 
 was that the man Damisus, who attempted the 
 king's life, had been formerly in the service of the 
 Fathers. But as the same man had been also in 
 the service of several members of Parliament, the 
 conclusion would have been equally logical had 
 they too been accused of the crime. It was not 
 necessary, however, that such a deduction should be 
 drawn; the Fathers had to be criminated and no- 
 body else. 
 
 Pombal, finding that his calumnies against the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 399 
 
 Society were not as satisfactory in their results as 
 he desired, essayed to make use of the powers of 
 the Church. With this view, on the ground that 
 some of the members were applying themselves in 
 the Brazils to commercial pursuits, contrary to the 
 canons of the Church, he applied to Benedict XI V. 
 for a reformation of the Society. The object of 
 this new mode of proceeding was to obtain grounds 
 for criminating the body ; for, by a commission 
 of inquiry to be carried 'on under the eyes 
 of the minister, the complicity of the members 
 was certain to be established, and thus a pretext 
 would be had for banishing all from the country. 
 The sovereign Pontiff, being then in delicate 
 health, allowed himself to be persuaded, at the 
 earnest solicitations of the enemies of the Society, 
 to grant the solicited brief. It was addressed to 
 the Cardinal Saldanha, who was named visitor of 
 the Houses in Portugal, and charged with its ex- 
 ecution. Fearing, shortly after, lest the inquiry 
 might be used for a sinister motive, and turned to 
 the injury of the Society, the enfeebled Pontiff ad- 
 dressed another brief to the same Cardinal, mod- 
 ifying the powers granted in the first. In the sec- 
 ond the Inquisitor was commanded not to proceed 
 farther than a private inquiry, to form no definite 
 conclusion, but to make a coscientious report to 
 the Pontiff himself, to whom the right of a final 
 decision was reserved. These positive instructions, 
 in a great measure, annulled the preceding, and 
 
400 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 would, if attended to, have entirely defeated the 
 scheme. Pombal, therefore, to obviate the em- 
 barrassment, determined upon regarding the sec- 
 ond instructions, or brief, as the hallucinations of a 
 dying man! There was, however, another diffi- 
 culty now in the way. Benedict XIV. died on the 
 3d of May, 1758, and the brief, authorizing an ex- 
 amination into the religious houses of the Jesuits, 
 was not yet forwarded to the Brazils — a circum- 
 stance which rendered its execution invalid in that 
 quarter. For, by the canons of the Church, all 
 briefs not executed prior to the death of the Pope 
 are by the fact of no force in those parts where 
 they had not been previously executed. But as 
 the Brazils were exactly that part of the kingdom 
 where a pretext was expected to be found for in- 
 criminating the Fathers, the minister disregarded 
 the Cardinal's scruples, if ever he had any, and 
 had a decree of the Council drawn up, ordering 
 the publication and execution of the document as 
 well in Brazil as in Portugal. It is true that even 
 there no species of commerce, properly so called, 
 was carried on by the Religious. There was, in- 
 deed, an exchange, for the necessary commodities 
 required by the missionaries; but for this, permis- 
 sion had been obtained from the king and the sov- 
 ereign Pontiff. The pretext, however, was suffi- 
 cient, and, accordingly, a mandatory letter was is- 
 sued by the Cardinal, declaring that the mission- 
 aries were violating the laws of the Church, and 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 401 
 
 engaging in commercial pursuits. Later on, on the 
 7th of June of the same year (1758), they were 
 interdicted by the Patriarch of Lisbon, in the 
 whole of his diocese. Everything now seemed to 
 declare against the Society; the tide of success, 
 however, once more turned in their favor. One 
 month after their interdict, Cardinal Bezzonico was 
 raised to the Popedom, under the title of Clement 
 XIII. The new Pope was strongly in favor of the 
 Society, and determined at all hazards, to defend 
 it against the wiles of its enemies; which, when 
 Pombal came to perceive, he sought other and 
 more effectual means for effecting his purpose. 
 
 On the third of September, Joseph I., while re- 
 turning from an entertainment, given by one of 
 the principal noblemen of the kingdom — the mar- 
 quis of Tavora — was fired at and slightly wound- 
 ed, it is said, in the shoulder. The plot, which 
 originated with Pombal, was made to serve a 
 double purpose. The marquis, having refused his 
 daughter in marriage to the minister, the latter 
 was determined to be revenged on him; and this 
 was the manner he sought to accomplish his pur- 
 pose. Ten days lateiythe marquis and his entire 
 family, with the exception of the daughter, were 
 brought to the scaffold ; and this because that vir- 
 tuous nobleman refused to enter into a married al- 
 liance with the iniquitous Pombal. The next pur- 
 pose the attack upon the king's life was made to 
 
 subserve, was the ruin of the Jesuits. As they 
 26 
 
402 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 were friendly with the Tavoras, they were de- 
 clared to be accomplices in the act. Their banish- 
 ment was, consequently, a matter of certainty, and 
 expected at any moment; but, in order to create 
 still greater odium against them, and thus, appar- 
 ently, exculpate himself in the step he was going 
 to take, the minister had the unheard of audacity 
 to publish over the signature of several of the Fathers 
 a most satirical and libellous charge against the king. 
 This outrageous and unparalleled proceed- 
 ing so alarmed the Episcopacy, that they appealed 
 to the sovereign Pontiff to interpose his authority 
 and save the Society and religion from such terri- 
 ble outrages. The time, however, was too late. 
 Pombal had gone too far to retrace his steps ; and 
 then, under the plea of reforming the Society and 
 providing for its interests, he caused fifteen hun- 
 dred Jesuits to be arrested and cast into dungeons, 
 confiscating, at the same time, all the property of 
 which they were owners ! 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 403 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 POMBAL ATTEMPTS TO USE THE POPE FOB HIS OWN PUBPOSES. — He FORGES 
 
 a Bkief in the name of his Holiness. — Banishes the Fathees 
 feom the countey. — drives them feom all the dependencies. 
 
 — Sends most of them to Italy. — Father Malagrida burned at 
 the Stake. — Conspiracy of the Free-thinkers for the destruc- 
 tion of the Society. — Peoceedings of the French Parliament. 
 
 — Effoets of the Feench Cleegy in behalf of the Religious. — 
 Depeived of all theie possessions by the High Court of Paris. — 
 Opinions of Protestants on this. — The King refuses to sign an 
 edict for their banishment. — Clement XIII. in their favor. — 
 Antipathy to the Society in Spain. — False charges against it. 
 
 — Their expulsion from the Spanish Dominions. — Depaetuee 
 feom califoenia. 
 
 Although the suppression of the Society of St. 
 Ignatius of Loyola, in the kingdom of Portugal, 
 forms no part of Calif ornian history, yet, as it 
 bears indirectly on our subject, having led to the 
 subsequent banishment of the Fathers from these 
 parts by the King of Spain, it has been deemed 
 proper to place the more prominent features there- 
 of before the mind of the reader. 
 
 After the accomplishment of the atrocious pro- 
 ceedings narrated in the closing paragraph of the 
 preceding chapter, the unscrupulous minister of 
 Joseph I., as if to exhaust his effrontery, wrote to 
 the sovereign Pontiff, acquainting him with the 
 measures he had taken, and requesting an ap- 
 proval of his acts. Audacity could hardly go 
 further. It was attempting to make the Vicar of 
 
404 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Christ an accomplice in a most ignoble and ini- 
 quitous proceeding. Yet even this was not the 
 entire of his daring. 
 
 Finding that the solicited brief of approval was 
 not likely to be granted, Pombal wrote to his am- 
 bassador at Rome, ordering him to draw up, in the 
 name of the Pontiff, a document such as he de- 
 sired, and to have it immediately forwarded to Lis- 
 bon. The minister was equal to the occasion, and 
 in compliance with his master's desires, framed the 
 solicited brief, in which he made Clement ap- 
 prove of all his master's proceedings, pointing out 
 at the same time the disposition that was to be 
 made of the confiscated property. This shame- 
 ful proceeding succeeded for the moment and 
 strengthened for the time the hands of the minister. 
 Meanwhile the true document having arrived, the 
 treachery was discovered, and the author of the for- 
 gery covered with infamy. But what cared so profli- 
 gate and reckless a man for the anger and indig- 
 nation of the people ? He had only one object in 
 new, and that he was determined on effecting at 
 every hazard and under every circumstance. To 
 make the Pope a partner in his crime he had re- 
 lied in the first instance upon cunning and fraud, 
 but finding these unavailing he resorted to threats 
 and to violence, declaring he would estrange the 
 entire country from the Catholic religion unless the 
 sovereign Pontiff approved of his acts. Defeated 
 even in this he finally resolved upon clearing his 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 405 
 
 prisons, and shipping all the incarcerated Religious 
 to Rome, hoping thereby at least to torment and 
 embarrass his Holiness. Accordingly on the first 
 September, 1759, in accordance with the orders of 
 Pombal, the first batch of the Fathers, consisting 
 of one hundred and thirty-three members, was 
 shipped for Civita Yecchia. They were crowded 
 on board a miserable merchantman, entirely un- 
 equal to the accommodation of so many, and al- 
 most utterly destitute of the most necessary pro- 
 visions. Their only earthly possessions were their 
 breviaries and their crucifixes. 
 
 It may here occur to the reader to inquire if the 
 cruelty and injustice of the minister were shared 
 in by the people at large. By no means. The 
 people were strongly attached to the Fathers. A 
 single word and Pombal would have been hurled 
 into the Tagus, but that word the Fathers never 
 would utter. Nay, they did everything in their 
 power to appease the anger of the people, using 
 their entire influence to induce them to submit to 
 authority. 
 
 The same proceedings which were adopted in 
 Portugal against the Religious were also enacted 
 in the dependencies against the same body, with 
 equal, if not greater severity. In the east and the 
 west, wherever Portuguese missions were estab- 
 lished, the Fathers were seized, hurried on board 
 miserable vessels and forwarded to Lisbon. On 
 arriving in the Tagus, those who were natives, 
 
406 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 were immediately ordered to Italy, while the for- 
 eigners were cast into prisons. This was an artful 
 and politic move of the minister, lest the friends 
 of the former, incited by their sufferings, might 
 rise in their favor. 
 
 The reception they met with in Italy was most 
 consoling to their feelings, and calculated to as- 
 suage the bitterness of their sufferings. The secular 
 and regular clerg}^ with the nobility and people^ 
 vied with each other in showing them every mark 
 of respect, and in providing for their necessary 
 wants. At Civita Yecchia the Dominicans had a 
 monument erected in commemoration of their 
 trials, while the sovereign Pontiff received them 
 with a tenderness and affection worthy of a Father 
 for his suffering children. In this the implacable 
 minister of Portugal could not help being able to 
 see the true light in which his execrable conduct 
 was regarded by others. But even that was in- 
 sufficient to arrest him in his headlong career. 
 Hitherto he had only been gulilty of cruelty, bar- 
 barity and injustice to the Fathers, but now he 
 was going to add a more horrible crime to his list 
 of enormities. Amongst the Religious who were 
 then imprisoned at the capital was a venerable 
 missionary — Father Gabriel de Malagricla, an Ital- 
 ian, who had spent a great part of his life in the 
 Brazils. He had grown gray in service of religion, 
 and was sixty-nine years of age at the time of his 
 arrest. On the plea of having written some ob- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 407 
 
 jectionable works upon prophecy and vision, the 
 venerable man was arraigned before the Inquis- 
 itorial Assembly, and though the writings in which 
 he was said to have erred were never produced, 
 the minister's word being taken instead, Father 
 Malagrida was convicted of blasphemy and heresy, 
 and condemned to be burnt alive — a fate which 
 he courageously met on the 21st of September, 
 1761 ! 
 
 Even the greatest enemy of religion was shock- 
 ed at this act. " Thus," says Voltaire, " was the 
 extreme of absurdity added to the extreme of 
 horror." To thoroughly understand the nature of 
 the hostility directed against the Society of the 
 Jesuits at this time, it is necessary to remember 
 the character of the age. No other period of 
 modern times presents such a lamentable example 
 in the history of Catholic Europe. 
 
 Nations which had hitherto remained firm in 
 their profession of Catholic truth, were now seri- 
 ously disturbed by the false philosphical systems 
 of the time. The character assumed by the new 
 opponents of religion was different from that of 
 the immediately preceding century. Disbelieving 
 every form of Christian faith, the new instructors 
 of the human mind looked upon all religion as a 
 mere human invention, and, by a process of rea- 
 soning peculiar to themselves, essayed to establish 
 the doctrine of reason instead of the religion of 
 Christ. In France, which was the focus of the 
 
408 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 movement, the party was represented by Voltaire, 
 Rousseau, Volney, Bayle and others. The well- 
 known motto of the chief was the terrible ex- 
 pression: " Ecraser Y infame." — u To crush the 
 infamous one," by which he understood the relig- 
 ion of the Redeemer. To this end, we are as- 
 sured he vowed his whole life and his entire 
 talents; yet the hour at last came when that im- 
 pious man despairingly solicited the aid of that 
 religion which he had so horribly outraged. 
 
 The constant and leading assertion of the scep- 
 tical Bayle was, that society could never be pros- 
 perous or properly organized till deprived of every 
 religious idea. Of Damilaville, Voltaire himself 
 said, in the bitterest irony, that though he did not 
 deny the existence of God, yet he hated the Al- 
 mighty. Rousseau, Volney and D up iris employed 
 themselves in discrediting the miracles of the 
 gospel, and the existence of scriptural personages 
 Diderot taught atheism; and Holbach, Condillac 
 and Helvetius, materialism. The works in which 
 this band of iniquitous men embodied their 
 thoughts, and sought to perpetuate their errone- 
 ous philosophy, was the memorable Encyclopedia 
 — a work which an eminent Catholic writer has 
 termed "a real tower of Babel, reared by the 
 genius of hell against God and His Christ." In 
 that horrible serial, Nature was made to take the 
 place of the Almighty, religion was declared to be 
 an invention of man, human nature lowered to the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 409 
 
 standard of the brute, and the existence of the 
 future regarded as a myth. 
 
 The accomplices of these irreligious minds were 
 the parliaments and the ministers of the Catholic 
 powers. Pombal, in Portugal, d'Aranda, in Spain, 
 Tanucci, at Naples, and Choiseul, in France, were 
 all on their side. The object of the leaders of the 
 party being the entire destruction of religion, it is 
 not to be wondered that their hatred was directed 
 in the first instance against the glorious Society of 
 the Jesuits, then numbering twenty-two thousand 
 learned, zealous, devoted champions of Catholic 
 truth. The destruction of the Society, they falsely 
 imagined, would involve the destruction of reli- 
 gion, never remembering that the church of the 
 Redeemer was not founded on any body of men, 
 but established on the immovable Rock of Ages. 
 
 In this project of the philosophers and free- 
 thinkers, the reader has before his mind the ver- 
 itable causes which led to the persecution and 
 hatred of the Jesuit body at that time. And so 
 much has been deemed necessary to be said in ex- 
 planation of the fact, for it is to be feared there 
 are many even among- Catholics, who, because the 
 Fathers were banished by Catholic powers, incline 
 to the belief that they must necessarily have been 
 guilty of some serious social or political crime, 
 though the entire history of the time contains not 
 not a single established instance thereof. 
 
 The course which Pombal was pursuing in Por- 
 
410 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 tugal, Choiseul, prime-minister of Louis XV., was 
 following in France. By means of the philoso- 
 phical party, on the first April, 1762, all the 
 Jesuit colleges within the jurisdiction of the me- 
 tropolitan parliament were ordered to be closed. 
 At the same time the country was inundated by 
 their enemies with innumerable pamphlets, in 
 which the Fathers were accused of almost every 
 imaginable crime. Sacrilege, blasphemy, magic, 
 idolatry, heresy, and schism were freely laid to their 
 charge. In fact, they were declared to be any- 
 thing or everything but members of the Catholic 
 church, and this with the view of prejudicing the 
 minds of the people against them. 
 
 The clergy, on the other hand, did what they 
 could to save the Society. In a convention held 
 at the time, they drew up a memorial, rebutting 
 the calumnies, and imploring the protection of the 
 king. The concluding paragraph of the prayer 
 was as follows: "Religion commends to your 
 guard its defenders; the church, its ministers; 
 Christian souls, their spiritual directors; a vast 
 portion of your subjects, the revered masters who 
 have imparted to them their education ; the youth 
 of your empire, those who are to model their 
 minds and direct their hearts. Do not, Sire, we 
 implore you, refuse to accede to the expressed 
 wishes of so many. Do not allow that in your 
 kingdom, contrary to the dictates of justice, against 
 the rules of the church and in opposition to the 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 411 
 
 civil law, an entire Society should be destroyed 
 without cause. The interest of your authority itself 
 demands this at your hands, and we profess to be 
 as jealous of your majesty's rights as we are of our 
 own." 
 
 The } r ear previous, all the cardinals, archbish- 
 ops and bishops of France, with the exception of 
 the Jansenist prelate, Fitz James, had declared in 
 favor of the Society. 
 
 There can be very little doubt that the monarch 
 would have done justice to the Fathers it left to 
 himself; but, like his brother of Portugal, he was 
 ruled by a party, of which the minister was leader. 
 The only result from the petition of the clergy, 
 was an order to the provincial assemblies to inves- 
 tigate into and decide upon the constitutions of the 
 Society. This was exactly what the enemies of 
 religion demanded ; in it they saw the complete 
 triumph of their cause. It mattered not that the 
 institute had been approved of by the Church in 
 general council and by several Popes; the depu- 
 ties of the various departments were sure to ar- 
 rive at a different resolve. Such, in reality, was 
 the case. With the ^exception of the courts of 
 Flanders, Artois, Alsace, Besancon and Lorraine, 
 who refused to admit that the Jesuits were the en- 
 emies of religion and the State, all the other pro- 
 vincial assemblies voted against the Society, called 
 for its suppression and the expulsion of the Fa- 
 thers. So far, the powers of darkness had tri- 
 
412 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 umphed. Accordingly, on the 6th of August, 
 1762, the Parliament of Paris decreed that the 
 Jesuit body could be no longer recognized as a re- 
 ligious community; and should, from that moment, 
 cease to be regarded as such. Its members were 
 to return to the world, to lay aside the habit of 
 their institute, to avoid practicing their rules, and 
 to cease all communication with each other as 
 members of the same body. They were further 
 declared incapable of holding any office pending 
 their subscribing a formulary justifying the con- 
 duct of the government. At the same time, they 
 were deprived of all their movable and immovable 
 property; furniture, libraries, presbyteries, church- 
 es, etc. Thus, by an act termed legal, and in the 
 outraged name of justice, did the high Court of 
 Paris deprive four thousand blameless, virtuous 
 Religious of all their worldly possessions, pre- 
 sumptuously arrogating to itself, in like manner, 
 the right of secularizing the same, and dispensing 
 them from their religious obligations to God ! Of 
 this iniquitous proceeding, the Protestant writer, 
 Schall, speaks in the following condemnatory 
 words: "The decree of the parliament is too 
 clearly stamped with passion and injustice to gain the 
 approval of any honest, unprejudiced mind ; the at- 
 tempt to force the Jesuits to condemn the princi- 
 ples of their order, was to pronounce an arbitrary 
 decision upon a fact of history, evidently false, 
 and made up for the occasion. But, in such dis- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 413 
 
 eases of the human mind, as those which affected 
 the generations then on earth, reason is silent, the 
 judgment is clouded by prejudice." 
 
 Of the four thousand Religious then in France, 
 only five had the weakness to subscribe to the oath 
 required by their enemies. That the country 
 might not consider the action of the ministers en- 
 tirely unjust, the magnanimous parliament had the 
 generosity to allow some of the disbanded Relig- 
 ious a franc, and others a franc and a half a day, 
 for their support ! But even this was not always 
 exempt from deduction. 
 
 This atrocious, tyrannical conduct of govern- 
 ment at length awakened the zeal, and called forth 
 the just indignation of the Archbishop of Paris, 
 the venerable Christopher de Beaumont. He, at 
 least, had the courage to deplore the ruin which 
 was being brought upon the Church and society by 
 the expulsion of the Fathers, and the suppression 
 of their colleges. In a pastoral issued to his clergy 
 on the occasion, after refuting the calumnious 
 charges made by the infidels against the Society, 
 he concludes in these words: ''We are convinced 
 that this institute is pious, as the Council of Trent 
 has declared ; that it is venerable, as it was styled 
 by the illustrious Bossuet. We know that the 
 doctrine of the whole body A«s never been corrupted; 
 and we are very far from looking upon the 'Col- 
 lection of Assertions,' as the summary and result 
 of the teaching proper to the Jesuits." 
 
414 HISTORY OF THE . 
 
 This courageous remonstrance on the par\ of 
 the venerable prelate, so far from recalling the 
 guilty to a sense of their duty, only served to 
 urge them to greater extremes. By a vote of the 
 assembly the letter of the Archbishop was ordered 
 to be publicly burned, and the prelate himself 
 peremptorily ordered to appear before the bar of 
 the house to account for his conduct. Ashamed 
 of this utter forgetfulness of what was due to re- 
 ligious authority, and fearing the consequences 
 likely to result from the action of parliament, the 
 weak-minded, dissolute monarch adopted the very 
 questionable course of exiling the Archbishop in 
 order to shield him against the wrath of his min- 
 isters; while the latter, not to be entirely frustrated 
 in their purpose, offered a further indignity to the 
 Fathers by requiring them, under immediate pen- 
 alty of banishment, to make a formal renunciation 
 of the institute to which they belonged. It is un- 
 necessary to say that the whole of the Fathers 
 rejected with promptness and virtuous indigna- 
 tion the unholy alternative, and stood ready to a 
 man to retire from the kingdom rather than form- 
 ally renounce their beloved Society. The coun- 
 try, however, was saved from this utter humilia- 
 tion and disgrace by the refusal of the monarch to 
 sign the decree of expulsion, inasmuch as it con- 
 tained the objectionable words forever and irrevoca- 
 Uy. 
 
 "The edict of expulsion," wrote the King to his 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 415 
 
 minister, "is too severe in the expressions, forever 
 and irrevocably. Does not experience teach us that 
 the severest edicts have been revoked, no mat- 
 ter how binding or strict may have been their 
 clauses ? 
 
 "I am not cordially in favor of the Jesuits, but 
 they have been always detested by every heresy; 
 hence their success. I will not say more. If, for 
 the peace of my kingdom I banish them, I would 
 not have it believed that I entirely approve all 
 that the parliament has said and done against 
 them. 
 
 "In yielding to the judgment of others for the 
 peace of my kingdom, it is necessary that the 
 modification I suggest should be made, otherwise 
 I will do nothing. I must conclude, or I shall say 
 too much." 
 
 From this it is not difficult to see how different 
 were the sentiments] of the king and the parlia- 
 ment; the one was willing to sacrifice them in 
 part, the other would be satisfied with nothing 
 but their perpetual and irrevocable banishment. 
 In fine, a compromise was ultimately effected by 
 which it was agreed that the Fathers might remain 
 in the kingdom, but on condition of their report- 
 ing themselves semi-annually to the local authori- 
 ties, thereby placing themselves, as an able Cath- 
 olic writer has aptly expressed it, in the category 
 of " ticket-of-leave men." 
 
 While these shameful proceedings were being 
 
416 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 enacted against the Society in France, the sov- 
 ereign Pontiff, Clement XIII., frequently wrote to 
 the king, exhorting him to do justice to the 
 Fathers and prevent the triumph of iniquity, but 
 the unhappy monarch was ruled by his minister, 
 who, in turn, was but the creature or mouthpiece 
 of the popular party. Finally, finding all his ap- 
 peals and remonstrances unheeded, in deference to 
 the entire Catholic Episcopate, he issued the mem- 
 orable Bull Apostolicum, in which he condemned 
 all the proceedings taken against the Society both 
 in Portugal and France. A copy of this document 
 was sent to all the Catholic powers, but such was 
 the perverseness of the time, that it was prohib- 
 ited being published in the kingdoms of France, 
 Portugal and Naples. 
 
 The same spirit that was at work for the destruc- 
 tion of religion in France and Portugal was also 
 quietly showing itself at this time in the kingdom 
 of Spain. As long, however, as Elizabeth Farnese, 
 mother of Charles III., was alive, the philosophical 
 party had no chance in the kingdom of her son. 
 That virtuous, noble-hearted lady would not suffer 
 a Society, approved by one of her relatives, to 
 be handed over to its enemies. But the protec- 
 tion thus accorded to it was only of a temporary 
 character, for in 1763 the Queen mother departed 
 this life, and then the enemies of religion had 
 nothing to fear. Caution, however, had to be ob- 
 served. Charles had a certain sense of religion, and 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 417 
 
 it was only by embittering his mind and prejudic- 
 ing him by calumny against the Society that the 
 conspirators could hope for the entire accomplish- 
 ment of their purpose. To this end a pretext had 
 to be sought, nor had the party very long to delay 
 in finding one entirely suited to their purpose. 
 On the 26th of March, 1766, Madrid became the 
 scene of an open insurrection. The people in great 
 numbers rose against the exorbitant rate of pro- 
 visions, and paraded the streets clamoring for a 
 just tariff and a redress of other popular griev- 
 ances. The king had barely time to escape ; for 
 the insurgents were already at his palace. They 
 had fallen upon the Walloons, or body guard, and 
 massacred them in great numbers. At this crit- 
 ical moment, when the people were about giving 
 themselves up to the wildest excesses, the Jesuits, 
 most beloved by the populace, appeared on the 
 scene; and, by their influence and popularity with 
 the people, succeeded in appeasing the anger of 
 the mob, and in restoring order to the city. The 
 capital, and very probably the kingdom, was thus 
 saved from the horrors of a revolutionary out- 
 burst, and yet, marvelous to consider, this very 
 act, which should have earned for them the 
 undying gratitude of the monarch and the State, 
 was made use of by their enemies for the comple- 
 tion of their ruin. D'Aranda, the prime minister, 
 the friend and confidant of the iniquitous Pombal, 
 
 together with Choiseul, minister of France, per- 
 
 27 
 
418 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 suaded his majesty that as the Fathers had suc- 
 ceeded so effectually in quelling the outbreak, they 
 must needs necessarily be the originators thereof! 
 Another circumstance was laid hold of at the 
 time to further embitter the king's mind against 
 the Society. Juan de Palafox, the Jansenistic 
 Bishop of Angelopolis, was said by his party to 
 have been a most saintly and virtuous man, and 
 to have performed during life several miracles. 
 The king was applied to to seek for his canoniza- 
 tion, but in this he was opposed by the Fathers, 
 who endeavored, but in vain, to enlighten his ma- 
 jesty as to the true motives of the sectaries. This, 
 too, served to estrange the king not a little from 
 the Society. But more was still required to effect 
 its entire ruin. Nothing short of a belief that his 
 crown and his life were in danger conld induce 
 the naturally virtuous and over-confiding monarch 
 to banish the Fathers from his dominions. This 
 the enemies of religion clearly observed, and they 
 determined upon having recourse to that final ex- 
 treme. As in the case of the heir apparent to the 
 Portuguese crown, they persuaded the king that 
 the Fathers were engaged in a project for placing 
 his brother Don Louis on the throne. In support 
 of this assertion, they showed him a document 
 purporting to have come from the Father-General 
 at Borne, in which the illegitimacy of the king was 
 called into account; and measures pointed out for 
 placing the crown on the head of the legitimate 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 419 
 
 heir. ■' The letter," says the Protestant Schall, 
 " was written by order of the Duke of Choiseul 
 by a skillful forger, who succeeded in perfectly 
 imitating the writing of the general; it was di- 
 rected to the rector in Madrid, and mailed at 
 Rome. D'Aranda was on the watch for the mo- 
 ment of its arrival, and held himself in readiness 
 to seize it before it could even be read." The plot 
 was as successful in every way as the authors 
 could have wished. The king, taken entirely by 
 surprise, fell a victim to the treachery of his min- 
 ister. He never for a moment suspected the snare 
 that was laid for his ruin. He believed all that 
 he had heard; and yet, amid the jndignation 
 and grief that struggled in his breast, he hesi- 
 tated to carry out the wishes of his advisers, 
 by banishing the Religious. Persuaded by the 
 leaders of the plot that secrecy was absolutely 
 necessary, in order to avoid the imaginary clanger 
 impending, Charles privately consulted several 
 learned divines, desiring to know if a monarch 
 would be justified in banishing from his dominions 
 a religious community for reasons which he could 
 not make public. The theologians unanimously 
 returned an answer in the negative, but the min- 
 ister and courtiers answered in the affirmative. To 
 the latter the king unhappily deferred ; and then 
 was issued that terrible order by which all the Re- 
 ligious were unmercifully banished from the entire 
 empire of Spain. The instructions which were 
 
420 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 signed by his majesty, and countersigned by 
 d'Aranda, were inclosed under three covers, on the 
 innermost of which were the words : " On pain of 
 death this packet is not to be opened until the 
 evening of the second of April, 1767." Within, 
 the instructions ran as follows: " I invest you with 
 all my authority, and all my royal power, to pro- 
 ceed forthwith to the house of the Jesuits. You 
 will there seize all the Religious, and convey them 
 as prisoners to the port herein indicated within 
 twenty-four hours. They will there be placed on 
 board a vessel, which must be in attendance to re- 
 ceive them. At the time you make the arrests, 
 you will see that all the papers and documents are 
 taken possession of and placed under seal, and that 
 no one be permitted to take away anything but a 
 change of linen and his books of devotion. If, 
 after the embarkation there be found within your 
 department a single Jesuit, he he sick or even dying, 
 your punishment will be death. The King." 
 
 Thus, on the 2d of April, 1767, all the Jesuits 
 throughout the whole of the Spanish dominions, 
 both at home and abroad, in the east and the west, 
 were seized by order of Charles III., and without 
 any hearing or trial, without even knowing the 
 cause of complaint, were thrown into prison, and 
 treated as the veriest criminals. The numbers 
 subjected to this horrible outrage, unparalleled in 
 the annals of history, amounted, in all, to close on 
 six thousand. On the same 2d of April, his ma- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 421 
 
 jesty issued a royal proclamation, or pragmatic 
 sanction, in order to justify himself in the eyes of 
 his subjects, declaring that the motives which urged 
 him to that course were sufficient, but yet should 
 ever remain buried in his royal breast, and that if he 
 did not act with greater severity, it was only ow- 
 ing to clemency. The document also made known 
 to the public, that any one convicted of speaking 
 or writing in favor of the Fathers, would be con- 
 sidered guilty of a capital offence. Even parents 
 were strictly prohibited holding intercourse di- 
 rectly or indirectly with their children of the So- 
 ciety. Tyranny, absurdity and folly could hardly 
 proceed to further extremes. 
 
 In California, the royal instructions were carried 
 out with the same vigor and promptitude as in the 
 other dependencies, with this only difference, that 
 the distance from Spain prevented their being ex- 
 ecuted on the day appointed by the king. Their 
 execution was entrusted to Don Gaspar Portala, 
 who was named governor of the country. He was 
 attended by a body of troops, fifty in number, in 
 order that if necessary, he might be able to for- 
 cibly expel the Religious. The governor and 
 party arrived in the country toward the* e'rfa of No- 
 vember, 1767, and immediately proceeded to ex- 
 ecute the royal commands. Up to this moment 
 the Fathers were entirely unaware of what was 
 about to take place. The}^ had not heard of the 
 proceedings in Europe and Mexico. In compli- 
 
422 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ance with an invitation of the governor, to meet 
 him at Loretto, the Father visitor arrived there 
 on the eve of the Nativity of Our Blessed Re- 
 deemer. On the following day, which should have 
 been one of rejoicing rather than of mourning, 
 he heard from the lips of the governor the con- 
 tents of the fatal decree. It was read for him and 
 his companions, in the presence of the necessary 
 witnesses. From that moment they were no longer 
 their own masters ; they were prisoners in the 
 hands of the civil authorities. If they were not 
 cast into prison, it was merely owing to the kind- 
 ness and humanity of the governor. They were, 
 however, obliged to hand over all charge of their 
 establishments, and to give an account of all their 
 possessions ; while, at the same time, they found 
 themselves prohibited from exercising any public 
 ecclesiastical functions. 
 
 Thereupon the Superior immediately wrote to 
 all the Religious, acquainting them with the un- 
 pleasant instructions of government. It was a 
 part of the governor's order that they were to re- 
 main at their several posts till replaced by the ex- 
 pected Franciscans, then on their way to the coun- 
 try, •Wten they. should repair to Loretto, bringing 
 with them only the most necessary articles. The 
 instructions of the governor also required them 
 to preach to their flocks, exhorting them to obe- 
 dience and submission to the new order of things. 
 Having faithfully executed the orders of their Su- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 423 
 
 perior, the Fathers started for Loretto. The scene 
 witnessed through the country as they parted 
 with their respective congregations, has never been 
 equaled in the history of California. The loss 
 of friends, relatives or parents, could not evoke a 
 greater expression of grief and affection. The re- 
 membrance of all that the Fathers had done for 
 them, the blessings, spiritual and temporal, which 
 they had conferred on them, now came strongly 
 before the minds of the people, and produced the 
 liveliest sentiments of sorrow and gratitude. Oth- 
 ers, indeed, it is true, were coming to replace them, 
 but they were strangers, and unacquainted with 
 the language and manners of the people. At 
 length the fatal moment arrived ; on the same day 
 and about the same hour, all the Religious, except 
 those of Loretto, bid a farewell adieu to their re- 
 spective people. The impression made on the na- 
 tives is best described in the words of one who took 
 part in one of those scenes: "The fatal day is 
 come. All the people surround the altar in silence, 
 to assist at the holy sacrifice for the last time. 
 The mass finished, the Father proceeds to the door 
 to take a last farewell of his desolate children. 
 At that moment all threw themselves upon him, 
 kissing his hands and sobbing aloud, pressing him, 
 at the same time with such fervor, that he was 
 well-nigh being smothered. On the other hand, 
 the pastor gave expression to his grief in an abun- 
 dance of tears, and knew not how to disengage 
 
424 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 himself from the arms of the people." Thus, with 
 hearts full of grief, and eyes streaming with tears, 
 these simple-minded, affectionate people, parted 
 with their Fathers, their guides and support. In 
 other instances, their affection was expressed more 
 convincingly. The pastor of the mission of St. 
 Gertrude, the Rev. Father Retz, being unable to 
 walk or to ride, on account of an accident he had 
 met with a little before, the Christians, in order 
 that he might not be disappointed in joining his 
 brethren, bore him on their shoulders a distance 
 of one hundred and twenty miles to the mission 
 of Loretto. 
 
 Arrived at that place, the Fathers lost no time 
 in taking their departure. They were in all fifteen 
 and a lay-brother, the exact number of those who 
 had died in the country. The 3d of February was 
 fixed for their departure, but the Governor fear- 
 ing the impression that their departure might 
 make on the people, if conducted by day, ordered 
 the embarkation to take place in the night. The 
 precaution, however, was unavailing, for no sooner 
 were they taken out than the whole town was 
 astir. The simple announcement, "The Fathers 
 are going," drew every one that was capable of 
 moving to the spot. In vain would the soldiers 
 endeavor to keep them at a distance. With a 
 common impulse, caused by love and grief, and 
 which brooks neither delay nor hindrance, the en- 
 tire multitude prostrated themselves on the ground 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 425 
 
 before the assembled Religious, some giving expres- 
 sion to their sorrow and affection by kissing their 
 hands and feet, others on their knees imploring 
 pardon for their past offenses; while others, still 
 more ardent in their affection, pressed the Fa- 
 thers tenderly in their arms as they wished them 
 a lasting and parting adieu. This painful spec- 
 tacle at an end, the missionaries addressed their 
 last words to the people. They were short but 
 impressive: ''Adieu, dear Indians, adieu Cali- 
 fornia, adieu land of our adoption, fiat voluntas 
 Dei." Then, amid the tears, the sobs and lament- 
 ations of the multitude, the fifteen Jesuit Fathers, 
 reciting aloud the litany of the Blessed Mother of 
 God, turned their face from the land of their la- 
 bors, banished by orders of a monarch, whose only 
 reason for expelling them from his dominions were 
 the imaginary crimes laid to their charge by the 
 enemies of religion. Thus, on the 3d of February, 
 1768, were lost to California the presence and la- 
 bors of that noble and devoted body of men, who, 
 during the comparatively short period of their 
 missionary career, had converted the whole of 
 Lower California from Cape St. Lucas to the mouth 
 of the Colorado. 
 
426 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 CHAPTEK XX. 
 
 SlJPPEESSION OF THE SOCIETY. No CHAEGES PBOVED AGAINST THEM. 
 
 Peotestant TESTIMONY IN FAVOB OF THE Fathees. — Teue CAUSE 
 
 of the Antipathy of theie Enemies. — Inteigues of theie En- 
 emies. — Election of Clement XIV. — Feedeeick the Geeat's 
 Opinion of the Society. — Peessuee on His Holiness to sttp- 
 peess the Society. — Its Shppeession. — Opinion of the W.oeld 
 on the act. — Reoeganization of the Society. 
 
 Having laid before the reader, in connection with 
 our subject, the measures adopted toward the 
 Jesuits by some of the principal powers of Eu- 
 rope, and their expulsion from Lower California 
 by order of Charles III., it may not be amiss to 
 continue the history of the Society till its final 
 suppression by the sovereign Pontiff, in 1773. 
 The very different judgments that have been passed 
 on this subject, both by the Protestant and Cath- 
 olic world, demand, in the interests of truth, a 
 clear and accurate account of the motives and rea- 
 sons that prompted the act. Judging from the 
 statements of unfavorable writers, or from their 
 own peculiar assumptions, Protestants generally 
 regard the suppression of the body as an act of 
 well-merited chastisement for the secret and po- 
 litical intrigues of which they suppose the mem- 
 bers to have been guilty; while Catholics, on the 
 other hand, from not carefully examining the en- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 427 
 
 tire bearings of the case, and not taking into ac- 
 count the very critical condition of the Church at 
 the time, fail to recognize in the act of suppres- 
 sion aught but the most inexplicable weakness on 
 the part of the Vicar of Christ. That both are 
 laboring under a very grievous mistake, we pro- 
 pose to show: 
 
 In order to form an accurate judgment of the 
 merits of the case, it is necessary to remember the 
 efforts made by the infidels and free-thinkers of 
 the age against the Religious, and the dangers 
 that threatened the Church in case their demands 
 were refused. In a previous chapter we have 
 shown how the courts of Spain, Portugal and 
 France earnestly solicited the suppression of the 
 Society at the behests of the classes to whom we 
 allude, and whose only cause of complaint against 
 the Society was, the great power and influence its 
 members possessed as teachers of religion. That 
 the members of the Society were not guilty of any 
 of the crimes laid to their charge, social, political 
 or other, for which they should be subjected to 
 banishment, is abundantly clear from the fact that 
 in none of the countries where their enemies 
 called loudly for their ruin, and where they had 
 the power in their own hands, were any of the 
 members convicted or even arraigned on a definite 
 charge, with the exception of Lavalette and Mal- 
 agrida, to whose memories the world has long 
 since done the amplest justice. 
 
428 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 It is true the rules and principles of the Society 
 so often approved and commended by the Church 
 and her rulers, were condemned; but condemned 
 only by the infidel parliament of a dissolute mon- 
 arch, the true value of whose censure may be 
 learned from the words of the Protestant Schall, 
 quoted on another occasion: "The "decree of the 
 parliament is too clearly stamped with passion and 
 injustice, to gain the approval of any honest, un- 
 prejudiced mind. 7 ' 
 
 If the assertions set forth in the anonymous 
 pamphlet cast broadcast through the community 
 to excite the people against the Religious were 
 true only in part, how is it that not one of their 
 most inveterate enemies came forward to accuse 
 them in person? How is it, if they were the in- 
 triguers and intermecldlers in the affairs of the 
 State of which they were so unscrupulously 
 charged, that some or other of the governments 
 of whom they were subjects, had none of them 
 judicially arraigned and legally condemned? How 
 is it, that when they had to be exiled and their 
 properties confiscated, the proceedings taken 
 against them were marked by a want of all law, 
 and even in defiance of the first principles of jus- 
 tice ; that when his majesty of Spain drove them 
 unscrupulously from all his possessions, both at 
 home and abroad, he could find no other or bet- 
 ter excuse as a justification of his arbitrary and 
 tyrannical measure, than the unsatisfactory declar- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 429 
 
 ation that he kept the motive enclosed in his 
 breast? How is it, in fine, that neither time, la- 
 bor nor research, has ever been able to show any 
 document, writing or record of any description 
 by which the guilt or complicity of these men 
 could in any manner be reasonably established? 
 The reason is clear; they were innocent — inno- 
 cent of the crimes laid to their charge: the best 
 and most satisfactory evidence of which is the 
 fact that when, without warning, all their religious 
 establishments were entered in Spain and else- 
 where, not a letter or object was found, calculated 
 to compromise in the smallest a single member of 
 the Society. Even Protestant historians have 
 long since began to acknowledge this notable fact. 
 "If we divest ourselves of prejudice," sa}^s Mr. 
 Dunham in his History of Spain, "in weighing the 
 conduct and the character of the Jesuits — still 
 more, if we contrast them with those of their per- 
 secutors, we cannot shut our eyes to the fact, that 
 their lives were generally not merely blameless, 
 but useful; that they were the victims of a system- 
 atic conspiracy, more selfish in its objects, and 
 more atrocious than any. which was ever held up 
 to the execration of mankind. With a refinement 
 of cruelty which we should not have expected 
 from the court of Carlos, they were forbidden 
 even to complain, under the penalty of losing the 
 annual pittance assigned them; nay, the Spaniard 
 who presumed to speak or write in their defence 
 
430 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 was declared guilty of high treason. But these 
 venerable men were resigned to their fate ; so far 
 from uttering one word of complaint, they soothed 
 their irritated flocks, whom they calmly exhorted 
 to obey the civil powers." "I cannot conclude the 
 just encomiums of these men," says an eye-wit- 
 ness to their expulsion from the Philippine 
 Islands, "without observing that in a situation 
 where the extreme attachment of the natives to 
 their pastors might, with little encouragement, 
 have given occasion to all the evils of violence 
 and insurrection — I saw them meet the edict for 
 the abolition of their order with the deference due 
 to the civil authority; but, at the same time, with 
 a strength and firmness of mind truly manly and 
 heroic." 
 
 The true and undoubted cause, then, of the 
 hatred and antipathy entertained toward the So- 
 ciety, at the period of which we are writing, is to 
 be sought for and found in the hatred and antip- 
 athy borne by the philosophers and irreligionists 
 of the day against the entire Catholic Church, and 
 against the Jesuit Fathers in particular, as its best 
 and noblest defenders. In a former chapter we 
 have seen how Clement XIII. nobly defended the 
 Society against their numerous and implacable en- 
 emies, censuring in the strongest and most une- 
 quivocal terms the act of the secular power in at- 
 tempting, as he said, " to usurp the doctrinal 
 teaching which was entrusted only to the pastors 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 431 
 
 of Israel — to the watchful shepherds of the flock." 
 "Imputations and calumnies." continues the 
 Pontiff, "are heaped upon the institute of the reg- 
 ular clergy of the Society of Jesus, a pious insti- 
 tute, useful to the Church, long approved by the 
 Apostolic See, honored by the Roman Pontiffs and 
 the Council of Trent, ivith imperishable praise" etc. 
 Later, on the same sovereign authority, in his Bull 
 Apostolicum, issued, as he said, at the instance of 
 the entire Catholic hierarchy, took occasion to pay 
 a still higher tribute of praise to the Society by 
 formally approving and confirming the institute. 
 When, however, in spite of all his endeavors the 
 enemies of religion had succeeded in suppressing 
 the body and banishing the members from some of 
 the principal countries of Europe, the blow was 
 too great for the venerable man ; he sank under 
 its weight, and died broken-hearted, on the 2d of 
 February, 1769. 
 
 The efforts of the anti-Catholic and infidel party 
 were now renewed on a still larger scale. The 
 moment seemed favorable for the kings and phil- 
 osophers to accomplish their purpose. Now, or 
 never, they were determined to have a Pontiff 
 who, according to the language of the Marquis of 
 d' Anheterre, "would suit the emergency." Every 
 effort was accordingly made to secure the election 
 of a man according to their own heart. The 
 Bourbons were the most active and unscrupulous 
 in their endeavors. The most shameful and repre- 
 
432 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 hensible maneuvers were resorted to by the am- 
 bassadors to secure a favorable election. It was at 
 first proposed to exclude every member of the con- 
 clave known or suspected of being favorable to 
 the Society. Against this the Cardinal de Bernis 
 loudly protested, in a letter to the representative 
 of France: "It is for the honor of the crown that 
 I speak. Never before have they tried to elect a 
 Pope by excluding more than a half of the Sacred 
 College ! This is unprecedented. It is necessary 
 to be reasonable, and not place the sacred college 
 in the predicament of having to separate and to 
 protest against such a proceeding. It is impossi- 
 ble to form a plan of action upon a system so gen- 
 erally exclusive, that it will include only four or 
 five members, some of whom are too young. In a 
 word 3 what can one do who has the choice of 
 grasping at the moon or of rotting in a dungeon." 1 
 Baffled in this, the Catholic powers resorted to 
 other equally unlawful and reprehensible means of 
 accomplishing their purpose. By the first they 
 endeavored to force the sacred assembly into pass- 
 ing a resolution making the suppression of the So- 
 ciety a condition of the validity of election; and, 
 secondly, they resolved upon withholding their ac- 
 knowledgment of the Pontiff elect until he had 
 promised to act in accordance with their views. 
 Both these propositions, it is hardly necessary to 
 
 (1) History of the Society of Jesus : by Daurignac; English Transla- 
 tion by James Clements, vol. 11, p. 169. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 433 
 
 say, were indignantly rejected by the venerable 
 assembly. The members of the conclave had as- 
 sembled in council to obey the dictates of con- 
 science, and not the behests of unscrupulous 
 monarchs. The best and most satisfactory evi- 
 dence that they did not regard the suggestions of 
 the powers in the election of the Pontiff, is the 
 notable fact that, while at that moment religious 
 orders and. societies were much in disfavor at the 
 principal courts, the all but unanimous selection of 
 the conclave fell not only upon the only Religious 
 in the assembly, but upon one who had been rais- 
 ed to the dignity of Cardinal at the suggestion of 
 the Jesuit Body. 1 
 
 The Pope-elect, who took the name of Clement 
 XIV., was crowned on the fourth of June, by 
 Cardinal Alexander Albiani. Then begun, in all 
 earnestness, that terrible contest between the 
 Pontiff and the Catholic princes, which ended 
 only in the suppression of the great Society. The 
 situation of Europe at that time was most danger- 
 ous and alarming. Never before, perhaps, did 
 such ruin threaten the Church in Europe. The 
 anti-Catholic party was dominant in every coun- 
 try; an alarming spirit of hostility to the Holy 
 See had openly manifested itself at all the Cath- 
 olic courts. Schism was openly talked of and pre- 
 
 (1) Lives and Times of the Roman Pontiffs : by Chevalier Artand de 
 Montor; English Translation. Vol. 11, p. 333. History of the Society 
 of Jesus : Daurignac, vol. 11, p. 170. 
 
 28 
 
434 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 meditated by the powers. To avert this terrible 
 danger, to retain the Catholic sovereigns in their 
 faithful allegiance, and yet to do no violence to 
 conscience, was the great question to be solved, 
 and which certainly demanded the exercise of the 
 greatest wisdom and most consummate prudence. 
 From the moment of the Pope's election, there 
 seems to have been a latent suspicion that the 
 Society was doomed. On the sixteenth of June, 
 D'Alembert wrote to Frederick the Great, in the 
 following terms: "It is said that the Jesuits have 
 but little to hope from the Franciscan Ganga- 
 nelli, and that St. Ignatius is likely to be sacrificed 
 to St. Francis of Assisium. It appears to me that 
 the holy Father, Franciscan though he be, would be 
 acting very foolishly thus to disband his regiment 
 of guards, simply out of complaisance to Catholic 
 princes. To me it appears that this treaty resem- 
 bles that of the wolves with the sheep, of which 
 the first condition was that the sheep should give up 
 their dogs; it is well known in what position they 
 after found themselves. Be that as it may, it would 
 be strange Sire, that while their most Christian, 
 most Catholic, most apostolic, and very faithful 
 majesties destroyed the body guard of the Holy 
 See, your most heretical majesty should be the 
 only one to retain them." The object of this let- 
 ter could hardly be mistaken. The latent sarcasm 
 touching the incongruity of his heretical majesty 
 being the only defender of the Society, was to pre- 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 435 
 
 pare the Prussian king for expelling them from his 
 dominions, in case of their condemnation by Rome. 
 Frederick, however, though a Protestant and a free- 
 thinker, refused to be influenced in that fashion. 
 Writing to Voltaire at the time, he declared his in- 
 tention of retaining the Religious : "That good Fran- 
 ciscan of the Vatican leaves me my dear Jesuits, 
 who are persecuted everywhere else. I will preserve 
 the precious seed, so as to be able one day to sup- 
 ply it to such as may desire again to cultivate this 
 rare plant." What he thought of their enemies, 
 he expreses in equally terse and expressive lan- 
 guage. *' If I sought," said he, "to chastise one 
 of my provinces, I would place it under the control 
 of the philosophers /" But Frederick's refusal to 
 join in the league in no way impeded the Catholic 
 princes from pursuing their project. 
 
 Eighteen days after the coronation of the new 
 Pontiff, the ministers of France, Spain and Naples 
 presented a memorial to his Holiness, soliciting 
 the entire and absolute suppression of the society. 
 Impelled by a blind, unaccountable hatred, the 
 enemies of religion seem to have regarded the 
 mere existence of the Fathers, as a religious 
 body, the only veritable obstacle that stood in 
 the way of their happiness. Clement refused to 
 comply with the prayer of the petitioners. Writing 
 to the king of France, he alleges as a reason his in- 
 ability to condemn a society confirmed by a general 
 council, and approved by several of his predecessors. 
 
436 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 "I can neither 1 ' he says, " censure nor abolish an 
 institute which has been commended by nineteen 
 of my predecessors. Still less can I do so, since 
 it has been confirmed by the Council of Trent, 
 for, according to your French maxims, the general 
 council is above the Pope. If it be so desired, I 
 will call together a general council, in which every- 
 thing shall be fully and fairly discussed, for and 
 against." 
 
 The contest was not ended here; happy for the 
 sake of honor and justice it had been. For two years 
 the different powers prosecuted their unholy and 
 iniquitous purpose with a zeal and an energy 
 worthy of a better cause. They would give the 
 Pontiff no peace or rest till they wrested from him 
 the coveted decree. One great Catholic power 
 alone was on the side of the Religious. Maria of 
 Austria would not join in the unholy league; she 
 even exhorted and encouraged the sovereign 
 Pontiff to save the Society, but even she at length 
 gave in her adhesion. The mother's love tri- 
 umphed over the love of religion. Entirely 
 abandoned and unsupported, with nearly all the 
 monarchs of Europe against him, the Pope still 
 held out. In fine, fearing the consequences 
 that a further refusal might lead to, believing that 
 the Society, under the circumstances, could be of 
 no good to religion, and desiring above all to re- 
 store peace and tranquillity to the Church of which 
 he was chief pastor, Clement XIV. drew up and 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 437 
 
 put in force the ever memorable Brief, "Dominus 
 ac Redemptor." 
 
 After recapitulating the reasons which induced 
 him to act, and having cited the instances of many 
 of his predecessors, having abolished several relig- 
 ious societies and orders commended and approved 
 by the Church, such as the Knight Templars, 
 suppressed by Clement V. ; the Humiliati by Pius 
 V. ; the Reformed Conventual Friars and the Or- 
 ders of St. Ambrose and Barnabas by Urban VIII. ; 
 the Regulars of the Poor of the Mother of God of 
 the Pious School, the Order of St. Basil of the 
 Armenians, the Congregation of the Good Jesus 
 by Innocent X., the Orders of St. George of Alga, 
 of the Hieronymites and the Jesuats, founded by 
 St. John Columbini, by Clement IX.; he then 
 proceeds in the Brief. "Led by such considera- 
 tions, and urged by still other reasons supplied to 
 us by the laws of prudence and the excellent rule 
 of the Universal Church, which are deeply en- 
 graven in our heart: walking in the footsteps of 
 our predecessors, and remembering the words of 
 Gregory X., in the General Council of Lataran, as 
 it at present concerns an order included in the 
 number of the mendicant orders, its institutions, 
 and its privileges, we, after mature examination, of 
 our own certain knowledge, and in the plenitude 
 of the apostolic power, suppress and extinguish the 
 said Society. vl Thus fell, on the 21st July, 1773, 
 
 (1) Lives and Times of the Boman Pontiffs, vol. II., p358. 
 
438 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the great Society of Jesus, which for two hundred 
 and thirty-three years occupied such a prominent 
 position in the history of the Catholic world ; its 
 name being intimately connected in almost every 
 country with learning, science and missionary en- 
 terprise. At the moment of its suppression the 
 institute numbered twenty-two thousand five hun- 
 dred and eighty-nine members, of whom eleven 
 thousand two hundred and ninety-three were 
 priests. The labors of the whole were divided be- 
 tween twenty-four professed houses, six hundred 
 and sixty-nine colleges, sixty-one novitiates, three 
 hundred and forty residences, one hundred and 
 seventy-one seminaries, and two hundred and 
 seventy-three missions. 
 
 The manner in which this great, devoted body 
 of 'men submitted to the authority of the Church, 
 destroying their religious existence, is the noblest 
 and most marvelous act of submission recorded in 
 the annals of the Church. By it they demonstra- 
 ted more clearly than any reasoning could have 
 done, the purity, holiness and fervor of the insti- 
 tute. Without a murmur, a reproof or complaint, 
 twenty-two thousand men, at the mere bidding of 
 the Vicar of Christ, put off their religious attire, 
 walked out of their holy retreats, handed over 
 their colleges and seminaries, divested themselves 
 of their churches and oratories, and, by an act of 
 unparalleled, heroic submission, exclaimed, with 
 one common accord, as they witnessed the last 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 439 
 
 moments of the Society: ''Fiat voluntas Dei!" 
 Never has the world been edified by so perfect 
 and heroic an act of obedience — an act which, 
 while it covered the Society with glory, assimilated 
 it most closely to Him whose name was its title, and 
 who, through innocence itself in obedience to the 
 will of his heavenly father, was obedient — even 
 unto the death of the cross. 
 
 Was the suppression of the Society an act dic- 
 tated by prudence? was it wise? was it for the 
 general good and benefit of the world at large ? 
 These are questions which subsequent ages have 
 repeatedly asked, and regarding which there has 
 been such a diversity of opinion even among 
 Catholics. Humanly speaking, one is tempted to 
 regard the act of suppression as one of the great- 
 est misfortunes that could have befallen the Church 
 at the time. It was, as the infidel d'Alembert 
 would have it, disbanding his Holiness' regiment 
 of guards; yea, it was more. It was disbanding 
 the bravest and noblest battalion in the service of 
 the Church. For two hundred years the members 
 of the institute did battle, unhesitatingly and un- 
 waveringly, with the- enemies of religion, success- 
 fully combating, both at home and abroad, the 
 errors and vices of the times. They were — indeed, 
 it could not be denied — among the chief defenders 
 of the doctrines of the Church, and of the rights 
 and prerogatives of the sovereign Pontiff. When 
 Lutheranism first made its appearance in Germany, 
 
440 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 and, under the specious pretext of virtue and a 
 love of divine truth, began to disturb the peace, 
 harmony and tranquillity of the Christian world, 
 among the first and most learned opponents of the 
 novelties of the time (though the Society was but 
 yet in its infancy) were Jesuit Fathers, whose suc- 
 cess in defence of Catholic truth may be judged 
 from the violence and hatred of their opponents, 
 whose fast-fuiling cause urged them to clamor for 
 the death and destruction of the Religious. 
 
 Later on, when the same torrent of error seemed 
 ready to burst over Italy, having already pene- 
 trated into several of its towns, it was the same 
 chivalrous body, in the persons of Fathers Brouet ? 
 Salmeron and Laynez, who, at the call of Paul III., 
 came forward in defence of Catholic truth, and 
 not only opposed an insurmountable barrier to its 
 further advance, but, by the force and brilliancy 
 of their genius, rolled back the tide of deception 
 into the country of its origin. 
 
 When, again, the representatives of the entire 
 Catholic world were assembled in council at Trent, 
 to treat and determine the most important matters 
 of faith, morals and discipline, those who spoke 
 in the name of the sovereign Pontiff, as theolo- 
 gians elect to his Holiness, were members of the 
 illustrious order of St. Ignatius — an honor the 
 more remarkable and appreciable, considering the 
 age of the men and the youth of the Society. 1 
 
 (1) Father Laynez was but thirty-four years of age, and Father Sal- 
 meron only thirty-one. Vide Hist. Society: vol. L, p. 55. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 441 
 
 It is not to be forgotten either, that, even 
 from the beginning, members of the same re- 
 markable society carried the light of the gospel 
 to the most distant parts of the earth — to the 
 east and the west — illumining and enlightening 
 those who " sat in darkness and the shadow 
 of death," leading them forth from the ignorance 
 and error of their ways, and enrolling them as 
 members of the one holy Catholic and Apostolic 
 Church, not merely by thousands, but by tens of 
 thousands, and millions. 1 It was members of the 
 same society, too, that made the Catholic name 
 and the Catholic cause honored and respected at 
 the courts of the Great Mogul and of Kubla Khan, 
 at Delhi and Pekin, while others, with an equally 
 laudable zeal for the interest and advantages of 
 religion, took as their portion, and cherished as 
 their special inheritance, the savage and barbar- 
 ous tribes of North, South and Central America. 
 
 But when, independent of this, we consider the 
 the subject in its larger and more general aspect, 
 and consider the advantages necessarily accruing 
 to the Church from the labors, the zeal and exer- 
 tions of twenty-two thousand holy, zealous, devoted 
 men, many of whom were remarkable as missiona- 
 ries, theologians, philosophers and orators, in 
 whose hands were placed the government and con- 
 trol of much of the secular and sacred learning of 
 the time, and who, at that very moment, seemed 
 
 (1) St. Francis Xavier converted about two millions. 
 
442 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 most necessary to combat and successfully oppose 
 the infidelity and atheism of the hour, we cannot 
 help imagining that the abolition and destruction 
 of such a grand, powerful devoted society, was an 
 injury to the Catholic church. When, on the 
 other hand, we hear the sovereign Pontiff declar- 
 ing, in his capacity as Yicar of Christ and teacher 
 of Catholic truth, that the sacrifice was a necessity 
 demanded by the exigencies of the time; "that 
 the Society could no longer produce the abundant 
 fruits and advantages for which, it was instituted;" 
 that if it existed peace could not come to the 
 Church; then, indeed, the merits of the case as- 
 sume an entirely different aspect in our eyes. To 
 the memory of him whose name is so intimately 
 connected with, the abolition of the institute, it is 
 only just to observe, that the act of suppression 
 was not a rash and arbitrary exercise of sovereign 
 power; not an act unique in its way, without any 
 examples or precedents in the history of the past; 
 not an act, in fine, performed by caprice, without 
 grave consideration and mature deliberation. For 
 four years from the time of his election, Clement 
 XIV. withstood the constant and united solicita- 
 tions and entreaties of some of the most powerful 
 monarchs of Europe, repeatedly declaring his in- 
 ability to censure or abolish a society commended 
 and approved by so many of his predecessors, and 
 confirmed by the voice of the entire Catholic 
 world assembled in general council. And it was 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 443 
 
 only at the end of that period, when finding him- 
 self in direct opposition and antagonism with all 
 the Catholic powers, and fearing the consequences 
 a further refusal might entail on the Church, he 
 drew up and enforced the memorable brief. It is, 
 then, a clear and undeniable historical fact, that 
 the suppression of the Society of St. Ignatius of 
 Loyola, commonly called the Society of Jesus, was 
 not the result or consequence of any error of doc- 
 trine, of any corruption of morals, of any laxity of 
 discipline, of any secret, social or political aim, 
 but as an offering — a sacrifice — made to the cruel 
 and relentless demands of the hour; just as the 
 merchant at sea reluctantly casts into the deep 
 in a moment of peril a portion of his valuable 
 cargo, in order to secure the safety of the remain- 
 der. Such, indeed, is the acknowledgment of 
 Protestant writers themselves. " The Brief of 
 Suppression" says Schall, " condemns neither the 
 doctrine, nor the morals, nor the discipline of the 
 Jesuits." And in equally clear and unmistakable 
 words, Sismondi also says: " Clement XIV. pub- 
 lished the brief by which he abolished that order 
 not in 'punishment of^any fault, but as a political 
 measure, and for the peace of Christendom." 
 
 While then, for the reasons alleged, the Society 
 of the Jesuits must be acquited of every deed and 
 every act that could have merited for it so heavy 
 and grievous a chastisement, and while its sup- 
 pression is to be attributed to its legitimate source 
 
444 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 — the hatred and implacable animosity of the evil- 
 minded men of the time — we must not forget what 
 in justice is due to the memory of him on whom 
 the burden of the odium is made mainly to rest. 
 If, in consequence of a refusal to suppress the So- 
 ciety, only one of the countries of Europe with its 
 millions of inhabitants were torn from the centre of 
 Catholic unity, a thing not entirely improbable, 
 considering the feeling and temper of the Catholic 
 rulers at the time, who would not be ready to de- 
 plore the inaction of the sovereign Pontiff — who 
 would not be ready to say that a greater loss was 
 entailed on the Church. The act of suppression, 
 it must be remembered, was not a violation of in- 
 dividual or corporate right; it did not entrench on 
 the dominion of justice. It was merely an act of 
 administrative, jurisdictional power. The Society 
 was called into existence under the sanction and 
 authority of the Church, and the Church had the 
 power and the right, whenever it seemed fit, to ab- 
 olish the same. The object of its creation at all 
 was to bring peace and harmony to the Christian 
 world — to advance Catholic interests; that object 
 at the time, from the unhappy circumstances of 
 the moment, seemed entirely defeated; yea, the 
 Society seemed to stand in the way of so desirable 
 an end. The limits of its action, too, were great- 
 ly restricted, being banished from and suppressed 
 in the principal Catholic countries. But, apart 
 entirely from such considerations, it seems to us 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA. 445 
 
 that the suppression of the institute was made to 
 serve, in the inscrutable designs of Divine Provi- 
 dence, a still higher and nobler purpose, that of 
 offering to the world an incontrovertible proof of 
 the divinity of the Catholic Church. The phil- 
 osophers and freethinkers of the time had counted 
 upon the destruction of the religion as a conse- 
 quence of the destruction of the Jesuit body. 
 They thought that when the out-works were taken 
 the citadel would necessarily fall ; that when the 
 Church's ablest defenders were removed the 
 Church itself would be presently their victim. 
 They were deceived; the first object of their am- 
 bition was attained; the Society was suppressed, 
 but the Church remained. In vain did they at- 
 tempt to advance any further and to destroy this 
 creation of God. Their shafts of ridicule, calumny 
 and false reasoning fell powerless against the im- 
 penetrable buckler of Catholic truth. More in- 
 vulnerable than the Trojan Achilles, the Catholic 
 Church stood forth unscathed in the midst of her 
 numerous foes, and opening their eyes to this nota- 
 ble fact, the philosophers and infidels of the time 
 must have acknowledged to themselves, if aught 
 of sincerity remained in their hearts, that a Church 
 which could afford to dispense, at a critical mo- 
 ment, with twenty-two thousand of its ablest de- 
 fenders, and yet suffer no loss, must, indeed, be 
 more than the creation of man — must be divine. 
 At the end of the volume will be found an ac- 
 
446- HISTORY OF THE 
 
 count of the sufferings of the Fathers during the 
 loug years of their imprisonment from 1762 to 
 1777 by the authority of the Portuguese crown. 
 They have no parallel but in the sufferings of the 
 primitive Christians under the Pagan Emperors of 
 Rome. 
 
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