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THE
EMBRACING
WHAT I SAW AND HEARD THERE, WITI
SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
BY J. T. FARNHAM, ESQ:
AUTHOR OF " TRAVELS IN THE GREAT WESTERN PRAIRIES," ETC. ET0.
gllastratb.
PHILADELPHIA:
PUBLISHED BY JOHN E. POTTER,
No. 617 SANSOM STREET.
1859.




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by
JOHN E. POTTER,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in
and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.




PREFACE.
CALIFORNIA is my theme. She is now an integral
portion of this great Republic. A mighty population from all parts of the world has congregated on
her shores, and with giant strides she marches on
to power and greatness. Her mineral wealth seems
inexhaustible, vast sums of gold being annually
exported to the Atlantic States and elsewhere.
But a few short years and her condition was
widely different. With but a sparse white population; with a government hardly existing other than
in name, deeds of wrong, of violence, and of blood
were of constant occurrence. Of this interesting
portion of her history comparatively little is known;
and it is of this period that I propose to write. To
what I saw and heard while in the country has
(iii)




iv               P REFACE.
been added authentic information from every known
source.
We may learn much from  the pulseless solitudes-from the desert untrodden by the foot of
living thing-from  the frozen world of mountains,
whose chasms and cliffs never echoed to aught but
the thunder-tempests' girding their frozen peaksfrom old Nature, piled, rocky, bladeless, tonelessif we will allow its lessons of awe to reach the
mind, and impress it with the fresh and holy images
which they were made to inspire.
And now, dear reader, my task is done. Should
you laugh and weep, suffer and rejoice, with the
actors in the wayfarings before you, and send your
fancy in after-times over those rose-clad realms
where they will lead you, and feel the dews of a
pleasant remembrance falling on your life, I shall
receive a full reward for my toil.
Adieu.
THE AUT-HOR.




CON TEN T S.
CHAPTER 1.
The great Pacific —A Storm at Sea —Or Crew and CQmpany -Various Yarn —Old Ocean in a Rage-How w0
turned in,.......................................      5
CHAPTER ITT
Pictures of Woe-The Sack of Bones —Iis Experiences in
Cajifqrnia- the Bhigck CQl  nd Scotch Mate-Land, hp I.
+Various Emotions pro4dlqped-lonolulu and the Professor
Of Psalmody,............................... 22
CHAPTER III.
The First Visitors to the Hawaiian Is!ands-What Civilization and Christianity has done-On the Sea again-Our
Crew and Passengers-A Squall-Land ahead-California
forever!...............,,,..,........ c    37
CHAPTER IV.
Brief Whispers of a Revolution-California  Officials-Famishing in Prison-Isaac Graham and his Men-Alvarado in
Power-Base Treachery..                                  52
CHAPTER V.
What the Prisoners Said-John Warner's Story-The Spectral Fleet —The Hardy American Trappers-The Mock
Trial-The brave Tennesseean in Despair-A  California
Festa,..........................................        70
CHAPTER VI.
Vale of San Carmelo —.A California Lawyer-Long Tom Sassafras-The Coast-El Mission De Santa Barbara-The
Prisoners again —A Friend in Need,,,....,.,,.P   98
CHAPTER VII.
California as it was —The Search for Gold —Wreck and Horrible Sufferings of Cortes' People —The Elxcitement at its
Height-The Star of Cortes wanesp.........,.... 117
(v)




vi                    CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VIII.
Spanish Adventurers again —-Their Fortunes and Misfortunes —Indian Courtesy-A Terrible Disease —Officers all'Sick-A Sovereign Balm and an Affecting Scene,....... 127
CHAPTER IX.
Brilliant Hopes and Small Results-An Intended MassacreA Holy Voyage Commenced-Trouble with the Indians —
The Padres Triumphant-Last Days of Father Kino,...... 149
CHAPTER X.
The Holy Voyagers at their Work-A Famine-The First
Execution in California-What one Musket did-Poison
and Death,....................................  168
CHAPTER XI.
The Padres and the Indians-Hope on, Hope ever-The Good
Father Salva Tierra-His Sufferings and Death-Great
Mourning-Thirty Thousand People in Prayer,............ 189
CHAPTER XII.
The Wealth of Exhaustless Energy-Triumph of the CrossZeal of the Padres —Frightful Tempests and a Water
Spout,......................................'.........  201
CHAPTER XIII.
How Father Napoli Discomfited the Indians-A Band of
Depredators-A Terrible Storm-An Indian Force and a
Victory —A Voyage of Discovery-Another Jonah and an
Enormous Shark,......................... 221
CHAPTER XIV.
Troubles Thicken-The Indians in Revolt-Brutal Murder of
Father Carranco-Infernal Orgies-Another Murder —The
Indians to the Rescue —A  Victory of Love-California
Shrouded in Gloom,................................... 237
CHAPTER XV.
Life and Light again for California-Thieves and a FightIDeath of Father Junipero-What California was-Masterly
Inactivity of Alvarado-Captain Jose Castro, his Intrepid
Ally,............................................. 261
CHAPTER XVI.
War with the United States-Heroism of the AmericansVarious Battles-Conquest-Discovery of Gold —On the
Pacific again-Long Tom finishes his Yarn —Poor~ Graham
and the last of the Prisoners-Home again,............ 299




CHAP1 AR 1.
A Reminiscence-A Spectacle-Oreg( r. —Lrdward and Seaward-The
Great South Sea-Magic Palace-TakL:g in Studding-sails-CavernsStorm in Full Blast-Professor of Ps.mnody-Fur Hunter-A British
Tar-An Author-A Seaboat-A Corkscrew-A Flagon —A Conversation about Life in the Northwest-Its Dogs-Logs-Food-Surface- -
Lords of the North-Frozen Mountains-Moss-Flowers-Potatoes,
Oats and Barley-Indian Wives and Sheep-The Arctic Shore-Suicide
of a Brave Man-A Solo-Eel Pond-Ghost in the Shrouds —Tumult in
Upper and Lower Ocean-Minor Key-War-cry-Special PleadingThe Sea-Wine and Song-To Bed.
IN a work entitled "Travels in the Great Western Prairies,"
&c., to which the following pages are a sequel, I left my
readers off the mouth of Columbia. river, in sight of the
green coast of Oregon. Lower Oregon! A verdant belt of
wild loveliness! —A great park of flowering shrubs, of forest
pines, and clear streams! The old unchanged home of the
Indian; where he has hunted the moose and deer; drawn
the trout from the lake, and danced, sung, loved, and warred away a thousand generations. I cannot desire for myself any remembrances of the Past which shall bring me more
genuine wealth of pleasurable emotions than those which,ame to me from that fourth sunset of December, 1840, when
I was leaning over the bulwarks of the ship Vanccuver,
looking back on Oregon, and seaward over the great Pacific!
A spectacle of true grandeur! The cones of eternal snow
which dot the green heights of the President's range oi
mountains, rose on the dark outline of the distant land, and




6            SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
hung glittering — on the sky, like islands of precious stones;
so.brightly did they shine in the setting sun, and so completely
did the soft clouds around their bases seem to separate them
from the world below I
The shores of Lower Oregon! They rise so boldly from the
sea!  Themselves mountains sparsely clad with lofty pines,
spruce and cedar trees, nodding'over the deep!. And then the ground under water! No flats, no mud banks
there. The cliffs are piled up from the bottom of the ocean
The old Pacific, with his dark depths, lies within one hundred
yards of them! And the surges that run in from  the fury of
the tempests, roll with unbroken force to the towering rocks,
and breaking with all their momentum at once, making the land
ti'iefm'?and send far seaward a mighty chorus'to the shouting storm!
The Pacific! the Great South Sea! It was heaving at our
bows! steadily, wave on wave came and went and following each
other in ceaseless march pressed onward; like the world's hosts
in marshaled files, they hastened past us, as if intent to reach
the solid shores, where some resistance would broach their hidden strength and pour their fury out!
Behold the sea! Its troubled wastes are bending and toppling with a wild, plashing, friendly sound; a deep, blue, uncertain vastness; itself cold and passive; but under the lash of
the tempest, full of terrific life! Our ship stood staunch upon
the palpitating mass, and seemed to love it.
Mizen and mizen-top, main and main-top, fore and fore-topsails, and the lower weather studding-sails were out. The breeze
from the land which had carried us over the bar still held, every
thread of canvass drew, every cord was tight, and as we looked
up: through -the rigging to the sky, the sails, cordage and masts
swayed under the clouds like the roofing of some magic palace
of olden tales.  All hands were on deck; both watches sat about
the windlass; while the second officer and mate looked at tho
horizon over the weather-bow, and pointed out a line of clouds
crowding ominously up the southwestern sky. The captain stood




-  ~
~S'ailing of the Vancouver fro.        6.








TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.                 7
upon the companion-way, looking at the barometer. In a little
time officers and passengers gathered in a knot on the larboard
quarter.
" I ken there's a storm comin' up frae the soo'est," said the
Scotch mate.
"The clouds loom fast, sir, in that quarter," said Mr. Newell, the American second-mate. "I reckon it will be upon us
soon."
Captain Duncan needed no information in regard to the
weather on these shores. He was everywhere an accomplished
seaman. On  the quarter deck-with his quadrant-on the
spars-and at the halyards; but especially in that prophetic
knowledge of the weather, which gives the sons of Neptune their
control over the elements, he had no superiors.
" Take in the studding-sails and make all fast on deck," is
the order, issued with quietness and obeyed with alacrity.
Water casks, long-boat, and caboose are lashed; ropes coiled up
and hung on the: pins in the bulwarks, and the hatches put down
in storm rig. The wind before which we were running abated,
and the horizon along the line of departing light began to lift a
rough undulating edge.
" Take in the mainsail!"  "Go aloft and take a reef in the
maintop!"  " In with the fore-main, and let the trysail run!"
followed each other in haste, as the sailors moved to the cheering music of their songs in the work of preparing the ship to
wrestle with a southwester. Everything being made snug, we
waited its coming.
The rough water which appeared a mere speck when the wind
came upon the circle of vision, had widened till its extreme
points lay over the bows. On it came, widening and elevating
itself more and more! The billows had previously been smooth,
or at least ruffled sufficient only to give their gentle heaving
sides a furzy aspect, while the tops occasionally rose in transparent combs, which immediately crumbled by their own weight,
into foam down their leeward acelivities. But now a stronger
spirit had laid his arm on these ocean coursers. The wind came




8'          ~SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
on, steadily increasing its might from  moment to moment!
At first it tore the tops of the waves into ragged lines, then
rent the whole surface into fragments of every conceivable form,
which rose, appeared and vanished, with the rapidity of thought,
dancing like sprites among the lurid moving caverns of the sea!
A struggling vastness! constantly broken by the flail of the
tempest, and as often reunited, to be cleft still farther by a redoubled blast.
The darkness thickened as the storm  increased; and when
the lanthorn was lighted in the binnacle, and the night-watch
set, the captain and passengers went below to their wipe and
anecdotes.  Our company consisted of four persons.  One was
a singing-master, from Connecticut, Texas, New Orleans, and
St. Louis. He was such an animal as one would wish to find
if he were making up a human menagerie; so positive was he
of step, so lofty in the neck, and dignified in the absurd
blunders wherewith he perpetually corrected the opinions and'
assertions of others.
Another was a Mr. Simpson, a young Scotehman, of respectable family, a clerk in the service, of the Hudson's Bay
Company. This was a fine fellow, twenty-five years of age, full
of energy and good feeling, well-informed on general topics, and
like most other British subjects abroad, troubled with an irrepressible anxiety at the growing power of the States, and an
overwhelming loyalty toward the mother country and its Sovereign skirts. The other personages were the commander, Duncan, and the author.
The Captain was an old British tar, with a heart full of
generosity for his friends, and a fist full of bones.for his eneries.  A glass of cheer with a messmate, and a rope's end
for a disobedient sailor, were with him impromptu productions,
for which he had capacity and judgment; a hearty five foot
nine inch, burly, stout-chested Englishman, whom it was always
pleasant to see and hear.
This little company gathered around the cabin table, and
all s one listened a moment to the beatings of the tempest.




TRAVELS IN  THE CALIFORNIAS.                   9
A stirge —another —;and a thir'd still heavier, beat upon the noble ship, and sent a thrill through every timber.  On they rolled, and dashed, and groaned. But her iron heart only seemed to
gather strength from the conflict, and inspire us with a feeling
of perfect safety.
"A fine sea-boat is the Vancouver, gentlemen," said Captain
Duncan, " she rides the storm like a petrel:" and with this comfortabio assurance we seated ourselves at the table.
I had nearly forgotten Torm, the cabin-boy; a mere mouse of
a lad; who knew the rock of a ship and the turn of a corkscrew
as well as any one; and as he was spry, had a short name,
a quick ear, and bore the keys to the sideboard and some
things elsewhere, all well-bred stomachs would not fail to
blast my quill, if I omitted to write his name and draw his portrait.
Well, Tom was one of those sons of old England, who are
born to the inheritance of' poverty, and a brave heart for the
seas, Like many thousand children of the Fatherland, when
the soil refused him bread, he was apprenticed for the term  of
seven years to seamanship.  And there he was, an English
sailor-boy, submitting to the most rigorous discipline, serving
the first part of his time in learning to keep his cabin in order,
and wait at the table, that when, as he was taught to expect, he
should have a ship of his.own, he might know how to be served
like a gentleman. This part of his apprenticeship he performed
admirably.  And when he shall leave the cork-screw'"aind the
lodker for the quarter-deck, I doubt not he will scream at a
stormi, and utter his commands with sufficient imperiousness to
entitle him to have -a Tomn of his own.
"-Tom,"' said Captain Duncan, 1" bring out a flagon of Jam:aia, anid set on the giasses, lad, This storm, gentlemen, calls
for theer.;  When Neptune labors at this pace,} he loves his
dra:m.  Fill, gentlemen, to absent wives."  This compliment to
the sacred asenmdency of the domestic affections was timely
given,  The storm howled hideously, for our lives, our families




SCEN'E'S IN-THE PACIFIC.
were;far distant over seas and mountains, the heart was. pressed
with sadness: we drank in silence and with swimming eyes.
A pleasant conversation followed this toast, in which each one
of our little band exhibited himself in his own way. The Captain was a hearty old Saxon, who had inherited from a thousand
generations, a love for home, its hearth and blazing evening fire,
its old oaken table, its family arm-chair, and the wife who
presided over that temple of holy affections. In him, therefore,
we had the genuine spirit of those good old times when man
used his physical and mental powers, to build about his heart
the structures of. positive happiness, instead of the artificial semblances of these, which fashion and affectation draw around the
modern home.
Our professor of psalmody was the opposite of this. He had,
when the red blood of youth warmed his heart in the ways of
honest nature, spoken sweet things to a lovely girl, won her
affections, promised marriage, and as his beard grew became a
gentleman; that is, jilted her. He, therefore, was fond of freedom, could not be confined to so plain and quiet a business as
the love of one woman, and the care of a family of children.
"It was quite horrid, indeed it was, for a man who had any
music in his soul; the mere idea was concentratedpicra to his
moral stomach; the thought, bah! that a gentleman could ever
think of being a daddy, and trotting on his paternal knee a semiyearling baby."
Mr. Simpson was from the braes of Scotland. For many
years he had lived an isolated and roving life, among the nows,
morasses, and lakes of the wilderness, which lies west and northwest of Hudson's Bay. He had been taught his catechism at
kirk, and also a proper respect for the ties of the domestic senti.
ments. But the peculiar idea of manliness which grows up in
those winter realms of danger, privation, and loneliness, had
gradually habituated him to speak of these relations as desirable
mainly when the body had expended its energy in striding
mountains, in descending rocky torrents with boats laden




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.                 11
with furs, and in the other bold enterprises of these daring
traders.
From him we obtained a description of some portions of
that vast country oboupied by the Hudson's Bay Company;
and some information on other topics connected with it.
Life in the Company's service was briefly described. Their
traveling is performed in various ways at different seasons of
the year and in different latitudes. In Oregon their journeys
are chiefly made in Mackinaw boats and Indian canoes.
With these they ascend and descend the various streams, bearing their cargoes, and often their boats, from the head-waters
of one to those of another.  In this manner they pass up the
Cowelitz and descend the Chihilis with their furs and other
goods; thus do they reach the head-waters of the northern
fork of the Columbia, pass over the Rocky Mountains, and
run down the rivers and lakes to Canada. Farther north on
the east side of the Rocky Mountain range, they travel much
on foot in summer, and in winter (which is there the greatest
part of the year) on sledges drawn by dogs. Ten or twelve
of these animals are attached to a light sledge, in which the
man sits wrapped in furs and surrounded by meat for his carnivorous steeds and provisions for himself.  Thus rigged, the
train starts on the hard snow crust, and make eighty or one
hundred miles before the dogs tire.  When the time for rest
comes, they are unharnessed, fed, tied to the bushes or shrubs,
and the traveler enveloped in furs, addresses himself to sleep
under the lea of a snow-bank or precipitous rock. When nature is recruited, the train is again harnessed and put on route.
The Aurora Borealis, which flames over the skies of those
latitudes, illuminates the country so well, that the absence
of the sun during the winter months offers no obstacles to
these journeyings. Drawn by dogs over mountain and plain,
under heavens filled with electric crackling light, the traveler
feels that his situation harmonizes well with the sublime
desolation of that wintry zone.  In this manner these ad.




.12.8C E N Xs S I N TI1tE P A C-1 I C..
veniturous men travel frOm the mouth of Mackenzie's' river
to York on Hudson's B ai and to Canada.
Their dwellings are;usually constructed of logs in the
form of our fiontier cabins. They are generally surrounded
by pickets, and in other respects arranged so as to resist any
attack which the neighboring savages may make upon them.
They are usually manned by an officer of the Company and
a few Canadian Frenchmen. In these rude castles, rising
in the midst of the frozen north, live the active and fearless
gentlemen of the Hudson Bay Company. The frosts of the
poles can neither freeze the blood nor the energy of men
who spring from the little Island of Britain. The torrid,
the temperate, and the frozen zones alike hear the language
and acknowledge the power of that wonderful race.
The food of these traders is as rude as theirmode of life. At
most of the Forts they live almost exclusively on the white
and other kinds of fish; no vegetalles of any description are
obtainable; an occasional deer orwoods buffalo or musk ox is
procured; but seldom is their fare changed from the produce
of the lakes and streams. At a few of their stations not even
these can be had; and the company is obliged to supply them
with pemican. This is buffalo meat dried, finely pulverized,.mixed with fat and service berries, and secured in leathern:sacks.  They transport this from latitudes forty-eight and
nine to different places on Mackenzie's river, and other parts
of the extreme north. Wild fowls, geese and ducks afford
another means of subsistence. At York and other posts in
the neighborhood of, lakes, large numbers of these fowl are
taken in the summer season, and salted for winter use. But
with all their painstaking, these gentlemen live but poorly;
on a diet of flesh alone, and that of an indifferent quality.
Hardy men are these lords of the snow. Their realm em
braces one-ninth of the earth. This immense territory Mr.
Simpson Informed us has a great variety of surface.
On the north-eastern portion lie extensive tracts of per
petually frozen mountains, cut by narrow valleys filled with




TRAVELS 11 THE BALIiFORIifAS.             13
fallen cliffs, among which dash and roar numerous rivers
on their way to the frozen sea. Scarcely any timber or
other vegetation grows in these wastes. A lonely evergreen
or a stunted white birch takes root here and there, and during the few weeks of summer, mosses and linchens present a few verdant spots in the damp recesses of the rocks.
But cold winds laden with hail and sleet, howl over the
budding of every green thing! The flowers can scarcely
show their petals and set their seeds, before winter with its
cracking ices and falling snow embraces them!
The section of country which lies about Mackensie's
river, differs from that described, in having dense forests
Okirtlng portions of the valleys, and large plains of moss
md linchen, on which feed the deer, buffalo, musk-ox and
moose. The river itself is, in summer months, navigable
"or batteaux several hundred miles. It is well stored with
trout, salmon, white and other fish. But the winters there
also scarcely end, before they begin again their work of
freezing land, stream, and sea.
The extensive country lying on the head waters of the
streams which run northward into the Frozen Oceans east.
ward into Hudson's Bay, and southward into the Canadian
waters, is composed of swamps, broken at intervals with
piles of boulders and minor mountains, and dotted with
clumps of bushes, plots of hassocks, and fields of wild rice.
The waters of these table-lands form many lakes and lofty
cascades on the way to their several destinations. The
roar of these on the dreadful frozen barrenness around, Mr.
Simpson represented to be awful in the extreme; so wild,
hoarse, and ringing are their echoes.
We are informed that there are considerable tracts of
arable land on the western side of Hudson's Bay, occupied
by several settlements of Scotch: that these people cultivate nothing but potatoes, oats, barley, and some few garden
vegetables; and are altogether in a very undesirable condition. He also informed us of a tract of tillable land,




14           S  E.-N E S IN THE P A O I-,C.
lying some hundreds of miles north-east of Lake Superior, on
which Lord Selkirk had founded a colony; that this settlement
contains about three thousand people composed chiefly of gentlemen and servants, who have retired from the Company;s service with their Indian wives and half-breed children. They
cultivate considerable tracts of land, have cattle and horses,
schools and churches, a Catholic Bishop and a Protestant
preacher of the English Church.  Some years since, a Mr.
McLeod, from this settlement, went to Indiana and purchased,
very large drove of sheep for Its use. But in driving them a
thousand miles over the prairies, their fleeces became so matted
with poisonous burrs, that most of them died before reaching
their place of destination.
Mr. Simpson related a few incidents of an exploring expedition, which the Company had despatched to the northern coast
of America. The unsatisfactory results of those fitted out by
the home government, under Parry, Franklin, Ross, and Back,
which had been partially furnished with men and means by the
Company, led it at length to undertake one alone. To this end
it despatched, in 1838, one of its officers, aceompanied by our
friend Simpson's brother, well furnished with men, instruments,
and provisions, on this hazardous enterprise.  I have since
been informed, that this Mr. Simpson was a man of great
energy and talent-the one indeed on whom the Company relied
for the success of the undertaking. From his brother I learned.
only that the unexplored part of the coast was surveyed, that
the waters of Davis' Strait were found to flow with a strong
current westward, and enter the Pacific through Behring's
Strait; and that Greenland consequently is an island or continent by itself Il The Mr. Simpson of this expedition is now
known to the civilized world to have trodden the ices and
snows, and breathed the frozen air of that horrid shore; and by
so doing to have added these great facts to the catalogue of
human knowledge; and having become deranged in consequence
of his incredible sufferings, to have blown out his own brains




TRAV'ELS  IN THE CALIFOR:NTAS.                15
on the field of his glorious deeds.  Our companion, poor
fellow, was happily ignorant of that sad event, and spoke
of the expedition only as one of great hardship, yet such as he
would have gladly  shared.  His brave kinsman was then
dead!
When Mr. Simpson paused in these interesting narrations,
our professor of psalmody, who had been beating the table with
a tuning-fork, opened a solo upon Texas. He had been in that
country, and was, in his own estimation, as familiar with its
rivers, plains, forests and destiny, as with the paths across his
father's sheep pasture. Galveston was a London in embryo:
Sam Houston had inherited the knee-buckles and shoe-knots of
Washington's patriotism: the whole country was an Eden in
which he had obtained the best sight for a grist-mill and the
finest pond for eels! In short, we were informed in a tone of
self-oonsequence, at least an octave above mi, on any known
scale of conceit, that himself and a brace of fellow blades, on
hearing that the government had offered a bounty of land to
emigrants, went thither, remained long enough to perfect their
title to a share of the public domain, and were then obliged by
pressing business to return to the States and leave others to
fight and die for freedom.
He had a belief that the Californias would make a respectable
abode for man, if it were conquered by a bold arm, a little
music, and made into a Republic by a man, he did not mention
his own name, whose character for bravery, intelligence and
taste for the fine arts, he did not say psalmody, would draw
around him the unemployed intellect and courage of the States.
In conclusion he modestly remarked, that he himself was destined to the Californias, but did not say that he intended to
open there a revolutionary singing-school.
While this conversation was going on, the good old ship was
struggling with the tempest. She headed north-westerly, and
as the storm and swells came from the south-west, she at one
time lay in the trough of the sea, and then, as the wave bore
down upon her, swayed to the leeward a moment, rocked unon




SCENES. IN- THE PACIFIC.
its summit, and as the surge passed on, reeled to the windward
and slid into the trough again. This is the bitterest motion
of a ship at sea, whether he whom it staggers be a "land lubber" or "salt."  The latter finds it difficult to take his watchwalk from the windlass to the fore-stays, and swears that such a
lullaby is as unworthy of the ocean god as it is unseemly for a
decent sailor, to stand, at one instant with one leg clewed up
and the other out, and the next clewed the other way, and be
compelled, at each change, to brace himself back in the
attitude of being frightened to. death by a ghost in the
shrouds.
The landsman, may perhaps feel too much awe to swear at
the great deep, employed in its sublime labors; or if he dare
profane thus the majesty of his Maker's movements, his noble
self is usually the object of so much solicitude as to deny him
any adequate opportunity of doing so. His stomach will demand much of the attention which he would fain bestow upon
other objects; and it will scarcely be refused what it requires.
We sat at the table till eight bells. A delightful chit-chat we had;
such a variety of wisdom, such splendor of reminiscence, such
bolts of. reason rending and laying bare all the mines of thought
were there!
But this and.11 that we had in expectancy that night ended
not in smoke; that would have been land-like; but in a stealthy
withdrawal of our company, one at a time, to pay their tribute
to Padre Neptune.  The singing master struck minor key first;
the fur hunter followed with his war-cry; the Green Mountain
lawyer came to the encounter with a throat full of special pleading; and after a hot mel6e each surrendered, on such terms as
he could procure, all claim to the inborn rights of a quiet
stomach and clean nose; and turned in. The night was passed
by us in the cabin in clinging to our berths.  The seamen
on deck struck the bells, changed the watch, and stood out
like iron men on the tide of that terrible tempestl  Their
thrilling "0 he oe" occasionally cut sharply and cheeringly




TRAVELS IN  THE CALIFORNIAS.                  17
into the hoarse cadences of the storm!  Every other sound
of living thing was buried in the clangor of the elements.
The next morning opened with gloomy grandeur. The clouds
brightened by the first rays of the sun in detached spots only,
appearing and disappearing in rapid succession, intimated that
the whole mass of aserial fluid was fleeing at a fearful pace before
the unabated tempest. As the light increased into full day, the
canopy hung so dark and densely down the heavens, that night
appeared to have retained the half of its dominion. It need not
touch the water as fogs do; but the massive heavy fold left between itself and the surface of the ocean, a space apparently
three hundred yards in depth. That was a sight to wonder at.
I could conceive of nothing in nature so far beyond the
power of words to portray. Does the simile of a boundless
tomb, vaulted with mourning crape, shaken by fierce winds,
half lighted, filled with death-screams, represent it?  I cannot tell: but such an idea rose as I looked out upon the
scene.
Old Ocean, too, was in a glorious mood. I have often seen
the Atlantic lay with his mighty bosom heaving to the sky,
calm and peaceful like a benevolent giant slumbering on a
world of lesser things; or, to use no figure, I had seen it slightly agitated, every particle tremulous under a soft breeze, every
drop sending back the sunshine, or multiplying indefinitely the
stars of a clear June night.'I had seen it when the swells were
torn by a " dry squall," or an hour's "blow," and heard its
icebergs crack and plunge; and seen its fearful waterspouts
marching so near me that I could hear their awful roar!
But I had not seen it raised and rent, in the height of its tumult and power. All this was now before me in the great
Pacific.
At ten o'clock the storm had gained its utmost strength.
The ship was laid to.  The waves were dashing over her
bulwarks. The Captain was standing braced upon the weather
quarter, dressed in a long pea-jacket, stout sea-pants and
boots, an oil-cloth cap covering head and shoulders.  The




-18          SCENES IN  THE PACIFIC.
watch on duty were huddled under the weather bow and lashede
to the stays to prevent being washed overboard. The second
mate stood midship, holding fast to the rigging.  All were
looking at the storm. The ship herself lay like a lost water
bird, rising, falling, buried and mounting again, among the overwhelming waves.
The appearance of the sea!-Who can describe it?  Like
the land, it had its valleys, and mountains, and streams.
But its vales, instead of flowers and grasses, were covered with  wisps of torn water; the mountains instead of
snowy peaks, were billows, crested with combs of light blue
water, tipped with foam, perpetually tumbling down and
forming again, as the floods rushed on, lashing one another.
And the streams were not such as flow through meadows
and  woodlands among creeping flower vines; but swift
eddies, whirling through the heaving caverns of the sea.
Its voice! Its loud bass notes!-What is like it? Not
the voice of the storms which assemble with lightning, thunder
and wind, and pour devastating hail and fire on the upper heights and vales of the Rocky Mountains.  Nor is it
like the deep monitory groan that booms down the Great
Prairie Wilderness at midnight, growing louder as it draws near,
until the accumulated electricity ignites in one awful explosion,
rending the clouds and tearing up the shaken ground! Nor is
it like the voice of Niagara. That great cataract of the earth
has a majestic stave, a bold sound, as it leaps from  the
poised brink to the whirling depths below!  And when
the  ancient  woods, with  all their leafy  canopies  and
ringing crags, stood up around it, and neither the hammer of the smith, nor other din of. cultivated life, cast
its vexing discords among the echoes, the sounds of Niagara
must have resembled this sublime duett of the sea and storm;
but never equalled it!  It was a single note of nature's
lofty hymns.  To the ear of the Indian who stood upon
the shelving rocks and heard it; who saw the floods come
coursing down the rapids, bend upon the brink, and plunge




TI R A'V  LS IN T  E CALIF.O.1IA S.         19
plunge with quickened speed into the vexed caldron, sending
their peals to the rainbowed heaven, they must have borne an
anthem as grand as his wild mind could compass-greater even.
His bow must have dropped, and himself and the unharmed deer
stood together, in mute wonder at Niagara chanting to the shades
and silence of the old American Wilderness!
But the song of the sea! Is it not more than this?  Miles
in depth; hundreds of leagues in breadth; an immensity drop
on drop and mass on mass in motion! The tempest piles up
the surface into lofty ridges, every inch of which emits a peculiar
liquid sound, which, mingling sweetly with each other far and
wide, pulsates through the surrounding air and water! Sweet
and boundless melodies of the seas! We know that the incunmbent air takes up a part of them', while another part goes down
into the still and motionless depths below; the sublime unbroken darkness of the sea! It was unpleasant to feel that the
screaming cordage of our ships and the quarreling of the hull
and the waves, should deprive us of hearing the tones of the
Pacific waters, during the strength of a hurricane, unmarred by
any-other sound. Can. it ever be given man to hear it? It is
the Creator's great choir! Ocean tuned by His own hand, and
swept by the fingers of his tempest!
Our good ship, carrying barely sail enough to make her dbey
the helm, beat from the southeast to the northwest. On the
outward tack we generally made a few miles on our course, a
part of which we lost on the other.- It was vexatious to be
buffetted thus to no purpose; to have our stomachs in a tumult;
our jaws grinding down our teeth instead of eating; but withal
it was very amusing. I had always thought men in a tolerable
state of misery, possessed increased capacities to render them.
selves ridiculous. A number of common-place things proved
this idea to be true. Turning-in was one of these. -This is a
process of going to bed; extraordinary in nothing else than the
novel manner in which it is performed at sea in a gale.
The reader will pardon me. Please step into the cabin of the
Vancouver, and be seated -by the nice little grate, filled with




20           8-CB-N.ES -IN THE P'ACIFIC.
blazing coals from the mines of Paget's Sound.  You will per.
haps amuse one eye with Tam O'Shanter, while with the other
you explore.  The six foot lawyer is gathering toward his berth.
It is the lower one on the larboard side of the cabin. His
countenance, you will observe, is a miniature tempest.  The
ship rolls suddenly, his feet slip from under him, and he slides
under the table, accompanied by a bag of apples, a scuttle of
coal, Tom, the cabin-boy, and a hot poker I Coal, apples, and
the law, strown in indiscriminate confusion I  As one might
expect, the lawyer extricates himself from his difficulty, enters
a," nolle prosequi" against further proceedings in that direction,.nd stretches himself in his berth, without attempting to persuade his wardrobe to take separate lodgings.
The fur-trader seems determined to undress. Accordingly,
when the ship, in her rollings, is nearly right side up, he attempts
to take off his coat; unfortunately, however, when he has thrown
it so far back as to confine his arms, the ship lurches heavily,
and piles him up in.a corner of the cabin I Odds-blood! how
his Scotch under-jaw smites the upper! It appears that wrath
usually fights its battles in that part of mortality to a greater or
less extent.  On this occasion, our friend's teeth seem to have
been ignited and his eyes set blazing by the concussion I As,
however, there is nothing in particular to fight but the sea., and
Xerxes has used up the glory of that -warfare, the fur-dealer
takes to his berth, without further demonstration of himself than
to say that he thinks " the devil's tail is whisking in the storm,'
and that " his oxfoot majesty and the fin-tailed god must be
quarreling stoutly about the naiads."
But the professor of psalmody is not to be prevented by these
failures from unrobing himself for the embraces of Somnus; not
he. "And if the planks of the ship will float me long enough
-it shall be done."  He does not say that he is on his way to the
ccuquest of the Californias; and that he will strip himself of
his blue roundabout, as he will that beautiful country of its illfitting tyranny.  His berth is on the starboard side. The ship
is pitching and dodging like a spent top. How his bravery will




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.                  21
end under such circumstances is a question of no little interest
But that something will soon be done, you perceive becomes
evident; for now as the starboard side lowers on the retreating
wave, he seizes his outer garment with both hands, and with a
whistle and jump that would do credit to a steam-car off the
track, wrenches himself out of it just in time to seize the edge
of his berth as the next surge strikes the ship and throws it suddenly on the other side. His vest comes off with more ease and
less danger.  Boots, too, are drawn without accident.  But the
pants! they are tight I He loosens the buttons; slides them
down; with one hand he holds fast to the berth; pulls off the
left leg with the other, and is about extricating the right foot,
but, alas! that sudden jerk of the ship scatters his half-clad
person, bravery, pants and all, among the trembling trunks,
stools, table-legs, &c., to the manifest detriment of the outer
bark of his limbs I At this moment Mr. Simpson is in the midst
of his favorite passage"Ah Tam, ah Tam, thou'11 get thy fairin',
In hell they'11 roast thee like a herin'"'
The professor of psalmody, after some search, finds himself
again, and with courage unimpeached, lies down in silence.




CHAPTER II.
The next Morning-Eating-Mermaids-Cupid-A Sack of Bones on its
Legs-Love-A Grandsire-She was a Woman-Chickens-A Black
Son o' the De'il-A Crack o' the Claymore-Sublimity-Tropical
Sight-Paternal Star-Cook-A Sense-Edge of the Trades-A Night
-" On Deck"-A Guess-A Look and Doubt-To be Dubfoundered —
A Bird Note-Mouna-Kea-Christmas Eve-Watch-Fires of AngelsBirds-Fish-Homestead-Hawaiians-The Land-Moratai-Mooring
-Landing at Honolulu-A Slice of Bull-Poi-The Death WailHospitality-The Lover and his Destination-The Fur Hunter on the
Back Track-The Professor of Psalmody.
THE next morning the storm was unabated. The furies seemed abroad. It was a cold sleety day. Both the atmosphere
and the ocean looked like maniacs. Not a shred of the visible
world seemed at ease with itself! Commotion, perpetual growls,
screams and groans, came up from the tempestuous deep!
Above were clouds, hurrying as from a falling world I Below
was the ocean shaking!
Eating on this day was attended to in a very slight degree.
When the dinner bell rang we were all on deck, standing in
utter abandonment, to whatever the Fates might have in reserve for us. Not one would have broken a Christmas wishbone with the prettiest girl living, to decide whether we
should go below or be tumbled overboard. Captain Duncan
was a skillful diagnostician in all such cases.  He urged us
below. But the thought of bringing our nasal organs into
the full odor of bilge water, the steam of smoking meat, potatoes, and bean soup, arrested our steps. The good Cap
tain, however, pressed us with renewed kindness, and we
dragged ourselves down to the table.  Ye Mermaids, how
could ye ever learn to eat at sea! How could ye, rocked to




TRAVELS IN'THE  CALIFO RN IAS.                23
sleep in infancy by the billows, educated in the school of the
tempest, learn to hold your heads still enough to comb your
glistening tresses I and much more get food within your pearly
grinders!
Pictures of woe were we, starving, yet loathing food; thirsting, yet unable to drink; wishing for a mote of the stable
world to look upon, yet having nothing but the unstable water
and air; imprisoned on the rolling deck, with no foothold, or
any odor of flower or earth around.  I am reminded here how
interesting to the antiquarian would be the inquiry, whether
or not Cupid was ever at sea in a storm. If he were, he
would have crowned Hogarth's immortality with its richest
wreath, if transferred to canvass, in the act of running from
the dinner-table, throwing his quiver behind him, and tipping his roguish face, bloated with the effort of a retching stomach, over the taffrail.  Poor fellow, it makes one
quiver to think if there ever were a Cupid, and he ever took
passage from the Columbia river to the Hawaiian islands, and
ever did attempt to eat, and while doing so were obliged to
conform to the etiquette of sea sickness, how sadly he must
have suffered, and how unlovely the arrow-god must have
become!
This sea-sickness, however, is a farce of some consequence.
Like the tooth-ache, fever and ague, and other kindred follies
of the body it has its origin in    the faculty will please answer what. But seriously. It is an effort, of our nature to
assimilate its physical condition to the desires of the mind.
Man's natural home as an animal is on land. As an intellectual
being he seeks to pass this bound, and resorting to his capacity
to press the powers of external nature into the service of his
desires, he spikes planks to timbers, commits himself to the
waves, rocks on their crests, habituates head and foot to new
duties, and, girded with the armor of his immortal part, that
wealth of Heaven, goes forth, the image and representative of
his Maker, to see, to know, and to enjoy all things. But a
truce to philosophy. We are on the sea. The elements have




-24          SCE NE S IN TH.E  PA CIFIC.
raved twelve days and are at rest again.  Quiet and variable
breezes from the north push us pleasantly along; appetites return; we shave our chins, comb our hair, and begin once more
to wear the general aspect of men.
On the nineteenth of December our group of characters was
honored by the appearance of a fine honest fellow from  the
steerage.  He had suffered so much from sea-sickness, that he
appeared a mere sack of bones.  He was a native of one of the
Southern States; but the Yankee spirit must have been born in
him: for he had been to the Californias with a chest of carpenter's
tools, in search of wealth! Unfortunate man! He had built
the Commandante-General a house, and never was paid for it;
he had built other houses with like consequences to his purse;
had made many thousands of red cedar shingles for large
prices and no pay; and last and worst of all, had made love,
for two years, to a Spanish brunette, obtained her plighted
faith for marriage, and did not marry her. It was no fault
of his. During the last year of his wooing, a Californian
Cavaliero, that is, a pair of mustachios on horseback, had been
in the habit of eating a social dish of fried beans occasionally
with the father of the girl, and by the way of reciprocating his
hospitality, he advanced the old gentleman to the dignity of a
grandsire.
This want of fidelity in his betrothed wrought sad havoc in
our countryman's affections.  He had looked with confiding
tenderness on her person, returned her smile, and given her one
by one his soul's best emotions. Such affections, when they
go forth and not lost, leave a void to which they never return.
He was alone again without trust, with nothing on earth, or
rather, on the sea, to love but his carpenter's tools. The object
of his regard had disgraced herself and him. To avoid the
scene of his misery, he had invested in horses the little money
he had accumulated; accompanied the Hudson's Bay Trading
Company to Oregon, and having cultivated land a year or two
in the valley of the Willamette, had sold his stock and property,




TtRAYELS IN  THE  C'A'LIFOR NI1AS.             25'
and'shipped for home, with every tooth strung with curses
against the Californian Spaniards.
California itself, not including the bodies or souls of the
people, he thought to be a desirable country. The very atmosphere was so delicious that the people went half-naked to enjoy
it.  Hard to abandon was that air, and the great plains and
mountains covered with horses, black Spanish cattle, and wild
game. The fried beans, too, the mussels of the shores, and the
fleas even, were all objects of pleasure, utility or industry, of
which he entertained a vivid recollection. But that loved one I
she was beautiful, she was kind, alas! too kind. He loved her,
she was wayward; but was still the unworthy keeper of his
heart; still a golden remembrance on the wastes of the pastlovely, but corroded and defiled. His opinion was that she was
a woman!
The weather became sensibly milder each day as we moved
on our course; the water warmer, the fish and fowl more abundant.  The latter presented themselves in considerable variety.
-The white and grey albatross, with their long narrow wings, and
hoarse unmusical cry, cut through the air like uneasy spirits,
searching the surrounding void for a place of rest, and finding
none! Our cook contracted a paternal regard for these birds;
the basis of which was, that whenever he threw overboard the
refuse of the table, they alighted in the wake of the ship, and
ate the potatoe peelings, bits of meat, &c., with a keen appetite.
" Ah," said he of the spit, " it is a pleasure to cook for gentlemen in feathers even, when they eat as if they loved it." But
he was still more partial to Mother Carey's chickens. In a fair
morning these beautiful birds sat on the quiet sea in flocks of
thousands, billing and frollicking in great apparent happiness.
" There's your poultry, gentlemen," cried his curly pate,
peering from  the galley.  "Handsome  flocks these about
the stacks of water; plumper and fatter, I'll warrant ye,
than any that ever squawked from the back of a Yorkshire
Donkey. No need of cramming there to keep life agoin'.




26S E N E S: IN i TO-H:E P:AC I F'I C.
They finds themselves and never dies with pip or dys.
pepsy. "
" Hout wi' yer blaguard pratin', ye black son of the De'il;
and mind ye's no burn the broo' agen. Ye're speerin' at yer
ugly nose, an' ne'er ken the eend o' ye whilk is upward. Ye
sonsie villain; when I'se need o' yer clatter I'se fetch ye wi' a
rope's-end. And now gang in and see yer dinner is fit for
Christian tooths."
This salutation from our Scotch mate, drove in the head of
our poultry man, and we heard no more dissertations on seafowl during the voyage. At dinner the mate congratulated the
company on the excellence of the pea-soup, remarking that it
" smacked muir o' the plaid than usual," because he "had gi'en
the cook a crack o' the claymore on his bagpipe; a keekin, as
he war, at things wi'out when he should ha' been o' stirrin' his
meal."  Trifling incidents like this occasionally broke the
monotony of our weary life. Our latitude and longitude were
taken daily at twelve M., and the report of these and the distance from the islands always gave rise to some prophetic announcements of the day and hour when we should anchor in the
dominions of Kamehameha.  The evenings also furnished a few
diversions and pleasant objects of contemplation. Bathing was
one of the former. After the shadows of night had set in, we
used to present ourselves at the mainstays, and receive as
much of the Ocean as our love of the sublime by the gallon,
or our notions of cleanliness demanded. And when the hooting, leaping, and laughing of the ceremony were silenced,
the cool comfort of the body left the mind in listless
quietude, or to its wanderings among the glories of a tropical
sky.
It was the 24th of December; the mid-winter hour. But
the space over us was as mild and soft a blue as ever covered
a September night in -the States. The stars sent down a delicate sprinkling light on the waters. The air itself presented
some peculiar aspects.  It was more nearly transparent than
any I had ever breathed; and there seemed to be woven into




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS..27.all its thousand eddies a tissue of golden and trembling mist,
streaming down from the depths of heaven! There was a single sad spot on the scene. The north star, so high and brilliant
in the latitude where I had spent my previous years, was
gradually sinking into the haze about the horizon. I had in
very early life looked with greater interest upon that than any
other star. The little house which my deceased father had built
on the shore of a beautiful lake among the green woods of Vermont, stood " north and south" upon the authority of that stax.
And after he'had died at that humble outpost of the settlements, leaving me a boy of nine years, his death-bed, the little
house, and the star which had guided my parent's hand in laying
the foundation on the brow of the deep wilderness, came to be
objects of the tenderest recollection, I was sorry to see it obscured; for it always burned brightly in our woodland home;
and was the only thing which, as years rolled on, remained associated with paternal love.
I remember, too, another class of emotions that gave occupation to my heart in those beautiful nights. We thought and
talked of Cook.  He had ploughed those seas long before
us; had discovered the group of islands to which our voyage
tended; had met a fearful death at the hands of the inhabitants; and some of his bones yet lay, scraped and prepared for
the gods, in the deep caverns of Hawaii! The waters rippling
at our ship's side, had borne him; had rushed in tempests,
and lain in great beauty around him; had greeted the discovery flag of the brave old Fatherland, and heard its cannon boom!  We were sailing under the same flag. It was
not, indeed, the same identical bunting which floated in
1789; but it.was the emblem  of the same social organization, of the same broad intelligence; the insignia of the
same Power, whose military embattlements, grain fields
and homes, gird the Earth!   I was glad to approach
the Hawaiian Islands on the track of Cook, under the old
British flag.
Is there a human sense which derives its nutriment from




l:ctJNES  IN  T-1.S: A  ACIF:O.
Lhe thing. which are gone?  Is'there a:holylflower which
springs up among the withered tendrils of buried beauty? a
strong and vigorous joy, which, like the Aloe, blooms a moment
on the cold midnight of heavy sorrow?  Is there an elevation of
the whole being into a higher condition, when we wander among
the trees, the ruius and the graves of former times? It may
bte so. For surely he who treads the dust of Rome and stands on
tb* ruins of Thebes, has a species of previous existence wrapped
about him. He sees in the one case armies thronging the
Apia-snway, hears the multitude surging in the forum under the
enthbuaiasm  kindled by Cicero, and feels that the eagle of freedom is throwing the pinions of his protection over the energies
of man.
In the other case he hears the voice of the mighty chieftain
summoring has millions of subservient hands.  The hammer and
the chiael, from the beginning to the end of day, send up their
vast din to the passing hours. The mountain columns of Thebes
stand up in the presence of the pyramids I And a subject land
bows in servitude to a great and controlling intellect. We arc
there, and form an integral wave in the sea of vitality that
flowed forty ages ago   We venerate the broken tomb of the
past,  We knock gently at its gate, and fitd our bodies and
minds grow vigorous and happy in those sublime imagini.ngs,
which carry our entire selves back to see and converse with
those men, the mere ruins of whose deeds still astonish mankind!
We retired to rest this evening in unusually fine spirits,
for, with -the aid of the good breeze piping down from the
northwest, we expected sight of land by the next sunset.
Our sleep, however, was not remarkably deep, for I recollect that the wind freshened during the night, as it generally
does in the edge of the trades, and compelled the morningwatch to take in sail The noise occasioned by this movement was construed, by the wakeful ear of our desires, into
a shortening canvass to prevent running on land; and we
turned out to see it. But it was yet beyond view. The




TRAVELS IN THE CALIPORNIAS.             9
night, however, was worth beholding. It was one o'cloc~;
the sky overhead was clear and starry; around the north.
western horizon hung a cluster of swollen clouds, like
Moorish towers, faintly tipped with the dim light. In the
southwest lay another mass, piled in silent grandeur, dark
battlementvlike, as if it were the citadel of the seas! The
waters were in an easy mood. The ship moved through
them evenly, sarve that she cut the long smooth swells more
deeply than the space between them, and occasionally
started from his slumber a porpoise or a whale.
We turned-in again and slept till the breakfast dishes clattered on the table, and Tom informed us that Mr. Newell
supposed he had seen at sunrise the looming of the land in
the southeast! That announcement brought us to our feet;
sleep gave place to the most active efforts at hauling on and
buttoning up the various articles of our wardrobe. "On
deck! on deck! where away the land?" and we tasked
Dur eyes with their utmost effort to scan the nature of the
dark embankment on which the mate had founded his aururies. The excitement at length drew all the passengers
ind officers to the starboard-quarter; each man looked and
-xpressed himself in his own way. To guess, was the
Yankee's part; to look and doubt, was John Bull's pleasure; to wuss it might be true, was the Scotch contribution; and to reckon awhile and commend himself to be
dlumbfound-red if anything could be known about it,; was
the Carolinian carpenter's clincher.  The matter left
standing thus, we obeyed Tom's summons to breakfast.
While engaged in filling our countenances with the realities of life, we were startled with a bird's note from the deck!
It proved to come from one of those winged songsters of the
islands, which often greet the toiling ship far at sea, and with
their sweet voices recall to the soul, weary with the roughs
monotony of an unnatural life, the remembrance and anticipation of the land; the green and beautiful land; where the
glorious light brightens the flowers; where the flowers shed




30         SSCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
their perfume on the air, and the fruits of trees, and shrubs,
and plants, are poured into the lap of the ripened year.
Who does not love the birds? who is not made better
and happier by hearing them sing among the buds and
leaves, when the streams begins to babble, and the mosses
to peer above the retiring snows? when the violet opens,
and meadows and forests change the brown garb of winter
for the green mantle of the young year? No one who
loves nature and can sympathize with it.
But this one-perched in the rigging of the ship in which
we had been imprisoned for weeks-a messenger from the
glens and hills sweetly chanting our welcome to them, was
an object of the tenderest interest. It had the cordial greeting of our hearts; and while talking about it, we could not
forbear reaching our hands towards it, and grieving that we
had no intelligible language wherewith to convey our salutations, and ask the tidings from its beautiful home. The
captain consulted his reckoning, and found that we lay
about one hundred miles northwest-by-north from the island
of Hawaii.
The breeze, instead of decreasing with the ascent of the
sun, as it had done for a number of days past, held on; and
with all the weather studding-sails out, we made about ten
knots during most of the morning. About ten o'clock, Mr.
Newell, who had been watching that embankment of cloud
in the southwest, which had excited our hopes at sunrise,
touched his hat to Captain Duncan and remarked, "That
cloud retains its bearing and shape very much like the looming of land, sir. We must be in sight of some of the islands:
we made ten knots by the log, sir, during my watch."
The Captain had expressed his belief that he could sail his
ship under that cloud without lead line, or copperbottom; and
it was still his opinion that an English commander like himself, an old salt of thirty years' standing, would be as likely
to know the complexion of the land as any gentlem an with less
experienced optics. However, he sent Tom for his glass and




TRAVELS IN THE C'ALIFOR2 AS-            31
peered into it with the keenest search. It was deligl tful,
meantime, to us land-lubbers, to watch the workings of his
face. There was a gleam of triumph creeping over it as he
first brought his glass to bear upon the object. But as the
highest part of the pile came into the field of vision, his
cheeks dropped an instant, then curled into the well-known
lineaments of chagrin, and then into those of rage, as if he
would rather all the land were sunk, than he be found mistaken in a matter so purely professional.
" Damn the land!" he at length exclaimed; " I suppose
it must be Mauna-Kea," and gave the glass to a passenger.
The breeze piped up and we moved on merrily. Merrily
flew the gladdening waters from the prow; steadily as the
masts stood out the canvass on the clear blue sky; and
brightly beamed the warm and mellow day on the sea. The
Scotch mate, who swore by any dozen of things'that his
memory happened to seize, affirmed by his blood and the
whisky that had been buried seven comfortable years at his
auld aunt's homestead, thathe would see the lassies of Honolula before he was a day older; the professor of psalmody
sung, "Here's a health to thee, Tom Moore;" the Hawaiian
Island servantsof the Hudson's Bay Company began to count
their money preparatory to the purchase of poi; the crew
began to tell yarns about "sprees" they had enjoyed in
Chili, New Holland, Liverpool, Vera Cruz, St. Petersburgh
and Montevideo; the six foot bootswain began to whistle;
Tom began to grin; a former cabin-boy began to think of
his mother, whom he expected to meet in the islands; the
visitor bird chirped in the rigging; and all for joy! For
now the lofty peaks of Hawaii loomed above the clouds,
the sea-weed gathered on the prow, and the odor of the
land puffed over us.
At five o'clock the breeze slackened again, and until
nightfall the ship barely moved enough to obey her helm.
Near ten in the evening it freshened, but as we were in the
neighborhood of a lee-shore, the captain thought it prudent




32        09O.rS"NE5, IN T-HE PACIFIC
to keep'good sea-room, and accordingly shortened sail-and
lay off a part of the night.
This was Christmas eve, that nucleus of so much social
and religious joy throughout the Christian world, and a
merry one it was to us. Not so in the ordinary sense of
the trencher and cup, the music, dance, and the embrace of
kindred; nor rendered such by the pealing anthem or the
solemn prayer, swelling up through the lofty arches hung
with boughs of ever-green and the prophetic star of Bethlehem!  But' nature herself seemed worshipping!  The
heavens were unmarred by a single breath of mist, except
what rested upon the heights of Hawaii; and on all its vault
the stars shone, not as brightly as in the frosty skies of the
temperate zones, but with a quiet subdued lustre, as if they
were the watch-fires of angels assembled to celebrate the
earth's great jubilee.
The Pacific, too, lent the scene its most charming condition. Wide and gently curved swells rolled down from the
north, smooth, and noiseless, except when they dashed upon
our noble ship, or were broken by the dolphin coursing
through and dotting them with phosphorescent light! The
sea-birds were hailing each other a merry Christmas. The
grey and mottled albatross, flying from billow to billow,
occasionally clipped the waves with his sword-shaped wings,
and shouted gladly to the elements! The gulls and other
birds sat in countless flocks in every direction, sinking,
rising and chattering on the panting sea?  And schools of
tiny fish with bright golden backs swam by the side of the
ship, as children, after long absence, gather with cherished remembrances around the old homestead on this blessed
night.
At dawn on the 25th one of the islands lay six mile distant in the southeast. The sky was clear; the sea smooth;
the porpoises blowing about us; a right whale was spouting
a hundred rods astern; and our Hawaiians, looking from the
mainstay~ at the land, were uttering their beautiful language




TRAVELS IN T.HE CALIFO'R-$IAS.          33
of vowels witb great volubility. Poi (the name of their
national dish), wyhini (woman), and iri (chief), were the
only words I then understood; and these occurred very
often in their animated dialogues. Poor fellows! they had
been five years absent from their poi; five years separated
from the brown beauties of their native isles; five years
away from their venerated sovereign.  No wonder, therefore, they were charmed with the dim outline of their native
land! A mass of vapor hung along its heights and concealed them from view, save here and there a volcanic spire
which stood out on the sky, overlooking cloud, mountain,
and sea. As the light increased to full day, this cloudy mass
was fringed on the edge nearest us with delicate golden
hues; but underneath it and inward toward the cliffs, the
undisturbed darkness reached far eastward, a line of night
belting the mountains mid-heaven. Downward from this
line to the sea, sloped red mountains of old lava, on which
no vegetable life appeared. On a few little plains near the
beach the cocoa-tree sent up its bare shaft; and as the
clouds broke away we discerned clumps' of rich foliage on
the heights. But generally the aspect was that of a dreary
broken desert.
We sailed past the western cape of Moratai, and laid our
course for the southeastern part of Oahu. At two o'clock
our good old ship lay becalmed under the lofty piles of ex
tinct craters, six miles northeast of Honolulu. At four the
breeze freshened, and bore us down abreast of the town.
Soon after a boat came rapidly from the shore with a pilot
on board by the name of Reynolds; a generous, jolly old
American gentleman, of long residence in the islands. He
greeted his countrymen with great kindness, and having
brought the ship to anchor outside the reef, invited us to
go ashore in his boat. It was manned with islanders. They
rowed to the entrance of the channel, rested on their
oars while the angry swells lifted us at one instant on the
summit of the waters and at another dropped us into the




a34         SCENE:S IN THE PACIFIC.
chasm between them, till the third and largest came, whe'&)
by a quick and energetic movement, they threw the boat
upon the land side of it, and shot us into the harbor with
the rapidity of the wind! We passed the American whalers
which crowded the anchorage; ran under the guns of the
fort; struck the landing at the pier; leaped ashore among
crowds of natives, besprinkled with an occasional European face: followed an overgrown son of John Bull to
another man's house, took a glass of wine, and scattered
ourselves in various quarters for the night.
Thus terminated our voyage from the Columbia river to
the Kingdom of Hawaii. The distance between Oregon
and these islands is about three thousand miles. We had
sailed it in twenty-one days.
The next morning the Vancouver entered the harbor with
the land-breeze, and anchored near the pier. The" "steerage" and the Hawaiians now came on shore. The former
settled his hat over his eyes and sought a barber's shop;
the latter repaired to the town with their friends. I followed them. Whenever they met an old acquaintance
they immediately embraced him, and pressed noses together
at the sides. After many salutations of this kind they arrived at the market-place; made a purchase of poi ( a fermented paste of boiled taro), and seated themselves with
their friends around it.. The poi was contained in large
calabashes or gourdshells. With these in the midst they
began to eat and recall the incidents of pleasure which
had sweetened their early years.
Their mode of conveying the poi to their mouths was
quite primitive. The fore and middle fingers served instead of a spoon. These they inserted to the depth of the
knuckles. and having raised as much as would lie upon
them, and by a very dexterous whirl brought it into a globular shape upon the tips, they thrust it into their mouths,
and licked their fingers clean for another essay. They had
been seated but a short time when others joined them, who




T h AV   L  iN THE'CALt F RN I A 8
brought sad news, One of their fornner friends had recen
died! On hearing this their hands dropped, and the dreadful wail ewai burst from every mouth, as they rose and went
towards the hut in which the dead body lay. It was situated a short distance from the hotel; and during the night
I heard that wail ring through the silent town! A more
painful expression of sorrow I hope never to hear. The
next morning I went to the burial. The wail was suspended during the ceremonies; but for several succeeding
nights it continued to break my slumbers; A few days afterward I saw them gathered again near the market-place employed with their poi. The wages of five years' service was
nearly exhausted. They had given a large portion to the
chief of their district, and spent the rest in feasting and clothing their poor relatives. They were poor when I lost sight
of them. But those whom they had fed were sharing their
pittance with them. The most affectionate and hospitable
people on earth are these Hawaiians.
Our Carolinian remained a few days at Honolulu, and
took passage in one of P. J. Farnham & Co.'s ships for New
York. He insisted to the very last of my intercourse with
him, that his Californian brunette was a woman!
Mr. Simpson took lodgings with that distinguished slice
of a John Bull to which I have already referred. He employed himself with much industry upon his duties of settling accounts with his host, who, as the agent of the Company, had sold the lumber, fish, &c., exported from Oregon
to these islands. After tarrying a month at Honolulu, he
returned in the Vancouver to Columbia River. He was a
fine fellow, full of anecdote and social feeling, talented and
modest; and I doubt not will eventually rise to the highest
rank in the Company's service.
The professor of psalmody stopped at the hotel and prepared to exhibit himself. His first essay was to deliver to
the American Missionaries and others, certain letters which
he had oblitained in Oregon. H-Iis next was to awaken the




8 C E iS    R T.A.  PACIFitC.
genius of music. Fol this purpose he attended a number
of singing parties, at w hich he attempted to make himself
useful to three young Americans, who sang with masterly
taste. In the opinion of the professor they " needed a little
burnishing," which he volunteered to give them, Unfortu.
nately for the art, however, they were vain enough to suppose they had k mned music before his arrival; and did not
therefore value his suggestions so highly as he himself did.
But the professor. persevered. His forbearance knew no
limit towards the deluded tyros. On all public occasions
he, never failed to throw out many invaluable hints as: to
movement, ascentj and style generally. He even encouraged them to hope that, with all their imperfections, they
Snight.a:tain a respectable degree of excellence if they
wouldOattend to his instructions.,' Whether or not his exertions were eV.er" properly appreciated by these gentlemen is a
question. whch remains unsettled to this.day. But the most
interesting event which occurred to the professor in Honohl4lu was his interview with the sister of the young lady
whom he had forsaken. She, was the wife of a Missionary,
a zealous servant of'her Master. He -called on her and
was invited to remain to- tea. I was present. Everything
was sad as the grave! - The mercies of Heaven were implored upon his blighted conscience! He left, little happier for the reminiscences awakened by the visit, and soon
after sailed for Califoiniia. I heard of him as an ingenious
man in mending.a watch on shipboard, but never as one of
moral integnty-:or as the Napolen of the. Californias!




-t 
The Mj83sionary's TWzfe:-P.: 88








CHAPTER III.
Hawaiian Islands-Spaniards first visited them-HooTili Wyhini-Account of Cook's visit —A god-A Robber and his Death-Vancouver's
Visit-Kamehameha I.-A Treaty-Cattle-Origin of the IslandsPoetry, and another Book-Legends-Tabu —Philosophy of Civilization
-A Way to the End-What is Taught-Gratitude-Departure from
the Islands-Lava and Cauldrons-Goats and Men-Passengers-Captain, Mates and Crew-A Human Managerie-Northing-VariablesTen days Out-Too nauseous for Music-Uncombed Hair-Exhila-.rated-Love!y-Growing Fat-Ten Knots-Ten more days out-An
Ocean Don —American and English Tars-A Squall-A new mode of
taking Eels-Land ho-Mission-Wrath-Monterey.
THIS group of islands was first visited by a Spanish ship,
during the early explorations of the northwest coast of
America, by Admiral Otondo, Viscaiyno, and others. The
traditions of the natives say, that a small vessel was driven
ashore on the southern coast of Hawaii, that two of the
crew only escaped death among the breakers, and that these
intermarried with the natives and left children.  I saw
some descendants of these men.  Their European features
and the use of a few corrupted Spanish words, satisfied me
of the truth of the legend and the ship's nationality.
Captain Cook next visited them in 1779.  The circumstances of his visit and massacre, as given me by a very
aged chieftainess, Hoopili Wyhini, will interest the reader.
" Captain Cook's men were allowed to steal a canoe belonging to our people. Our chiefs asked that it might be
returned; but Captain Cook had made us believe that he
was a god; and thought to take what he pleased.  Our tra.
ditions asserted that gods would not rob, and we told him




38          SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
so. But the canoe was not restored. Our people thought,
therefore, that if Cook would steal from them, it would be
right to steal from him; so in the night time, they swam under
water a long distance to the ships, loosened the boat from
one of them, and having brought it ashore, broke it in pieces
for the nails. Cook was very much enraged at the loss of
his boat, and threatened us with destruction if it were not
returned. But it could not be; it was destroyed.
"A- number of days'passed'in very angry intercourse be.
tween our people and the foreigners, during which a chief
suggested that' so unjust a being could not be a god. But
all others said he was the great Kono. This was in our
days of darkness. Why do you press me to remember such
unpleasant things?"
i:explained that I was anxious to know the truth of the,
matter, and she continued:
"At length Cook came on shore with an armed force,
and went to the king's house to persuade him to go on
bdard his ship. The chiefs interfered and prevented him.
Cook was angry, and the people were in a great rage. He
went down to the shore where his boat lay. The people
gathered, around him. The chief who did not believe him
a god, tried to kill Cook, but Cook killed him; and then
the people who belonged to that chief killed Cook. It
thus became clear that Cook was no god; for we thought
our old gods could not die; These were our years of sin,
before the Pono (Gospe'l) came: among us; and it is not
pleasant to speak of them'."'
This venerable chieftainess was advanced in womanhood
at the time of Vancouver's visit, in 1779,  She gave the
following account of it:'
"When Vancouver arrived at Hawaii, Kamehameha was
the chief of three districts on that island. These were Kona,
Kohala, and Hamakua. That year he fought against the
reigning king, and conquered the whole island. Kameha.
meha did not see v ancouver at Kona, where he first at




....                .
.??           ..
A
.,
KK ..,          -

S.hi w e? f the Spnie es e o he ea t H w








TRAVELS IN THE eCALIP'ORNIAS
dcred. But a little after the time of our national holidays)
which occurred in the latter part of the Christians' December, he came to Kealukekua Bay. There I first saw him.
Kamehameha also visited him at that place. The flagship, brig and store-ship, appeared to be under the general
command of a man whom we called Pukeki; the captain
of the store-ship we called Hapilinu.
" While this squadron remained in the- bay, myself and
thirteen others went aboard. They were Kamehameha,
his three brothers and one sister, myself, my aunt, and two
other women. The remainder were chief men. After
being at sea four days, we anchored in Kealukekua Bay in
which Cook was killed.
"Kamehameha was very friendly to Vancouver —according
to our old rules of hospitality, he furnished him with a concubine. He gave me to him. I passed nine days on board his
ship. Kamehameha presented to him a great many hogs and
bananas, and received trifling presents of old iron in return.
At the end of nine days I left the ship, in company with some
other chiefs, to visit my sick brother, and did not return.
"' On another occasion, Kamehameha, his chiefs, and two
Englishmen who had been adopted by some old chiefs and
made a part of the king's counsel, named John Young and
Isaac Davis, were passing the day on board the flag-ship,
when Kamehameha addressed to Vancouver these words:
E nana mai ea u, eia ka aina,' which being interpreted,
means,' Look after us, and if we are injured, protect us.'
To this Vancouver assented. An instrument in writing,
which he said would bind his sovereign to keep the promise he had made, was framed and presented to the king.
I do not know whether Kamehameha understood what was
written; nor do I know whether or not the king signed it.
But until the French captain, La: Place, came, and abused
us, we thought the English would protect us; because Vancouver promised to do so. Kamehameha always said the
English were our friends —that the islands were his, and




CENES IN THE PACIF:IC.
these friends would keep off all danger from abroad.
It is not clear to me that they have been faithful' to the
words of Vancouver.
" Vancouver built a tentand high tower on shore. In
the former he sometimes slept. In the latter his learned
men pointed bright instruments at the moon and stars. A
doctor, whom we called Makaua, visited the volcano. He
had sore lips when he returned. He brought down some
sulphur, saltpetre, and lava.
4"Vancouver gave me two fathoms of red broadcloth. To
th e king and chiefs he also gave some of the same. He said
the king of England sent it to us. I had two husbands at this
time. The one was Kalanimamahu, the son of Keona, and
the other Hoopili, the late governor of Maui.' The first was
the father of Queen Auhea; the latter is buried among the
people near the church. Those were days of darknes4.
" Vancouver gave to Kamehameha four cattle, three cows
and one bull. He said to Kamehameha,' feed them five years,
and then begin to kill and eat.' They were shut up in a field
several years, but broke out one after another, and went to
the mountains. Very few were killed for thirty years.
During the last ten, many have been slaughtered for their
hides and tallow. Vancouver killed one of the calves before, he left us. They were brought from California.
" Vancouver had an interpreter whom our people called
Lehua; and another who was a native chief in the island
of Taui. This latter had made a voyage in an English
yhale-ship, during which he had learned the language of
that nation. By means of these men, he asked questions,
and received answers in:regard to our old ways, Once he
asked'whence came these islands?' and our chiefs replied-'- Hawaii is the child of the gods Papa and Wakea,
and the other islands are the children of Hawaii.'
"The chief priests then said Hawaii was in a very soft state
immediately after birth, but a god descended from the skies
and called —4 E Hawaii Ea, 0 Hawaii Oh,' and the god




TRAV ELS IN THE C AL FO RNIAS.
Hawaii came forth, communicated to the pulpy land a gyrtttory motion, made it come around him, and assume a permanent form. Vancouver replied,  right.'
"I am sixty-five years old and must die soon."
I was exceedingly interested in these conversations with
this remarkable woman. She had been one of the wives of
Kamehameha the First; had commanded his navy of war
canoes, during his conquests, and was at the time of my interview with her the acting executive of Maui, and a
scholar in the Missionary Sabbath school!
I remained three months in these beautiful islands, enjoying the revelations of these chronicler of old and curious
times. The king, chiefs, foreign residents and Missionaries,
perceiving my avidity in gathering information respecting
the country and its people, rendered me every aid in.their
power to facilitate my inquiries. Nor do I ever expect
again to find a richer field of the strange, the beautiful, the
wonderful and the sublime, than was there presented to ms.
The legends of a thousand generations of men, living
apart from the rest of mankind, among the girding depths'o the Pacific seas; the stories of their gods and goddesses;
the tales of their wars; the fate of bad princes whom their
deities reprimanded from the skies; the beatification of the
good on whom their divinities scattered blessings; thei.
forms of government; their religious ceremonies; thegenealogies; their poetry, more of it than Greece ever had,
and still sung by bards travelling from village to village,
their dances; their rejoicings at a birth; their wailings
over the dead, and, the solemn ceremonies of their burials;
ire a few of the interesting subjects investigated.
The intense interest, as well as the amount of writingre.
quired to exhibit these matters, will furnish my best apology
for passing them in this place. They may hereafter appear
in a separate volume. But I cannot allow my readers to
pass from the Hawaiiankingdom, without presenting to their
ce the interesting fact, that a hundred and seven thoum




42 %5 c SCENES IN TE'PA C 1 F J C
sand savages have been brought within the pale of civilization and Christianity through the instrumentality of th.
Americans.
Twenty-five years ago a nation occupied the kingdom of
Hawaii which sought its happiness from a systematic violation of the fundamental laws of Creation. Their food was
under the tabu, or ban; so that the powerful in civil and
religious affairs appointed the best edibles for their own use,
and made death the penalty to their wives, daughters and
inferiors, if they tasted them. The fire kindled to cook the
food of the men was tabued; it was death for woman to
kindle hers from it, or cook or light a pipe at it. The p-erson of.the king was tabued. It was death to touch him, or
any article which he had used, or to step on his shadow, or
the shadow of his house. And at the hour of midnight human victims were slaughtered, and piled on scaffblds with
dogs and hogs, around the temples which they worid consecrate to their deities!!
lere human nature had been forced from its true appetencies to the material and spiritual Universe. Its misery
followed as an inevitable consequent. But the Hawallans
were thinkers. The violated ordinances of the world recoiling on them at every tread of life, forced on them the thought
of obedience and its blessings. And they rose in their power;
ate from the full hand of Heaven; prostrated their ancient
temples; burned their hideous gods; made the civil power
subservient to the common good; and restored themselves,
after immemorial ages of degradation, to the quiet reign ot
the natural laws. It is most remarkable that the American
missionaries were on their voyage to the islands while these
things were being done!
The law of relationship between these people and their
Maker had been lost among the crude follies of idol-worship
and civil tyranny. These they had broken down by a mighty
blow. The fragments of their temples, altars and gods, were
strewn over the land. An entire nation looked on the flowers,
the stars, the rivulet, the ocean, the birds and themselves,




LI
I
9.l
Cocoa Tree of Hawaii.-P. 4&
7








TRAVELS IN T HE CAL FORNIA.             43and believed in no God!! The vessel which brought to
them the Christian faith anchored at Honolulu! The event,
which shook the hill, darkened the sun and opened the
graves of Judea, was proclaimed, and gave its hopes of
Heaven to a hundred thousand people! A nation thus entered the world as its loved homestead became obedient to
its organization; called back the wandering religious sympathies to the worship of the true God; opened to every
faculty the sphere of its legitimate enjoyments; and made
human nature again a component part of creation, existing
in harmony with it and its Author.
Man must incorporate himself into that great chain of
relationship and sympathy which runs from inorganized
matter to the first feeble manifestation of vegetable life, and
thence upward through bud, leaf and blossom, and upward
still along the great range of animal existence to the think.
ing and feeling principle, and thence to God. It is in this
manner alone, that he can feed his faculties with their own
alimnent. And it is his ignorance of.the dependence of each
portion of his body and mind, on each and every external
existence, which makes thorns for his feet and keeps up a
perpetual warfare between himself and the immutable conditions of his true happiness.
I am sincerely persuaded that the regulating principle of
human cultures is to sympathize with every form of creation
within our knowledge; to enter the world as our home; to
seat ourselves at its heartb; to eat its viands and drink its
blessings; to slumber in its arms; to hear the floods of harmonious sounds which come up to us from the matter and life
about us; and to yield our being to the great dependent chain
of relationship which binds God's material empire, His
iealms of mind and Himself, in one sympathizing whole!
The universal requirement is, that man's nature shall be
brought into harmony with creation and its Author. This is
the. whole law of ourbeing. Obedience to it is the unalterable
condition of happiness; the only true test of civilization; the




44         SC ENES IN THE PACIFIC.
only state in which our powers, physical and mental, will
operate harmoniously; the only position of our existence
which looks forward on the path of our destiny, with any certainty that thought, feeling, and act, will lead to results
pleasureable to ourselves and in harmony with the rest of
the world.
It is a want of proper reflection on this matter which has
rendered abortive so many efforts to civilize different portionsof the race. In India, in the forests of the west, in every
other place, except the Hawaiian Islands, where the societies
of Protestantism have made efforts to ameliorate the condition of the barbarian, nearly the whole acting force has been
brought to bear on the cultivation of the religious sentiments.
The theory has been, make them Christians, and everything
else will follow as a promised favor of Heaven.
No error has cost the church more money and life than
this. The savage has been taught the doctrines of salvation,
and his direct relations to the Deity. Thus far, well. But
there was no corresponding teaching to the rest of his nature. His physical wants and the mode of supplying them,
remained unchanged. All his relations to the external world
continued the same. And the largest number of the strongest desires of the mind being thus left, to contend with those
which the missionaries attempted to excite and purify, it is
no wonder that so little has been accomplished.
In the Hawaiian Islands the missionaries found a people
living in villages, having a property in the soil, and depend
ing chiefly upon its culture for their subsistence. They
also found them destitute of every kind of religion, and de.
sirous of receiving one: they were a talented people and
anxious for new ideas. This was a remarkable state of
things. Their physical adaptation to the natural world was
so far in advance of the mental, that the latter only required
to be placed on an equal footing with the former, to produce
the civilization and moral rectitude which they now possess.
The result of missionary efforts in these islands, if well




TRAVELS IN THE CALIFORNI AS.            45
understood, may lead to some valuable changes in the mode
of operating elsewhere. It will be learned that while the
)hysical wants and the mode of supplying them, are opciied to the ordained condition, it is vain to expect the
Ch.istianized state.
We may, meanwhile rejoice at this single result. It is one
of the great events of the age. Twenty thousand Hawaiians
are members of Christian churches. Seventy thousand read
and write. The whole people are better taught, more intelligent, and farther advanced in civilization than are the
citizens of the Mexican Republic. Their Government is
more paternal, and administered more kindly than any other
known to civilized man. But I must hasten homewvard.
The hospitality of countrymen during my tarry in these
islands, the kindness of countrymen, bestowed on me, a
stranger, fleeing from my grave, and sad-away from those
on whose hearts I had a right to lean-how can I ever forget them! While those beautiful islands have a place in
my memory, they will be associated with some of the most
grateful recollections of my life. It is painful to think that
I may never again grasp the hands of some noble spirits,
whom I saw and loved in the kingdom of Hawaii!
To the sea! on board the bark Don Quixote, Paty, master,
bound for Upper California! We left the harbor of Honolulu,
under a sweet land breeze from the forests crowning the volcanic hills in the rear of the city, and bore away to the westward along the coast. The mountains of decomposing lava
rose from the water side in sharp curving ridges, which, elevating themselves as they swept inland, lay in the interior
piled above the clouds. Some of them were covered with the
dense green foliage of the tropics; and others were as destitute of vegetation as when they were poured, a liquid burning
mass, from the cauldron of the volcanoes. Many valleys dotted with the hay-thatched huts of the natives, their fields of
tarao and orchards of bread-fruit, cocoa and plantain, lay
along the shore.'I ne lower hills were covered with frolick.




46          SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
ing goats, and here and there on the projecting cliffs, stood a
group of stalwart figures, brown as the rocks, shouting their
pleasure at seeing our ship, with all sails steadily drawing,
push through the waves. Having rounded the southwestern
cape, we laid our course through the channel between Oahbl
and Taui, with the intention of availing ourselves of the nortlern "variables" to carry us to the American coast.
In the cabin we had seven passengers; Mr. Chamberlain
the fiscal agent of the American Missions at the islands-a
man of a fine mind and unpretending goodness, who had undertaken the voyage for the benefit of his health-Mr. Cobb,
the mate of a whaler, a plain honest man, going home to die
of an injury from the falling of a spar on shipboard; a spendthrift of Philadelphia, returning from a two or three years'
spree in the Pacific; and a brace of Charlestown boys, who
were on their way homeward for goods anc weethearts.
One of these was an excellent little fellow, wlh. -. soul full
of music and justice; the other a singer of bass and an acting
agent general, in the same department. The only representative of the fair sex we could boast of was a half-breed Hawaiian lass, going to visit the " Major," her father, an old
mountaineer from New England, who was keeping a small
shop at Santa Barbara, in Upper California.
Captain Paty was a little man, with a quiet spirit, and a
generous heart; a New England man who always kept-his
eye to the windward, and gave his sails to the stoutest
breeze without fear of clew, lines or stays. The mate, a
lusty English tar of the Greenwich school, was a jolly old
boy, whose face was always charged with a smile, ready to
be let off on the least occasion of conferring happiness.'Our second mate was an Italian, who had left his country
for doubtful reasons, married an American girl in the city
of New York, buried her, and was now roaming the seas
in the double capacity of second mate and ship's carpenter,
for the means of educating his only child.
Our crew was a collection of odd-fellows.  The first in




T  A V ELS I N T-H   C A LIFOR N I A S.   47:aeight and importance was "Yankee Tom;" the second
a pair of English renegadoes, from the-royal navy or else.
where; next came a number of old tars, who hailed fromn
the earth generally; then several Hawaiians, and last of
all, the cook; as dark a piece of flesh as ever wore wool,
and as independent a gentleman as ever wrestled with a
soup pot. Thus we were all manned fore and aft. The
extremes of cursing and prayer, of authority and subserviency, law, divinity, and merchandize, were there.
Indeed, we had a piece of everything in the way of
thought, feeling, taste and form, requisite to furnish a very
respectable human menagerie. And if the shade of our
friend Cuvier had leisure on his hands to look in upon us,
and observe the paws of our lions, the teeth of our tigers,
the grins of our apes, the wool of our lambs, and the mental and physical qualities of each species, I doubt not he,was satisfied with the diversity of their powers and the
completeness of the collection.
When leaving the latitude of the islands, we had a distant view of the Taui. It was studded with mountains of
moderate elevation, clothed with evergreen forests. It appeared beautiful enough to be the island of Indian Mythology under the setting sun, where the good will find eternal
hunting, fishing, and women of unfading beauty. But our
ship stood away under a strong breeze, and we soon lost
sight of the island in the mist and shades of night.
While making our northing we experienced a great variety of weather. On the first two or three degrees it was
comparatively mild, and the generous breezes appeared to
push us on with a right good will. But on reaching the latitude beyond the Trades, the winds from the northwest overtook us. These currents of air in the winter and spring are
exceedingly rough, gusty and cold; and being often alternated with the warm breezes from the torrid zone, produce conditions of the atmosphere, which, in more senses than one,
may be termed a      variables."  The balmy breath of one day




48          SCENES IN TIHI   PACI F IC
contrasts strongly with the frozen blasts of another; the soft
bright clouds from the south, with the harsh dark shadows
from the north, and the rippling sea when the former fans
it, with the ragged waves which roll under the latter.
Ten days out; latitude thirty-eight; wind fresh from the
northwest; Mr. Chamberlain quite ill, but able to be on
deck with his thermometer; the Charlestown boys too sick
to make music; the Philadelphia blade's hair uncombed;
Mr. Cobb very much exhilarated with the bold movement
of the ship; the half-breed Hawaiian lass as lovely as circumstances permitted; the crew growing fat on salt beef;
the ship, making her ten knots, headed towards Cape Men.
docino, and everything else in some sort of condition; thus
stood the affairs of our floating home.
Ten days more passed on, and little change in these things
occurred, for better or worse; save that, when we arrived
within a hundred miles of the coast, the northerly winds became less violent, and their temperature higher. Our old bark
was as brave a Don adong the waters as one would wish to
see. He was of American origin, a fine model of an ocean
cavalier, and did battle with the floods as fearlessly as any
ship that ever doubled the Cape. Our ti-ne on board, therefore, went off rather agreeably; for the speed of a landsman's
passage at sea is the absorbing element of its pleasures.
The officers and crew had employment enough to occupy
them, and were usually in that agreeable mood of body and
mind which produces a good appetite, hearty joking and
sound sleeping. When the winds were stiff, they busied
themselves in keeping sails, ropes, spars and masts at their
appropriate duties; and when a warm  sun and steady
breeze came, the sailors overhauled the wormy biscuits, repaired old sails, picked oakum, put the spun-yarn wheel
in motion, while the Italian carpenter drove jack-plain,
and'the English mate gave us a specimen of rope-splicing
and bendinglsails according to the rules at Greenwich.
I noticed on board the Don Quixote, and elsewhere during




TRAVELS IN TH   CALIFORN.AS.               49
mny wanderings, a difference between British and Ameiican
seamen, which I believe to be quite general. It is this. The
Briton is better acquainted with the things to be done on deck
and among the rigging than the American is. He splices a
rope better; he knows better how to make a ship look trim
and comely. But he knows comparatively nothing about the
hull of his craft. His seven years apprenticeship has been
devoted to learning the best mode of sailing a vessel and
keeping her in good condition. He learns nothing more.
The American, on the other hand, begins at the keel, and
reads up through every timber, plank and spike, to the bulwarks. And although he does all the minor labor of the
fair-day deck work with less neatness and durability, yet he
will do it so well, and throw his canvass on the winds with
such skill and daring, as to outsail, as well as outmanage
his very clever rival. The Fatherland should be proud of
Jonathan. He is a rough, hard-featured lad; and in right
of primogeniture, as well as other indisputable relations,
he must succeed to the paternal power over the seas.
At meridian, on the 16th of April, we ascertained ourselves to be about seventy-five miles from the American
coast. All were weary of the voyage. It had been exceedingly monotonous; not even a storm to break its tedium.
At two o'clock of this day, however, we had an incident in
the shape of a squall, from the northwest. It was attended
with chilling winds which fell upon uslike a shower of freezing arrows, and drove everybody, except officers and seamen,
below. The blowing, the raining, the clatter of quick feet
upon deck, the cry of the sailors, " heave-a-hoy!"' as they
shorten sail and brace up the yards; the heavy swells, beating the ship like ponderous battering-rams; the air, that upper ocean, running its flood most furiously upon that which
lies beneath; our vessel riding the one as if escaping from
the: wrath of the other; the upper surface of the airy seas,
crowded with fleets of thunder-clouds chasing each other
madly, and sending out the fire and noise of terrible conflict.




50         S C SEN E'S IN THE PAC-IFIC.
These are the features of that squall.  Our-good ship
reeled and trembled under the shock of the waters and
winds, as if her planks and timbers were separating.
Below at such a time was doubtless our safest berth, but
that was far from being peculiarly comfortable! About halt
of the passengers were on each side of the cabin, holding at
the berths; and when the ship rose on a billow and careened, it straightened those on the larboad side like lampreyeels llanging to rocks; while, as the surge passed on, the
ship careened the othey way, making eels of those on the
starboad side! The furniture tumbled, the steward giving
chase fell in the midst of it; the Hawaiian lass attempted to
gain her berth and fell; and tumult, danger, sublimity, and
the ridiculous, united to provoke alternatively our laughter,
fear and admiration. It cleared up in an hour, however,
and we went on again pleasantly, under a three-knot breeze.
On the evening of the 17th, -we heard right gladly the
cry of "Land ho!"  Where away?"  c" A little on the
starboard bow!'  I was in the cabin at the time.  Any
other' word spoken with a greater volume of voice would
have passed unheard. But land! land! the solid land!
with its odor of earth and flower, is a word which, if uttered in a whisper, has deep music for one who has for twenty
odd days been stunned by contentious waves;a sweetness
and vigor of meaning to the weary wayfarer on the seas,
which mulst be heard —" Land ahead."
Its winged messengers already twittered in the rigging!
The shores loomed on the edge of the horizon! The
white cliffs on the north side of Monterey Bay, in Upper
California, were in sight! We kept our course towards them
till daylight-down, and then beat off and on till the dawn
of the following morning..p2'il 18th. The land, the glorious old land, is near us on
our left-five miles away! The cattle of the Mission Santa
Cruz are grazing on the hill! The matin bells are ringing
from its tower, and the arrowy light is routing the darkness




,.......................................................
<g;~~~~K~
-'~      ~         ~         ~         ~&~.~ 4hi  An,Vt~otnm   X / ztP 








TRAVELS IN THE CALIFORNIAS.              51
from the Californian mountains! A morning of the blooming
spring poured down from Heaven on this Italy of America!
A sunrise on the land; and the conquered night where it
very properly may be, running wild over the seas!
A breeze from the west drove us slowly down the bay, so
near the shore that we had a clear view of it. At the
northeast corner of the bay is a green gorge, down which
flows a small stream of pure water. Near its mouth, on a
snug little plain, stands the mission of Santa Cruz, with its
chapel and adobie Indian huts. Around it are some fields,
on which the Indians raise grains, vegetables and grapes.
Beyond this, to the northward, the country swells away
into lofty hills, covered with grass and sprinkled with copses
of pine and oak.
From Santa Cruz down to Monterey, the land is broken
by low hills, too rough for general cultivation, upon which
grow a few trees of a soft and worthless character. But the
greenness of the whole surface in the spring of the year, and
the absence of any abode of man, make it very appropriate
pasture-ground for the wild horses, cattle, mules,, and the
grisly beirs, lions and elk, that herd upon it.
About five o'clock we round to, under the Castle of Monterey. The boat is lowered, the captain and part of the passengers get aboard of her, and shove off for the landing.
The ship meanwhile lies off and on within hail. When a
hundredfathoms from the shore we are hailed by the custom-house barge, and ordered back to the ship! Whereupon
a parley takes place, during which we are informed that
California is in a state of revolution, and that no foreigners
can enter the country.
I was emaciated with sea-sickness, enfeebled for want ot
fresh food, and altogether so miserable at the idea of not
dining that day upon Californian beans and beef, that I made
a desperate effort to express in Spanish the honest rage of my
heart at such treatment. But having uttered French instead
of Spanish wrath, I was about correcting myself, when a




b2          SC EN ENS IN THE PACIFIC
lean villainous physiognomy, supported a lank, long-armed
and long-shinned carcass, in lieutenant's epaulettes, replied
in French, "oh, mon frere Fran ais," and immediately
gave orders for us to land. The boat therefore ran through
the surf, grazed upon the rocks, and lay dry on the beach.
CHAPTER IV.
Mother Earth-Revolation-Americans and P-itish in Prison-A GuardA Governor-An Interview-An Alcalde-A Passport-A running Salute-Cries for Air and Water-Despair-A Horrid Night-Starvation
-Dungeons-A Demand-Signals-A course adopted-A Leaf of His
tory-General Echuanda and his Deeds-A Tennessean Hunter and a
Clerk.-A Camp Formed-A League-A March-An Attack-A Banishment-Independence-An old Method of Rewarding Friends-A Notification-A Junto-Wagers and Senoritas —A Stratagem and its Consequences-Names of Prisoners.
ON the land! The human frame derives its vital elements
from the generous land! The earth is our mother, and she
seems to rejoice when her children tread her threshold and
ask her for bread and happiness.
We inquired the cause of the reported tumult in the country, and were answered in brief whispers! The speakers
looked cautiously around them for listening ears and Spanish
rapiers. It was difficult: to find a man with an English tongue
and a white skin, who dared converse alone with us on any'subject. Indeed, it was impossible to do so. For whenever
the attempt was made, some Spaniard drew stealthily near to
listen! And when the gentleman from the ship left the landing for the town, in company with some American and British
residents, the government ufficers mingled among them, and
changedthe conversation as often as it turned upon what they




TRAVE-LS IN THE CALIFORN IAS.            53
te mrned " the revolution."  Men of stout hearts even spoke
little. Ilfe appeared to hang upon a breath in Monterey!
We entered the house of an American merchant by the name
of Larkin, and.sat down to tea. We did- not eat alone! An
officer of the government sat with us! Conversation ran on
general topics. The cause of the apparent trepidation was
inquired into by an American from the Don Quixote, but
nothing could be elicited. The official sat erect, swelled
his peison into dignity, ate heartil drtank deeply, rose first
from the table, an intimation tha"ii iight follow his illustrious example; burned his fiers in smoking a paper
cigar, and at length rolled his gieasy form out of doors.'" Rid of you at last, thank God," said a little Englishman,
who had dropped in during supper,"' and now for talk inside
of ceilings." We soon learned from Mr. Larkin and others,
that one hundred and fifty odd Americans and Britons were
thirsting and starving in the prisons of the town and destined
to be sacrificed to Spanish malignity! The question arose,
Can they be saved? It was hoped they might; it was resolved on our lives that they should be; while all in a low
voice spoke of the uncertainty of life for an hour in Monterey!
The first duty, on setting foot in California, is to report
oneself to the governor, and obtain from him a written per"
mission to remain in the country. This I proceeded to do.
Mr. Larkin was obliging enough to accompany me to the
governor's residence. We found before it a small number
of men, who were usually complimented with the cognomen
of" guard." They consisted of five half-breed Indians, and
what passed for a white corporal, lounging about the door in
the manner of grog-shop savans. Their outer man is worth
a description. They wore raw bull's-hide sandals on their
feet, leathern breeches, blankets about their shoulders, and
anything and everything upon their heads. Of arms, they
had nothing which deserved the name. One made preten.
sions with an old musket without lock; and his four comrades were equally heroic, with kindred pieces, so deeply




SC-ENES IN THE PACIFIC
rusted, that the absence of locks would have been an un.
portant item in estimating their value.
We passed this valorous body, ascended a flight of stairs,
and entered the presence of governor Juan Baptiste Alva.
rado; awell-formed, full-blooded, Californian Spaniard, five
feet eleven inches in height, with coal-black curly hair, deep
black eyes, fiercely black eye-brows, high cheek bones, an
aquiline nose, fine white teeth, brown complexion, and the
clearly marked mein of a pompous coward, clad in the
broad-cloth and whiskers of a gentleman.
When we entered he was sitting behind a kind of writing-desk, at the farther end of the room. He rose as we
entered, and received us with the characteristic urbanity of
a Spanish body without a soul; waved us to chairs, when
he would have seen us tumbling from the balcony; smiled
graciously at us with one corner of his mouth, while he
cursed us with the other; seated himself, laid up his arms
and hands on the upper shelf of his abdomen, and asked if
the ship had anchored!
El Goubernador had sundry reasons for making this inquiry
concerning the Don Quixote. The chief one, however, was,
that he and his officers, like all their predecessors, had been
in the habit of looking on the arrival of a ship in the port of
Monterey as a discharge of debts and a license for new levies
on their credit. Let it not be supposed that I believe a Californian Spaniard is ever so far false to his nature, as to wish
his debts paid, while his credit will supply his wants. My
investigations into the character of his progenitors both Indian and Spanish, will always preserve me from such an
error. Nor would I have it believed, that the transplanted
chivalry of the Andalusians does not absolutely boil and
bubble, at the bare thought of not being able to plunder from
the rest of mankind a gentleman's living. Any such impeachment of the sagacity and scrupulousness of these men would
be a wrong against which my sense of justice would most
vehemently protest  In plain words, then, at the time the




TRAVELS IN THE CALIFORNIAS.             55
Don Quixote came into the bay, Alvarado and Itis officers
were deeply in debt, and distressed only to select means of
paying them, accordant with Californian honor. The arrival
of a ship in port furnished just these means. The manner
in which it did so may be unworthy of specification.
El Alta California is a department of the Mexican Republic; and by law themoneys collected for port-dues and duties
belong to the revenue of the central government. But as the
right to life, property, and the pursuit of happiness is, among
the Californian Spaniards, construed to authorize both individuals and States to defraud, plunder and murder, if they find
it safe and lucrative to do so, the freemen, or rather the Governor of California and his subalterns, were in the habit of
commuting a large portion of the port-dues and duties, for
certain sums of money and quantities of goods for their own
personal use. Their capacity for this kind of plundering
formed in part the basis of their credit with foreign merchants and traders, from whom they obtained their supplies.
Hence the anxieties of Sa Excellentissimo about the bark.
If she had come to anchor there must necessarily be a small
chance for robbery in the tonnage dues; and if richly laden
with goods subject to duties, she would be quite a mine,
which he already dreamed himself plundering with golden
success. As soon as we could turn his attention from these
hopes of gain, Mr. Larkin informed him of my wishes, and
with much deference suggested the humanity of transferring
me from idleness on shipboard to the enjoyment of Castilian
industry ashore; to wit, lounging, grinning, sleeping, and
smoking rolls of paper tinctured with " the weed."
Sa Excellentissimo found it difficult to comprehend the
necessity of the request, inasmuch as the bark might come
to, anchor for my quiet and health, in which case I would be
permitted as seamen were, to be on shore during her stay in
port. But being informed that there were no goods on board
the bark, that it was not intended to bring her to anchor, and
that, consequently, neither bribes nor Mexican tribute would




56          SCENES IN THh PACIFIC.
be paid to Don Juan Baptiste Alvarado, El Grodbernador
lel Alta California, he frankly confessed that he saw no
necessity, indicated by his interest, why I should ever have
existed, and still less made any of my pleasures dependent
on him or his Alta California.
This I esteemed, as in all chivalry I was bound to do, an
exhibition of the great elevation of character as well as an indication of the height from which Sa Excellentissimo had
descended to reach my case! Therefore, 1 bowed assent to
the majesty of such philanthropic and truly civilized opinions.
What man in Castilian presence could do otherwise? But
a doubt still hung over the eyebrows of the don. He looked
at my height, six feet Green Mountain measure; atmy wardrobe, consisting of a Hudson Bay Company's frockcoat of
blue, a speckled vest from London, pants of English extraction, boots from the lapstones of Lynn; and, shrugging his
shoulders like a grisly bear in an effort to be a gentleman,
said we could go to the alcalde; then with most sovereign
emphasis bowed us out of his presence!
The alcalde was at home, or rather in his adobie den; for
there is neither a home nor the semblance of it in all the
Spanish world. He was taking his siesta, or -midday nap, on
a bull's hide in the corner of his apartment. The dog, which
had barked us into his presence, had awakened him; so that
when we entered the room, he was rolling his burly form
towards a chair. After being well-seated, and having with
some difficulty brought his eyes to bear upon us, he was
pleased to remark that; the weather was fine, and that various
other things existed in a definite state; as that his dog was
very fat; the bean crop gave good promise; the Hawaiian
Islands were ten leagues from Monterey!! the Californi.
ans were very brave men; and that the Don Quixote had
not come to anchor! To each of these announcements i
gave an unqualified assent.
Having ascertained by these means that I was wellinstructed in beasts, beans, men and geography, he imme



TRAVELS IN THE CALFORNIX-.S.                57
diately took me into favor, expressed great surprise that my
friend should have thought that he could refuse my request,
and assured me that it gave him infinite pleasure to write
me a permission of residence.  Here it is.  When the
reader is informed that it was an impromptu production, he
will be able to estimate, in a faint degree indeed, the intelligence and genius of the Californians. Only one hour
and a quarter were consumed in bringing it forth!
Mr. Thomas J. Farnham pasagero en la barca Americana Don Quixott
habiendama manifesta do el pasporte de su consul y queriendo quidar en
tierra a (vertailesse) en su salud le doy el presente bolito de des en barco
eni el puerta de Monterey! 
A 18 de Abril de 1840.
ANTONIO MA. ORIO.
A permission this to remain on shore as long as might be
necessary for the restoration of my health! Having received
it with many demonstrations of regard, we took our leave of
the illustrious dignitary under a running salute from his dog,
and repaired to el casa del goubernador (the governor's
house). The dog accompanied us. He appeared to rejoice
in our presence. After he saw us pass into the governor's
door he howled piteously, and trotted off toward the prisons.
We obtained from  Sa Excellentissimo a written confirmation of the alcalde's document, and returned to the house
of Mr. Larkin. There we met a number of Americans and
Britons, from whom we learned that their countrymen were
famishing unto death in the prisons of the town! A consultation, held in an upper room, in whispeis, under the
dreadful certainty that death would be the penalty if it became known to the demon government, ended the labors
of that day and night! The house of my friend was but a
few rods from some of the prisons, and when all was still at
midnight, I could hear, between the breaking surges on the
brcach, the prisoners cry"Breathe fast, for God's sake! I must come to the grate
soon or I shall suffocate!"




SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
" Give me water, you merciless devils! give me water!"
" You infernal sons of the inquisition, give me drink or fire
on me!
And then another voice at the grate exclaimed, " Give
us something to eat! 0 God, we shall die here! We can't
breathe! Half of us can't speak!"
And then another voice, husky and weak, said " Why!
in a tone of despairing agony, which became so low and
inarticulate that I could not hear what followed. I had not
seen the prisoners, but their cries banished sleep and all
desire to rest. I therefore went out upon the balcony and
seating myself in a dark nook watched, as well as I was
able, the movements in the town.
A portion of the troops were on duty as an armed patrol.
The tap of the drum and the challenge, " Quin vive?" with
the reply, " Californias;" " Quinjente?" and the response,
" Mexicanos," broke in upon their heavy, sounding tramp!
About four o'clock the men in the castello, or fort, became
alarmed by the cracking of dry brush in the neighboring
wood, and the patrol rushed to their rescue. It proved to
be the echo of their fears. The patrol soon returned to
their posts, and silence again reigned. It was a horrid
night! Nature was laughing and bright on earth and in the
sky. But fiends had gone forth to mar her beauty. The
same spirit which had devastated the virtues and freedom
of half the earth was abroad in the wilds of California, as
of old in Chili, torturing those whose courage their bravado
could not subdue, or their pretension intimidate!
The sun came up next morning most brightly in that clear
blue sky of California: but it shone on sadder hearts than I
had ever before seen. The flowers were creeping up along
the streets; and the grasses, invigorated by the winter rains
and the warm days of spring, were growing on the hills; the
cattle and wild animals roamed about enjoying the rich liberty
which nature gave them. They possessed no qualities which
could excite the wakefulness of Spanish malignity! They




T RAVELS IN THE C  L.  OR       I IAS.    59
were _owing and frolicking out their freedom on the kind
and beautiful earth. But man was raising the murderous
blade against his fellow!
Mr. Larkin made arrangements with the government today to furnish the prisoners with food and drink. Their
cells were examined and found destitute of floors!  The
ground within was so wet that the poor fellows sunk into it
several inches at every step. On this they stood, sat and
slept! i From fifty to sixty were crowded into a room
eighteen or twenty feet square! They could not all sit at
once, even in that vile pool, still less lie down! The cells
were so low and tight that the only way of getting air enough
to sustain life, was to divide themselves into platoons, each of
which in turn stood at the grate awhile to breathe! Most of
them had been in prison seven or eight days, with no food
except a trifling quantity, clandestinely introduced by a few
daring countrymen outside. When I arrived at the prisons
some of them~were frantic; others in a stupor of exhaustion;
one appeared to be dying! An American citizen went to
the governor with a statement of their condition, and demanded that both Americans and Britons should be handsomely
treated; that they should have air, food, drink, permission to
bathe, and dry hides wherewith to cover the mud in their cells.
Since our arrival the Don Quixote had been lying off and
on. She usually ran out one morning and swept into the
harbor the next. This circumstance, together with the fact
that this American was always on the shore when the vessel
passed the anchorage, making signals to her, which neither
himself nor those on board understood, created the idea that
he was an official of the American Government, and as
such, had rights which it would be well to respect. This
impression was much strengthened, both by the accidental
circumstance of his wearing a cutlass with an eagle upon
its hilt, and his holding restraints imposed on his acts as
highly insulting and disrespectful! This course of conduct had the effect designed. Those cowardly apologies of




60         SCENES IN T'HE PACIFIC
men became thoroughly impressed that he bore in his own
person the combined powers of the American Republic and
the British Empire. Clothed, therefore, with authority so
potent, he took measures for the relief of the prisoners.
But, before entering upon the narration of these measures
it will be proper to give a history of the events which led to
theimprisonment ofthese men, and their intended immolation.
In 1836, a Mexican General by the name of Echuandra
was the Commandant General of Upper California. Some
years previous, as will be particularly shown in another
place, he had come up from Mexico, with a band of fellowmyrmidons, and having received the submission of the country to the authorities of that Republic, commenced robbing
the Government for which he acted, and the several interests which he had been sent to protect. Nothing escaped
his mercenary clutches. The people, the missions, and
the revenue were robbed indiscriminately, as opportunity
offered. A few of the white population of the country participated in these acts. But generally the Ca'liHfornians were
the sufferers; and, as is always the case with unhonored
rogues, raised a perpetual storm of indignation about the
dishonest deeds of those whom they desired to supplant, for
the purpose of enacting the same things. An occurrence of
this kind was the immediate cause of the Revolution in 1836.
A vessel had cast anchor in the harbor of Monterey. General Echuandra, not having that honorable confidence in the
immaculate integrity of the custom-house officers, which
thieves are accustomed to have in one another, placed a guard
on board the craft, to prevent them from receiving bribes for
their own exclusive benefit. To.this the officers demurred;
and in order to free their territory from the creatures of one
whose conscience would compel him to receive bribes for hi3
own pocket instead of theirs, they sent their own clerk, a
young rascal of the country, by the name of Juan Baptiste
Alvarado, to infrmn the general that it was improper to suggest, by putting a gtard on board, that the officers of the ship




TRAVELS IN THE CA LIFORNIAS.             al
which lay under the fort, either intended or dared attempt.
to evade the payment of duties! 
The General, however, was too well acquainted with his
inalienable rights, to be wheedled out of them in this manner; and manifested his indignation toward the clerk, for
attempting to abtrude his plebeian presence on his golden
dream, by ordering him to be put in irons. Alvarado, however, escaped. He fled into the country, rallied the farmers,
who still loved the descendants of Philip the Second more
than El Presidente, and formed a camp at the Mission of
San Juan, thirty miles eastward from Monterey.
Near this mission lived an old Tennessean by the name of
Graham; a stout, sturdy backwoodsman, o' a stamp which
exists only on the frontiers of the American States-men with
the blood of the ancient Normans and Saxons in their veinswith hearts as large as their bodies can hold, beating nothing
but kindnriess till injustice shows its fangs, and then, lion-like,
striking for vengeance. This trait of natural character had
been fostered in Graham by the life he had led. Early trained
to the use of the rifle, he had learned to regard it as his friend
and protector; and when the season of manhood arrived, he
threw it upon his shoulder and sought the wilderness, where
he could enjoy its protection and be fed by its faithful aim.
He became a beaver hunter-a cavalier of the wildernessthat noble specimen of brave men who have muscles for riding wild horses and warring with wild beasts, a steady brain
and foot for climbing the icy precipice, a strong breast for
the mountain torrent, an unrelenting trap for the beaver, a
keen eye and a deadly shot for a foe. A man was this Graham, who stood up boldly before his kind, conscious of possessing physical and mental powers adequate to any emergency. He had a strong aversion to the elegant edifices, the
furniture, wardrobe, and food of polished life, coupled with
a vivid love of mountain sublimity, the beautiful herbage on
uncultivated districts, the wild animals and the streams of.water roaring down the frozen heights. Even the grey




2  SCEN  S IN THE PACIFI C.
deserts with the hunger and thirst incident to travelling over
them, had wild and exciting charms for him. On these his
giant frame had obstacles to contend with worthy of its
powers; suffering and even old Death himself to take by
the throat and vanquish. These and the open air by a projecting rock, with the dry sand or the green sward for a
hearth and couch, a crackling pine knot fire blazing against
the cliffs, and roasting a buffalo hump or the sirloin of an:elk, after the day's hunt had ended, constituted the life he
was fitted to enjoy.
He had forced his way over the Rocky Mountains and
located himself in Upper California. This country was
suited to his tastes. Its climate allowed him to sleep in the
open air most of the year; an abundance of native animals
covered the hills, and nature was spread out luxuriantly
everywhere, in wild and untrodden freshness.
As I have said, this brave man resided near the mission of
San Juan. He had erected there a rude dwelling, and a distillery. On the neighboring plans he herded large bands of
horses, mules and cattle. To this fine old fellow Alvarado
made known his peril and designs; whereupon the foreigners assembled at Graham's summons, elected him their captain, an Englishman by the name of Coppinger, lieutenant,
and repaired to San Juan. A council was held between the
clerk and the foreigners. The former promised, that if by
the aid of the latter he should successfully defend himself
against the acting governor, and obtain possession of the
country, it should be declared independent of Mexico; and
that the law, which incapacitated foreigners from holding
real estate, should be abrogated. The foreigners agreed, on
these conditions, to aid Alvarado to the utmost of their
power. The next morning the united forces, fifty foreigners
and twenty-five Californians, marched against Monterey.
They entered the town in the afternoon of the same day,
and took up their position in the woods, one hundred rods in
the rear of the castello or fort. No event of importance




TR'AVELS IN THE CALIFORNIAS. I6
oc&:urred till the night came on, when the awe with which
darkness sometimes inspires even the bravest minds, fell
with such overwhelming power on the valorous garrison,
that notwithstanding they were supported by the open
mouths of the guns, the barking of their dog, the roar of the
surf, and the hooting of an owl on a neighboring tree-top,
they were absolutely compelled to forsake the ramparts,
for the more certain protection of unmolested flight!
Graham and his men perceiving the discomforture of their
enemies, availed themselves of their absence by taking possession of the evacuated fort. Alvarado, meantime, actuated,
it is to be presumed, by a desire to save life and a philosophical conviction.of the dangers incident to bullets rendered
crazy by burning powder, restrained the fiery ardor of his
twenty-five Californians, and held his own person beyond
the reach of harm, in case some luckless horse or cow straying over hostile ground on that memorable night, should
scare the fleeing garrison into an act of defence. The next
morning he and his brave men were found peering from
their hiding-places in a state of great anxiety and alarm!
A battle had almost been begun in Monterey! The blood
of their enemies had almost begun to fatten the soil of Culfornia! They themselves had nearly stepped in blood knee
deep, among the carcasses of the hated Mexicans; the besom of destruction had shaken itself, and had barely missed
commencing the havoc of bone and flesh, which would have
crushed every mote of Mexican life within their borders!
Thus they gloried among the bushes!!
Old Graham stood at sunrise on the earth embankments
of the Castello. A hunting shirt of buckskin, and pants of
the same material, covered his giant frame; a slouched
broad-brimmed hat hung aroand his head, and half covered
his large, quiet, determined face! In his right hand he
held, his rifle, the tried companion of many fearful strifes
among the savages! Four or five of his men sat on a dismounted thirty-two pounder, querying whether they could




64          SCENES IN THE PA CIFIC.
repair its woodwork so as to bring it to bear on the Presidlo
or government house. Others stood by a bucket of water,
swabbing out their rifle barrels, and cleaning and drying
the locks. Others of them were cooking beef; others
whittling, swearing, and chewing tobacco.
About nine o'clock flags of truce began their onerous
duties. Alvarado came from the woods and took part in the
councils. The insurgents demanded the surrender of the Governrlent; whereat the cavaliers of the Presido considered
thernselvesimmeasurably insulted. Two days were passed in
this parleying without advancing the interests of either party.
They were days big with the fate of the future; and who
could weary under their dreadful burthens? Not such men
as Alvarado. He bore himself like the man he was, through
all the trying period. He uniformly preferred delay to fighting! He was sustained in this preference by his right hand
villain, Captain Jose Castro. Indeed, it was the unanimous
choice of the whole Californian division of the insurgent
forces, to wit, the twenty-five before mentioned, to massacre
time instead of men. Fornota single one of them manifested
the slightest impatience orinsubordination under the delaya fact which perhaps demonstrates the perfection of military
discipline in California! The foreigners differed from their
illustrious allies. Graham thought "two days and two nights
a waitin' on them baars* was enough."' Accordingly, taking
the responsibility on himself, after the manner of his distinguished fellow-statesman, he sent a flag to the Presido with
notice that two hours only would be given the Governor
and his officers to surrender themselves prisoners of war.
The demand of the old Tennessean, however, was disregarded. The appointed time passed without the surrender.
Forbearance was at an end. The lieutenant of Graham's
rifle corps was ordered to level a four pound brass piece at
the Presido. A ball was sent through its tiled roof, immediately over the heads of the Mexican magnates!
~ Bears.




TRAVELS IN THE CALIFORNIAS.              65
It is wonderful how small a portion of necessity mingled
with human affairs will quicken men's perceptions of duty.
No sooner did the broken tiles rattle around the heads of these
valiant warriors, than they became suddenly convinced that it
would be exceedingly hazardous to continue their resistance
4gainst such an overwhelming force; and that the central
government at Mexico would not be so unreasonable as to expect four or five hundred troops to hold out against Los Rifle.
ros Jlmericanos.  This view of the case, taken through the
shattered roof of the Presidio, was conclusive. They surrendered at discretion! Alvarado marched into the citadel
of government! The Mexican troops laid down their arms!
The emblems of office were transferred to the custom-house
clerk! When these things had transpired, General Echuandra was pleased to say to Alvarado with the most exalted
good sense,;" had we known that we were thrice as many as
you, we should not have surrendered so soon;" thereby demonstrating to the future historian del Alta California that he
and his friends would either have fought the seventy-five with
their five hundred or protracted the siege of bravado much
longer, had they been able to count the said seventy-five at
the distance or five hundred yards, during the lapse of two
days! Difficulties in the use of optics often occur in Californian warfare which are not treated of in the books.
The end of this revolution came! The schooner Clarion of
New Bedford was purchased, and the Mexican officers shipped to San Bias. Juan Baptiste Alvarado customs' clerk
proclaimed El Alta California an independent republic, and
himself its govenor. But more of this on a subsequent page.
It suffices my present purpose to have shown how far this Alvarado was indebted to the foreigners dying in his prisons for
the station and power which he was using for their desruction. He could never have obtained possession of Monterey without them. And had they not slept on their rifles
fnr months after that event, a party in the south under his
uncle Don Carlos Carrillo, or another in the north under his




66       -  SN EC E S SIN TZE P AC  FI C.
uncle Guadaloupe Viejo, would have torn him from his illgotten elevation.
Thus upper California became an independent state, and
Alvarado its governor. The central government at Mexico
was of course much shocked at such unpolished, ungloved
impudence; threatened much, and at last in September,
1837, induced Alvarado to buy a ship, send despatches to
Mexico, and become El Goubernador Constitutionel del /llta
California, associated with his uncle Viejo, as Commandante
General. After this adhesion to the Mexican Government,
Alvarado became suspicious of the foreigners who had aided
him in the " Revolution," and sought every means of annoying them. They might depose him as they had done
Echuandra. And if vengeance were always a certain consequent of injustice, he reasoned well. The vagabond had
promised, in the day of his need, to bestow lands on those
who had saved his neck anid raised him to power. This he
found convenient to forget. Like Spaniards of all ages and
countries, after having been well served by his friends, he
rewarded them with the most heartlsss ingratitude.
Graham in particular was closely watched. A bold openhanded man, never concealing for an instant either his love
or hatred, but with the frankness and generosity of those
great souls, rough-hewn but majestically honest, who belong to the valley States, he told the Governor his sins from
time to time, and demanded in the authorative tone of an
elder and affectionate brother, that he should redeem his
pledges. The go6d old man did not remember that a Spaniard would have lost his nationality had he done so. A
Spaniard tell the truth! A Spaniard ever grateful for services rendered him! He should have knocked at the tombs
of Columbus and Cortes, and every other man who ever
served that contemptible race. He would have learned the
truth, and gathered wisdom from it. He asked for justice
and received what we shall presently see.
Graham loved a horse. He had taken a fine gelding with




TRA V ELS IN THE CALIFORNIAS.             67
him when he emigrated to the country, and trained him for
the turf. Every year he had challenged the whole country
to the course, and as often won everything wagered against
his noble steed. Jose Castro, a villain with a lean body,
dark face, black mustachios, pointed nose, flabby cheeks,
uneasy eyes, and hands and heart so foul as instinctively
to require a Spanish cloak, in all sorts of weather, to cover
them, and his Excellentissimo were among Graham's heaviest debtors. Behold the reasons of their enmity.
Another cause of the general feelings against the Americans and Britons in California was the fact that the Senoritas,
the dear ladies, in the plenitude of their taste and sympathy
for foreigners, preferred them as husbands. Hence Jose
Castro was heard to declare a little before the arrest of the
Americans and Britons, that such indignities could not be
borne by Castilian blood; " for a Californian Cavaliero cannot woo a Senorita if opposed in his suit by an American
sailor, and these heretics must be cleared from the land."
Such were the causes operating to arouse the wrath and
ripen the patriotism of the Californians. The vengeance
of baffled gallantry bit at the ear of Captain Jose Castro;
the fear of being brought to justice by Graham, tugged at
the liver of Alvarado; and love the keenest, and hate the
bitterest, in a soul the smallest that was ever entitled to the
breath of life, burnished the little black eyes and inflamed
the little thin nose of one Corporal Pinto. These were the
Worthies who projected the onslaught on the foreigners.
Their plan of operation was the shrewdest one ever concocted in California.
Since the "' Revolution" of'36 the Californian Spaniards
had been convinced that the Americans and Britons were
vastly their superiors-in courage and skill in war. From
the beginning, therefore, it was apparent that if they were
to get one or two hundred of these men into their power, it
must be done by stratagem. Accordingly, Graham's annual
challenge for the spring races in 1840, was conveniently con



SCENES IN rHE P A  I FI
strued into a disguised attempt to gather his friends for the
purpose of overthrowingAlvarado's Government. This sug
gestion was made to the minor leading interests, civil and
military, and a Junto was formed for the safety of the State;
air in plain truth, for the gratification of the several personal
enmities and jealousies of half a dozen scoundrels, who,
disregarding the most sacred pledges to their friends, would
rob them of their property and sacrifice their lives.
This Junto marshalled their forces at Monterey, and
adopted the following plan for accomplishing their fiendish
designs:-The soldiers were detailed into corps of two,
three and four in number, to which were attached several
civilized Indians. These bands were secretly sent to the
abodes of the foreigners, with instructions to convey them
with dispatch before the Alcaldes of the neighboring missions. This they accomplished. The victims, on receiving
information that the Alcaldes desired to see them, repaired
to their presence, willingly, and without suspicion of evil
intentions against them. As soon, however, as they arrived,
they were loaded with irons, and cast into the loathsome
cells of these establishments in which the Padres formerly
confined their disobedient converts!
Thus, one by one, they succeeded in arresting one hundred
and sixty odd Americans and Britons-brave old trappers,
mechanics, merchants, whalemen and tars-men who, if embodied under Graham, with their rifles in their hands, coul,
have marched from San Francisco to San Lucas; conquered.
nine hundred miles of coast, and held the Government of the
country in spite of the dastards who were oppressing them.
But they were caught in a net skilfully thrown over them,
and were helpless. After each man was bolted safely in
his dungeon, the harpies proceeded to his house, violated
his family, plundered his premises, and drove away his live
stock as private booty-the reward of the brave!
Having in this manner collected these unhappy men in
lse prisons of the several missions, Alvarado and Castro








.- ~    ~- S~    -— t5 —;   -~ —
IMontere~y, California. —P. 69.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~..'-.}         =.. _-..
n-                                  ae 
r.=. ~        Sa   FrnicClfri.P    9




TRAV.ELS IN TH E C ALIFORNI AS.           69
marched their whole disposable force to- one mission after
another and brought them in heavy irons, a few at a time,
to the Government dungeons at Monterey!
T'he names of some of these men, together with their
places of residence in California, which I happened to preserve, are given below.
Those who lived near the mission of San Francisco Bay,
were, Lewis Pollock, John Vermillion, William McGlone,
Daniel Sill, George Frazer,, Nithahiel-Spear, Captain McKenley, Jonathan Fuller, Captain Beechay.
Those who resided at El Pueblo San Jose, were Vvilliam
Blirkin, George Fergusson, Thomas Thomas, William Langly-s, Jonathan Mirayno, William Weeks, Jonathan Coppmger, William  Hauts, Charles Brown, Thomas Tomlison,
Richard Westlake, James Peace, Robert McCallister, Thomas Bowen, Elisha Perry, Nathan Daily, Robert Livermore,
William Gulenack, Jonathan Marsh, Peter Storm, Job Dye,.
William Smith, Jonathan Warner, and two Frenchmen.
Those from Santa Cruz, were, William Thompson, James
Burnes, F. Eagle, Henry Knight, Jonathan Lucas, George
Chapel, Henry Cooper, Jonathan Herven, James Lowyado,
Francisco, LaGrace, Michael Lodge, Josiah Whitehouse,
Robert King.
From  Nativada, Graham's neighborhood, were, Isaac
Graham, Daniel Goff, William Burton, Jonathan Smith,
and Henry Niel.
Those residents at Selenia&s, were, William Chard, James
O'Brien, William Bronda, William Malthas, Thomas Cole,
Thomas Lewis, William Ware, andl James Majous.
In Monterey, were, Leonard Carmichael, Edward Watson, Andrew  Watson, Henry McVicker, H. Hathaway,
Henry Bee, William Trevavan, Jonathan Maynard, William
Henderson,James Meadows, Jonathan Higgins, Mark West,
George Kenlock, Jeremiah Jones, Jonathan Chamberlain,
l)ailiel., Joseph Bowles, James Kelley, James Fair.
well, Walter Adams, Mr. Horton, James Atterville, Mr.




70          SCENES IN THE PACIPFIC
Jones, Jonathan Christian, William Chay, William Dickeor
Charles Williams, Alvan Willson.
CHAPTER V.
THE PRISONRES.
FORTY-ONE of the prisoners whose names appear on the
concluding pages of the last Chapter, furnished me with
written accounts of their arrest, and subsequent treatment.
Believing that the reader will be more interested in these,
than in any abstract that could be made of them, I will transcribe a few which best illustrate this barbarous persecution.
" I, Isaac Graham, a citizen of the United States of America, came across the continent to California, with a passport from the Mexican authorities of Chihuahua, and obtained from the General commanding in Upper California,
a license to run a distillery in that country, for the term of
eight years; this business I have followed since that time.
" On the sixth of April last (1840) there appeared to be
mischief brewing. But what it would prove to be, none of
us could tell. The Californian Spaniards travelled usually
much about the country; and conversed with the foreigners
rather shyly. They had threatened to drive us out of California several times; and we tried to guess whether they were
at last preparing to accomplish it. But from what we saw
it was impossible to form a satisfactory conclusion.
" On the same day, however, Jose Castro, Bicenta Contrine, Ankel Castro, and a runaway Botany Bay English convict, by the name of Garner, a vile fellow, and an enemy ot
mine, because the foreigners would not elect him their c4tain, passed and repassed my house several times, and con



TRAVELS IN TH E CALIFORNIAS.              71
versed together in low tones of voice. I stopped Jose Castro, and asked him what was the matter. He replied that he
was going to march against the Commandante General
Viego, at San Francisco, to depose him from the command
of the forces. His two companions made the same assertion.
I knew that Alvarado was afraid of Viego, and that Jose
Castro was ambitious for his place; and for these reasons, I
partly concluded that they spoke the truth.
"A little later in the day, however, the vagabond Garner
called at my house, and having drunk freely of whisky became rather boisterous, and said significantly, that the time
of some people would be short; that Jose Castro had received orders from the governor to drive the foreigners out of
California, orto dispose of them in some other way. He boasted that he himself should have a pleasant participation in
the business. I could not persuade him to inform me when
or in what manner this was to take place. I had heard the
same threat made a number of times within the past year, but
it resulted in nothing. Believing, therefore, that Garner's
words proceeded from the whisky he had drunk, rather than
the truth, I left him in the yard, and in company with my
partner, Mr. Niel, went to bed. Messrs. Morris and Barton, as usual, took to their couches in the still-house.
"- We slept quietly, until about three o'clock in the morning, when I was awakened by the discharge of a pistol near
my head, the ball of which passed through the handkerchief
about my neck. I sprang to my feet, and jumped in the
direction of the villains, when they discharged six other
pistols, so near me that my shirt took fire in several places.
Fortunately, the darkness and the trepidation of the cowards prevented their taking good aim; for only one of their
shots took effect, and that in my left arm.
" After firing they fell back a few paces and commenced
reloading their pieces. I perceive by the light of their pistcii that they were too numerous for a single man to contend
with, and determined to escape. But I had scarcely got six




72         SCENES IN TUHE PAC IFIC.
paces from the door when I was overtaken and assailed with
heavy blows from their swords. These I succeeded in parrying off to such an extent that I was not much injured by
them. Being incensed at last by my successful resistance,
they grappled with me, and threw me down, when an ensign
by the name of Joaquin Terres drew his dirk, and saying
with an oath that he would let out my life, made a thrust at
my heart. God saved me again. The weapon passing between my body and left arm, sunk deep in the ground! and
before he had an opportunity of repeating his blow they
dragged me up the hill in the rear of my house, where Jose
Castro was standing. They called to him,'Here he is!
here he is!' whereupon Castro rode up and struck me with
the back of his sword over the head so severely as to bring
me to the ground; and then ordered four balls to be put
through me. But this was prevented by a faithful Indian
in my service, who threw himself on me, declaring that he
would receive the balls in his own heart!
" Unwilling to be thwarted, however, in their design to destroy me, they next fastened a rope to one of my arms, and
passed it to a man on horseback, who wound it firmly around
the horn of his saddle. Then the rest of them, taking hold of
the other arm, endeavored to haul my shoulders out of joint'!
But the rope broke. Thinking the scoundrels bent on killing
me in some way, I begged for liberty to commend my soul to
God. To this they replied,' You shall never pray till you
kneel over your grave.' They then conducted me to my
house and permitted me to put on my pantaloons. While
there they asked where Mr; Morris was. I told them I did
not know. They then put their lances to my breast and told
me to call him or die. I answered that he had made his escape. While I was saying this, Mr. Niel came to the house,
pale from loss of blood and vomiting terribly. He had had a
lance thrust through his thigh, and a deep wound in his
leg, which nearly separated the cord of the heel.
" They next put Mr. Niel and myself in double irons, car



TRA VEL$ -IN THE CAL I FORN AS.          73
ried us half a mile into the plain, left us under guard, and
returned to plunder the house. After having been absent
a short time, they came and conducted us back to our
rifled home. As soon as we arrived there, a man by the
name of Manuel Larias approached me with a drawn sword,
rnd commanded me to inform him where my money was
buried. I told him I had none. He cursed me and turned away. I had -some deposited in the ground, but I determined they should never enjoy it. After having robbed
me of my books and papers, which were all the evidence I
had that these very scoundrels and others were largely indebted to me, and having taken whatever was valuable on
my premises, and distributed it among themselves, they
proceeded to take an inventory of what was left, as if it
were the whole of my property; and then put me on
horseback and sent me to this prison. You know the rest.
I am chained like a dog, and suffer like one."
Mr. Albert F. Morris, whose name appears in Graham's
account of his arrest, gives me some farther particulars. It
may bewell here to say, that this Morris was a British subject,
a descendant of the former Surveyor-General of Nova Scotia.
or New Brunswick. Having strayed from friends and home,
he found himself in California destitute of the means of livelihood. In this state of want he hired himself to Graham as
a laborer in his distillery; and was living on his promises
in that capacity at the time of the events just related.
" On the night of the sixth of April, 1840, when we were
about going to bed, two persons arrived who asked for
lodgings. Mr. Graham told them they might find quarters
with us in the distillery. They dismounted and took bed
with me and Mr. Barton; and Messrs. Graham and his
partner Neil took their bed in the house, about thirty
yards distant from us.
" Nothing occurred to disturb us until about three o'clock
in the morning, when, being awakened by aloud knocking at
the distillery door, I sprang out of my bed, and asked who




74         SCENE$ IN 7 HUE PACIFIC.
was there? No answer being retlrned, I repeated the question in a stern voice, when a man outside replied,' Nicholas
Alviso.' He being a near neighbor I answered,'very well,'
and told one of those present to light a candle. But while
this was being done, a number of people outside called out,'Where is Graham? Tear the devil in pieces!' and immediately afterward rushed with great violence againlst the door.
I told them to wait a moment, but they cried out with still
greater clamor for Graham, and seemed to rush toward the
house where he slept. Quite a number, however, remained
at the distillery, beating at the door in a savage manner and
threatening death to the inmates. I drew my pistols, and at
that instant Nicholas Alviso called aloud for all hands to beat
down the door. On they came against it; I fired; and they
returned the fire and wounded me in the left side. I then
seized my rifle and snapped it at them; they retreated, and
I escaped into the ~wamp in the rear of Graham's house.
After concealing myself among the bushes, I saw fifteen
or twenty men with drawn swords making most deadly blows
at Messrs. Graham and Neil. I heard Ankel Castro give
orders to hew them down; Garner urged them to do the same.
" I remained in the swamp till late the next night, when
I walked eight miles to the farm of Mr. Littlejohn, where
I remained two days. Then, with an Indian to guide me,
I rode to the mission of Santa Cruz on the north side of
Monterey Bay. Here I called at the houses of Messrs. Dye
and Young; told them what had happened, and went up
among the hills for safety.
4" On the sixteenth, Francisco Young came to me and said,
that Captain Burlinen had come after me with a company of
riflemen. He assured me that I should not be put to death or
manacled if I surrendered myself without resistance. I concluded after some.hesitation to do so, and followed him down
to Mr. Dye's distillery. There I found Captain Burlinen, with
eleven Californians, armed with the rifles which they had
taken from the Britons and Americans. After obtaining a




TRAVELS IN TH E CALIFORNIAS.           75
promise from the captain that my life should not be taken
and that I should not be pat in irons or otherwise bound, I
delivered my rifle to him and became his prisoner. I was
then marched down to the Mission of Santa Cruz between
the soldiers, and put under guard until the next morning.
" Soon after sunrise on the seventeenth they began preparations for taking me to Monterey. I had, when escaping from Graham's premises, left most of my clothing, and
not knowing in what this affair might end, I desired the
captain to take me by that route. To this he consented.
But it was of no service to me; for I found both my portmanteaus broken open and all my clothing stolen. Mr. Niel
was in the house. He had been badly wounded in the affray of the sixth. A lance hid been thrust through his
thigh, and a deep sabre cut inflicted upon the leg. He told
me that the Botany Bay Garner did it. I saw several
balls sticking in the walls of the bedroom in which Mr. Niel
lay. The floor was much stained with blood. The premises had been plundered. We stayed at Graham's house
an hour, and proceeded towards Monterey.
"I arrived in town the next day. It was occupied by sol.
diers, and the prisons filled with foreigners. They immediately put me in double-irons, and carried me before a body of
men who pretended to act as a court of justice. I desired
that Mr. Spence, the alcalde, might be sent for as an interpreter. But they would not allow it. They said I must be
content with the one they had provided. His name was
Nariago. He was by no means capable of the task. But I
was compelled to take him or none, and go into the examination. I was sworn; and then the interpreter said it was
well known that I had been writing letters against the government. I asked him to produce the letters, that I might
see them. He replied,' that it is not necessary.' He then
said that Mr. Graham was at the head of an attempted revolutionary movement against the government, and that I
knew something about it. I replied that I had never heard




76         S C E N E 8 I N T H E P A C: I FI.
Mr. Graham suggest anything of the kind. I said that he
had expressed a determination to represent to the governor
the shameful treatment of Mr. Higgins; and the outrage
upon the foreigners while they were burying their countrymen at Santa Barbara; and particularly the m' onstrous deed
of digging him up after burial, and leaving his corpse naked
above ground. I confessed I had offered to go with him to
the governor for that purpose.
"The interpreter then asked why I fired on the people at
Graham's distillery. I answered that I did it in self defence.
He inquired how that could be. I told him, as it was impossible for me in the night time to see those who made the assault on the distillery, I could not know whether they were
the authorized agents of the government, or robbers whom it
was my duty to resist. My life was at stake, and I fought
for it, as they would have done under like circumstances. It
was next asked why I did not seek redress from the government, if I supposed them robbers. I said that I had no time
to do so between their attempts to kill me and my own necessary acts to prevent them; and that if I had had opportunity
I had no assurance, under the circumstances, that government would protect me. This last answerwas translated with
some embellishments; and the interpreterinformed me it was
considered highly insulting to the governor. I answered that
no insult was intended, but that I was under oath, and could
not vary from the truth. I was then asked why I fled to
Santa Cruz. My reply was that I had lost all confidence in
the justice of the government, and flew to the wilderness
for protection. At this the alcalde was greatly incensed, or.
dered my answers to be reduced to writing, and commanded
me to affix my name to them, together with the additions
which their desire for an excuse to destroy me induced them
to append. I stated that I did not suppose myself obliged
to place my signature to an instrument written in a language which I could not read. I signed it with swords
over my head. What the paper contained I never knew,








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_ _, -
r
5iii -i-CZICIULI
John Wnrner leaving the abpe. —Page 77.




TRAVELS IN THE CALIFORNIAS               77
They would not allow me to attempt to read it. The examination being ended, they took me to the fort and placed
me under a strong guard for the night. The next day, the
nineteenth of April, they marched me under escort of a
company of infantry into the public green, before the government house, to hear prayers. After which, I have no
doubt, they intended to shoot me, but were prevented from
doing it through the fear of Mr. -."
I have other interesting narratives showing the most inhuman conduct in the Governor of Upper California, while
Atrresting these Americans and Britons, which I must pass for
want of space. There is one, however, that refers more
especially to the causes which brought many of them into a
country where they were subject to such merciless usage,
that I cannot prevail on myself to omit. It is a saying among
seamen that when a ship doubles Cape Horn " the rope's end
and shackles are the Old Man's argument." Sailors in
those seas are often glad even to escape from a bloody deck
to the chances of dungeons and rapiers in the Californias.
" I left the American ship Hope, of Philadelphia, in Manilla, and there being no chance of getting a passage to the
United States from that place, I went passenger to Macao, in
the ship Rasselas, of Boston, commanded by Captain ******.
On my arrival there, all his crew having left him, Captain
"*  ** "asked me to ship on board his vessel for a voyage. I
and some others agreed to do so on these conditions: that if
after serving one month, while the ship lay in that port, we
did notlike it, we were to be at liberty to leave her..When
the month was up we all requested to go on shore. But he
said all might go except William Warren, Robert McAlister,
and myself. We were accordingly detained on board. No
boat from the shore was allowed to come alongside for fear we
should escape. After a short time the ship proceeded on her
voyage to Kamschatka. And in this way were we forced to
go without signing articles, and contrary to our agreement.




78          SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
One day when my watch was at work on deck the captain
came along and said I was not sewing the sail right; and I
said I thought I was; when he kicked me over the eye with a
large heavy shoe he had on at the time. And when the pain
made me start to my feet, with the blood running down my
face, he said that I wanted to kill him with a knife, and im-:mediately had me put:(hands and feet) in irons. I remained
so for half an hour; when the captain, ordering me to be tied.up to the main-rigging, and taking his knife from his pocket,
cut the shirt off my back, and gave me two dozen lashes with
his own hand. After this I was taken down and thrown in
the longboat among the hogs, and fed on bread and water for
a fortnight. In this situation I suffered very much. For I
was ironed hand and foot, the weather was extremely cold,
and I was without shirtshoes and stockings. At the end of
the two weeks the ship arrived in port, and I was taken out
of the longboat. My feet, too, were stripped of their fetters;
they were swelled so much that it was with difficulty I could
walk. I was kept manacled at the wrists till the ship had
got underway out of the harbor. After she had passed the
fort the captain ordered a boat lowered and sent me ashore on
a barren place, where it was impossible for me to go to the
settlement without a boat, and left me with the irons on my
hands. In this situation I spent two days and nights on the
beach without food or water, when I was picked up by a man
who gave me a passage in a canoe to the settlement. Here 1
had to work hard for my victuals. After nine months the
schooner Clementine, of New York, arrived, and I asked
Captain.- to take me out of the country, but he refused.
I then went to Ohotsk, thinking to go overland to St. Petersburg; finding a vessel there from the States, however, I
wanted to ship in her, but was detained by the Russian
government, and forced to work for the Russian American
Fur Company the two following years. After havink been
forced to bear the rigors of two Siberian winters, without
muchclothing, and to serve as a slave for two and a half years,




TRAVELS IN THE CALIFORNIA S
I got a passage to Sitka, Northwest America, where, after
five months' wprking for the Russians, I was permitted to go
away in the brig Baical and was discharged in San Francisco.
" JOHN WARNER, of Scotland.'
The next event in this poor fellow's life was his imprisonment in California. His sufferings there were scarcely
less than those he had endured elsewhere. The names of
his companions at Macao appear in the list of prisoners
which was given in the previous chapter.
The 19th was an exciting day. More of my countrymen
and others, allied by the blood of a common ancestry, were
arriving from the interior in irons. As soon as they came in
town they were taken in front of the prisons, pulled violen'tly from their horses by Indians, and frequently much
bruised by the fall. Their tormentors then searched them,
took forcible possession of their money, knives, flints, steels,
and every other little valuable about their persons, and
thrust them into prison. About eleven o'clock, A. M., the
American called on the governor to learn the cause of this
treatment, and was informed that there had been considerable conversation among the prisoners for months past, about'being abused by the government," and that threats had
been made about "going to the governor for justice," and
other things of that kind, which rendered ti necessary for the
peace of the country to get them out of it, or into their graves.
The American replied, that the treaty stipulations between
the governments of the United States and Mexico required
the authorities of each country to treat the citizens of the
other with kindness and justice.
His Excellentissimo replied, that the government of the
Californias would not be restrained in its action by treaties
which the central government might make:and that if the
department of the Californias should violate such compact
with the United States, that government would seek redress
from Mexico; that the Californian government was the m.re




80         SCEN E  IN THE PACIFIC.
agent of the Central government, and therefore not respa
sible to other nations for its administration. The Mexican
government alone had a right to complain of its acts.
The American replied, that the department of the Californias being an integral part of the Mexican nation, any injury which its authorities should inflict on the persons and rights
of other nations might well be redressed on the persons and
property of the Californias. The Governor answered, that
he thought not. He was then asked, what he supposed an
American or British fleet would do, if one should at that
time anchor at Monterey?
This question startled the miserable tyrant. That spectral
fleet outside, its reputed commander in his very presence, and
the constant plying of the Don Quixote between him and his
armament, seemed for a moment to come before him, like a
fearful reality. Perceiving the impression made upon him,
the American took advantage of the occasion to remark, that
it would be necessary for the Californian government to
bring the persons then in confinement to a speedy tria. for
any alleged misdemeanor, or set them at liberty without trial,
at a very early day; for the American government and its
citizens required him, and would, if necessary, compel him,
in this instance at least, to do an act of strict justice.
The quiet and firm tone of this address threw his Excellentissimo into a most sublime rage. He ordered the guards
to fire on the American, and strode through his apartment,
bellowing fearfully, and raising a very dense cloud of dust!
The American, meanwhile, knowing that Californian noise
boded little danger, stood quietly awaiting the termination
of the tumult. It ceased after a while, and-mildly saying
to the governor, that he had only to. repeat, that the prisoners must be tried and lawfully condemned or set at liberty,
and that soon, he walked through the guards and returned
to his lodgings. He had not been at home more than an
hour when a message arrived from Don Jose Castro, Alvatado's captain. advising him not to appear in the streets




T RAVELS  TT THE CALIFORNIAS.              St
again, for he feared that his life would be taken by the sub
tetterns of the insulted government! 
This message was intended to prevent him from appearing before the grates, and encouraging the prisoners to bear
their sufferings like men worthy their high extraction; and
also to deter him from interfering with the unholy purposes
of the Government against their lives. It failed of its object.
His reply was, that he did not at that time comprehend the
necessity of Captain Castro's anxieties in regard to him, and
that as he should have business in the streets about sunset,
those who felt disposed would have an opportunity at that
time to make any demonstrations congenial with their feelings. At sunset he walked down to the prisons, heard
again through the grates the cries of their tenants for air and
water, and returned to Mr. Larkin's, to pass a miserable
night-a night of unavailing compassion.
The next day he went into two of the cells, took the
names and residence of a portion of the prisoners, and learned their general condition. They had nothing on which to
sleep or sit except the wet ground; were emaciated, pale
and sickly; some of them could scarcely walk to the grate
to get fresh air; one could. not stand, and his fellows from
time to time held him up to breathe! They said in their
despair, that they could keep hope alive as long as he
dared to walk frequently before the prison, for his presence
obtained them  better treatment from their enemies, and
encouraged the more desponding to expect through him
deliverance from their sufferings!
Graham's cell was under a double guard. It could not be
approached. People were even forbidden to pass it. I occasionally approached near enough to, hear the lion-hearted
old man roar out his indignation. A great and brave soul
had that man. Its best energies had been bestowed on the
ingrate Alvarado. He had made the rascal into a governor; and this was the beginning of his reward.
The afternoor was spent in much perplexityby the officers




82 ~        SCENES IN  THE PAC FIC.
of the government. Theybelieved the American to te something more than a Commodore. His precise rank they could
not determine. It was evident to them that he had a fleet
outside under his command! But he spoke and acted as if he
not only had authority on the seas, but the land also, even in
Los Californias! He wais everywhere present, forbidding
one thing and ordering another; rushing into the governor's apartments, upbraiding him for his acts, and threatening-to bring destruction upon the town, unless all his capricious wishes in regard to the rebels were gratified. His character was an enigma. If he assumed it, death was too light
a punishment. If he were really a high agent of the Republic of North America, his bearing and acts comported with
his character, and indicated that great circumspection would
be necessary in the course adopted toward the prisoners.
Mr. Larkin was called upon to express his opinion in this
vexed matter; but he very properly said that he knew nothing about it, except that this man appeared to be one who
understood his duties, whatever they were; and suggested
that it might not be well to disregard his opinions, or otherwise treat him with disrespect. The subaltern dignitaries
thereupon made their complimentary acknowledgments to
the American, and passed a part of the day with him and
Mr. Larkin. It pleased them to say many handsome things
of the bravery and intelligence of the citizens of the States.
They were told in reply that the United States expected the
prisoners to be released from unjust and tyrannical imprisonment. The Senors bowed assent; but mentioned as a
difficulty in the way of this proceeding, that to release them
would be an act ofgreat disrespect to the governor, Juan Baptiste Alvarado.  To this it was replied thatsuch disrespect
would not be very alarming-not quite so serious as the
Paixhan guns of an American or British man-of-war.
Another night of suffering in the prisons. " Heat, heat!
Air! for Godl's sake krive us air! air! You brown devils,




TRAVELS IN THE CALIFORNIAS.              83
give us air!" were heard at intervals, till the noise of opening day drowned these agonizing entreaties.
On the morning of the twenty-first, the American was
retused any intercourse with the prisoners. During the forenoon, therefore, he walked many times past the grates of the
several buildings; stopped often and encouraged the inmates by his mien to hope on still. Mr. Larkin had fed
them liberally in the morning, and furnished every cell with
an abundant supply of water. Yet they suffered greatly!
They looked on damp prison walls, and dragged chains at
their wrists and ancles! They stood or sat or lay on
poached mud! They saw in the future every image of coming
evil! Suffocation, the pangs of death one at a time, coming slowly by day and among the sleepless moments of the
long and hot night-life pendent on the mercy of a Californian Spaniard. These constituted heir condition.
About noon of the 21st, a half-breed Spaniard rode into town
at fall speed and held a hurried conversation with the guard
around the prison, and then entered the house of the Governor.
A few moments having elapsed he reappeared and went to the
quarters of Jose Castro. A moment more Castro came upon
the green, issued a hasty order to Corporal Pinto, and repaired to the Governor. The horseman, meantime, galloped
rapidlytothe Castello. Immediately his Excellentissimo appeared on the balcony, and ordered the d rums to beat to arms!
Soon there was hot haste in every dwelling. Women ran
to the windows and doors; children pulled at their mothers'
skirts, and asked what had happened. The men ran to the
public green, took their stations in the ranks, and looked alternately towards the hills and the prisons. The dogs barked and trotted about in apparent wonder; the goats bleated
and stamped their feet; and the horses neighed and ran to
the sea-side, and the cattle raised head and tail and Ian together! In fact, such a time of locomotion had not for many
-a day been seen in Monterey. In order to explain this phe.
nomenon, it will be necessary for me to show its cause.




84          SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
A law of the Republic of Mexico requires the citizens'of
other nations, who would hunt, trap, or trade for furs on any
portion of her dominions, to obtain from the proper authorities written licenses to that effect.  Three, four, and six
months, are the usual terms of time specified in them, and the
rights conveyed by them vary, from the mere privilege of
trapping, to all the several franchises of a general trader.
With these stowed away in deer-skin pouches, enveloped in
the bladders of the buffalo so saturated with grease that neither the storms Mnor streams can penetratethem, they load their
mules with traps and goods and go forth into the wilderness.
The territories over which they more commonly travel are
those which lie on the rivers Jila, the Colorado of the West,
the San Joaquin, and Sacramento, countries inhabited by Indians only, among which the citizens of the Indio-Spanio-Bravo-Furioso-/lMilitario-Despotico-Republica-s1mericana, dare
not enter. Into these wastes the daring Americansfighttheir
way through the savage tribes; trap the beaver among flying
poisoned arrows; guard each other while they take in turn
their hurried sleep; eat the flesh of wild animals and beaten
grass seed; or, as is often the case, loose themselves and die of
hunger, thirst, or the prostrating effects of the poisonous waters in the sandy solitudes over which they attempt to travel.
If, however, they survive the hardships ofthese j ourneyings,
collect large quantities of furs, and return to the borders of civilization, satisfied that their toil, however hazardous it may
have been, has resulted in an adequate reward, it is still uncertain whether they have labored for their own or another's
benefit. The authorities who have sold them their licenses employ various means to rob them of what they have so dearly
acquired. The more comnon of these is to raise questions in
regard to the validity of the licenses. To this end the hunter
and his furs. re seized and carried before the Alcalde, on the
assumption chat they have been obtained without lawful permission. The court is opened, and the possession anl seizure
is proven-the hunter offers in evidence of his right of prro




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.1
r,
lvl~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~',~~~~~~~~~
b~~~~~~~~ __    ~l'~ __~...,~~\,-$B              Pa.timerican.Fur Traders.' —P. 84.
Jmerican FurL Tradkrs.-P. 84.








TRAVELS IN THE CALIFORNIAS.             85
perty, his carefully preserved license. It is examined by the
court and if found to have been granted by the political party then in power, it is declared sufficient, and the hunter and
his furs are ieleased. But if it unfortunately proceeded from
the antagonist political sect, the court, with a wisdom by no
means peculiar to themselves, pronounce that act of their
predecessors of no effect, and declare the furs forfeited to
the government. Nor is the hunter rendered secure from depredation by the adjudged legality of his acquisition. Numerous instances have occurred in which the officials of New
Mexico, after they have rendered judgment in his favor,
have hired the partially civilized Indians to follow the poor
hunter, on his way over the plains towards his home, and
rob him of every skin he has taken, even his wardrobe, food,
animals, rifle, and left him to perish orreturn to the cold hospitality of those whose creatures have ruined him.
Instances of another manner of committing these robberies
have occurred. An American hunter obtained his license in
Chihuahua, went to Upper California, and after a very successful hunt among the Tulares' lakes in the valley of the San
Joaquin, went down to Monterey for rest and supplies. On
his arrival he was summoned before the Alcalde to show by
what right he had entered the country and trapped the beaver
He had lost some of his animals while fording a mountain
torrent, and with them his passport and license. He therefore, could show no authority for his presence, nor cause why
the furs in his possession should not be declared contraband.
He was not permitted to send to Chihuahua for evidence.
The loss of some three thousand dollars' worth of furs, and
seven years imprisonment, at Monterey, was the result.
Another American by the name of Young, who appears in
in the narrative of my travels across the continent, was, by
means like these robbed of some thousands of beaver-skins,
the avails of manyyears' toil. But this iniquitous plundering
has not been confined to the whites. The civilized Indians
Qn our western frontier, who make frequent excursions over




86         -SC CENES IN THIE P A CIFIC.
the Rocky Mountains in search of furs, have from time to
time been subjected to losses and the most degrading perscnal
treatment from the Californian aad New Mexican authorities.
Whites and Indians having been injured in this manner, without personal resistance, until all hope of retribution from the
federal government, and every prospect of better morals on
the part of the robbers, had forsaken them, have taken the
club into their own hands: and the ruined Indian and
white man put on the red paint of battle, band together,
make incursions among the covyards of Santa Fe, and
even cross the mountains, and lay tribute upon the mules
and horses of the Californians. Such were the Indians
whose presence created the alarm at Monterey. They numbered about fifty. And the vagabond government well knew that
those fifty rifles if brought upon the town at that time would
send every poltroon of them to their last rest. No wonder,
then, that there was quaking at Monterey. Old scores and la.
ter ones would have been balanced, if those men had dreamed that Americans and Britons were in the prisons of Monterey.
It was suggested by several persons that the prisoners
would be shot during the week without trial. Acting upon
this hint the American intimated to some of the more prudent and intelligent among them, his willingness to aid them
in breaking prison, taking the town, and disposing of the
authorities at rope's end, if they did not give them a fair
trial within three days thereafter. These propositions inspired them with such new life, or rather so kindled into
action the little that was left in them, that those who had
strength enough to make themselves heard, struck up " Hail
Columbia," and (C Rule Britannia," with a fervor that at
intervals choked their utterance!
I never before felt the force of these national songs. The
night was still! Scarcely a sound was heard save the heavy
surf beating on the rocks of Puentos Pinos. I walked
around the prisons till eleven o'clock, to the peril of life, indeed, but in the enjoylnentof feelings dearer than life itself.




TRAVELS IN THE CALIFORNIAS.              87
" Hail Columbia!"  I wish my readers could conceive
something of the stirring might of those words sung by
parched lips within the prisons of California! Dying Americans sang them! The unconquerable sons of the Republic sang them, though strength was sinking and the blood
flowed feebly through her children's veins!
"Rule Britannia!" The battle anthem of the fatherland!
Sturdy Britons were there to sing. Their voices seemed -weak
when they began it; but as their feelings seized more perfectly the inspiration of poetry and music, the floating walls
of the Island Empire seemed to heave in view. " Rule Britannia!" It came ringing through the grates during the latter part of the evening with a broken, wild shout, as if the
breath of those who uttered it came fresh from Trafalgar!
Pinto, the captain of the guard, inquired the purport of
their songs, and was told by a Scotchman at the grates that
they were " the war-cries of Britain and America, and that
the Californians, Mexicans, and the rest of the Spanish
creation, had better vote themselves asses and devils before
those nations forced the idea into them from the muzzles of
their rifles!"
This Pinto was a small pattern even of a coward, but what
there was of him one could not doubt was the genuine article.
He had a small narrow head, very black stiff hair, a long thin
nose with a sharp pendant point; small snakish eyes, very
near neighbors, and always peering out at the corners of the
sockets; a very slender sharp chin, with a villanous tuft of
bristles on the under lip; a dark swarthy complexion burnished with the grin of an idiotic hyena. Who would not expect
such an animal to be frightened at the carnage songs of the
parent of nations and her firstborn child! He did fear, the
miniature scoundrel! He had been one of the principle instigators of this barbarity, and if he believed in the recupe
rative energies of prostrated justice he had reason to tremble.
In his trepidation he sought the quarters of Jose Castro.
This man was his monster superior. With the general out



SCENES IN THE PACI FIC.
lines of the human frame, he united every lineament of a
thoroughbred ourang-outang: as, very long arms, very large
brawny hands, a very heavy body, and a very contemptible
face, wrinkled and drawn into a broad concentrated scowl
of unsatisfied selfishness.
This dignitary made the rounds of the guard and retired
to his couch, satisfied that he was really what he modestly
called himself-the Napoleon of Western America! Pinto
took up his position with great resolution in the shade of an
adobie wall, at a safe distance from the prisons; and when
I left the ground he was employing his knees in knocking
each other into a stiff stand against unmanly fear. Nothing
else worthy of note occurred during the night.
On the morning of the 22d the governor sent again for
the American. He would not see the messenger. About
nine o'clock, however, he walked down before the prisons
and spoke a word of cheer to their inmates. They were
wretched, but hope was awakened in them by his presence
and fearlessness.
There was evident consternation among the dons. That
American signalling the Don Quixote every morning as she
swept into the harbor, and the idea of a fleet outside, its
commander ashore, communicating with it by a fast-sailing
brig, and that commander defying the governor, breaking
through the guards, conversing with the prisoners, and those
martial songs by night, were ominous circumstances in the
eyes of those contemptible tyrants!
About noon it was reported that the prisoners would have
a trial! I A little advance this! The government had begun
to yield to its fears, what it would not to its sense of justice.
The next morning, the 23d, the entire standing army, con.
sisting of sixteen filthy half-breeds, and a corps of about sixty
volunteers, mustered at the beat of the drum before the prisons. Twenty-one of the prisoners were brought out between
the lines, marched to the governor's house, and seated on the
grass in front of it. They were emaciated and pallid, but re.




TRAVELS IN THE CALIFORNIAS.             89
solute. The American pushed his way through the crowd
of officers and citizens, seated himself within twelve feet of
the prisoners, and manifested to them by the sincerest compassion and most resolute acts, that if they died he died with
them. He had agreed with them to appear before the prison
at the middle hour of night, on the twenty-fourth, and go
with them to freedom or a brave death, if they were not fairly
tried and on evidence condemned, or released before the following midnight. This promise they felt would be kept.
The trial, as it was called, soon commenced. Each man
was summoned singly from his seat to a lower room in the
governor's house, and called upon to produce his passport.
Most of them replied, that they were arrested in their fields
or workshops, and were not permitted to go to their residences for papers or anything else.
To this the Alcalde who sat in judgment said, " I have
no evidence before me of your lawful right to remain in
California."
The next question was, 4" What do you know of a revolutionary movement under Graham?"
The reply was, " I know nothing of any such movement
or intention."
"' What meant that advertisement for a horse-race, put
forth by Graham,?"
"It meant what such advertisements have meant for the
last five years: a wish on the part of Graham to run his
American horse in California."
" Nothing more? Nothing more'.
This was the form of trial in each case. The only favor
they craved was, that they might have an interpreter who
understood both languages. This was denied them. A
miserable tool of the government, who spoke the Englisl.
so badly that he could never make himself understood,
succeeded, by his manner of translating their answers, in
making them confess themselves guilty of high treason, and
other misdemeanors worthy of the bullet.




SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
After all had passed this ordeal, a Botany Bay Convict, by
the name of Garner, was called in evidence on behalf of the
government. His testimony removed all lingering doubts.
He established the unqualified guilt of all. Graham, in particular, who had been preferred over him as commander of
the foreign riflemen in Alvarado's revolution, and whom he
had previously attempted to kill, he declared to have formed a
scheme of ambition, which, had it not been discovered, would
have dug the grave of every Spaniard in California!! This
man's testimony was written out and signed by his murderous
hand. It may be in due time a blister on his perjured soul.
The reported confessions of each prisoner were reduced to
writing in the Spanish language. They contained, as I afterward learned in Mexico, things never said, accounts of acts
never performed, and bequests of property to their persecutors, their jailers, and to those, who, on several occasions,
thrust sabres at their hearts when nearly helpless in the dungeons of Monterey, which I need not say were never made.
Few of them could read Spanish, and none were permitted to
peruse these documents. They were compelled to sign them,
as poor Morris was, by threats of instant death if they refused.
Thus ended the trial of one hundred and sixty-odd Americans
and Britons, before a court of Californian Arabs'! What its
judgment would be was the painful question in every mind!
A few of them had been sent to their places of residence without arms, or any intimation whether it would be the sublime
pleasure of the villains that they should live or die: the greater
part were remanded to the prisons. And again, while they
sat, stood, and laid on the mud floors of their cells, and clanked
their fetters and handcuffs, they sang " Hail Columbia,"
and "Rule Britannia," as another night of wo passed
away! That spectre fleet and its commander were the only
hope between them and death. On this they leaned!
On the morning of the twenty-third the drums beat at
early dawn, and the whole military force paraded before the
dungeons. An imposing display was that. The clanking of




TRAVELS IN THE CALIFORNIAS.              91
rusty swords and scabbards, the jingling of loose gun-locks,
and the right-about-face-forward-march operations of these
bandy-legged, pale-livered, disconsolate sons of Mars, praying to the saints that they might notbe annihilated by such terrible events, told a story of valor, which future ages ought to
hear with appalled ears! The times which try men's souls
have always been remarkable in some way; and this day
was chiefly conspicuous for beef and beans. The quantity
of these articles which they devoured at breakfast, was incredible; and the grease and dirt which they consumed,
the glare and quick twinkling of the eyes for more, and the
panting obesity of their persons when the meal was ended,
indicated great perseverance, if not indomitable bravery.
As in other countries talent is measured by impudence,
moral worth by long faces and stereotyped solemnity of countenance, and rank by the elevation of the nose and the successful villainy of ancestors, so in California, with the same
unquestionable good sense, do the cavalieros measure their
manliness of character, their bravery in arms, their civil and
social elevation, by the capacity of their stomachs and their
eloquence in boasting. Never were men happier or more
thoroughly self-content than the troops of Monterey at their
beef and beans. The events of THE REVOLUTION were dis.
cussed with full mouths and laboring throats. Los Espanioles
del Alta California, to wit, every Indian with a drop of Spanish blood under his filthy skin, were muy bravos, extremely
brave, and their conduct in the late troubles was second to
nothing recorded since the siege of Mexico under Cortes!
It is said by some one who pretends to know, that the
world generally estimates us by the value we set upon ourselves. Whether this opinion be founded in truth or not, I
am unable to determine.  But certain it is, the Genius of
Glory in these days seems to be in- her dotage.  Homner,
Socrates, Luther and Washington, wear her laurels with so
much grace, that the old jade appears to think it a mere
amusement to make immortal men.  Accordingly she




92         SSCENES IN   HE PACIFIC.
throws the poet's wreath upon moon-struck rhymsters, the
philosopher's crown upon heads with long hair and dirty
beards, that of the Reformer upon apes and brass-mounted
women, and even tries to make men out of male Californians. Sad mistakes are all these; and particularly the last.
About ten o'clock the troops were reviewed by Don Jose
Castro. A little after eleven, all the prisoners except fortysix were pardoned. These the government would not liberate.  They had acted a conspicuous part in Alvarados'
revolution, and were feared as likely to demand for themselves and their companions the fulfilment of the promises
which he had made them. The American had suggested
that they should be sent to the Consuls of their respective
governments at Tepic. A ship which had been chartered
for that purpose (the Roger Williams, of Boston), was floating in the harbor. The doors of the prisons were opened; the
emaciated tenants came out, chained two and two, hand and
foot, some ofthem with no clothing except a pair of ragged pan.taloons.  The Spaniards had robbed them not only of their
cattle, horses, mules, and freedom, but also of their wardrobe.
They were marched towards the shore, clanking their chains.
Poor Graham and Morris were so heavily loaded with irons
that it required four stout Indians to carry them,
The American mingled among them, and dissuaded them
from a contemplated insurrection on ship-board. Three Californian women followed the prisoners. They were wives,
and had children. They clung to their husbands and wept
aloud. Castro ordered them to be driven away with blows.
They were beaten with swords, but would not go. They
led their children, and helped bear the chains that were
galling the bleeding limbs of those whom they loved.
They said, " the soldiers have taken all our horses, cattle and property, and now they take you away from us for
ever! May God take our lives! Oh, Mary, mother of
God, pray for us!"
As they were going down to the boat, poor old Graham




TRAVELS iN -THE CALIFORNIAS.           93
seemed entirely broken-hearted. The American said to
him, "Be brave, Graham, be brave! Let no Tennessean
ever think of yielding in this way. Raise your head and
keep it erect. Once landed at San Bias, you are safe. I
will see you when you land."
"Ah," said Graham," I never can be a man again after
having these feet bound with irons by a Californian; never
again! I could bear to be a prisoner to a brave and decent
people, but to be caught and cooped up, chained and exported
like a tub of lard, by these here scabs of mankind, is mighty
bad! No, I never shall be a man again, Mr. -—.  Here,
take my hand. We should have been riddled with bullets if
you had not been here, could the rascals have drawn a bead
close enough to hit us! I never shall be a man again!
Irons on the legs of a man who fought for them, who made
the cowards what they are! With my fifty rifles about me, I
could drive the devils from the whole coast or lay them away
to. rot. But I won't think on't. I never can be a man again!"
They put him and some others into a boat and pushed off
for the ship. "Farewell, Mr. -, farewell: but stop,
hold on!-have you got money enough to get home with 1
I will let you have some in San Bias. But I never shall
be Graham again!"
The boats continued to ply between the ship and the shore
until all were carried on board. The multitude then retired to
the town. Deep feelings strugKled in every breast at the termination of this affair. Alvarado was mad that he had not shot
Graham, to whom he owed $2,235 and other obligations;
those cavalieros who had been rejected byladies to-make way
for foreign suitors, were enraged beyond measure that most
of them had been left in the country. The ladies generally
rejoiced that no blood had been shed; the wives of those who
had been sent on board the prison-ship, sat on shore beneath
the tree where the cross was erected by Padre Junipero, and
wept upon the necks of their children, until the ship was out
of sight. The American suggested that. the town might be




94         SCE  ES IN THE P   C I F IC.
taken, and the perpetrators of such outrages be disposea of at
rope's end; but the proposition was discountenanced by the
residents. The church was opened, and a Te Deum sung
for the deliverance of the country! After this, each class
true to their leading emotions, gathered in knots about town,
and talked of these strange things till supper separated
them for the night. During the evening some of the officers of government called at Mr. Larkin's, and informed
the American that the governor had sent the prisoners to
the American and British Consuls at Tepic, via San Blas,
and that the vessel would put into Santa Barbara for provisions and other prisoners.
The twenty-fourth morning of April was clear; the sun.
came up the eastern hills on a landscape of sweet things. No
one born and dwellingin the rugged, changing seasons of the
North can know, without experiencing, the delights of a climate like that of California. From spring to spring again
all is friendly; from morning till morning comes again all is
pleasant to breathe and to see; from hour to hour the
body feels in the air a balmy blessing; from moment to
moment the blood leaps vigorously through the frame.
Near eleven o'clock the troops were in motion, and Mr.
Larkini and myself went down to the public green, to, see
what might transpire.
We found the green covered with the people kneeling and
cross.ig. emselves, and the priest in full robes performirg
high-mass near the door of the governor's dwelling. His
Excellenti lmao iwas kneeling with his officers before the
altar as devoutly as if he had been obedient to the commandments from his youth till that time. It was shocking
to hear him respond to the prayers for repentance, while
any observer might see the malignity with which he had
sought the lives of his friends, struggling among the muscles
of his face and burning in his eyes!'file services being ended, the governor retired into hia
onlse. Thanks had been given to God forsavingthe countr*y




- RAVELS IN'TH j CALIFORNIAS             95
fron danger which never existed, and for protectir.g the
villains that pretended its existence as an excuse for shedding blood.
No other event occurred that day worthy of being noticed, except the wives of those poor fellows who were
floating down the coast in the prison-ship went weeping
through the streets, beseeching all they met to go down to
Santa Barbara and bring back their husbands.
I spent my time among the foreigners, who had been let
out of prison, in gathering information relative to the country, which will be given in another part of the volume.
The evening was passed at Mr. Larkin's. We were happy, not because we felt no danger around us, for there was
much of it. But we were glad that no more groans came
up from the damp dungeons! That none of our countrymen
were calling for air, and water, and food, from those infernal
dens! Alas, for those who were on their way to Mexico
We thought of them sadly; they might be dying; but we
called hope to our aid, and believed that better hours would
soon dawn on their misery. More than one hundred of our
countrymen were released from impending death,! Bolts
grated no more! chains clanked no more on the silent
night! And we felt in our own persons something of that
returning security to life which sends through the soi? or
the most reckless and inexpressible sense of pleasure.
The next morning the green before the governor's hoase
was graced with a portly effigy of Senor Judas Iscariot!
One ankle out of joint, and other parts disarranged, for the
especial gratification of his inferiors in moral qualities. The
senor was assumed to be dead. His optics glared rather
sorrowfully upon the multitude around him, as if loth to
look the last time on congenial hearts! He held in his
hand a scroll, containing a last will and testament, in which
his several. virtues and possesions were bequeathed to various persons residing in the country.
In the afternoon the American and some other gentlemen




46         -S C SCEN E  IN THE PACIFIC.
were invited by an English resident to a festa on the shores
of the bay. And being in a mood to seize upon anything to
divert thought from the unpleasant reminiscences of the past
week, we gladly accepted the invitation, without knowing
indeed what a Californian festa might be. Dr. Bale was one
of the guests, and kindly conducted us to the place selected
fbr the ceremonies. It was among the trees, a short distance
southwest of the anchorage; a wild, rude spot. The old
trees, which had thrown theirbranches over the savage before
a white man had touched the shores, were rotting on the
ground, and formed the fuel of our fire! The ancient rocks
stood around, covered with the moss of ages! The winds
sang in the trees! The ringing cadences of the towering
pine, the deep bass of the strong spreading oak, the mellow
alto of the flowering shrubs, the low, soft voice of the
grasses, nature's great IEolian lyre, breathed sweet music!
The old wilderness was there, unshorn, and holy, responding to the songs of birds in the morn of the opening year.
When we arrrived, half a dozen brunettes were spreading cloths upon the grass, and displaying upon them boiled
ham, dried beef, tongue, bread, pies, cigars, and various
kinds of wines, from the vineyards of the country; so that
afesta proved to be an invitation for us to eat and drink
among a group of joyous children and smiling lasses. Yes
smiling, hearty Californian lasses. Who is not glad to see
me repeat words that speak of the smiles of women? I do
not mean those heart-rending efforts at grinning, which one
so often meets in mechanical society; but those pulsations
of genuine joy and truth, which come up impulsively from
woman's real nature, shedding on the dwelling-places of the
race the sweetest elements of the social state. It is that
sunshine of our moral being'which beams on our cradles,
on the paths of our childhood, on the stormy skies of misfortune in the years of manhood, which warms the chilled
heart of age into renewed life, and shines on till sight and
sense are lost in the dark gateway to the after state!




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.                97
We ate and drank freely. Who could do otherwise?' The
mellow laugh of childhood, the holy kindness of maternal
care, the pride of the paternal heart, the love of woman, the
sky and fragrant breezes of a Californian lawn, the open sea,
the giant woodlands, the piping insects, the carolling of a thousand birds, the voices of a boundless hospitality, invited us to
do so. The finest dish of all the goodly array of fat things,
the brunette lips excepted, was the roasted mussels. The Indians in attendance gathered a number of bushels, piled them
upon a large log fire, and in a few minutes presented them to
us, thoroughly cooked and delicious to the taste. Indeed I
hope for no better fish. They are tender as an oyster, with
as fine flavor; and the abundance of them is really remarkable! The coast is lined with them.
Our festa ended near sunset. It- had been as agreeable as
our hosts' best attentions could render it. The ladies also had
vied with each other to make the occasion happy. But their
gladness was forced. A deep gloom like that which the thunder-cloud throws over the flowering meadow-land, saddened
their smiles, arrested the laugh half-uttered, bent the figure, and
shaded the warm glow of joy in the eye, with the cold
watchfulness of alarm! Such was the influence of that
prison ship, the last speck of which had been watched, as it
sunk, hull, spars, and streamer, over the bending sea, freightz
ed with chains and the misery of fellow-countrymen, that the
heart could not be persuaded into happine!




CHAPTER VI.
A Ri(s —Vale of San Carmelo-Indians employed-The Surf-Bay of
San Carmelo-Mission Edifices-Belfrey Bells-Deserted and SadAn Indian Lawyer and his Wife —A Speech-Return to MontereyEmbarkation —Weighing Anchor-An American Tar-Tom's New
Axe-General Training Day —Becomes a Salt-Tom's opinion of the
Land and its Inhabitants-A fine breeze-Punto Concepcion -IslandsA calm-A night on deck-Landing at Santa Barbara-The Prison
Ship-El Mission de Santa Barbara-Its Fountains, Tanks, Church,
Pictures and Cemetery-The Prisoners-Taking leave of them.
IN the afternoon of the twenty-fifth, three or four Americans and an English physician rode out on horseback to the
mission of San Carmelo, one league and a half southwesterly
from Monterey. The road leading to it lay over an undulating
country, covered with the growing wild grasses. Its general
aspect much resembled that of the broken lands of Illinois
The hills, however, were higher, the gravel of the roads
coarser. The trees were a species of soft, low oak, pine and
birch. A kind of clover and some other species of grasses
crowned every knoll and height. Ard the odor of that vegetation!  Incense from the boundless altar of nature! The
teeming fields of spring on the rich hill sides, sending up into
the broad sky the sweet perfume of opening leaf and flower.
The glancing flight of the butterfly, the nimble leaps of
the hare, the hurried snort of the startled deer, the half-clad
Indian lounging in the genial sun-light, mottled the view
along the way.
The valley of the mission is a charming one. It comes
down from the north-eastern highlands, accompanied by a




TRAVELS  IN  THH, AL1  X.NI AS            99
clear bright stream, to the sea. It is ten miles in length, two
miles wide near the ocean, and narrower as it rises among
the lofty ridges. Rio Carmelo winds very much; and in its
bends are many stately groves, between which lie the forsaken fields of the mission, overgrown with wild grass and
brush. Not entirely forsaken, for here and there is found an
Indian hut, with its tiled roof, mud walls and floor, tenanted,
but falling to decay. The inmates are the spiritual children
of the old Padres, who taught them rude agriculture, architecture, and the Being and worship of God. Since the departure of those good men, the fields have been neglected,
and the Indians have sunk into vice and degradation. A sad
thing is it to see the furrow of civilisation turned back; the
thistle usurping the place of the wheat; rank weeds choking
the vineyard, and the rose trodden in the dust! But so it is
in the valley of San Carmelo. The Indians in different sections were planting small plats of beans and maize. A mule
and an ox yoked together were used for draught.
We rode to the water-side to look at the surf. It was a
glorious sight that heaving up of the Great Deep on the
land! The shore was bold and lined with huge buried reefs,
On these the swells, walls of bending water ten feet in
height, dashed, broke, roared and died-a sheet of quarrelling
foam-over the beach for miles around the bay. And as each
wave retired, that beach of shells reduced to dust by the
battering sea, sent up its countless'hues, from pearly white to
the richest violet, dancing and trembling over the green lawn
on which we stood. This bay of San Carmelo is a large
open bight, so filled with sunken rocks and sand bars, and so
exposed to the winds from the south-west, as to be useless for
a harbor. But it is a wild and grand thing to look out upon
in storm  or calm. On the south, rude rocks, old trees and
desert hillocks bound it. On the north the lofty pines crowd
down to its billows. On the north-west opens the valley of
the missions.  Over all its blue waters rave the surges, if the
winds be up. or; if still, in come the great swells, alive with




0  CE   E 8 IN  THE   A C'I-FIC
porpoise and seal, and bellow and die on the shore of San
Carmelo.
The mission buildings are situated on the north side of the
valley near the sea. They stand on elevated ground, which
overlooks the bay and seven or eight miles of the vale.
they were inhabited by a family of half-breeds, who kept
the keys of the church. The edifices are built around a
square area of half an acre. On the west, south, and east
aides of it, are the Indian houses with their ruined walls, scalloped tile roofs, clay floors and open unglazed windows. On
the north side are the church, the cells and dining hall of the
Padres. The latter is about forty feet by twenty, lighted by
open spaces in the outer wall, grated with handsomely turned
wooden bars, and guarded by plank shutters, swinging inside.
At the west end of this room is a small opening through
which the food was passed from the kitchen. On the north
side and east end are four doors opening into the cells of
the friars. Everything appeared forsaken and undesirable.
And yet I could not forbear a degree of veneration for those
ancient closets of devotion; those resting-places of the wayfarer from the desert; those temples of hospitality and prayer,
erected by that band of excellent and daring men, who
founded the Californian missions, and engraved on the heart of
that remote wilderness, the features of civilisation and the
name of God.
There was an outside stairway to the tower of the church.
We ascended it and beheld the broken hills, the vales and the
great heaving sea, with its monsters diving and blowing;
and heard it sounding loudly far and near. We saw the
ruined mission of San Carmelo, and the forsaken Indians
strolling over its grounds! On the timbers over head, hung
six bells of different sizes-three of them cracked and toneless. Formerly one of these rang to meals, to work, and
rest;, and the others to the various services of the Catholic
faith. Dr. Bale informed us, such was the regularity of these
establishments that the laboring animals stopped in the road or




'riAV.t ls  IN  T HE  C  LIFORNIAS       101
trrow, whenever the bells called the Indian to his duties
But prayers are no longer heard in San Carmelo; the tower
no longer commands obedience to God; the buildings are
crumbling to dust; the rank grass is crowding its courts; the
low moss is creeping over its gaping walls; and the ox and
mule are running wild on its hills.
The walls of the church are of stone masonry; the roof
of brick tiles.  Tile whole structure is somewhat lofty,
and looks down upon the surrounding scenery, like an old
baronial castle, from which the chase, the tournament, and
the reign of beauty have departed. An oaken arm-chair,
Drown and marred with age, stood on the piazza, proclaiming
o our lady of Guadaloupe and a group of saints rudely
sketched upon the walls, that Carmelo was deserted by living
men.
My respect for the profession Qf "glorious uncertainties,"
will not permit me to leave this valley without introducing to
the kind regards of the reader a brother lawyer. He lived
on the banks of the Carmelo in a little mud hut, surrounded
by some beautiful fields under good cultivation. Hlis stock
consisted of a number of tame cows, a few goats, uncounted
flocks of domestic fowls, and a dozen dogs. When about a
quarter of a mile distant, the dogs opened their artillery in a
running fire upon us; the cocks flew upon the fences and crowed terribly; the pullets cackled; and altogether, the commotion
surprised our horses into a general snort, and ourselves into a
laugh, prolonged and loud as our lungs could sustain, at such
a welcome to the residence of the only professional lawyer in
the Californias!
We rode up briskly in the midst of this cackling, crowing
and barking, and dismounted before the door of a tolerably
comfortable hut, in the standing presence of the brown, flatnosed, broad-cheeked, ragged Indian Esquire. His head was
bare, his leathern pants full of holes and glazed with grease,
his blanket hung in tatters. His wife hobbled out as blind as
a fire-dog, and decrepid with years ard hard labor. One or




102         SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
two other Indians stood about (among the hens and ducks,
grinning and squinting at us in much wonder and humility!
Such was the group on the hen-dog-Indian side of the
scene. Ourselves occupied the other.
We stood at our horses' necks, one hand on the rein, and
awaited something, we knew not what.  The Esquire rolled
his little black eyes in delight to see us; put one hand on the
hip, and stood on one leg, and then changed into an opposite
position; shaking and giggling with joy meanwhile, and apparently not knowing where to begin to entertain either himself or us. At length, Dr. Bale came to his relief, by referring
to the fact that he owned more land before the mission was
founded, than he now seemed to enjoy. At this he took fire,
and went into a dissertation on the titles of the Padres and
Indians; the substance of which, I learned from the Doctor,
was, that the Padres had taken possession of the valley about
forty years before, had taught the Indians to work and pray,
had given a portion of his lands to other Indians, and when
civil troubles came, had killed most of the cattle and sold the
hides and tallow to ships, for hard dollars, and with bags of
these dollars left the country and the Indians who had earned
them. "There," said he, pointing to his blind wife, " is all
they have left me of my wife; she worked hard and is blind;
and these little fields are all they have left me of my broad
lands."
His violent gesticulation and tone of voice led me to the
belief that he was tinctured with mania. The poor fellow
and his wife excited our commiseration deeply, and I cannot
remember them, even now, without reviving the pity I felt for
the " Indian lawyer" and his poor blind wife, tottering about
her lowly hut.
From these premises we turned rein for Monterey. Our
Californian steeds laid hoof to the rough road in a manner worthy their Arabian sires. Speed, speed! Backward the gravel
flew from  their willing feet, as we mounted the heights,
Gully and rock were leaped with a joyful neign! We reached




TRAVELS. IN  THE  CAv. FORiIA,.   103
the highland when the sun was a hand's breadth above the
ocean. His burning farewell lay on the verdant hill-tops.
Onward! speed onward! The Bay is before us; its crested
billows are gilded, like fretted gold, with rays from the uppe.
rim of the sinking sun!
On the twenty-eighth of April the Don Quixote had completed her business with P. I. Farnham & Co.'s ship Alciope,
and was ready for sea. Captain Paty had laid in a generous
supply of fresh beef, vegetables, and other comforts for his
passengers; the foreign residents had presented the American
with many little tokens of regard, in the form of fruits, wines,
&c., to make the voyage comfortable.
Eleven o'clock, A. M., we took leave of our countrymen,
and others of the Saxon blood, on the rock where the prisoners' chains had lately clanked, and shoved off for the ship.
One of the unpleasant circumstances attending journeys in
wild and dangerous countries, is, the parting from persons of
kindred feelings with whom we have wept or rejoiced. Many
who had suffered in Monterey were still there. They had escaped an apparently certain doom, and I had felt keenly every
shade which progressive events cast on their fate, or lifted from
their hopes of being saved from the death of felons. They were
saved! They were glad! But the fear of returning tyranny
still hung over them. The same malignity held the reins of
power; and the dungeon and bullet were under the control of
the same demons. It was hard parting with those brave
and abused men. The throats of villains could be made to
bleed! The walls of justice and mercy could be reared
around the social state in California. The acting government
could have raised no force to prevent it. Britons and Americans could have done it; and the halter been made to claim
its own. But that prison-ship and my hearth called me.
" On board!" " On board!"  Our boat lies under the lee
of the good barque Don Quixote; the ropes of the gangway
ar.e seized; and we stand on deck. "MJan the windlass;''- heave the anchor, cheerily, boys," is ordered and done.




104          SCENE S IN  THE  PAC1. IC.
This is always a cheering time on ship-board.  "Heave
ahoy;" and the old salt's eye brightens, his step quickens, and
his voice rings gladly, as link after link of the ponderous cable
tumbles aboard, till the flukes of the anchor lie high on the
bows, and the ship is given to her helm and the breeze.
The wind, the sea, and good planks between him and the
bottom, and the stars and stripes at the mizen, are the
substantial comforts of an American tar. Supplied with these
and a clear sweep from the headlands, he will leave the
shore without a feeling that it will ever be his wish to return.
Indeed, the real sailor, he who has wound every yarn of his
happy hours around the windlass, despises the land. We had
in the Don Quixote an example of this kind. He was a tall,
slabsided Yankee, from the State of Maine; with a hand like
a grappling-iron, hung to a mass of shoulder and chest that
would have been formidable among buffalo. His deck name
was Tom; to which the adjective long, was sometimes pre.
fixed, as he explained it, " in order to add a fathom to its
scund."
When sixteen years of age, he had heard that Maine was
noted far abroad for its long- mortals and heavy fists; and
dreamed that he was not so deficient in these qualities as to
be excluded from the distinction which might arise from them.
He therefore determined to avail himself of the first favorable occasion for reaping the harvest of that notoriety to which
he seemed to be born. Nor did he wait an unpleasant length
of time for such an opportunity. His father returned home
one evening with a new axe, purchased for Tom's especial
use, in the lumber forest. It was the night previous to " the
General Training-day," at Portland; and he proposed, as the
morrow would be a leisure day, that Tom should test the
metal of his axe, in cutting away a dry hemlock tree which
had fallen across the public road. A mere suggestion from the
father was the law of his household. Tom, therefore, ate his
breakfast, next morning, with becoming submissiveness, and
about seven o'clock struck his new axe into the dry hemlock,








I~~~~~~~~~~~~~1
L!1
Long Tom Sassafras. —P. 105.




TRAVELS IN THE CALIFORNIAS.               105
It rose, fell, and clinked in the hard knots; and occasionally
sinking into the wood a depth sufficient to hold without his
aid, left him at liberty to chew his tobacco, and think of his condition.
The neighboring lads came riding past. They jeered him
for his want of spirit, once, again, a third time, and onward,
until Tom began to think that his situation was not quite so
agreeable as it would be, if he, also, with a pistareen in his
pocket, were on his way to the gingerbread carts of the pa.
rade ground. To be kept at work on General Training-day,
was at war with all precedent; that was a holy day for
young people throughout all the land of johnny-cakes. A
little reflection, therefore, convinced him that his father's requirement was somewhat unkind; a little more thought and
considerable love of gingerbread, demonstrated that chopping
wood on that day was not to be done by Long Tom Sassafras; and depositing his axe in the corn-house, he Went to
the General Training, received a flogging from his father in
the presence of an auctioneer of Yankee Notions, shipped on
board a lumber sloop bound for Boston, and from that time
became a Salt.
Torn considered the land well nigh a nuisance. It had a
few points of value  It was useful as a hiding-place from a
storm; useful as a hospital for " a fresh" to cure the. scurvy;
as a convenient substitute for a "log" to show when the
voyage is ended; as a lumber yard for the wherewithal to
build keels; and as a place in which small fish may rendezvous. But the sea was a greater part of the Globe; the
home of freemen; where they have a plenty of sound air to
breathe, and nothing but the will of Heaven to curtail their
movements. "On the land it is otherwise. One's tarpaulin
is knocked off at every second step on their brick-decked
gangways; every lubber in straps and tights who sees fit to
pass before you can up helm, runs into you, carries away your
bowsprit, and d.....ns your eyes because you could not luff into
the walls of a building to give him lee-way. And then the




106         SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
land is all mud and reefs; everything upon it is dirty; the
Ladies, God knows I love the Ladies and pity them, can't
keep themselves tidy. I've seen many a brace of them that
required a fortnight's holy-stoning to get down to their natural color. They are obliged to paint themselves to cover up
the dirt and keep from looking weather-beaten. I never
knew a sensible sailor that wasn't glad to leave the land for
the glorious old sea. Their ideas, those land lubbers, about
what is comfortable and beautiful, are not worth a ball of
spunyarn. They talk to you about the dangers of the sea,
just as if there was no lee coast to run one's head and toes
against on the land; about the shady groves on a May-day,
just as if there were no May-day shade under the brave old
canvassof Neptune; and about the purling brooks and the
music of birds, just as if there were neither water at sea, nor
any albatross to sail and scream in the sun, nor happy petrels
to sing in the storm. And about being buried in the sea!
This they think is a dreadful thing! They thrust their eyes
half out of their heads when you tell them it is better to be
eaten clean up by a decent shark, than to be stuffed away a
few feet under ground among toads and worms and other
varmints! And if you tell them that when a fellow dies al
sea, they sew him up in a strong bit of canvas, and hang a
weight to his feet, read prayers over him and drop hirw
solemnly into the ocean, and he goes down into the clear clear
water, two or three miles perhaps, and there sleeps high
above the bottom, high above dirt and worms, the lubbers
think he is out of the latitude of the resurrection and Heaven
and all. I am for the sea. I would not mind shipping on
the quarter-deck a voyage or two, to see how it would seem
to whistle the boys into the top-gallant stays in a dead northeaster. But I should want to be before the mast. That's
the home for me, boys."
" Haul taut the weather main brace there"!
"Aye, aye, sir;" and away skipped our Maine boy to his
duty.




TRAV E LS IN  THE  CALIF ORNIA s            107
We 1bad   fine treeze from the time we weighed, till twelve
o'clock on tae twenty-ninth, when the wind died gradually
away to a calm. During the night we lay off Punto Concepcion; a rough ragged point of land forty miles north-west
of Santa Barbara. On the thirtieth, a light breeze bore us
early m the morning past San Miguel. This is an island,
about fifteen miles from the coast. It is ten miles in circumference, with a rocky, barren and dry surface, marked here and
there with a few fruitful spots and streams of water. At
nine o'clock we were off Santa Rosa; an island about the
same distance from the land, twenty miles in circumference,
piled with lofty barren hills, interspersed with a few forests
and fertile districts.  Next came Santa Cruz; an oblong
island forty miles in circumference, with some woodlands and
fruitful vales.  Farther off shore and southward, are the
islands of Santa Barbara, San Nicholas and San Clemente.
They lie in a line running south-east and north-west, and
form the outer wall of the roadstead, called the Canal de
Santa Barbara. These islanuis have much high land, composed of dark shining rocks, apparently of volcanic origin.
They are partially covered with trees, but a greater portion
of their surface is barren sands and rocks. They are densely
populated with goats.
Near night a calm came on, and our sails, after flapping
awhile, hung lifeless upon the spars. This was a very annoying circumstance. All on board felt extremely anxious to be
in Santa Barbara that night lest the prison-ship should leave
before we arrived. About twelve o'clock, however, a slight
breeze sprang up, which bore us along two knots the
hour. The air was so bland on deck that I chose a berth
among some loose sails in the long boat, in preference to the
heated cabin. It was a pure night. No vapor- obscured the
sky. No harsh winds disturbed the waters. Every living
thing seemed reposing and smiling in its dreams of joy. The
birds on the land and water should be excepted. They were




kOS        s   PSCEN ES  INE  THE  P A CIFIC.
twittering softly one to another, coursing through the air and
marshalling and gabbling among the waves, as if keeping
vigil over the slumbers of Nature!
The coast from Monterey to the Canal de Santa Barbara is
broken into elevated hills, fringed with forests of pine and oak,
and covered with the wild grasses   From these flow many
valuable little streams, which gurgle and plash down deep
and verdant ravines to the sea. It is a beautiful wilderness;
a country for the wild horse, the mighty grisly bear,, the undomesticated cattle of a thousand hills; a blithe domain for
the human race, when true and valiant men shall govern it.
The first sound that fell upon my ear on the first day of
May, was the rippling of the water at the ship's side. She
was moving slowly down the Canal de Santa Barbara. At
nine o'clock we cast anchor before the town, lowered the:boat and shot away to the beach. The prison-ship was lying
at anchor in the roadstead! Our countrymen were incarcerated at the mission! We might be of some service to them;
and that expectation gave us all infinite pleasure, in being
again in their neighborhood.
-Santa Barbara is situated on an inclined plane, which rises
gradually from the sea side to a range of picturesque highlands, three and a half miles from the sea. The town itself is
three quarters of a mile from the landing. The houses are
chiefly built in the Spanish mode, adobie walls, and roofs of tile.
These tiles are made of clay, fashioned into half cylinders,
and burned like brick. In using them, the first layer is placed
hollow side up; the second inversely, so as to lock over the
first. Their ends overlap each other as common shingles do.
This roofing serves very well in dry weather. \But when the
driving southwesters of the winter season come on, it affords
a poor shelter. Very few of the houses have glass windows.
Open spaces in the walls, protected with bars of wood, and
~lank shutters, serve instead. Mr. A. B. Thompson, a wealthy
eand hospitable American merchant, has erected a residence




TRAVELS IN  THE  C A L F.   R N I S.   109
in the centre of the town, which bears very striking testimos
ny to his being a civilized man.
There is an old Catholic mission, one mile' and three
quarters above the town, called El Mission de Santa Barbara.
The'church itself is a stone edifice, with two towers on the
end towards the town, and a high gable between them. The
friars complimented Father Time, by painting on the latter
something in the shape of a dlock dial. In the towers are
hung a number of rich toned bells, brought from old Spain
nearly a hundred years ago. The roof is covered with burnt
clay tiles, laid in cement. The residence of the Padres, also
built of stone, forms a wing with the church towards the sea.
The prisons form another, towards the highlands. Hard by
are clusters of Indian huts, constructed of adobies and tile,
standing in rows, with streets between.
The old Padres seem to have united with their missionary
zeal a strong sense of comfort and taste. They laid off a
beautiful garden, a few rods from the church, surrounded it with
a high substantial fence of stone laid in Roman cement, and
planted it with limes, almonds, apricots, peaches, apples,
pears, quinces, &c., which are now annually yielding their
several fruits in abundance. Before the church they erected
a series of concentric urn fountains, ten feet in height, from
the top of which the pure liquid bursts, and falls from' one to
another till it reaches a large pool at the base; from this it
is led off a short distance to the statue of a grisly bear, from
whose mouth it is ejected into a reservoir of solid masonry,
six feet wide and seventy long. From the pool at the base
of the urn fountains water is taken for drinking and household
use. The long reservoir is the theatre of the battling,
plashing, laughing and scolding of the washing-day Around
these fountains are solid, cemented stone pavements, and ducts
to carry off the surplus water. Nothing of the kind can be ia
better taste, more substantial, or useful.
Above the church and its cloisters, they brought the water




I10         S SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
around the brow of a green hill, in an open stone aqueduct,
a rapid, noisy rivulet, to a square reservoir of beautiful masonry. Below, and adjoining this, are the ruins of the Padres' grist-mill. Nothing is left of its interior struct ure, but
the large oaken ridgepole. Near the aqueduct whch car.
ries the water into the reservoir of the mills, stands a small
stone edifice ten feet in length by six in width. This is
the bath. Over the door, outside, is the representation of a
lion's head, from which pours a beautiful jet of water. This
little structure is in a good state of preservation. A cross surmounts it, as, indeed, it does everything used by the Catholic
missionaries of these wilderness regions. Below the ruins of
the grist-mill is another tank one hundred and twenty-feet
square, by twenty deep, constructed like the one above. In
this was collected water for supplying the fountains, irrigating
the grounds below, and for the propulsion of different kinds
of machinery. Below the mission was the tan-yard, to which
the water was carried in an aqueduct, built on the top of a
stone wall, from four to six feet high. Here was manufactured the leather used in making harnesses, saddles, bridles,
and Indian clothing. They cultivated large tracts of land with
maize, wheat, oats, peas, potatoes, beans, and grapes. Their
old vineyards still cover the hill-sides. When the mission
was at the height of its prosperity, there were several hundred Indians laboring in its fields, and many thousands of cattle and horses grazing in its pastures. But its splendor has
departed, and with it its usefulness. The Indians who were
made comfortable on these premises, are now squalid and miserable. The fields are a waste! Nothing but the church
retains its ancient appearance. We will enter and describe
its interior. It is one hundred and sixty feet long by sixty in
width. Its walls are eight feet in thickness. The height of
the nave is forty feet. On the wall, to the right, hangs a
picture representing a king and a monk up to their middle in
the flames of purgatory   Their posture is that of prayer and




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    111
penitence; but their faces do not indicate any decided consciousness of the blistering foothold on which they stand.
On fithle contrary, they wear rather the quiet aspect of persons
who love their ease, and have an indolent kind of pleasure in
the scenes around thein. On the other side, near the door of
the confessional, is a picture of Hell. The Devil and his staff
are represented in active service.  The flames of his furnace
are curling around his victims, with a broad red glare, that
would have driyen Titian to madness. The old Monarch
himself appears hotly engaged in wrapping serpents of fire
around a beautiful female figure, and his subalterns, with flaming tridents, are casting torments on others, whose sins are
worthy of less honorable notice. Immediately before the
altar is a trap-door, opening into the vaults, where are buried
the missionary Padres. Over the altar are many rich images
of the saints. Among them is that of San Francisco, the
patron of the missions of Upper California. Three silver
candlesticks, six feet high, and a silver crucifix of the same
height, with a golden image of the Saviour suspended on it,
stand within the chancel. To the left of the altar is the sacristy, or priest's dressing-room.  It is eighteen feet square,
splendidly carpeted, and furnished with a wardrobe, chairs,
mirrors, tables, ottoman, &c. -
In an adjoining room of the same size are kept the paraphernalia of worship. Among these are a receptacle of the
host, of massive gold in pyramidal form, and weighing at
least ten pounds avoirdupois, and a convex lens set in a block
of gold, weighing a number of pounds, through which, on certain occasions, the light is thrown so as to give the appearance
of an eye of consuming fire.
A door in the eastern wall of the church leads from the
foot of the chancel to the cemetery. It is a small piece of
ground enclosed by a high wall, and consecrated to the burial
of those Indians who die in the faith of the Catholic Church
It i. curiously arranged.  Walls of solid masonry, six feet




112        SCENES  IN  ThE P A CIFIC.
apart, are sunk six feet in depth, and to a level with the surface. Between these the dead are buried in such manner that:
their feet touch one wall and their heads the other. These
grounds have been long since filled. In order, however, that
no Christian Indian may be buried in a less holy place, the
bones, after the flesh has decayed, are exhumed and deposited
in a little building on one corner of the premises. I entered
this. Three or four cart-loads of skulls, ribs, spines, leg-bones,
arm-bones &c., lay in one corner. Beside them stood two
hand-hearses with a small cross attached to each. About the
walls hung the mould of death!
On the first of May the American made application for
permission to see the prisoners, and was refused. He had
heard that they were in want of food, and proposed to supply
them; but was forbidden by Jose Castro, the officer in charge.
The prison-ship had arrived at Santa Barbara on the twentyfifth of April, and landed forty-one of the prisoners. Four
others were retained on board to work.. These forty-one men,
during the whole passage from Monterey, had been chained to
long bars of iron passing transversely across the hold of the
ship. They were not permitted to go on deck, nor even to
stand on their feet. A bucket was occasionally passed about
for particular purposes, but so seldom as to.be of little use.
They were furnished with a mere morsel of food, and that of
the worst quality. Of water, they had scarcely enough to
prevent death from thirst; and so small and close was the
place in which they were chained that it was not uncommon
for the more debilitated to faint and lie some time in a lifeless
state. When they landed, many of them had become so
weak that they could not get out of the boat without aid.
Their companions in chains assisted them, although threatened with instant death if they did so.'After being set ashore.
they were marched in the midst of drawn swords and fixed
bayonets, dragging their chains around bleeding limbs, one
mile and three-quarters, to the mission of Santa Barbara!




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.   113
Here they were put into a single room of the mission prisons,
without floor or means of ventilation. The bottom of the
cell was soft mud! In this damp dungeon, without food or
water, these poor fellows remained two days and nights!
They had not even straw on which to sleep!
At the end of this time it coming to the ears of the Friar in
charge of the mission, that one of them was dying of hunger
and thirst, he repaired to the prison and inquired of Pinto, the
corporal of the guard, if such were the fact! The miniature
monster answered, that he did not know. The Friar replied,
" are you an officer and a Catholic, and do not know the state
of your prisoners! You, sir, are an officer of to-day, and
should not be one to-morrow." The good man entered
the cell; found one of the Englishmen speechless; administered baptism, and removed him to the house of a kind
family, where I found him on my arrival; still speechless and
incapable of motion. The Friar extended his kindness to the
other prisoners. He ordered Castro to furnish them food
and water. But the villain, evading so far as he was able,
gave them barely enough of each to tantalize them, until the
arrival of the American in the Don Quixote; when that
fleet, laying off the coast, commanded by such a man, charmed his benevolence and mercy into activity. From the first
of May, therefore, they had food and water, and were permitted to take the air and bathe daily.
On the fourth, the American was permitted to see the prisoners. They had been scrubbing themselves at the great tank;
and were allowed, at his suggestion, to take their dinner in the
open air. They had evidently suffered exceedingly since
they left Monterey; for their countenances had lost the
little color which the dungeons of that place had left them.
Their hands looked skeleton-wise; their eyes were deeply
sunken in their sockets; they tottered when they walked!
Poor men! For no other fault than their Anglo-Saxon
blood, they fared like felons! They had a long voyage, and
slavery in.he mines of Mexico before them, and were sad:




114        SCENES  IN  THE  P-A C I'I C
They asked the American if he would lead them in an attack
upon the guard. But he pointed out the hopelessness of such
an attempt in their enfeebled condition, and comforted them
with the reiterated assurance that he would meet them at San
Blas.
While this conversation was going on their dinner arrived. The first course consisted of batter cakes, called
tortillas, with a small quantity of boiled beef hock. A sad
pittance, and of the meanest quality. But one of them told
the American with much pleasantry, that it was an attempt
to surprise him with the richness of their fare! The next
course was a soup. I stood by the kettle while they dipped
and ate it. As they approached the bottom of the vessel
they hauled up two old cloths of the most filthy description,
besides other things which it would ill become me to name!
They ate no more! Starvation itself lost its appetite at such
a spectacle! The American remonstrated with the officer in
charge for allowing such baseness. The fellow promised.
But why speak of a Spaniard's promise? It can be likened
to nothing so well as his justice. Both are as unreliable to
one in his power, as the thunder-cloud at night is, for light
to him who treads on precipices!
As this was the last interview which we expected to have
with the prisoners before they would leave California, it was
suggested that they should write to their friends at home. To
this they gladly assented. We therefore furnished them with
implements for that purpose. But the jealous tyrants in
charge saw fit to prohibit this last consolation of the doomed! While, however, the villains were engaged in cdnsultation about it, I took their names and places of residence, and
promised if they should be executed, or sent to the Mexican
mines, to give their friends the sorrowful intelligence of their
fate.
We now took leave of them. As we shook them by the
hand their tears flowed freely. One said, write to my sister.n Maine; another, write to my mother in Boston; another,




IRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    11.9
write to my uncle in London, and he will inform my parents;
another said write to my wife in ~******. Her heart is already broken by my abandonment. Another tried to speak
of his home; but grief choked his utterance. Graham was
himself again. That hardy and high-toned energy of charac-;r which nature had given him, seemed to rise over misfortune, as his corporeal powers decreased. He was greatly
enfeebled by his sufferings, and thought he might die on the
passage to San Blas. "But," said he, "I reckon these villains will see me die like a man. And if I do die, I wish you
to go to Tennessee ad Kentucky, and tell the boys of our
sufferings. My bo es on the stake, their rifles will make
spots on their vile carcases. Two hundred Tennessee riflemen could take t e country; and it's a mighty pity it should
be held by a set of vagabonds who don't regard the honor of
God or the rights of men. I have been here now seven
years; have always been a peaceable man, except when I took
part with the Californians against the tyranny of Government officers sent up from Mexico. And now I am lassooed
like a bear for slaughter or bondage, by these very men
whose lives and property myself and friends saved. Well,
Graham may live to prime a rifle again! If he does, it will
be in California! Farewell to you. I hope we shall meet
in Mexico."  The old man brushed a tear from his weatherbeaten generous face, and we left him.
The American repeated his visit to the sick Englishman.
He had neither ate, drank, nor spoken. His limbs were entirely cold and motionless; fast sinking. The ladies in attendance were very compassionate, and bestowed on him
every kindness he was capable of receiving. Yet how inhu..
man the power which, calling itself a Government, authorises
such murders! The halter which swings at the bidding of a
civil tribunal, the axe which flashes along the grooves of the
guillotine, have their horrors; and the head picked up by
the mob and shown while life yet speaks from the eyes, and
the dying.love of Freedom still clothes the" countenance,




1d6         SCENES  IN  THE -PACIFIC.
shocks human forbearance!  But to be killed by inches, to
be sent to the arms of death by the long agonies of thirst and
famine, for no crime save that of being an American or
Briton, is a sacrifice at which malice itself in its soberer maoments shudders and turns pale. So was this man dying. He
breathed heavily. One of Castro'sofficers came in, and remarking that he was undoubtedly a feeble man, kissed his
hand gallantly to the ladies and retired.
The evening was spent with Mrs. J. A. Jones, the Californian spouse of the former American Consul at the Hawaian
Islands, and her sisters. A stroll, a t'e —lette, and the sweet
guitar! The air was balmy; the smiles -ere deeply sympathizing; the laugh savored richly of the a, arest impulses of the
soul; the music was the warm  brea   of the great living
principle of the best affections. All be ond was barbarism
and wilderness! The vast pampas, the unexplored streams,
the unpruned forests, the growling hosts of beasts that war
with life and gnaw each other's bones; the roaring seas; the
wild men, women and children, unlocated, homeless, —the
untamed fields of earth and the deserts of the human heart lay
outside; within was our little company. Will the reader tarry
here awhile and listen to tales of olden times? They tell of
heroic deeds, of martyrdoms, and glorious conquests. They
will bring backthe events of buried years; will showthe deeds of
those who acted here and died; and as the scene moves on,
this charming. land, with all its countless beauties and its grey.
and noiseless wastes, will appear.




Guitar Player. —P. 116.








CHAPTER VII.
An Incomparable Wilderness-A Strange Period-Phrenzy-An In3la
Fire-Gentlemen by the Grace of God versus Gentlemen by the Grace of
Pelf-A Sight ofa Great Sea-The first Voyage around theEarth-A Surrender-Victims- Fleet-Voyage-Another Voyage-Murder-Massacre-Another Voyage-Shipwreck-Beaten to death in the surf-The
Dead and their Requiem-Gathered at their Ancient Altars-A ReturnAnother Voyage-An Arrival from a Ten Years' tramp among the Savages-An Expedition by Sea and Land-Death of the Discoverer of
California.
ANY part of the earth with its forests, its native grasses,
herbs, flowers, streams and animals, unmolested by the transforming powers of that race which derives a livelihood from
agriculture, commerce, and their attendant handicrafts, is a
spectacle of great interest. The seasons as they come and
go-the spring with its rich blossoms and leaves-the summer with its fulness of vigor-the autumn with its dropping
fruits-and the winter, that Sabbath of the year, when nature rests from her toil-all bring to the old wilderness unnumbered charms. But who can portray them? They are
so closely grouped, so richly tinted, so mellow, so sacred and
grand, that a long rife is required to perceive them. And I
often think, if we should study the ancient woods and towering rocks, and the countless beauties among them, through
all our days as we do in childhood, we should be drawn nearer
to virtue and to God!
California is an incomparable wilderness.  It differs from
that which overhung the Pilgrims of New England. That was
a forest broken only by the streams and the beautiful lakes in
which the Indian angled for his food. This is a wilderness
of groves and hlwns, broken by deep and rich ravines, sepa



118         SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
rated from each other by broad, and wild wastes. Along the
ocean is a world of vegetable beauty; on the sides of the
mountains are the mightiest trees of the earth; on the heights
are the eternal snows, lighted by volcanic fires! But this is not
the place to describe the features of this remarkable country. I
have said there is a tale of olden times connected with it and
its people, which must first be given. A strange period in
the history of man is that, in which the Californias became
known to Europeans. The latter years of the fifteenth, and
the first of the sixteenth century, embrace it. It is a barbarous era of human energy-not the energy of well-directed
reason-but of that recuperative force of human nature which
for centuries bends under ignorance and inaction, and then,
like some central spark, ignites the mass, and flows forth over
every opposing obstacle.
The attempt to take Palestine from the Infidels has called
out the combating and religious faculties in conjunction. Veneration for the Church and its rites is the ruling idea; the cross is
transferred from the cathedral to the field of battle, and with solemn hymns to God the people of Europe march to their graves
on the desecrated plains of Jerusalem. This religious battling
has an end; but its influence on the minds of the people has
been immense. They have wrapped their faith around their
lances; turned from commerce, the subjugation of the soil, and
general industry, to war upon opinions-to an unsettled state
of fanatical vagabondism, which turns the world loose upon
itself in a religious phrenzy that is forced to seek an outlet
among the waves of the western seas.
Half the solid land of the globe with its boundless forests,
its Amazon and Mississippi Rivers, its mountain ranges, its
unnumbered forms of animal life, its savage infidels-all its
vastness, beauty and gold, catches the restless fancy of the age,
and Columbus is among its sea-weed-sees the light of the
Indian's evening fire, and invites the enthusiasm of the Old
World to the New. It comes. It is love of wealth, power,
and faith!








Pizarro. —P. 119.
Cortes. P. 1 19.




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIPORNIAS              119
Venice, Genoa and Florence are bringing overland, from
the East Indies, so much wealth, that kings are tributary to
them. The palaces of the merchant princes outvie those of
the cut-throats Royal by the Grace of God. And the leading cord of events now is, to find a shorter route to the silks of
Hindostan. For in this lies the possibility that these Grace
of God gentlemen may rid themselves of their unpleasant
dependence upon the.coffers, navies and armies, of these free
States. Portugal, Spain, France, England, enter the lists of
this great Tournament of El Dorado. The prize sought to
be wrested from the hand of'Dame Fortune is, a water passage through the American Continent, by which the ships of
the discovering nation may reach the East Indies. Columbus,
Balboa and Cortez on the part of Spain, seek it along the
shores of the Gulf of Mexico; but the' Continent spreads
itself an everywhere present barrier to their hopes. This
Vasco Nunnez de Balboa in 1513 is in the Gulf of Uraba;
and an Indian chief called Panquiaca conducts him o-ver
the Cordilleras range of the Isthmus Darien, to MichLaemas
Gulf on the Pacific. The Great Pacific Ocean is first seen
by this man. His name is written among the heroes of those
benighted years. It is dyed in the blood of many thousand
slaughtered Indians. He leads Pizarro to the foul murder of
the Incas! He opens the arteries of Guatimala! In 1519,
Fernando Magellano, in the service of Portugal, discovers
the Strait which bears his name, sails across the South Pacific,
and touches at the Ladrone and Philippine islands. Among
the latter group himself and many of his companions perish.
Juan Sebastian del Cano succeeds to the command, traverses
the Indian Ocean, doubles the Cape of Good Hope, and
moors safely on his native shore. Two passages to the East
indies have now been discovered, and the earth for the first
time circumnavigated in 1522. The Pacific has been seen at
Darien, and ploughed in the Antarctic latitude. But its northern parts are yet unexplored. Hernando Cortez, the student
of Salamanca, the magistrate of San Diego de Cuba, the




120         SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
murderer of Montezuma and Guatimozin, the slender, five
feet seven inch conqueror of Mexico, undertakes this.
On the thirteenth of August, 1521, Mexico surrenders to
Cortez, and the King of Mechoacan, whose dominions extend
to the shores of the Pacific, also submits to this magistrate
of San Diego. Men are sent to explore three different
points fbr a ship-yard on the coast of the Great South Sea;
forty Spaniards, carpenters, sawyers, and blacksmiths, are sent
to the chosen port; iron, anchors, cables, sails, rigging, pitch,
oakum, bitumen, and other naval stores, sufficient to build two
brigantines, are borne by Indian slaves and a few mules, from
Vera Cruz to Zacatula; a distance of six hundred miles!
But misfortune is beginning to tread on the heel of Cortez'
enterprise. These materials, soon after their arrival at Zaca
tula, are consumed by fire. He has used all his private funds
in the purchase; but as his credit is still good, a thousand
Indian backs, stout and subservient, are again gored and
broken by similar burthens.  And the mountain path-ways
from Vera Cruz are a second time thronged with victims,
dying under the bales of materials for building the magistrate's brigantines. Cortez sees them rise from keel to top-,Aast, constructed with very sharp bows, and masts leaning
iorward, carrying triangular sails; and although ill-shaped,
theyrun near the wind. In 1524, this fleet sails under command of one Christopher de Olid, on a voyage among the
unseen waters of the North!  This expedition, however, results in nothing but wind and storm, and the return of the
ships in a miserable condition.
Great minds in different ages have reposed belief in strange
things.  Caesar trusted in the entrails of birds; the British
Parliament enacted laws against witchcraft; and this Cortez,
in 1524, believes in a nation of immense women, called Amazons, inhabiting a very large island whose shores are strewn
with pearls and gold! A sufficient variety of taste has human credulity, to give it a keen appetite and capacious
throat.  Cortez determines to discover the habitation of these




TRAVELS  IN  THE  C&LIFORNIAS.    121
large ladies. SBut in 1528 his fame falls into the hands of
Spaniards who treat it with the same respect as they already
have that of Columbus; that is, begin to dig its grave.
To avoid the vexations which the Viceroy of Mexico, and
a few other envious men, are throwing around him to cripple
his efforts, he sails to Spain and presents himself to his King.
He is received at court with marked kindness, is made Marquis.del Valle de Guaxaca, Captain General of New Spain
and the provinces and coasts of the South Sea, discoverer
and peopler of those coasts and of the island of pearls, gold
and Amazons, with a grant of the:twelfth part, for himself and
heirs, of all the territory that he shall discover and conquer.
These powers, privileges and honors fire anew the volcanic
spirit of this five feet seven inch slender student of Salaman:ca. In 1530, therefore, after having agreed with his sovtereign to prosecute his discoveries in the South Seas at his
own expense, he returns to Alexico; and finding the Audiencia, the Council of Government, still inimical to him, determines at once to undertake the manifold duties of his office.
Accordingly in May, 1532, he appoints Diego Hortadc
Mendoza, a relative of his, commander of two ships which he
has built at Acapulco, and sends him on a cruise into the
Pacific. The crew of one of these vessels mutinies and
brings her back to Xalisco. The other, under the personal
command of Mendoza, is never heard of after she leaves
port. Misfortune never weakens Cortez' resolution.  On
advice of his kinsman's loss and the ill fate of his expedition,
he proceeds to Tehuantepec, and superintends the building
of two other ships. These sail in 1534 for the fabled island
of Amazon~, under command of Hernando Grijalva and a
cousin of Cortez, Diego Becera Mendoza. Grijalva proceeds three hundred leagues to a desert island which he calls
San Tomas, and returns. Ximenes, the pilot of the other, kills
tile commander, and having assumed the command, sails up
the Gulf-coast of California as far as the bay of Santa; Crux.
Here himself and twenty of his crew  are destroyed by




122          SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
the Indians. After this event the sailors take the vessel
down the coast of Mexico to a port called Chiametla.
Ximenes' people, in the true spirit of the race to which
they belong, represent the country in which their pilot has
been killed, as fruitful and thickly peopled, and the sea around
it, stored with great quantities of pearl beds. So that the misfortunes of former voyages only serve to arouse the uncon.
querable spirit of this magistrate of San Diego de Cuba, to
further effort in search of the rich islands and countries in the
Forth Pacific. He accordingly gives public notice, that Hernando Cortez, the conqueror of Mexico, Marquis del Valle,
His Majesty's discoverer, &c. &c., designs to take command
of a fleet for this purpose. Spaniards from all parts of the
country enter his camp at Tehuantepec; three new ships are
launched, well supplied with stores for a long cruise, and sent
northward to Chiametla; thither Cortez goes, with a large
body of priests, officers and soldiers, and several families, designing to settle in the territories he may discover; the ship
of Ximenes, lying at Chiametla, empty and plundered, is fitted
up as the fourth vessel of this little squadron; and Cortez and
a part of his followers sail into the unknown north; enter
the bay where Ximines was killed; and call it Santa Cruz,
Bahia de la Paz.
Having landed his people and stores at this place, he sends
his ships back to Chiametla for a part of the stores and people which have been left. But tempests fall upon them, and
contrary winds so thwart them, that only one ever returns
to La Paz. Their stores and provisions consequently wane
fast; the country around is desolate and barren; death gnashes
his teeth upon them, and starvation walks a ghastly image
through their pallid ranks; but Cortez sees a difficulty only to
conquer it. He immediately puts to sea in his only remaining
ship; crosses the gulf; coasts along its eastern shore for the
space of fifty leagues, amid infinite dangers from rocks, currents
and tempests; finds his lost ships stranded on the coast of




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TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    123
Senora, and the bodies of his companions rotting and beating
among the breakers! A sad end to those men was that! A
dolorous termination to Cortez' hopes of discovery! and dreadful to the people of La Paz, on a heated and desolate shore,
starving and thirsting, the living eating the dead and drinking
their blood! On his return he finds the few wretched ones
who yet live, mad with hunger! They shout with wild maniac joy, and rush into the surf! They try to swim to the
ship for food and are cast back upon the shore by the surges!
Many perish in the angry waters!  Cortez lands and gives
them food in sparing quantities. But the tides of life have
been ebbing too long! Their dying energies are overtaxed!
They die by twenties and are buried among the brambles with
the holy water sprinkled on them for a coffin and winding
sheet! The rude cross of wood stands over each one's grave,
the symbol of faith and life to come! And now the deep de.
sert, red and toneless, hears their requiem, in the clanking
cable of Cortez's ship, as the wailing crew heave the anchor,
and depart from the eastern shore of Lower California!
Meantime report at Mexico says that the murderer of Gua.
timozin and Montezuma has perished in the western seas,
Cortez is the name of a corse bloated and sunken in their
depths.  The caciques of the fallen dynasty shout for glad.
ness among the mountainls of Mexico.  Their enslaver no
longer breathes.  The great relentless heart of Cortez is
rotting.  His fiery eye has ceased to burn. His unconquerable soul no longer hovers over their native vales, and the
sound of his terrible voice is for ever hushed.  This belief
rouses their lost courage. They gather around their ancient
altars. The holy Sun is besought to blight their oppressors
with his fervent fires, and send life, love, and true hearts
among his fallen children. They worship in their ancient
temples, and vow that they will be free.
The Marchioness Donna Juanna de Zunniga, daughter of
the Count de Aguilar and cousin to the Duke de Bejan, has
loved the student of Salamanca, and become his second wife




124        SCENES IN  THE  PACI-IC.
And the love of this woman still burns ardently, and alone,
for her absent husband. The Audiencia at Mexico are Span.
lards, and- as such can lay aside their jealousy of Cortez
when his prowess is required. to save their necks. A virtue
this which never fails to grow where Castilian blood fertilizes
the human frame. The Caciques now line the mountain sides
with their followers; the war-cry bounds across the vale of
the city. " Cortez is dead, and we can be free!" is sung on
all the heights from the Gulf to the Pacific. That Audiencia
now loves Cortez. They condole with his wife on her probable loss, and allow her to send a ship with letters from herself urging his return. The Caciques press towards their holy
city, and its sacred lakes. The avenging passions of enslaved
millions growl through the land, and the clash of savage
arms, their dancings and songs, mingle in one direful din on
the ear of the Viceroy. He sends entreaties that Cortez will
return and save the country. These messages from the Viceroy and his wife reach him on the coast of Senora; he sails
back to La Paz; leaves Francisco de Ulloa in charge of a
part of his people; returns to Acapulco; goes to Quahunahuac to meet his anxious wife; and thence proceeds to Mexi-co.  The poor Indians learn that the murderer of their
-Emperor lives! They lay down their arms, and every hope
of freedom.
Ulloa has followed his master, and awaits his orders at
Acapulco. In May, 1537, he is again ordered to sea with
three ships, the Santa Agueda, La Trinidad, and Santo Torres. He touches at Santiago de Buena Esperanza; at Guayabal; crosses over to California, and- follows the zoast to the
head of the Gulf. Along this coast he sees many volcanoes,
bare mountains, and barren valleys.  Whales abound in the
sea; and on the land he finds large, heavy, and very crooked
sheep's horns; also naked Indians taking fish with hooks
made of wood, bone, and tortoise-shell, who wear bright
shells about the neck, and use the maws of sea-wolves -for




TRAVELS IN  THE  C:A LIFORNIA.S.    125
drinking vessels! After a year's cruising in the Gulf, or Ma
de Cortez, Ulloa returns to Acapulco.
About this time Alvar Nunnez Cabeza de Vaca and his
three companions, Castello, Dorontes, and a negro called Estevanico, arrive at Mexico. They are the only survivors of
three hundred Spaniards who landed in Florida with Pamfilo de
Narvaez, ten years before, with the intention of conquering
that country. They have been defeated and driven from Florida, and having wandered on foot through Louisiana, Texas,
and other parts inhabited by savages, they appear among
their countrymen naked, and so changed in their personal appearance, that their language is almost the only evidence of
their origin. This Alvar Nunnez Cabeza de Vaca relates
such surprising tales of his adventures, and the gold, pearls,
&c., seen in the north, as to kindle anew the avarice of the
Spaniards.  The excitement, however, does not reach its
height until the return of a monk who has travelled over
those countries with the design of Christianizing the natives.
This man has seen rich countries covered with grains, fruits,
countless herds of black cattle, and mountains shining with
the precious metals.
The Viceroy and Cortez are enemies. They both conceive
the design. of penetrating these  countries.  But the
former induces the creditors of the latter to vex him with legal proceedings while he himself dispatches an expedition by
sea and another by land, to discover and conquer these wonder-born regions. The land force is led by Francisco Vasquez Coronado. He marches at the head of one thousand
chosen men; and after many hardships reaches his destination, m
520 N. Lat., three hundred leagues north of Culiacan, Cinaloa,
and Valle de Senora. He finds a province here composed of
seven towns in which are about four hundred men and a proportionate number of women and children. The largest has
two hundred houses of earth and rough wood. Some are four
and five stories high. The entrance to each floor is from the




126        SCENE E S IN  T'HE  PA CIFI C
outside by means of stairs, which, for security, are removed at
night.
The country not being strewn with gold and gems, however, as the soldiers anticipated, they propose to return. But
Coronado sends a body of them three hundred leagues farther
north, in search of two cities, called Quivira and Axa. They
find ony, a rich country abounding in fruit, cattle and wild
beasts. Meeting with nothing, therefore, in all these regions
to gratify their cupidity during a search of three years, they
return to Mexico and report to that effect. This expedition
has traversed the interior of Upper California. The armament, meantime, has sailed to the place of rendezvous on the
Pacific coast of Oregon, and awaited in idleness the arrival,of the land expedition. But as Grijalva was spending his time
in searching for a land of gold, and the fabled cities of
Quivira and Axa, instead of seeking his countrymen at the
appointed place, the commander of the fleet found it convenient to return to Mexico. He is soon after disgraced and dies
of chagrin. Thus terminate the Viceroy's expeditions!
The friends of Cortez bruit this failure of his enemy to defraud their chief of his rights. But the star of that great
man is sinking; and they cannot stay its fall. Thwarted and
overreached by his enemies, and finding the mind of his sovereign poisoned by their machinations, he resolves to present
himself again at Court and demand his rights. Accordingly,
in 1540, lie embarks with his two sons for Spain; attends the
King in his unfortunate expedition to Algiers; and after
spending seven years in vain efforts to regain the favor of his
monarch, expires of grief\and disappointment at Castillya de
la Cuesta, while on his way to meet his daughter at Cadiz.
Thus dies the conqueror of Mexico and discoverer of
California!




CHAPTER VIII.
Three hundred years ago-The Capitana, Almiranta, Frigate and Bart*
Longo-A rarn Bird —Mazatlan-A Fog and a Reef-San BarrabeLaying dowvn Arms-Rich Shores-Game-Nature's Salt WorksDeparture-A Northwester-A Separation-Signal Fires-A DesertFish-A Saline Lake-Tracts and a Meeting-An Island-A Precious
Mountain-Amber-Cerros-Circumnavigating-San  Hypolito —Up
the Coast-A Gale —Out of sight-Comes to Anchor-Bahia San
Francisco of the South-Native Cattle-Indian Courtesy —A MeetingAnother Bay-A Battle-Weighs-San Diego-Savages-GravesSanta Catarina-Its Inhabitants and Customs-Its Productions-;A
Temple-A line of Islands-His Majesty and Hospitality-A BlowFour Canoes-Rio San Carnielo-Monterey in 1602-Death-The Almiranta dispatched to Mexico-A Horrid Disease-The Country-Its
People and Animals-Bahia San Francisco of the North-Cape Mendocino-Death! Death!-Return to Mazatlan-Death-To Acapulc,
-Lamentations!!
IN 1542 the Viceroy of Mexico sends Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo from the Port of Navidad with two ships, on a voyage
of discovery up the coast of California.  He touches at
Santa Cruz, la Magdalena, Cape del Enganno in lat. 320,
La Cruz in 330, de la Galera in 3610, the Bay of San Francisco in about 370 40', and sees a large Cape, in lat. 400,
which he calls Mendocino, in honor of the Viceroy. In March,
1543, he reaches 44o~ without making any additional discoveries of importance. At this time, the cold being very intense,
he turns his ship homeward and enters the harbor of Navidad
on the 14th of April, 1545. No other expeditions are undertaken to California, until 1596; when Count Monterey, the
reigning Viceroy, receives an order from Philip II. for making discoveries and settlements in California. In obedience
to this order, Sebastian Viscayno is appointed Captain-general




12S        SCENES  IN  THE  PAC FtC.
of the Expedition, and Capt. Toribio Gomez admiral. Both
are persons of great worth, enterprise and skill. Two ships,
the Capitana and Almiranta, are purchased, and a frigate built
expressly for this service. There is besides a barco longo for
surveying creeks and bays, and such other services as cannot
be performed with deeper keels. Three barefooted Carmelites, Padre Andrez de la Assumpcion, Padre Antonio de la
Ascencion, and Padre Tomas de Aquino, accompany the ex.
pedition in the capacity of spiritual advisers; and Capt. Alonzo Estevan Peguero and Ensign Gaspar de Alarcon, as counsellors in relation to the proceedings of the expedition. Capt.
Geronimo Martin is likewise attached to it as draughtsman of
the colasts, islands, and harbors which shall be discovered.
This body of officers are men of enterprise and skill; and supported by the best seamen in Spanish America, great results
are anticipated from the voyage!
On the 5th of May, 1602, the fleet sails from Acapulco.
Strong head winds and currents buffet them for many days;
but on the 19th of May, they reach Puert a La Navidad, and
put in to obtain ballast and repair the Capitana. All which
being dispatched with the utmost speed, they proceed on their
voyage and reach Cape Corrientes on the 26th of May.
Having surveyed this coast, and the adjacent country, they
sail northward to the Islands of Mazatlan. These they reach
on the 22d of June. They are two in number, lying near
each other, and making a fine roadstead between them and
the main shore. In this the Capitana and Almiranta come to
anchor. The frigate having been separated from them soon
after leaving Navidad, they fear she is lost; but they are glad
to find her lying in a river which empties into this roadstead.
The officers and priests visit one of the islands. Great numbers of sea birds, about the size of a goose, having a bill
nearly half a yard in length, legs resembling those of the
stork, and a large crop in which they carry small fish to their
young, cover the beach; deer and wild goats abound inland.
These islands lie at the entrance of the Gulf of California.




I RAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    129
fHaving passed a part of the day among them, they steer
across the mouth of the Gulf, and on the 9th of July make
Cape San Lucas. As they stand in, a heavy fog falls upon
them, and completely conceals the shore. For a day and a
half they lie thus enveloped, out of sight of each other, and
in great danger. At length it clears up a little, and the Al..
miranta discovers that she is within twenty-five fathoms of a
reef of rocks, on which she barely escapes being dashed in
pieces. Having borne away from so fearful a doom, they enter a bay where they rejoice to find the frigate already anchored. This is the day of San Barnabe, and accordingly
the harbor is named in honor of that saint.
Their attention is soon attracted to the natives, who, armed
with bows, arrows, and spears, line the shore, shouting
fiercely, and throwing sand'in the air. General Viscayno
lands with twelve soldiers, the priests and officers. But the
natives are so intimidated by the lighted matches and arquebuses that they are near losing all communication with them,
when Padre Antonio de la Ascencion, advancing alone, making signs of peace and friendship, induces them. to stop, embraces them all kindly, and gives assurance that no harmis
intended them. They now lay down their arms, and intimate
that the soldiers must do the same before they will advance.
The Padre conveys this wish to his friends, and calls a little
negro boy to bring a basket of biscuit to distribute among
them. At sight of the negro they are greatly pleased, and
tell him, by signs, that there is a village of people like himself not far thence, with whom they are on friendly terms.
Having received beads and other presents, they retire to their
rancherias, or settlements, much pleased, though apparently
not entirely free from apprehension.. After this, the general
and others walk about to examine the shore. Not far distant
they observe a pond of clear water, on the borders of which
lie great quantities of sardine and pilchard, which have been
thrown up by the breakers. The next day they visit another




SCENES IN  THE P ACI FIC.
spot, -where they find the shore for some distance strewn with
pearl oysters of the most brilliant and various hues.
The little fleet lies in this bay several days to repair, and
take in wood and water. The boats, meantime, are kept
constantly abroad taking fish. Soles, lobsters, pearl oysters,
&c., are procured. The quail, wood-pigeon, rabbits, hares,
deer, lions, tigers, are seen on the hills; various kinds of trees,
as the pitahaya, fig, lentisk, and a great variety of plum
shrubs, which, instead of gum, emit a very fragrant odor,
grow in the valleys. In the vicinity of the anchorage is a
low tract of ground subject to be inundated by the sea, during the prevalence of the southwesterly winds. Its shape is
such that when the waves retire a large quantity of water is
left, which evaporates and leaves a deposit of fine white salt.
The Indians of this region gb entirely naked. They are,
however, extremely fond of ornamenting their hair, and of
painting their bodies in black and white stripes.
Having finished the repairs about the time the moon
changes, and having by the distribution of goods produced a
~avorable state of feeling among the soldiers, the CaptainGeneral, about the first of July, orders the squadron to put
to sea. But they run only three leagues, when a northwesterly wind springs up, which soon increases to such a gale
that they are compelled to put back into the bay of San
Barnabe. Three times they stand out, and as often are compelled to return. At last they determine to leave the barco
longo, which the Capitana has towed, much to the detriment
of her progress, and on the 5th of July, for the fourth time,
attempt to gain the open sea. The Almiranta and Capitana
with great difficulty make some headway against the tempest. But the frigate is obliged to part company, and run in
under the land. When the gale abates, the commander is
desirous of uniting with the frigate, and for this purpose lays
in for the shore.  On the 8th they make land under the
brow of some lofty hills, where they are becalmed. This
range of highlands they call Sierra del Enfado, or Mount




T'RAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNTAS            131
Tedious. On the 16th a breeze fills their sails, and the ships
stand away for the harbor de la Magdalena. Here they are
enveloped in a fog so dense that a man cannot be seen at
six paces. The Capitana runs into the harbor, but the Almiranta is compelled to turn her prow seaward. When the
fog clears up, therefore, they have lost sight of each other.
The people of the Capitana mount the hills which skirt the
harbor, and build signal fires on the heights. These are seen
by the people of the Almiranta; but mistaking them for the
fires of the Indians, continue to stand off. The Captain-General now becomes very anxious for the missing ship and fri
gate; and, as soon as the gale abates, sails in quest of them.
He first explores the bay of San Jago; but not finding them
there, proceeds to Magdalena, and, to the joy of all, anchors
near the frigate.
They weigh anchor again on Sunday morning the 28th
of July, and that they may not be parted again, the Capitana
takes the frigate in tow. A gale which comes on from the
northwest after they leave the harbor, prevents them from
standing as far from the shore as they desire. But they bear
away along the coast, and soon after heave in sight of a bay
which seems to be formed by the mouth of a river. This
the frigate is sent to survey. But ascertaining the mouth to
be crossed by a line of impassable breakers, they continue
their voyage. On the eighth of August they discover another
bay. Being now very much in want of wood, water, and
fresh food, some soldiers are sent on shore to search for them.
The country, however, is perfectly barren and destitute of all.
An island is in sight which promises the required aid. It
proves to be small, with a soil of gravel and sand, and
thronged with gulls. The creeks are frequented with immense-numbers of sea wolves, and a great variety of fish.
The boat is sent out with fishing tackle, &c., and in an hour
two men take a supply for both vessels.
Transfiguration day is passed here; and Padre Antonio
celebrates mass. After service, the sergeant and some soldiers




132        SCENES  IN, TH E  PRACIFIC.
being out in search of water and wood, find a lake filled with'
very good salt. Near it are some pits containing brackish
water. Around these they discover innumerable foot prints,
and other signs which, to their inexpressible joy, clearly indicate that the crew of the Almiranta have been here before
them! They therefore take a small supply of this miserable
water, and sail for the island of Cerros in search of their companions. On their way they pass a very high barren mountain upon the main coast, showing every variety of color, on a
bright shining surface. It is affirmed, by a sailor from Peru,
to be a bed of silver and gold! They are very desirous to
ascertain if this opinion be true; but the wind will not permit them to land.
They soon after enter a good harbor, which they name San
Bartholome. Here the General sends Ensign Alarcon and
some soldiers ashore for water. The only thing they find
worthy of notice is a kind of resin, or gum, which being
rather offensive to the smell, they do not think worth taking
to the ship. They believe it to be amber, and report enough
of it to load a large ship. As no water is to be found on
this barren shore, they continue their search for the lost
vessel.
On the last day of August they come to anchor at the island
of Cerros. While they are furling their sails, Padre Tomas
de Aquino discovers the Almiranta approaching them. The
most extravagant joy is' manifested on board both ships at
this meeting. Capt. Viscayno learns that she has been lying
Mi a fine harbor since the nineteenth; that she has just weighed for the purpose of circumnavigating the island in search
of the Capitana, and that supplies of wood, water, salt, &c.,
may be had at her last mooring ground. Accordingly, the
little fleet runs into the Almiranta's old harbor. Here the
General orders his men to pitch a tent for the Padres, and
take in supplies. But the water is found so remote, that the
General sends Ensign Juan Francisco and Sergeant Miguel de




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.               133
Legar with twelve soldiers, over the island, to see if there be
not some spring or stream more accessible.
After a long search they report the discovery of a rivulet
about two leagues distant. Everything is now ordered on
board and the fleet proceeds at once to the mouth of the
stream. While they are taking in water, the General orders
the frigate to make the circuit of the island. On their return,
the cosmographer reports it to be about thirty leagues in circumference, to have high mountains covered with cedar and
pine, and to be inhabited by savages, who answered all their
signs of peace with the most threatening gestures. On the
main coast a large bay was observed, which seemed to run
far inland. All the ships of the fleet being supplied with
water, they set sail on the ninth of September. Their course
is northerly, towards the main shore. They make it on the
eleventh, and discover a fine bay, which they call San Hypo.
lito. Anchors are dropped and preparations made for surveys. For this purpose the General orders some soldiers
ashore under Capt. Peguero and Ensign Alarcon. The country is found very beautiful. A broad and well-beaten road
leads inland from the coast to a large hut covered with palm-'eaves, capable of containing fifty persons. While returning
to the ship they take a great quantity of the best fish, on
which all hands feast sumptuously. Thus fed, and joyful that
they have found so desirable a country, they raise anchors
and stand up the coast.
As they sail along they see many large fires, which they
deem an indication that Indian villages are numerous. But
they have proceeded a few leagues only, when a violent gale
springs up from the northwest, which compels them to run in
under some lofty hills bordering the sea. To the southeast
of this anchorage is seen a line of white cliffs on which there
appear to be a great number of Indians. The General, therefore, orders the frigateinshore with the cosmographer to take
a chart of the coast and ascertain the condition of the natives.
On coming in close tnder the heights she is becalmed at such




134:SCENES IN  T-HE  PACIFIC
a distance from the shore that, they cannot land. The sea,
meanwhile, running very high outside, obliges the ships to lie to
for twenty-four hours, during which time the frigate drifts out
of sight and the Almiranta is near foundering. In the morning they endeavor to continue their voyage. But the -wind
increases till evening, when a thick fog envelopes earth, sea,
and ships. The Almiranta being in much jeopardy from the injuries received the previous night, the General determines.to
look for some harbor where they may be secure against the
heavy storm presaged by the fog. He finds none;but much to
their surprise, the following day opens clear, and with a gentle
breeze, which carries them off the Mesas, near which the frigate
left them. Th e promises of fair weather, however, prove very
deceitful; for before night a gale, more violent than any they
have experienced, and accompanied by a thick fog, overtakes
them. The ships lie to all night under reefed mainsails; but
before morning they lose sight of each other.
The General now makes every effort to fall in with the
Almiranta; and keeping close in shore for this purpose, very
unexpectedly meets the frigate. But as he gets no tidings of
the ship, his fears for her safety are not lessened. He therefore puts into a fine harbor which they have discovered northwest of Cape Engalnno, and there awaits her. He believes
that, if still in a sailing condition, she must, by pursuing her
instructions in regard to her course, necessarily pass near the
mouth of this bay. They call this harbor Bahia de San Francisco. In a rancheria near the anchorage they find a species
of onions. Goats' horns, also, are strewn over the ground.
The surrounding country is level, fertile, and very beautiful.
The plains are fed by large herds of cattle and deer. The
crew of the frigate point out an island a little north of the
anchorage which they call San Geronimo; and the CaptainGeneral orders some of the seamen ashore to examine it.  It
proves to be heavily wooded, and frequented by immense flocks
of birds. Its shoals abound in the finest cod and other fish
Of these they take a supply for all the ships. Beyond the




TRAVELS'IN  THE  CALIFORN  AS            135
island they discover a large bay into which a considerable
creek empties itself with a strong current.. The frigate goes
in to survey it. They observe great numbers of naked Indians fishling in the creek, who approach the Spaniards with the
liveliest marks of joy, offer them the best of their fish, and
show them several wells of pure fresh water. When these
things are reported to Captain Viscayno, he orders a tent to
be pitched for the celebration of mass, and preparations made
to lie here till the Almiranta comes up, or all hope of her is lost.
They take in wood and water. Every morning the Indians bring them a supply of fish for the day, and pay such
deference to the Spaniards, that they never visit the rancherias
in the neighborhood, without first soliciting the permission
of the General and the Padres. The Spaniards return their
courtesy with trifling presents, which enlist their wonder and
admiration so deeply, that immense numbers of Indian men,
and women with two infants each, flock from the neighboring
rancherias; pronounce Spanish words after the soldiers;
eat with them; and in other ways show a disposition to cultivate the most friendly and intimate acquaintance. The females are clad in skins, and show much propriety of conduct.
These Indians carry on a considerable trade with their inland
neighbors by furnishing them with fish, and receiving in return net purses, curiously wrought, and a root called mexcalli
or maguey, boiled and prepared as a conserve. Of both
these articles they give great quantities to the Spaniards
in return for the beads and other trifles.  They inform their visitors that up in the country there are a great
many people who wear clothes and beads, and have fire-arms.
They are supposed to refer to Onate's land expedition from
Mexico.
Having now abandoned all hope of the Almiranta, it being
twenty-eight days since she parted from them, the General,
on the twenty-fourth of October, stands out to sea. Just as
he leaves the bay, to his great astonishment and joy, the
long absent ship is seen approaching.




136         S CENES  IN  T-HE  PA   C..
Being now all united again, the General gives orders:
continue the voyage, and run into the first harbor discovered.
They soon see a large bay, which the tender is ordered to ex,
plore. It is well sheltered from the northwest winds; but
as its shores are lined with great numbers of warlike Indians
instead of landing they proceed up the coast. A north
wester, however, soon obliges them to put back, and come to
anchor. This being the anniversary of St. Simon and St
Jude, they give the name of both saints to the bay. The next
morning Captain Peguero and Ensign Alarcon are sent ashore
with some soldiers to look for wood and fresh water. Find-.
ing none of the latter, they dig some wells in a moist spot
overgrown with sedge and flags. While doing this, the
Indians seem very brisk and bold; but do not molest the
Spaniards till some presents are offered them. Construing,
this act into a sign of fear on the part of their visitors, they
at once become implldent, attempt to steal, and even go so
far as to try to take one of the boats from the boys who are,
left in charge of it. To deter them from further violence, one
of the soldiers, as they are going off to the ship, fires his
piece in the air. But the Indians finding no one hurt, grow.
more insolent than ever; and the next day when a small patty
goes on shore to obtain water, they become so very trolblesome that two soldiers who have their matches lighted, order
them to stand back. But this only increases their audacity.
One of them throws his bow over the head, of a soldier. The.
pilot draws his sabre, and severs it. They now draw up in
form, and place their arrows on their bow-strings. The
soldiers, who have lighted matches, are ordered to fire upon
them!  In a moment six Indians lie bleeding upon the
sand! Their companions snatch them up and bear them
away!
The news of this occurrence spreads like the wind among
the neighboring ranche ms, and in a h.ort time two hundred
Indians painted fiercely, wearing plumes upon their heads,
and armed with bows and arrows, rush down to attack the




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.   137
Spaniards.  The Ensign, on seeing them, orders his men to
make ready   The Indians, however, (ldo not relish the appearance of the arquebuses, and remain at a distance, talking and gesticulating in the most earnest manner. At length
they send one of their number with a little dog, in token of
their desire to make peace. The man, while making the treaty,
eyes the arquebuses very keenly, and signifies that four of his
people are already deceased, and others dying of their wounds;
and in token of their sincere wish not to hear from these gods
of fire again, he makes a number of presents to the soldiers
who bear them, and retires.
The squadron leaves the bay on Wednesday the first of
November. Continuing along the coast, they come to the
mouth of a very large bay, sheltered on all sides, except the
sea-ward one, by lofty mountains.  It is protected at the
entrance by two islands, which they call Todos Santos. The
frigate and the Almiranta run in to make surveys.  But the
Capitana standing off, and night approaching, they dread
another separation so much that they put out and rejoin the
General. The next morning preparations are made to enter
it again, for a more deliberate examination.  But a favorable
breeze springing up, they conclude to leave it for their return, and continue the voyage.
On the fifth of November they fall in with four islands,
which they call Coronadas. On the tenth they enter the famous harbor of San Diego. The day after their arrival, Ensign Alarcon, Captain Peguero and eight soldiers are sent out
to explore. They first direct their steps to a heavy forest
which lies on the northwest side of the bay. This is ascertained to be about three leagues in width and half a one in
breadth. The trees are chiefly oaks, with an undergrowth of
fragrant shrubs. Obtaining a fine view of the bay from the
heights, they ascertain it to be spacious, land-locked, and
every way desirable; and returning to the ships, report such
to be its character. This result being deemed satisfactory by
the leneral, he orders a tent pitched on shore for the celebra.




1.8'       SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC
tion of mass, and preparation to be made for repairing the
ships. One part of the crews therefore is assigned to clean
and tallow the hulls, another to fill the water casks, and
another to procure wood and keep guard.
One day when each department is employed at its appointed task, a sentinel posted in the forest sees a large body of
Indians coming along the shore, naked, painted with red and
white colors, and armed with bows and arrows. In order if
possible, to avoid bloodshed, the General desires Padre Antonio to go and offer them peace. He is accompanied by Ensign Juan Francisco and six soldiers. Signs of peace being
made with a bit of white linen, the Indians immediately deliver their arms. The Padre embraces them all affectionately; and thus the best understanding is at once established.
But observing so large a number of persons on board the
ships, they retire in much apprehension; and after consulting
some time together, send two of their women alone to the
tent. They approach with a timid air; but being kindly received andpresented with beads, biscuit, &c., they return and
make such a report to their people as soon brings the whole
troop down to the water side. They are generally naked;
their bodies striped with white and black paint; and their
heads loaded with feathers. Their light paint seems to the
voyagers, to be compounded'of silver and other materials;
and on being asked what it is, they give the Spaniards a piece
of metallic ore, saying, " it is made from this." They add
that far up in the country there are many people, wearing
beads and clothes like theirs, who make of this metal such
ornaments as the General has on his purple velvet doublet.
All desirable preparations being made, they sail from this
beautiful bay of San Diego. While they have tarried in it,
many of the crew who had been sick of the scurvy, have recovered, and many others have died. It is a sorrowful occasion for those who still live, to part from the graves of their
companions. They are interrned on the borders of the magnificent forest northwest of the bay; and the well known trees




TRAVELS IN  THE  CA  IFORNIAS.   19
which spread their branches over them, are discernible as
they leave the land! They scarcely clear the headlands of
the harbor when a terrible northwester comes down upon
them and changes their grief to fear. They see another voyage beg'iun which may terminate their own lives. But they
keep their course and soon make another large bay. It is
surrounded by a level, beautiful country, the inhabitants of
which make fires on the heights along the coast, and by every
sign in their power, invite the fleet to anchor. On approaching the land, however, they find no shelter from the northwest
wind and stand out again to sea. A few leagues brings them
to the large island of Santa Catarina.
On the twenty-eighth they anchor in the bay. The inhabitants of Santa Catarina make the most noisy and earnest
invitations for them to land. The General therefore orders
Admiral Gomez, Capt. Peguero, and Ensign Alarcon, with
twenty-four soldiers, to land on the island, and learn what the
natives so earnestly desire. As soon as they reach the shore,
they are surrounded by Indian men and women, who treat
them with much kindness and propriety, and intimate that
they have seen other Spaniards. When asked for water they
give it to the whites in a sort of bottle, made of rushes.
They explore the island. It appears to be overgrown with
savin and a species of briar. A tent is pitched for religious
service, and Padre Tomas being ill, Padres Antonio and Andrez celebrate mass in presence of all the people. These Indians spend much of their time in taking the many varieties
of fish which abound in the bay. They have boats made of
plank, capable of containing twenty persons. In these they
carry long slender poles, to which harpoons of fish-bone are
attached by long ropes. They strike with the harpoon and
pay out rope till the fish is unable to run longer, and then if
it be small, take it into the boat, or if large tow it ashore.
They prize the sea-wolf most highly, as well on account of its
flesh, which they eat, as its skin, of which they make most ot
their clothing.




140         SCEN E S  IN  THE  PAC-IFIC.
The women of this tribe are beautiful, modest, and extremely well conducted. The children have fine complexions
and arevery amiable. They live in large huts, dispersed in
rancherias, and have many convenient utensils made of rushes
Their island abounds in a small root resembling the common
potato, which is imuch prized as an article of food. On this
island is a very large level enclosure, with an altar in the
centre surrounded by a circular wall or partition of various
colored feathers.  Within this circle is a figure painted
with a great variety of hues, and resembling the image by
which the Indians of Mexico typify the devil. In its hands
are the figures of the Sun and Moon. As the soldiers approach this place they discover two very large crows within
the enclosure, which rise on their coming up and alight on
some rocks in the vicinity. Before the guide can remonstrate,
their pieces are levelled and both birds fall. This act calls
forth the bitterest lamentations from the Indian, who evidently
regards them as sacred to his deity. Santa Catarina has several fine harbors. It abounds in partridges, quails, rabbits,
hare and deer. The people are very numerous, and exhibit
much ingenuity in pilfering from their visitors.
On the twenty-first of December the squadron leaves Santa
Catarina to explore other islands which extend in a line nearly
one hundred leagues up the coast. They are found to be inhabited by shrewd, active people, who trade much among themselves and with their neighbors on the continent. Between
a portion of them and the main land is a channel called the
Canal de Santa Barbara. After exploring them, the fleet
puts back to the continent, near the southern mouth of this
channel. Before they reach the shore, however, four mlen
come up to the Capitana, and row three times round her
with the most astonishing swiftness, all the while chanting a
kind of wild measure, similar to what the Indians of Mexico
call almatote. By this the Spaniards understand that they
have the Indian king or cacique on board. And so it proves;
for when the ceremony is over, his majesty steps on board the




TRAVELS  I X  THE  CALIFORNIAS.             1
Capitana, and after walking three times around tfie quarterdeck, addresses himself in a long speech to the General and
his officers. This being concluded, he adopts the more intelligible method of signs, to inform the Spaniards that the natives of Santa Catarina have sent his majesty advices of the' r
visit, and have also spoken of their bravery, generosity, and
the many presents made by them. All these things have
kindled in his majesty a desire to cultivate the acquaintance
of such illustrious persons; and he backs his protestations of
regard by the proposition to furnish them with everything
they desire to eat and drink, and with the moderate supply
of ten women each! To prove his ability in this last offer,
himself and son will remain as hostages while one of the soldiers shall go on shore and ascertain the fact. As it is near
night, however, the General very ungallantly declines his
offer in behalf of himself and crew; and his majesty at length
departing, it is thought best to improve the fair wind then
coming on, to prosecute the voyage. Setting all sail, therefore, they progress rapidly till they nearly complete the survey of the channel.  The breeze leaves them opposite a
cluster of islands, six in number, and about two leagues distant from each other. The channel is ascertained to be about
twenty-four leagues in length. The main coast is beautifully
diversified with woodland and lawn, among which are several
Indian villages.
The following night the wind changes to northwest, and
blows a tremendous gale for about sixty hours. The waters
in the channel are lifted into mountains. The ships are driven
almost uncontrolled among the islands. The greatest fear
prevails that all will be lost. On the third day, however, the
tempest abates. The Capitana and Almiranta are safe, and
with the fair weather stand in for the continent. But the frigate is missing. The coast is skirted with lofty mountains
which shelter some fine bays. From one of these, four canoes run out at the same moment, filled with savages bringing a large quantity of excellent sardines. These Indians




142          s CENES IN  THE PA CIFIC.
are tall, fine-looking people: They cover themselves with
goat-skins before entering the ships; and as if sensible- that
language not understood would be of no use, they utter not
a word, but express their thoughts by signs. Appearing very
good-natured, and not disposed to pilfer, the Spaniards present to them  some clothing and trinkets, with which they
seem delighted.  The next day, others coming on board
urge the  General to bring his ships to their country,
in order that they may furnish him with plenty of fish and
acorns.
The frigate now rejoins the ships. She has been driven
among the islands, and experienced much hospitality front
the natives. They now all get under way and stand nearer
the shore in search of a harbor. The whole coast has been
enveloped in a thick fog since the gale. A fair wind, however, springing up, they run along the edge of the mist till the
fourteenth of January, when the weather clearing, they find
themselves under a ridge of high mountains, white at the
top, and clothed with wood at the base. This range they
call Sierra de Santa Lucia. Four leagues beyond it a river
tumbles through a ledge of rocks into the sea. Its banks are
covered with black and white poplar, willow, birch, and pine.
This stream they call Rio San Carmelo.
Two leagues farther on is a splendid harbor, between which
and the mouth of the Carmelo, is a heavy pine wood, forming a cape. This is Punto de Pinos. In this harbor the
squadron comes to anchor.  The crews are very much
reduced by sickness.  The master and mate of the A1miranta are both unable to leave their births; the CaptainGeneral and his mate are scarcely able to appear on deck; a
great many of the soldiers and boys are very sick; and
sixteen have died since leaving Bahia de San Francisco,.
Under these circumstances it Is resolved that the Almiranta
shall be sent back under the command of Admiral Gomez,
with the two pilots Pasqual and Balthazar, and all the sick;
th t she shall take a sufficient number of sound men to man




TRAVELS  IN  THE-  CALIi ORNIA  1. -43
her; and that the rest shall go on board of the Capitana and
frigate. The General will send advices and a chart of all his
discoveries, with a request that a reinforcement and supplies
may be sent on early in the spring, to enable him to complete
the survey of the coast and Gulf.
In accordance with this arrangement the sick are put on
board with great care; Padre Thomes de Aquino is assigned to
accompany them, and on the twenty-ninth of January the
Almiranta sets sail for Acapulco. The disease which preys
so distressingly and fatally on the ships' crews is one of a very
singular character. It is supposed to arise from the action of
the cold winds of this region upon the relaxed constitutions
of persons who come into it from warmer climates. The patient is seized with violent pains throughout the system, which
are soon followed by such extreme sensibility as forbids the
slightest touch. This latter symptom is often so excruciating
as to draw tears oand groans from the stoutest men. Soon
after this the surface becomes spotted with an eruption of a
purple color, fine and sharp, feeling as if shot were inserted
under the skin. These are followed by wales or lines of the
same color, similar to those raised by the infliction of severe
blows. They are about the width of two fingers; appear
first on the upper posterior portion of the thigh; but soon
spread themselves to the flexure of the knee. Wherever they
appear the parts become rigid, and remain in the position in
which they were first seized. The whole system now swells
prodigiously, and the patient cannot be moved in any manner
without suffering, extreme torture. The disease finally extends itself to all parts of the body, affecting particularly the
shoulders, head and loins, and causing the most distressing
pains in the kidneys. No relief can be obtained by change
of position; for the slightest motion is agony. In time the
entire body is covered with ulcers so exceedingly sensitive
that the pressure of the lightest bed covering is intolerable.
At length the. gums and jaws swell so that the mouth cannot
be closed, and in man3 cases the teeth drop out! The vio.




144        SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
ience of the disease and the debility arising from it are such,
that the patients frequently die while talking with their
friends. Such is the dreadful pestilence that has swept the
Captain-General's ranks, and now fills the Almiranta with
groans, shrieks, prayers and curses!
While she is making her way back to Acapulco, the Capiu
tana and frigate remain in the harbor of Monterey to take in
wood and water, and explore the adjacent country. They
find this finely diversified with lawns and groves of pine, firs,
willow and poplars, with an abundant undergrowth of roses
and fragrant shrubs. The open lands are also dotted with
clear, pure lakes. The country is inhabited by a great variety of wild beasts. A large bear, a species of horned cattle
similar in size and shape to the buffalo, and another which,
from the description, might be ancestor of the.Americana
Horribilis, are among the most remarkable. The voyagers
give to this latter beast the size of the wolf, the form and
horns of the stag, the skin and neck of the pelican, a tail half
a yard in width and twice as long, and a cloven foot! If it
were a native, one might be led to speculate on the propinquity of sulphur! The country also abounds in deer, rabbits,
hare, wild-cats, bustards, geese, ducks, pigeons, partridges,
thrushes, sparrows, goldfinches, cranes, vultures, and another
bird about the size of a turkey. On the seaboard are great
numbers of gulls, cormorants, and other sea-fowl. The sea
abounds in oysters, lobsters, crabs, sea-wolves, porpoises and
whales. On the shores are many rancharias, the residents of
which are an affable, generous people, living under some form
of government. They use the native arms and subsist chiefly
on fish and game. They seem fond of the Spaniards, and express the most sincere sorrow at their intention to leave them
But this is unavoidable. Both vessels run out of the harbor
with a fair wind, on the fifth day of January, 1603, and stand
away northward.
Soon after passing the harbor of San Francisco, in Lat. 370
45', they lose sight of each other, and the Capitana puts




TRA"VELS IN  THE  CALIFORN'IAS.    145
back into it, to await the arrival of the frigate, and also to
survey the harbor and surrounding country. Another reason
which the Captain-General has for wishing to stop here is to
ascertain if there be any remains' of the San Augustine, which
had been driven ashore in 1595 with other vessels sent by
the Government from the Philippine Islands, to survey the
coast of California. The pilot of this squadron, Francisco
Valanos, is acquainted with the country. He reports that
they left a lairge cargo o0f wax and several chests of silk on
the shore of this harbor. The General,:therefore, runs the'Capitana in, and anchors her behind a point of land called
Punta de los Reyes. Becoming more anxious, however, for the
fate of the frigate, he weighs the next day and runs out in
search of her. A gentle northwester takes him up the coast
within sight of Cape -Mendocino, when a violent southwester,
accompanied by sleet and a heavy sea, combined with the
sickly state of the crew, induces him to seek a southerly
harbor, in which to await the coming of spring and the reinforcetment from Mexico.
They are now in a deplorable state. Six seamen only are
able to be on deck. The officers are all sick. The Padres
are scarcely able to administer the last rites to the dying;
and the few well ones are in dreadful consternation lest a
storm come on, and the ship go down, for want of men to
manage her. This determination of General Viscayno,
therefore, raises the spirits of the healthy, and cheers the sick
to their best efforts.  When the wind changes so that the fog
is dispersed, the pilots take an observation and find themselves
in Lat. 420, opposite a cape which runs eastwardly, and
unites with a range of snowy mountains. This they call
Cabo Blanco de Sebastian. The lost frigate runs very near
the Capitana during the storm spoken of, but not being
able to live in such a sea, she comes to anchor under a huge
rock niear Cape Mendocino., The pilot, Florez, when the
storm abates, finds -himself in Lat. 430 north, near Cape
Blnc0o and the mouth of a large river, whose banks are:




SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
coveredwith ash, willow, and other trees, well known to the
Spaniards. This river they are very desirous to explore,
supposing it will conduct them to the great city reported by
some Dutch mariners, to exist in this region; or that it is the
Strait of Anian, connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific' 
The worthy pilot, however, has no chance of immortalizing
himself by running through Smith's river to the city of Manhattan. The current is against his course and his fame; and
he turns back with the determination of sailing to Acapulco
without unnecessary delay.
Meantime the Capitana is making all possible speed for
La Paz, the harbor selected for her winter quarters. Occasionally, in her progress, she is visited by the trading canoes of
the Indians. But nothing of moment befals her save that her
crew grow more and more sickly, till she reaches a large island
lying east of Santa Catarina, when only three persons beside
the Captain-General are able to keep the deck. There is
no conversation, no mirth on board! Orders are conveyed in
the quiet tone of conversation! The good Padre Andrez
moves quietly about among the sick, the sole physician,
nurse, priest and confessor of that gloomy hospital! Now he
bears medicine to the sick, and smoothes their pillow; now he
administers the extreme unction, and anoints with holy oil
the dying; now he seals the lips and closes the eyes of the
dead! Prayers and groans alone are heard; except when
the burial service is hurriedly chanted, and the sudden plunge
announces that some one is gone from among.them for ever!
These terrible afflictions induce the General to abandon his
intention of wintering at La Paz, and to run directly for the
islands of Mazatlan, where he can procure better treatment
for his dying crew. On the third of February he reaches the
island of San Hilario and passes on to Cerros. Here he stops
and obtains a supply of wood and water. On his departure,
he leaves letters and signals for the frigate, in case she should
touch there, and turns his prow for Cape San Lucas. He
reaches it on the fourteenth of February, and standing directly




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.                147..cross the mouth of the Gulf, enters a harbor near the island of
M4azatlan on the seventeenth of the same month.  An account
of his condition being sent to the Viceroy, he determines to go
in person to San Sebastian, a village about eight leagues from
the harbor, for more immediate aid. He starts on the nineteenth with five of his soldiers. But being utterly ignorant of
the countriy, they take the wrong path, and wander two days in
the wood without food or'water. At length they fall into a
broad beaten road, and while resting themselves by the wayside, a drove of mules, laden with provisions, comes along.
These are going from Castile to Culiacan. The General
learns from the muleteers that an old friend of his has become
the Alcalde of the latter place, and immediately accepts their
offer to convey himself and soldiers thither.
At this town they are furnished with every comfort for
themselves and those on board the ship. The poor seamen
and Padres! They are now reduced to the most lamentable
condition! Helpless, covered with ulcers, and unable to speak
or eat! Among other things that are sent them, is a kind of
fruit which is considered a specific for this disease. It bears
among the natives the cognomen, Xocohuiltzes. It resembles
an apple. The leaves of the plant are exactly like those of
the pineapple. The fruit grows in clusters. The rind or
shell is yellow, andl contains a pulp full of seeds. Its flavor
is slightly tart. Its medical properties are such that it
cleanses the mouth reduces the gums, fastens the teeth, heals
the ulcers, purifies the blood,, &c. Its virtues were accidentally discovered by an officer who was attending the burial
of a victim to this frightful disease, from his own ship. He
was himself somewhat infected, and passing under a tree,
plucked and ate some of the fruit. In a few minutes he
voided from the mouth a large quantity of purulent matter,
mingled with blood. The soreness was at the same time much
relieve'dp~and the gums contracted upon the teeth so that they no
longer rattled in his mouth. The poor seamen and soldiers
bave suffered most dc'plorably from this malady. By the utso




SCENES  IN  T H E  PA C IF I C.
of this fruit they begin to recover. Nor have the Padres been
less afflicted. Such is the condition of-their hands and mouths,
that the crucifixes which they have held and often caressed,
while the disease has been devouring their frames, are covered
with a filthy gore! Their couches, as well as those of the
crew, are masses! of putrid matter! But now all are creeping on deck; the ship and its appurtenances are cleansed;
their rotting frames begin to heal! On the 21st of March
they are so far: restored that the Capitana puts to sea,' and
after a pleasant sail of eight days, moors in the bay of Acapulco. When her anchor runs, and the pallid forms of the
few survivors are seen at the bulwarks, the horrid spectacle
chills every tongue! The people gather on the shore in
silence. But soon mothers call the names of those who, many
months before, have been buried in the sea! Fathers seek
their sons whose graves the wolves have opened in the forest
of San Diego! Mothers, in the excess of maternal sorrow,
]demand of the Captain-General their offspring, who have fallen, muscle and bone, morsel by morsel, before the terrific
pestilence! A few recognize among the living, the disfigured
countenances of their friends, and rushing on board embrace
them with loud lamentations! The Almiranta rides hard by
The frigate arrives in as deplorable a state as the Capitana.
Her crew is reduced to a number scarcely sufficient to remember the sufferings and the names of those who have died.
Thus terminates the voyage of Viscayno. He has explored
the whole Pacific coast of Upper and Lower California.




CHAPTER IX.
A.D. 1615 —A.D. 1633-4-Don Pedro Portel de Cassanate-A.D. 1647A.D. 1666-7-A.D. 1683-Indians-A  Battle-All busy-Orders
from  Mexico-Ships dispatched-A Garrison and Church-An Expedition into the Interior-Despatches arrive-A  DeterminationPadre KINO-Padre JUAN MARIA SALVA TIERRA-The Jesuits-Powers
granted-SALvA TIERRA goes to California-The Resurrection-Insolence-An Attack-A Repulse —A General Onset-A Route-PeaceArrival of Padre Piccolo-An Exploration-Condition of the Conquest
SALVA TIERRA goes to Senora for Food-An Expedition to the Gila and
Colorado of the West by Padres KINO and SALVA TIERRA-Return to
Senora-Padre SALVA TIERRA leaves for California-Another Expedition to the Gila and Colorado by Padres KINo' and Gonzales-Indians
and Rivers-Death-Last Days of Padre KINo-A lost Grave.
No other expedition of any moment is undertaken to Cali-.
fornia until 1615, when Captain Juan Iturbi obtains a license
for making a voyage at his own expense.  One of his two
ships is captured by a Dutch pirate.  With the other he
reaches the coast of Cinaloa, and procures supplies from a Jesuit Missionary, Padre Ribas, preparatory to crossing the,
Gulf.  But before leaving port he is ordered out to convoy,
the Philippine ship to Acapulco.  This done, he. returns to
Mexico, and by exhibiting the pearls he has taken fires. anew
the wonder and cupidity of the whole country. The Californian pearl fisheries are soon thronged.  A few find what they
desire, but an infinitely greater number are disappointed.
The results, however, lead to the granting of a license to
Francisco de Ortega to make a voyage up the Gulf.  He sails
in March, 1632.  Accompanying him  is Padre Diego de la
Nava, the newly appointed Vicar-general of California.
On the second of May they land at San Barnabe bay; and
having made a special survey of the coast from this point to




SCENES  I'N  THE  PACIFIC.
La Paz and purchased some pearls of the Indians, they touch
at Cinaloa, and in June go thence to report their proceedings
to the Viceroy. In 1633 and'34, Capt. Ortega makes two
other voyages for the purpose of forming a settlement in Cali.
fornia; but finds the country so barren that he is obliged to
abandon his design. He now proposes to have a garrison established at some proper point for colonization, and a sum of
money granted from the royal treasury to maintain settlers ibr
a definite period. But while he is agitating these measures,
he has the mortification to learn that his pilot, Carboneli, has
not only obtained a license for making a voyage, but asserts
the practicability of settling the country farther north, without depending on the government for supplies. This pilot
sails in 1636; but to his chagrin nowhere finds such. a country as he has promised; and, after obtaining a few pearls, returns to confess his failure.
After this, an expedition is undertaken at His Majesty's expense. The governor of Cinaloa receives orders to pass over
to California and survey the islands, bays, coast and face of
the country, preparatory to making a chart for the use of navigators. He does so. Padre Jacinto Cortez, a missionary
of Cinaloa, accompanies him in order to ascertain if it be
practicable to Christianize the Indians. They complete the
svrvey in July, 1642, and soon after send their charts, pearls,
and other things procured, to the Viceroy.
A change is now taking place at Mexico. The Viceroy,
Don Diego Lopez Pacheco, Marquis de Villena and Duke of
Esclona, returns to Spain under suspicion, and is succeeded
by Don Juan de Palafox. The Marquis successfully vindicates himself against the malicious charges of his enemies,
and procures an expedition to California to be ordered under
Admiral Don Pedro Portel de Cassanate. This man is empowered to build and equip fleets, and make settlements in
California, and do such other acts as he may deem best calculated to bring the natives of that country into the church. The




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.   151
spiritual welfare of this expedition is committed to Padres
Jacinto Cortez and Andrez Baes, Missionaries of Cinaloa.
Having arrived at Cinaloa, C assanatereceives instructions
to go out and meet the Philippine ship which it is feared will
fall into the hands of English or Dutch pirates.  He brings
her safely in; and while he is making preparations to sail
again to California, two of his ships are burned. Discouraging as this circumstance is, he resolves not to be defeated by
it. Two others are built at Cinaloa in 1647-8, in which he
sails to the place of destination. But he finds the country, as
far as he explores it, barren and dry. Before he completes
his survey, however, he receives orders to go a second time
and conduct a Philippine ship into Acapulco. This done, he
proceeds to lay the results of his expedition before the Viceroy.
This excellent man is soon after promoted to the Government of Chili; and California is neglected till 1665, when
Philip IV. again orders its reduction. The execution of this
effort is entrusted to Don Bernado- Bernal de Pinadero. But
the Spanish treasury is now exhausted; the nation and its
colonies are impoverished. Two small vessels only, therefore,
are built in the Valle de Venderas. In 1666 they sail to the
coast, rob the poor natives of some pearls, and make their
way back to report that expedition also, a failure. The Queen
mother, acting as Regent, orders Pinadero to make another
attempt. In this he is accompanied by the celebrated PADRE
KINO. This likewise results in nothing valuable.  In the following year Francisco Luzenilla obtains a license for a voyage at his own expense. This proves, like all others, fruitless of results worthy of note. In 1667, the importance of
making a settlement in California for a rendezvous of ships
trading to the Philippine Islands, is again brought before the
Council of the Indies; and it is finally determined to instruct
the Viceroy and the Archbishop of Mexico to send out Adml.
ral Pinadero again, if he will give security for the perform.ance of that duty according to the decrees of Council; and if
he decline, to make the offer to any person who will under



152          SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
take it, at his own expense; and if none so offer, it is ordered
tQobe accomplished at the expense of the crown. Admiral
Pinadero having refused, Admiral Otondo accepts the proposition. The spiritual Government is conferred on the Jesuits.
PADRE KINO as superior, and Padres Copart and Goni accompany.the expedition.
They put to sea from Chacala on the eighteenth of May
1683, and in fourteen days reach La Paz. They think it
singular, on landing, not to see any Indians; but as soon as
they begin to erect a garrison, considerable numbers appear,
armed and hideously painted, who intimate by signs that the
Spaniards must leave their country. After some effort, however, on the part of the Padres, and uniform kindness from the
officers, soldiers and seamen, their intercourse becomes
apparently unconstrained and friendly. Soon, however, circumstances occur which arouse suspicion. The reported
murder of a mulatto boy, added to some indignities towards
the garrison, indicate the need of great watchfulness on the
part of the voyagers. Danger lurks near them. The Guayacuros among whom they sojourn, offer to unite with their
enemies, the Coras, for the extirpation of the Spaniards. The
Coras appear to entertain the proposition, but report it to the
Admiral on their earliest opportunity. The soldiers are thrown
into such a panic by the discovery of this plot, that the Admiral and Padres are obliged to exert all their authority and
persuasion to induce them to meet the event with fortitude.
The day of the intended massacre arrives. The Indians appear, to the number of thirteen or fourteen hundred. A paderero, or cannon, is fired among them, by which ten or
twelve are killed and several wounded, The remainder
retire in confusion  to their rancherias.  The garrison
is safe; no one even wounded.  But this victory does
not discourage their fear of the Indians. The dry crags,
the treeless sands and thirsty torrent-chasms are, to the
anxious minds of the timid men, peopled with forms of death;
and every howl of the lean wolf upon the heights,, grates like




TRA VELS IN  THE  CA LI FORNI A S            153
a coffin screw on their ears. Otondo is, therefore, obliged to
weigh anchor for Hiaqui on the Senora shore.  Here he sells
all his pearls, and pledges his plate for stores. Like a brave
man bent on his end, he seeks again the Californian shore,
and on the sixth of October anchors at San Bruno Bay, in
Lat.?6~ 30'.
On the same day, Otondo, the three Padres, and some soldiers, explore for fresh water, and find it in a narrow vale one
mile and a half from shore. Near this they establish a garrison, build a rude church, and some huts. And no* Otondo
sends two ships to Mexico with an account of his proceedings, and a request for more money; takes possession of the
country in the name of the kingo; goes fifty leagues westward
in the month of December among mountains and desert vales;
ascends an elevation, where he finds several leagues of table
land, with a temperate climate and a fresh-water lake of
small size; advances beyond, on a toilsome journey over steeps
and depths, in search of a peak from which to see the Pacific
Ocean; fails to do so, and returns to San Bruno. The Indians
whom they meet are much delighted with the paternal kindness
of the Padres. Otondo employs himself a year in like explorations at different points along the coast. -The Padres
are busy meantime in learning the language of the Indians
and, instructing them in the Catholic religion. They translate. the Catechism, teach it to the children, and these in turn
teach it to their parents. The voice of heathenism utters
prayers to Jehovah on the Californian mountains!
The Padres find no word in their language to represent the
resurrection of the dead. That idea has not existed in their
minds, and consequently has no expression in their language.
Resort is had to a very ingenious method of finding one
which will present it. Some flies are immersed in water until animation seems extinct. They are then placed among
ashes in the heat of the sun till restored to life. The Indians who witness the operation cry out, Ibimuhuelte! Ibi.
muhueite!  This word or expression is afterward; used to




154        SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
represent the resurrection of the Saviour, and conveys to the
Indian a clear conception of that holy event. The Padres
instruct during the year four hundred adults and many children, but baptize none except those who are at the door of
death.  Some of these sick indeed, recover, and prove useful
teachers. Most of them, however, die, holding fast their
new faith. In these several ways do the priests and Otondo
consume the year. At its close, dispatches arrive from the
Viceroy requiring an account of proceedings, and forbidding
any farther attempts to be made for the conquest and settlement of California which should involve the Government in
expense.
On the reception of these dispatches a council of the Pa —
dres and military officers is held, the determination of which
is, that a small ship shall be sent with dispatches to Mexico,
that the Padres shall continue to teach the Indians, and Otondo to explore the country and pearl beds. In September,
1685, however, a peremptory order comes prohibiting farther
efforts at settling the country, and ordering, if possible, to
keep possession of what is already conquered. But it has
now become apparent that San Bruno must be abandoned.
No rain has fallen for nearly two years; dearth, thirst, and
hunger, stand near them; and to escape is the settled desire
of all, except the priests. These men of iron souls would
stay to teach the savage. But Otondo weighs anchor, and
with priests, soldiers, seamen, and three native converts,
squares his yards for the harbor of Matanchel, on the Mexi.
can shore.
This is the last expedition of the civil power of Spain to
conquer and settle California. PADRE KINO has begun to
conquer it with the Cross; and we shall follow him in his
triumphs and trials while he achieves it. The professor of
Ingoldstadt, PADRE KINO, the devotee of San Xavier, traverses
Mexico preaching to his brother Jesuits the glories of martyrdom, and the rich reward of those who save from wo the
doomed and lost  In order to forward his zeal, he is apl




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS                155
pointed to the charge of the Missions on the Senora coast,
whence it will be easy to send supplies across the Gulf to the
more barren regions of the peninsula. PADRE JUAN MARIA
SALVA TIERRA is designated to lead the way on the California
side. He solicits contributions; obtains Padre Juan Ugarte, a
professor in the college at Mexico, as a fellow-laborer; fifteen thousand dollars to be pledged the Society of Jesuits for
the enterprise; ten thousand more to be given it as a fund
for one mission; prevails upon the Commissary of the Inquisition at Queretaro, Don Juan Cavalero Y. Ozio, to subscribe
funds for two other missions, and obligate himself to pay whatever bills shall be drawn on him by PADRE SALVA TIERRA.
The license for the Jesuits to enter California is granted on
the fifth of February, 1627. The special warrants empowering PADRES KINO and SALVA TIERRA to enter California are
subject to these conditions: that they waste nothing belonging to the king, nor draw upon the government treasury without express orders from his majesty; that they take possession of the country, and hold it in the name of the King of
Spain.
The powers granted them in these warrants are, to enlist
soldiers at their own expense; appoint a commander, whose
immunities shall be accounted the same as in time of war; to
commission magistrates for the administration of justice in
California; and'discharge all these from their service at will.
With full powers both civil and ecclesiastical, therefore, and
the treasury both of the Inquisition and of many private individuals to draw upon, PADRE SALVA TIERRA goes from Mexico to
Guadalaxara; thence to Hiaqui, in Senora; and thence on the
tenth of October, 1697, with five soldiers, Estevan Rodriguez
Lorenzo, Bartoleme de Robles Figueroa, Juan Caravana,
Nicolas Marques, and Juan, with their commander, Don Luis
de Torres Tortolero, embarks for the scene of his future trials.
A great moral hero, with his little band, kneeling in prayer
on the deck of a galliot, bound for the conquest of California!
The sails are loosened to the winds; they leave the harbor;




156        SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
but they have proceeded hardly a league, when a squall comes
on, which strands them on the beach. All now appear to be
lost. But they save themselves in the long-boat; and when
the tide rises, the galliot floats again, and proceeds on her
voyage. A holy voyage is begun; its consequences are full
of hope to man!
On the thirteenth they touch at San Bruno, in California,
and at San Dionysio, ten leagues south of San Bruno. At
the latter place, fifty Indians receive them with joy. A fine
watering-place, discovered in a deep and fruitful glen, indicates the place for an encampment. The provisions, baggage, and animals, therefore, are landed, and the barracks of
the little garrison built; a line of circumvallation is thrown
up, in the centre of which a temporary chapel is raised; before it a crucifix, adorned with a garland of flowers, is erected; and "the image of our Lady of Loretto, as patroness of
the conquest, is brought in procession from the galliot, and
placed with proper solemnity." On the twenty-fifth of October, formal possession is taken of the country in the name
of the King of Spain.
Thus commences the religious conquest of California by
PADRE SALvA TIERRA; a voluntary exile from the highest circles of European life; a great man, with a strong and kind
heart; abandoning kindred, ease, and intellectual society, for
the well-being of the stupid and filthy natives of the Californian deserts.
The Padre now sends the galliot to Hiaqui for Padre
Piccolo, some soldiers and provisions. Meantime he applies
himself with unceasing assiduity to learning the Indian language and teaching religion. He pursues the same course as
he would with stupid children; induces them to learn the
prayers and catechisms, by rewarding attention and industry
with something to Vat. By thus addressing their strongest
propensity as a stimulant for the acquisition of knowledge,
he hopes to awaken and instruct their higher faculties of
thought and sense of right. In the latter he, for a time, fails




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.'157
For the savages, dissatisfied with the amount of food which
the Padre gives them, fall upon the animals of the post,
destroy them, and steal corn from the sacks. Nor are they
satisfied with this. They meditate a general attack on the
garrison, in order to destroy or drive the people from the
country. The good Padre knows their designs, but continues
his kindness. Their insolence increases. On the thirteenth
of November, the tribes meet to strike a decisive blow.
Four savages come to the camp about noon, while the garrison are eating. The sentinel tries to prevent their entering
the trenches, and one of the boldest of them deprives him of
the staff used as a halberd. The soldier cries out, and Tortolero running up, wrests it from the Indian with such force
and boldness, that the invaders are frightened and retire. At
this moment the Indian Alonzo de Tepahui, who keeps the
swine and sheep in a valley overgrown with rushes and flags,
is assaulted by another party. But aid being, immediately
rendered, himself and animals are saved. And now falls a
shower of arrows and stones from five hundred Indians, advancing to attack the camp.
Ten men and one Californian Indian compose the garrison.
And how shall they be so detailed as to meet this numerous
force? Tortolero, the acting commander, stations himself and
Bartoleme' de Robles on the entrenchment facing the lower
part of the valley, the post of greatest danger; on the opposite side are Juan de Peru and the Indian Alonzo de Tepahui;
on the side looking towards the river, stands the bold and
active Indian Marcos Guazavas; on the remaining side is
Estevan Rodrigues; the Maltese Juan Caravana has the care
of the paderero, or cannon, placed at the gate of the camp;
and near to him is Nicolas Marques, the Sicilian, as assistant
gunner; SALv.A TIERRA and Sebastien, his Indian, occupy the
centre, in order to give aid where there should be the most
need. The forces have barely time to make this disposition of
themselves, when the savages begin to advance on all sides,
with dreadful shouting and outcries. They are repulsed with as




158        SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
little destruction of life as possible. PADRE SALVA TIERRA desires that course to be pursued. The Indians return to the at.
tack repeatedly for two hours, throwing stones, arrows, and
wooden javelins into the trenches, when suddenly the whole
body retreats and the action ceases. Half an hour elapses, and
they return reinforced, and.press upon the trenches with rage so
fierce and deadly, that the hope of successful resistance without the paderero grows faint. The Padre, therefore, consents
to have it fired. The match is applied. But instead of destroying the Indians, it bursts in pieces and flies about the
camp, knocking Juan Caravana senseless to the ground.
The Indians against whom it has been levelled, perceive this
misfortune, and send notice of it to others with the remark,
that since the paderero does not kill, they need not fear the
smaller pieces. Of this they are the more persuaded, because
the Padre has ordered the soldiers to shoot over them. And
the kind old priest, now that the Captain thinks it necessary to
fire into the Indian ranks, rushes between the guns and the
savages, beseeching them not to press on sure destruction!
Three arrows shot at him are the reward of his kindness.
Happily, the Padre is not injured. But he withdraws and
leaves them to their fate. And now they fall before the
muskets of the soldiers! The wounded and dying groan on
every side! A route succeeds! They fly in confusion to their
villages!
Soon after, messengers of peace arrive. The first is a
Chief. He weeps; he talks in broken grief; he acknowledges himself the cause of these disturbances; he first formed
the plot, inspirited and drew in the other tribes; he and they
have sought vengeance; but are now  sincerely.:'repentant.
Next comes a band of women leading children. They seat
themselves at the gate of the camp, and weeping bitterly, and
promising good conduct for themselves and their husbands,
offer the children as hostages. The good Padre is greatly
rejoiced to see these signs of sorrow; explains to them




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    159
the wickedness of their acts; and promises them peace,
friendship, and other good things, if their husbands prove
true to their league. And receiving one of the children in
order to remove all suspicion from their minds, sends them to
their friends and homes with shouts and other demonstrations
of great joy. And now night comes on in this vast waste of
burned mountains! The little chapel is opened for worship.
Special " thanks are returned to God, His most holy mother,
and Saint Stanislaus for his manifold favors."
On examining the camp next morning, it is found " that
most of the arrows stick in the pedestal of the cross; whilst
the cross itself, and tent which serves for a chapel to'our
lady of Loretto,' are untouched."  None of the garrison are
killed; two only are wounded. These are the brave Tortolero
and Figueroa; and they adore the holy cross as the standard
of their faith; "they sing ive JMaria to our lady as their
Captain, and unanimously determine to remain in the country."
This garrison is called Loretto. To it, for many years to
come, will centre the events of the country. Even now it is
a bright and lone starry point: the only lamp of truth that
burns, from Cape San Lucas to the north pole, is at Loretto.
The only civilized men that live on all that extent of coast,
breathe this first night after the battle, with their hands
clenched on their guns, in the tents of the garrison at Loretto
in Lower California!
On the twenty-third of November a long-boat arrives from
Sernora with Padre Francisco Maria Piccolo-a missionary
among the Tarahumares, who has left his former field of toil,
for this new one in California. PADRE SALVA TIERRA has, by
his arrival, a companion at his prayers, and in his labor among
these savages. The soldiers now erect some works'of defence
within the camp; the trench is enlarged and fortified with a
palisade and thorny branches of trees; a chapel is built of
mortar and stone, with thatched roof, for the image of " our
Lady of Loretto;" three other structures are raised, one for
the Padres, one for the Captain, and one for a magazine; and




160       SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
near to these are raised the barracks. The Padres employ
themselves with the Indians. A small tribe is allowed to take
up quarters near the camp.
The native priests, perceiving by this movement of their
people, that their authority is diminishing, raise a party to oppose the Padres. They steal a long-boat and break it in pieces;
attack a partyin pursuit of them, and are driven from the ground;
repent; and are again received into favor by the forgiving
Padres. Don Pedro Gil de la Sierpe sends PADRE SALVA TIERRA a bark called San Firmin, and a long-boat called San
Xavier. With these they bring wood, fruits, and horses and
cattle, from the opposite coast of Senora. The Padres understand the Indian languages; they also have horses to bear
them in their travels; and they undertake, in the beginning
of the year 1699, to explore different parts of the country.
Padres SALVA TIERRA and Piccolo visit a place called Londo,
eight leagues northward from Loretto. Here is found a
populous village and some tillable land. But the inhabitants
flee as the Padres approach. They call it San Juan de Londo. Next they attempt to penetrate Vigge Biaundo, lying
south of Loretto. On the tenth of May, the soldiers, after
much suffering among the rugged precipices, refusing to go
farther, Padre Piccolo determines to go alone, and climbs
the precipices till he comes to a village, where he is received
by the savages with the most cordial demonstrations of love.
He instructs them four days; names the place San Xavier,
and departs. Some portions of this mountain valley can bie ir-.rigated and tilled for grains and fruit trees. The neighboring
heights are craggy and barren; about their bases are some
fine pasture lands.
From San Xavier, Padre Piccolo goes westward to the sea,
and explores its coast in vain for a harbor and habitable lands.
During this journey he discovers, four leagues southwest from
San Xavier, a large village of tractable Indians. They reside
on the head waters of a fine stream running westward into
the Pacific; —a beautifu. spot among: a dreary desolation,




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORN IAS.    161
Which he consecrates to San Rosalia. At San Xavier, during
his absence, the Indians and soldiers have built with sun-dried
bricks some small houses and a chapel. The Indians from San
Rosalia are there; arid PADRE SALVA TIERRA consecrates the
Chapel to San Xavier, with great devotion and joy. This
done, Padre Piccolo is left in charge at San Xavier, and PADRE SALVA TIERRA returns to Loretto.
The shipping of the mission at this time consists of two vessels, the San Firmin and San Josef, and the long-boat San
Xavier. The number of settlers already in California of Spaniards, half-breeds, and Mexican Indians, is six hundred persons; and as the means of supplying them with food from the
country produce, has not increased in proportion, it becomes
necessary to redouble their diligence to obtain them elsewhere
From Mexico they can export nothing, for the Captain of the
Garrison at Loretto, having been prevented from using the
converts in the pearl fishery, and thus ruining their health,
and the Padre's hope of rearing them for Heaven, has, by his
misrepresentations of these benevolent men, rendered ineffectual Padre Ugarte's efforts in that quarter. Unfortunately also
at this juncture, the two ships of the California missions are
cast away! Nothing is left them now but the long-boat!
Distress is creeping upon them! The fearful, maddening expectation of starving to death begins to be talked of in Loretto, when PADRE SALVA TIERRA takes the leaky long-boat and
goes to the great presiding genius of the missions, PADRE KINO,
in Senora, for relief. These Padres are devoted friends. They
meet and embrace each other warmly, and relate, in the shades
of a beautiful evening, all the hardships which have befallen
them; and the success that has attended their labors among
the savages. PADRE SALVA TIERKA has reduced the Indians for:the space of fifty leagues about Loretto; founded four towns,
in which are six hundred Indian Christians; two thousand
adult Catechumens, besides many children; all of whom are
now starving!
PADRE KINo entered Senora in 1687. He was appointed to




162' SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
the lonely missions in the neighborhood of the Indians in the
upper country, called Pimeria Alta, a district extending three
hundred miles to the northward'of Senora, and embracing the
vallies of the Gila and the Colorado. He went alone among
these wild Indians; learned their language; formed them into
communities; prevailed upon them to cultivate grains and raise
cattle; and, by the aid of subordinate agents, has reformed their
civil polity; and indoctrinated them in the mysteries and
hopes of the Catholic faith. And such is the reverent love of
these savages for the excellent Padre that they greet him
everywhere as little children do a kind parent, who comes
to bless and love them. This influence he uses only for their
good. He procures from his Sovereign an edict against their
being seized by the Spaniards and immersed in the mines to
labor till dead! He acquaints the Vice-Royal Government at
Mexico that the military powers often accuse them of rebellion, and make war upon them for the base purpose of taking
them captives to dive for pearls and dig in the mountains for
the precious metals, and procures a cessation of such barbarity. This is a great work of mercy. For previously, in all
those regions, it has been customary for the civil and military
authorities to make the Indians labor on the lands or in the
mines five years after their conversion. They pay for Christianity in their hearts by the servitude of their bodies. And
seldom do the poor Indians live to be free again, after this
chain of avarice is put upon them. Very many are the clusters of little wooden crosses, near these mines, which stand
over the graves of those who have been worked to death in
their deep and dismal depths! PADRE KINO gives them liberty; builds them houses and chapels; teaches them agriculture and many other useful arts. Their animals now range on
a thousand hills; their ploughs turn the soil of a thousand
fields; and their belfries send their peals for prayer and praise
up a thousand vales!
Such is the result of the labors of PADRE KINO in Pimeria,
and such the happy condition of the numerous tribes of In.




TRAV ELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIA8.   163
dlans on the waters of the Gila and Colorado in the year 1700.
These Padres have wrought well in the vineyards of the Faith.
And they are now met to converse about the fate of these labors. They have learned that malice has destroyed their interest in Mexico and Spain. They know that the lives of the
garrison at Loretto depend on their sole energy and means.
And well would it be for the distressed everywhere if the relief which they need were dependent on such hearts and heads
as those of the Padres KINO and SALVA TIERRA. The Indian
farms are laid under contribution, and the keel of genuine
mercy is fast cutting its way to Loretto to feed the dying'
Words, wishes, speeches, associations, societies, general and
special committee rooms, and newspapers devoted to "the
cause," are the outlets and substance of benevolence in the
seventeenth century-an untiring chase after the shade of a
great idea. In the seventeenth, these hated priests of an
odious order, whose name has come to be the common term
of the most refined knavery, and even introduced into our
lexicons as the appellation for the basest villany, perform acts
of the highest virtue, endure hardships of the severest character, and make sacrifices of the noblest nature, for a class of
beings who will never have intelligence enough to appreciate
them.
After succors are sent to California, these Padres agree to
explore the northwest country, in order to ascertain whether
California be an island, or whether it be merely a peninsula.
This question is deemed of great moment to the missions in
California; for if supplies can be sent by land from PADRE
KINO'S mission to Loretto, the expense of shipping to carry
them across the Gulf will be avoided, and the certainty of
their arrival much increased.  Accordingly, it is agreed
that PADRES KINO  and SALVA TIERRA shall take different routes towards the Colorado.  They  determine to
visit, on the way, PADRE KINO'S converts at the several
missions in that region, and meet at Mission de DIolores.
Accordingly PADRE  SALVA TIERRA goes by San Ignacio,




164        SCE NES IN  THE PACIFI:C.
San Diepo de Uquitoa, and San Diepo de Pitquin, to
river Caborca, and follows its course to Tibutama, Axi,
Concepcion de Caborca; while PADRE KINO takes the
route by Cocospera, San Simon and Jude; strikes the
river Caborca and follows its banks through Tierra Tibutama,
and other villages, to the place of rendezvous. Thence the
Padres, accompanied by ten soldiers, go northward to San
Eduardo de Baissia, San Luis. de Bacapa, and thence twelve
leagues to San Marcello. This latter place lies northeast
from the mouth of the river Colorado, fifty leagues north of
the latitude of the Gila, the same distance from the river Caborca and the same distance eastward from San Xavier del
Bac. The soil of this valley is fit for tillage and pasturage,
and abounding in water for all uses. It is surrounded by
deserts and lofty mountains. Here they are informed by the
Indians of two ways to approach the mouth of the Colorado;
the one to the right over the mountains and valley of Santa
Clara, the other and the shorter along the coast over a broad.
tract of sands.  The Padres desire to examine the coast,
and for this reason, unfortunately, choose the latter route
They travel thirty leagues on the south side of the mountains
in search of the Gulf; pass a large section of the mountains,
composed of pumice stone; and on fhe nineteenth of March,
arrive at the sandy waste. On the twentieth, PADRE KINO
and Captain Mateo Mange, ascend a lofty peak in Lat. 30c
N., and not only see the Gulf but the opposite shore and!
mountains of California. On the twenty-first they reach the
beach. Want of fresh water, and the difficulty of wading in
the loose and burning sand, compels them to return to Marcello,, and take a higher track, in Lat. 32~ 30', where they ascend
a hill of moderate height, from which are clearly seen the mountains of California, the termination of the Gulf, the mouth of the
Colorado, the junction of California with the continent! The
PADRE KINo joyfully returns to San Marcello to build a church
and give directions for a new mission, while SALVA TIERRA goesto Caborca Delores and the other missions of Senora, collect



TRAYVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIA S.    165
lag charities for California, and with heightened expectations
of saving the lives of his friends at Loretto, ships himself
and them in the old long-boat San Xavier at the mouth of
the river Hiaqui, and arrives at Loretto the latter end of
April, 1701. Joy fills the camp on the arrival of the good
Padre; and earnest thanksgivings are offered in the chapel by
his spiritual children on account of his return.
Here we leave California for a brief space to follow good
old PADRE KINO through the labors of his last days. In November of 1701 he takes another excursion to San Marcello
by a new route, and thence onward, to the Gila. He fords
this river at San Dionysio near its junction with the Colorado;
and having viewed the neighboring country, repasses the Gila
and descends the Colorado twenty leagues, among the villages
of the Yumas and Quinquimas. Here vast numbers of Indians
come to see the Padre and hear him speak of the white man's
God. The Colorado at this place is two hundred yards wide.
The Indians swim it. If they desire to take anything across,
it is placed in a water-tight basket, made of rushes and herbs
called Corysta, and floated along before them. PADRE KINO
crosses the river on a raft made of tree-tops, and finds on the
other shore, great numbers of Quinquimas, Coanopas, Bagiopas and Octguanes Indians, to whom he explains, by means
of interpreters, the nature of the true God and the after state.
He travels on foot three leagues to the residence of the chief
of the Quinquimas. The country over which he passes is
level, and covered with a soil fit fbr tillage and grazing. He
calls the place Presentacion de Nuestra Senora. In this neighborhood he sees ten thousand Indians. PADRE KINO is very
desirous of travelling to Monterey and Cape Mendocino.
But it being impossible for his animals to ford the river, he
reluctantly gives up the hope of progressing farther, and
returns to his missions in Pimeria.
In February, 1702, PADRE KINo journeys in company with
Martin Gonzales. On the twenty-eighth they arrive at San Dioaysio, at the junction of the Gila and Colorado. On the way




166         SC ENES IN  THE  P A CIF tC
and at this place the Indians throng the path of this good man,
kneeling like children to a loved grandsire for a blessing.
In March they advance as far as the village of the Quinquimas, and name it San Rudesindo. These Indians show
much love towards the Padres, and even towards the beasts
that bear them. The good Padre Gonzales is affected to tears
by these demonstrations; and strips off a part of his own
wardrobe to clothe an aged man who follows him. They
now travel down the Colorado to its entrance into the Gulf.
Here many Indians come from the western shore and entreat
the Padres to pass over into their country. They learn from
them that the Pacific is ten days' journey from this place. The
night of the tenth is spent at the point where the river and the
Gulf meet. The tide rises very high and swashes near their
couches; horned night-owls hoot on the crags; Padre Gonzales groans with extreme illness! These Padres have designed to cross the river at this place, and travel over the
mountains to the Pacific Ocean. But PADRE KINO sees the
necessity of returning with his sick brother. He succeeds in
getting him to the mission of Tibutama, where he dies.
Death in the wilderness, to one who goes into its depths to
sow the seeds of salvation, is sweet. The desires of the mind
touch the earth lightly. Their objects are things of thought
and trust. The hand of hope is laid on the skies! The eye
follows it to the temple of immortal faith; is absorbed and
fixed there, to the exclusion of everything material. The
Pains incident to the separation of the living principle from
the body, are like brambles which one passes to fields ot
flowers and fruits, singing birds, pebbly streams, and odorous
shades. And the grave itself becomes in truth the pass-way
only to the full enjoyment of the proper objects of the moral
sense, without i'mit or satiety. So this missionary dies, and
is buried among.the graves of Indian Christians at Tibutama.
The years 1703, 1704, and 1705, PADRE KINo spends in
building up the missions of Pimeria, and in resisting the persecuticn raised against him because he will not permit the




TRAVE-LS' IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    167
owners of the mines and plantations to enslave his converts.
Having no one to assist him in so wide a province, he is almost constantly travelling from one mission to another, exhorting, encouraging, disciplining, and protecting his spiritual
children. These duties task severely the tottering strength of
the good old man. But he labors without intermission or
discouragement, as he ripens for his reward. Nor does his
ardent interest in the Californian missions abate. Every few
months he forwards to Lorettp. his largesses of provisions and
animals. But as the expense of supporting shipping for that
purpose becomes more and more apparent and perplexing, he
determines once more to attempt an exploration of a land
route, by which supplies can be sent from the mission on the
Gila down the coast to Loretto.  Accordingly, in 1706, he
turns his footsteps again towards the Colorado, in company
with the chief military officers of Senora, and the' Franciscan
monk, Manuel de Ojuela..  This last expedition of PADRE
KINO results in confirming his previous discoveries.'But being unable to penetrate to Loretto, he returns to his missions,
and defends them with the same dauntless courage against the
avarice and cruelty of the miners, and the civil and military
powers, till 1710, when he passes from the scenes of his benevolence and trials to his grave.
There are few good men in the world. Consequently, when
one of this class dies, there is a jewel lost from the crown of
earthly virtue. ALL feel the loss of its light, and grope
nearer to the ground in their way onward to their destiny.
PADRE KMIN has given his best energies to the Pimerian and
Californian missions. The poor Indians on both sides of the
Gulf have been accustomed to eat his bread and receive his
blessing. The bells now toll through all Pirneria and Senora,
at Loretto and San Xavier. The Indians kneel in their rude
chapels, and pray for his soul, and invoke for him the good
fellowship of departed saints PADRE KINO is buried among
the heights of Pimeria, the scene of his trials and hopes. His
grave is lost among the driving sands of those desolate regions; but his good deeds will live for ever




CHAPTER X.
Meeting of PADRES SALVA TJERRA and Ugarte- A Plot —Burning of Sam
Xavier —Ugarte at San Xavier-Famine-A Runaway-A MurderA Campaign-Rejoicings-A Tempest-An Arrival of Food and Soldiers-Measures for the Advancement of the Conquest-Exploration of
the Interior —Sacking of San Xavier-Massacres-A Court MartialAn Execution-Peace-Expedition to the North-Distress-A Council,
and its Results-Endurance-Roaming and Starving-An AttackSALVA TIERRA leaves California-His Returrn-Extension of the Conquest-Ligui, and a great Example-A Chastisement-A murderous
Attempt-Mulege-Cada Kaaman-The Triumph of the Good-Poison-Death.
DURING the absence of PADRE SALVA TIERRA in Pimeria,
Padre Ugarte has arrived at Loretto with a few supplies.
The meeting of these two men in that distant land is warm
and hearty. They have labored long in the same causehave hoped ardently for the same result-the growth of the
tree of life on the shores of California. The one has used
his utmost energies at Mexico and Guadalaxara to procure
the means to support the other, while breaking up the ground
and casting in the seed. And when all his efforts are closing
in disappointment, and the dark night of malice is casting
gloom over them, and his expectations are giving place to
despair, he flies to his fellow-laborer in the wilderness, to die
with him, if need be, in a last struggle to bring the Californian
Indians within the fold of the Catholic faith.  After thanks
are rendered to God for the favor of meeting again, the Padres earnestly resolve to sustain the sinking missions. It is
agreed, therefore, that Padre Piccolo shall go to Mexico and
make farther trial to obtain funds for that purpose. He accordingly puts to sea, but is driven back by a tempest; and
again he leaves the harbor, but is again compelled to return.




TRAVELS' IN' T HE  C A LIFORNIAS.   169
These unfavorable trials induce him to postpone his voyage
to a more favorable season. He returns, therefore, to his
mission at San Xavier, and Padre Ugarte remains at Loretto
with PADRE SALVA TIERRA, to learn the Indian language, and
assist wherever his services may be needed.
Another class of events now transpire which change somewhat the aspect of affairs among them, and give hope of
better things. The military commandant, who has, by his
misrepresentations, rendered abortive the efforts of Padre
Ugarte, at Mexico, finds that the authorities will not relieve
him from subordination to the Padres, and resigns. Captain
Don Antonio Garcia de Mendoza. is therefore succeeded by one
Isadore de Figueroa. This man, however, proves unworthy
of his trust in a difficulty with the savages of San Xavier.
The Indians of that mission plan the murder of Padre Piccolo.
And led on by the conjurors, or priests of their old religion,
they come down upon the few converts who remain faithful,
with such violence as to get possession of the premises; and
enraged at the Padre's escape to Loretto, burn the mission
buildings and furniture. A number of the converts have been
killed in this outbreak; the fields of San Xavier, the only
grounds within the limits of the missions on which grain can
be grown, are laid waste; the success of the savages in this
instance will embolden them to attack Loretto. All these,
as reasons, determine the Padres to send Captain Figueroa
with his soldiers to chastise them and recover the mission.
Accordingly he marches his troops to San. Xavier. The Indians flee before him. The soldiers desire to pursue them.
But the commander forbids it; and otherwise shows such a
want of courage and manliness, that the soldiers depose him,
and elect in his stead, Don Estevan Rodriguez Lorenzo,
who leads them in pursuit among the breaks of the mountains; but without success.
At the end of this year, 1700,. Padre -lgarte having learned the Indian language, and the Indians of San Xavier having
becbme satisfied and peaceable, it is resolved to rebuild the




SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
1mission and put it under his charge. Accordingly he leaves
Loretto for that purpose. But on arriving there, the Indians,
through fear of the soldiers that accompany him, run into the
mountains. The Padre, nowise discouraged by this circumstance, takes up his quarters on the site of the burned mission,
and awaits their return. Meanwhile the soldiers, not having
Indians to serve them, prove troublesome. They abuse the
Padre and one another in such manner that he determines
to trust himself with the Indians, rather than any longer
suffer their insolent behavior; and accordingly sends them
back to Loretto. After the departure of the soldiers, Padre
Ugarte remains alone all day about the ashes of the mission
and the graves of those who were killed at the time it was
destroyed! He does not know how soon they will fall upon
him likewise, and take his life. Night comes on and passes
away; and he is yet alone. At daylight a little Indian lad
comes shyly, about the Padre's couch; is treated kindly by
him; examines the fields, and hastily returns to his tribe:
and shortly afterward the good Padre is surrounded by hundreds of Indians rejoicing at his arrival, and protesting that
soldiers are disagreeable members of their community. The
Padre and the Indians now unite their energies to rebuild the
mission. The first labor of Ugarte is, to secure their regular;attendance on the catechising, the prayers and mass; and by
kind and affable treatment, to alienate them from their sorcerers; the second is, to accustom them to till the land and take
care of the cattle. To accomplish these objects he induces
them early in the morning to attend mass; after which he
feeds those who will engage in erecting the church or clearing the land for cultivation, or making trenches for irrigation,
or digging holes for planting trees, or preparing the ground
for sowing seed. In the progress of these labors the good
Padre works more than any of them. He is overseer, bricklayer and farmer. He is first in bringing stones, first in
treading clay for mortar, in mixing sand, cutting, carrying,
bringing timber, removing earth and fixing materials; some



TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNI&,S.              171
tilnes spatling up the ground, sometimes splitting rock with
a crowbar, sometimes turning water into the trenches, and
at others leading the beasts and cattle, which he has procured
for his mission, to pasture and to water. By his own example he teaches them to throw off their natural sloth, to feed
themselves and live like rational beings. But this great example does not suffice to wean them from a love of the woods,
and a listless and starving inaction. A thousand times they
try his patience, by coming late to mass and to work, and by
running away and jeering him, and sometimes threatening and
forming combinations to take his life. All this the old man
bears with unwearied patience, kindness, and holy fortitude.
In the evening the Padre leads them again to their devotions.
At this time the rosary is prayed over, and the catechism explained; and  this service is followed by the distribution of
some provisions.
At first these Indians jest and jeer at the service, and mock
at what he says. This the Padre bears patiently, till he finds
forbearance increases the evil, and then makes a very dangerous attempt to suppress it. An Indian in high repute
among his fellows for physical strength, stands near him
during service, and mocks at all that he does. The other Indians, regarding bodily strength as the only quality of greatness, are vastly pleased that their champion seems the superior
of the Padre. Ugarte perceives by their bearing, that he is
losing their confidence. He therefore seizes the savage, in
the midst of his profanity, by the hair of his head, and swings
him to and fro, with determined violence, till he begs for quarter. This so frightens the tribe that they afterwards behave
with strict decorum when engaged in religious duties. The
work of building the mission edifices, however, goes on slowly.
The Padre, careful not to weary his Indians with labor, at frequent intervals instructs their stupid minds in the best methods
of performing their tasks, and most especially, in the knowledge of their Maker. In succeeding years he enjoys the
pleasure of seeing his neophytes well instructed in the doc



17fi2      SCENES  IN' THE  PACIFIC.
trines of the Catholic Church, inured to patient labor, and
residing in comfortable houses. He has turned the mountain
streams along the crags, and changed the barren dust of the
mountains into cultivated fields, burdened with harvests of
wheat, maize, and other graimis. He even makes generous
wines, sufficient to supply the missions in California, and an
overplus to exchange in Mexico for other goods. He likewise breeds horses and sheep, cattle and mules. Indeed, such
is the success of Padre Ugarte's fortitude and industry, that
in 1707 he becomes the Purveyor-General of the missions,
and relieves them by the produce of his converts' labor, from
some of the fears of starvation on that desolate coast.
Thus has this excellent man, in the course of seven years,
opened, by his individual influence on the Californian Indians,
a large plantation, the products of which, in favorable seasons,
feed thousands of savages and seven hundred whites. His
efforts now take another direction. His sheep, brought originally from the opposite coast, have increased to such an extent, as to yield large quantities of wool. This the Padre
determines shall be made to clothe his naked Indians. He,
therefore, with his own hands, makes spinning-wheels, looms,
and other weaving apparatus, and teaches his Indians to use
them. In order to perfect them in these manufactures, he
obtains a master weaver, one Antonio Moran, from Tepic,
under a salary of five hundred dollars per annum, to instruct
them in weaving, and various other handicrafts. By these
new manufactures, the missions are saved vast expenses for
sail-cloth and baize. The Indians are clad; the grains and
vegetables, although not a full supply, are ordinarily sufficient to prevent famine. The cattle and the other animals
being added to these, suffice to meet the necessities of the
Californian missions. A deed of true benevolence performed,
where human praise can never speak of it, is a jewel in the
crown of our nature, which can never be dimmed. How it
beams on the robes of the good man as he steps into his
grave! How:t glistens in the tear of silent gratitude that is




TRAVELS  IN  THE  C ALIFORNIAS.   173
shed over the tomb of the dead, as ages crumble it into dust!
How rich a halo does'it throw back on all after time, a remnant light of Bethlehem's holy star, to lead the living to.the
same happy use of their capacities! These Indians' remote
descendants will forget this good man. But his deeds will
live in their virtues.
We will now look into the movements of Padres SALVA
T1ER.aA and Piccolo. Near the end of the year 1701, the provisions which PADREIKINo has sent to Loretto, are exhausted,
and Padre Piccolo's departure to Mexico for a supply is hastened. He sails on the second of December, leaving the Padres, the garrison and Indians in absolute want. For sixty days
they subsist oa roots, wild fruits, and a few fish which they
find washed up on the shore. On the twenty-ninth of January,
1702, however, their distress is changed to gladness by the
arrival of a boat from Padre Piccolo, laden with meat, maize,
and other provisions. This supply, in the bountiful hands of
PADRE SALVA TIERRA, lasts but a short time; and want returns
upon them with all its horrors. At length the last filthy piece
of meat is consumed, and they betake themselves, Indians and
Padres and garrison, to the shores for fish, and to the mountains for Pitahayas and other fruits and roots. Amidst these
sufferings occurs a difficulty with the Indians. A soldier by
the name of Poblano has married one of the Indian converts.
In the month of June her mother visits her and invites her
home to the joyful ingathering of the Pitahayas. They go
away in the night unperceived, and. run to the mountains. The
next morning the soldier pursues them a limited distance, but
returns unsuccessful. A day or two afterwards, he goes with
a Californian Indian near a village, where they hear a great
deal of shouting and merriment. An old Indian, whom they.
meet, advises them to return, because their lives will be en.
dangered by proceeding. The soldier insults the old man and
shoots him. The noise of the discharged musket rouses the
village, and the soldier dies, pierced with arrows. His Indian




174          SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
companion is wounded, but brings to Loretto information of
this misfortune.
The Padres of San Xavier return to Loretto, and prepare to
march in pursuit of the murderers. The Indians, learning
this movement, gather all:their forces and destroy the corn
fields of San Xavier, and a few goats, on whose milk the Padres are subsisting, during this calamitous famine. The soldiers arrive in time to prevent the destruction of the buildings.
At length the parties begin to skirmish, and four of the
Indians are killed. But their numbers and violence increase
daily. The troops suffer incredible hardship among the precipices, and breaks of the mountains. Distress and consternation are beginning to seize them. Death is looked for as
inevitable.  But they rejoice again; they breathe freely
again; a bark comes over the tranquil and heated sea, with
provisions and a recruit of soldiers; and runners are sent from
Loretto to San Xavier, to give all a speedy share of the joyful news; they eat and drink again in the Californian missions!
The Indians are intimidated by the arrival of fresh troops,
and submit; and the grateful Padres give thanks to God in a
solemn Te Deum for this unexpected deliverance.
Great anxiety is felt in California for the fate of Pamdre
Piccolo. No tidings of him have been received since he left
the port of Loretto. He has, however, arrived safely at
Cinaloa, about the first of February, 1702, and sent them
supplies; has hastened thence to Guadalaxara and Mexico;
by indefatigable exertions has obtained six thousand dollars
from  the Government for the payment of soldiers; and
having collected charities from a few individuals, has purchased goods for the relief of the most urgent necessities of
the missions; has obtained a guarantee of Don Josef de La
Puente Marquis de Villa Puente, for the support of three new
missions; and from, Nicolas de Arteaga, an offer to support
another; and from the Government, six hundred dollars per
annum thereafter; has secured the appointment of two Padres,
Juan Manuel de Bassaldua and Geronimo Minutili, as meis



TRAVELS IN  THE  CALI FO RNIAS.   175
sionaries to California; and has purchased a vessel at Acapulco, called Nuestra Senora del Rosario; has embarked at
Matanchel with his goods, provisions, his brethren, and some
artisans, for Loretto.' Fine breezes bear them into the Gulf;
then a tempest swoops down upon them and compels them to
throw overboard that part of the cargo which is stowed on
deck; but helping gales bear them to their destined port,
on the twenty-eighth of October, 1702.
And now again the cross is raised before the people; the
lofty anthem of thanksgiving swells up the parched mountain, and every knee bows to God and Senora de Loretto.
Most of the garrison had been discharged for want of money
to pay their wages; few have remained to protect the Padres. Joyfully now do they all gather about Padre Piccolo,
with warm effusions of thanks for his expedition, and engage
anew to bear arms, and beseech the mercies of God for the
missions of California.  This reinforcement of troops, artisans, and Padres, and. the supplies of provisions and money,
and the guarantees for the support of four new missions, and
the promised annuity from the Government, encourage PADRE
SALVA TIERRA to form higher designs for the enlargement of
his operations. To effect them in the best manner, he confers with all the Padres on the best measures; and the conelusion is, that Padre Ugarte shall go to Senora and procure
cattle for breeding, and horses and mules for draught and riding; that Padre Minutili shall remain at Loretto with PADRE
SALVA TIERRA; and that Padre Bassaldua shall accompany
Padre Piccolo to San Xavier, where he may learn the Indian
language, and otherwise prepare himself for future labor. In
obedience to these determinations, Padre Ugarte sails in the
beginning of November; but after being absent a few days,
is driven back by contrary winds.  In December he sails
again, and happily arrives at Guaymas, Pimeria, in February
1703. He reappears at Loretto with a fine quantity of black
cattle, sheep, horses, mules, and provisions.
In March of this year, PADRE SALVA TIERRA re-commences




17s6      SCENES  IN  THE  PA.  IFTC.
exploring the country.  He takes with him the Captain and
some soldiers, and proceeds to San Xavier, where he is joined
by Padres Piccolo and Bassaldua. Thence they travel with
great difficulty over the thirsty mountains to the Pacific, and
search the coast far northward for a harbor, fresh water, and
tillable land. None is found which will shelter ships from
the prevailing winds. Some land, with a good soil, is discovered; but the absence of water for irrigation renders it
useless. By going south, however, they fall upon the little
river San Xavier. Here they find a few Indians who, after running away, are persuaded to show themselves friends. On
their return these Padres pass two rancherias, the inhabitants
of which they induce to move nearer to Loretto. This journey proves fruitless. They have discovered no suitable place
for the establishment of a new  mission.  In May, they
make another, in search of a river emptying into the sea
one hundred and twenty miles north of Loretto. Having arrived near Concepcion Bay, they fall in with a large rancheria of Indians, who seize their bows and arrows and come
out to destroy them. The Californian Indians, however, who
are acting as guides to the Padres, explain the benevolent
object of their visit;and  all are received as friends, and
treated with the kindest hospitality. These Indians inform
the Padres of a large tract of crags and abysses lying between them and the river that they seek, which it is impossible to pass, and they return to Loretto.
A dismal misfortune now falls on California. Some Indians arrive at Loretto full of fright and sorrow, from whom the
Padres learn that the wretch who formed the last conspiracy,
the murderer of the soldier Poblano, and incendiary of the
mission of San Xavier, has fomented discontent, assembled
the rancherias, and massacred all the adult converts at San
Xavier, except the few who have escaped to Loretto. This
sad news determines the Padres and the Captain to punish
those factious individuals, in such a manner as to prevent such
outrages in future. Accordingly the Captain and soldiers fall




TRAV ELS IN  THE  CALIFORN'AS                177
on the conspirators at night, kill a few, among whom is one
of the most active in the massacre;'but the leader escapes.
The Captain, however, declares he shall die. But the roughn'ess of the country prevents pursuit.  Another means of'arresting him is adopted. The Indians are told that they
shall never have peace until they surrender this chief of villains, and in a few days he is brought into the mission of San
Xavier. A court-martial is now called, and the culprit arraigned, tried, and condemned to death! The Padres interfere to save him. But the Captain will not yield. The prisoner confesses that he intended to destroy all the converts
and the Padres; that he has burnt the chapel and the images;
that he has had a chief hand in the murder of Poblano; that
he has been inducing the Indian women to marry the soldiers,
in order to have more killed in the same manner; and the
Captain will not release him from the punishment which he
deserves for such terrible acts and intentions. All the Padres,
therefore, gather at San Xavier to attend the last hours of the
miserable man. They teach him to look at the fearful scenes
which will break on him when the spirit's eyes open on eternity; exhort him to kiss the cross of redemption and lift his
love to him who bled upon it for sins like his. He is taken
to the plain in chains, blinded, made to kneel down and is
shot! This is the first execution for a capital crime in California. Its influence is salutary. The Indians become peaceable, and regular in -their duties.
The Padres make use of restored peace in exploring the
country to find sites for new missions. The river Mulege, at
the north, is visited by Padres Piccolo and Bassaldua in the
bark San Xavier. They find arable land on its banks, a
league in width, which appears suitable for a mission station.
They-therefore proceed to Senora to obtain:riding animals
wherewith to explore the southern shore for a land route to
Lo-zetto. Having returned, they.descend the coast a few
leagues, where a range of dry'volcanic heights arrests their
progress, and compels them to abandon their design,.a-d re



178         SCENES IN  THiE  PACIFIC.
embark for Loretto in the San Xavier. On their way, they
put into Concepcion Bay which lies south of the opposing
Mountains; send the bark to Guaymas for supplies; go by
land along a path partially cleared by the preceding expedition; arrive at a valley which they call San Juan de Londo,
where they meet PADRE SALVA TIERRA; and thence proceed in great haste to Loretto. Misfortune calls for their
sympathy.
An ordinance has been issued by the Viceroy at Mexico,
prohibiting any one from engaging in fishing for, or trading
in, pearls, on the Californian coast,without a license from the
Government, countersigned by the military commandant at
Loretto. The object of this regulation is to prevent avaricious individuals from drawing the Indians away from the
missions; an evil which the Padres have long endeiavored to
extirpate. But notwithstanding this regulation, two vessels
have come upon the coast without license, and are fishing off
Loretto, when a tempest breaks them from their moorings and
strands them in the bay. The crew of one of them, seventy
in number, are saved, and fourteen of the other succeed in
gaining the shore. These eighty odd men the Padres clothe
and feed a whole month,-the time required to get their ships
off and repair them,-when the one with seventy souls sails for
Mexico. This unexpected draught upon the small stores of
the missions bears so heavily upon them, that the arrival ot
Padre Piccolo from Senora, with the bark partially laden with
provisions, barely saves them  from starvation. Near the
close of the year the twelve survivors of the other crew are
taken to the continent by Padre Minutili, who has been
appointed to the missions at Tibutama. But their presence
for so long a time at the garrison has greatly increased the
sufferings of all the stations. It is now 1704, the seventh
year of the religious conquest of California. It seems to be
the last of the missions. The Padres have labored incessantly. Many of the natives have been baptized, and are
becoming accustomed to labor.  The lands are somewhat




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    179
productive, and the manufacture of cloth is considerably advanced.  Their attendance on the ordinances of religion
gratifies the Padres, and civilisation seems to be taking root
among these savages. But as the converts increase, the number of persons to be fed and clad are multiplied. And as the
necessities of these grow, the hopes of a proper supply become more precarious. The vessel in which grains are to be
brought from the opposite coast requires overhauling before
she can put to sea. Without her the money for the payment of the garrison cannot be obtained from Mexico. But
as the Padres have no means of repairing her, Padre Bassaldua, for life or death, sails in her towards Mexico, and Padre
Piccolo, with equal self-devotion, embarks for Senora in the
leaky and shattered bark San Xavier.
The mission of San Josef, on the continent, has been annexed to the Californian missions, in order that the Padres
may use its resources for a uniform supply of provisions and
animals. The brave Padre Piccolo is passing now between
this station and Loretto, with all possible speed and activity.
But the little provisions he is able to collect, ill suffice the wants
in California. And as this little is often spoiled in the leaky
boat before its arrival, starvation is again expected at Loretto.
Meantime Padre Bassaldua arrives on the coast of Mexico with
his creaking, leaky vessel; proceeds to Guadalaxara and Mexico; urges the execution of the Royal Orders for the support
of the mission.; is unsuccessful; collects enough to repair his
vessel; procures a small supply of necessaries from benevolent individuals; sails in company with Padre Pedro Ugarte,
who has been appointed to fill the place of Padre Piccolo,
and in the latter part of June rounds into the bay of Loretto,
to add to the number of the desponding and starving! The
Padres send the vessel and the bark to the continent for provisions. But the shattered condition of these craft, and the
northwest gales, twice oblige them to put back empty. And
when at last they succeed in making the voyage, little relief
comes of it. There is a want of every necessary of life




180:S ENES  I N  THE  P A-CIFIC
among the Padres and soldiers. The latter complain that
their certificates of services sent to Mexico have not been'honored; and the former see that some decided step must be
taken either for the salvation. or abandonment of the missions.
PADRE. SALVA TIERRA calls together the Padres and the Captain, and: another officer of the garrison, to deliberate, and
informs them that they can expect no speedy relief from
their friends at Mexico; that he cannot more clearly depict
the melancholy condition of their affairs than their common
sufferings do;: that he is summoned to Mexico to confer
concerning the execution of the Royal Orders for the relief of
the missions;: but that he will not leave California until the missions are either relieved or destroyed. He desires, however,
that others will fully deliberate, and freely determine whether
they shall all remain there, and suffer for the glory of God, or
go to Mexico, and await a more favorable juncture for renewing the conquest. He himself is ready to eat the wild fruits,
and in other respects fare as the converts do, rather than
abandon them. Padre Ugarte opposes leaving the country.
Padres Piccolo, Pedro Ugarte and Bassaldua agree with him:
and the Captain declares that he is astonished to hear a proposition of the kind; that he will solemnly protest against
the Padres, if they should abandon the conquest. Nevertheless, notice is given to the people, that whoever will, may
embark in the vessel going to Mexico, and that bills shall be
given them for the arrears of their wages. But instead of
embracing the offer, they all refuse to leave the Padres. The
fear of an insurrection among the soldiers on account of the
non-payment of wages and want of food being removed,
the Padres dispatch the vessel and the bark to Guaymas for
supplies. While they are waiting for these, Padre Ugarte
sets an example of patience and fortitude. He goes into the
mountains and woodlands, gathers the wild fruits and digs
edible roots, reminds his spiritual children of the death in
Canaan, and God's goodness to Jacob —while the soldiers
and officers vie -with the good man in all his works of love.




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALI FORNI A. i           18
The Padres do not abandon their determination to'found
the other missions, for which funds have been promised.
With this design in view, and also to bring new matters of
interest to the minds of the distressed people, Padres SALVA
TIERRA and Pedro Ugarte visit the district of Ligui,  lying on
the coast south of Loretto. A single soldier and two Iidians
accompany- them. As they approach the village, many Indians rush from an ambush and begin to fire their arrows at
them with great fury. The soldier, Francisco Xavier Valenzuela, draws his scimitar and brandishes it briskly in the
sun with one hand, while with the other he fires his musketoon in the air. These movements so frighten the savages
that they throw their weapons and themselves on the ground,
and allow the whites to'approach them. The two Indians
interpret for PADRE SALVA TIERRA. He assures them that he
comes only to do, them good; that he has brought Padre
Ugarte to live with' them as a father, who will lead them to a
happy futurity. On hearing this, they affectionately embrace
PADRE SALVA TIERRA, and bid their wives and children to
come from their hiding-places. The Indians are sad that~ the
Padres do not remain longer with them, and can only be
comforted by'a strong promise that Padre Ugarte will soon
return. They baptize forty-eight of the children, and depart
for -Loretto.
In the month of August, of this year, the vessel and bark
return from Guaymas with provisions. Close upon this happy
event, follows another, which causes much grief to the Padres
and the Indians. PADRE SALVA TIERRA is appointed visitor to
the missions of Cinaloa and Senora. The prospect of losing
the society and fatherly love of this great and good' man,
causes deep sorrow among all ranks. He is also called to
Mexico by order of the Viceroy, to attend an assembly to
be soon convened by command of his Sovereign, in which the
propriety and possibility of executing certain royal orders
con erning the conquest and settlement of California are to
be discussed. Before he departs, he consecrates the new




182          C SCENES IN  TH E  PACIFIC.
church at Loretto, and appoints to the command of the garriL
son, Juan Baptiste Escalante, a distinguished warrior, against
the Apaches on the Gila, and Nicolas Marques, as Lieutenant,
to fill respectively the places of the worthy Captain Estevan
Lorenzo and Ensign Isidro, who, to the sorrow of the Padres, have resigned their posts on account of some bitter feelings towards them among the soldiers
These matters being settled to the satisfaction of ail parties,
he appoints Padre Juan Ugarte to the supreme government of
the garrison and missions, and on the first of October sails for
the continent. He goes to Guadalaxara, confers with the Audiencia of that department, passes on to Mexico, and finds himself appointed Provincial of New Spain, and missionary of
California. The good Padre, overwhelmed with this unexpected distinction, urges, with sincerity and zeal, his unfitness
for the office, and his desire to labor and die a simple missionary among his Californian Indians. But the Padres assure
him that the rules of his order will not permit him to decline;
and persuade him, that under so good a man as Provincial,
the church will cheerfully further his pious desires for the
conversion of the Indians of California. The PADRE JUAN
MARIA DE SALVA TIERRA, therefore, in hope of bettering the
condition of his converts in that forlorn wilderness, enters
upon the duties of Provinical Bishop of New Spain.
PADRE SALVA TIERRA in his'official character communicates
with the Viceroy, and lays before him his views, of the proper
measures of his Government for the furtherance of the missionary enterprise in the territories under his charge. He
states, generally, the advances of ithe Spanish power in those
vast realms by means of the Jesuits, ari that;rn order to hold
these conquests, the power by which they have been obtained
must still be exercised. The honor and benefit of the Crown
and of the tatholic Church demand this of his Excellency's
Government. He is favorably heard, and all classes of people second his views. But the delay and selfishness which
Atoe ever characterized the Spanish power in America anJ




TRA VELS IN  THE  CALIF ORN AS               183
elsewhere press on the track of the good Padre, and he is
forced to leave Mexico on a visit to the churches of his Diocese, without any decided assurances that his views will be
acted on. The poverty of the Crown, while half the world is
digging gold and silver for its coffers, is an additional cause of
this inaction.
We next find PADRE SALVA TIERRA, in 1705, appealing to
the Jesuit College and the Audiencia of Guadalaxara, to succor the missions. Soon after this he lands at El Mission del
Nuestra Senora de Loretto, amid the general joy of the Padres, soldiers and Indians. To the latter, particularly, he has
been a father; and they dance and shout around him in an
ecstacy of: gladness to see again his grey head and benevolent face.
The PADRE finds his brethren in great wretchedness, but full
of unwavering determination to carry forward the work which
he has so'valorous~ begun. Padre Piccolo, who has been appointedvisitor of the missions of Senora, in order that he may
have authority and opportunity to draw provisions more regularly for those of California, has been forwarding at intervals
whatever he could gather from those poor establishments.
But this has been sufficient only to prevent starvation or the
abandonment of the country. However, the missions still
exist, and the venerable PADRE SALVA TIERRA is happy. Their
discomforts have been much increased during his absence by
the growing tyranny of Capt. Escalante, who has become impatient of his subjection to the Padres, and abusive to the Indians and soldiers. An account of this state of things having
been forwarded during the PADRE'S tarry there, he has brought
with him Don Estevan Rodriguez Lorenzo to supersede Escalante —an arrangement which results in much satisfaction to
the missions.
The Provincial remains two months in California; but he
does not excuse himself from his usual arduous labors. His
new dignity furnishes no pretext for idleness. He bends all
his energies to the well-being of the natives; takes measures




184        SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC,
for the establishment of two new missions; the one at Ligui
and the other at the river Mulege. The small number of his
associates, however, is an obstacle to the accomplishment of
his wishes. There are but three Padres with him. One of
these is required at San Xavier, and one at Londo. This dis.tribution will leave but one to take care of the magazines,
disburse the stores, nurse the sick, and perform the spiritual
functions at Loretto-a task which no single man can perform. Accordingly, Jayme Bravo, the lay companion of PADRE SALVA TIERRA, is induced to take upon himself the temporal affairs of the garrison and mission, and thus leave the
Padres free to pursue their religious labors. This arrangement being made, the Provincial departs for Mexico about the
last of November, 1704, and the Padres Pedro Ugarte and
Juan Manuel de Bassaldua commence the exploration of the
new stations. The former goes twelve leagues south, to Ligui, and the latter forty leagues north, to the river Muiege;
while Padre Juan Ugarte takes care of the missions at Loretto
San Xavier and Londo.
The Ligui Indians are found to be peaceable, but so extremely indolent that the Padre can get no help from them in
the construction of the mission buildings. His ingenuity and
patience, however, are equal to his necessities. He feeds the
boys of the tribe with sweetmeats, makes them small presents,
and by his paternal address, soon attaches them so strongly
to his person, that they follow him wherever he goes. He
resorts to many artifices to habituate them to labor; lays
wagers with them on their comparative dexterity in pulling
up bushes, removing the earth from the sites of the buildings,
and challenges them to dance with him on the clay of which
the bricks are to be made. The boys sing and poach the mud
with their feet, and so does the Padre. And in this way he clears
his ground and erects the buildings of his mission. He also
teaches these boys the Spanish language, and they teach their
own to him. He explains to them the catechism and prayers,
and they do the same to their parents. Thus, with untiring








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TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    185
patience, firmness and labor, does he bring the mission ol San
Juan Baptista into form, and its Indians under his control
And not these only; but going many miles into the woods
and the breaches of the mountains, he gathers in the wandering, feeds and clothes them, and teaches them to till the
ground and live like men. At last he succeeds in humanizing the greater portion of these rude people. They call him
Padre, follow him to the labor of the field, and gather about
the altar in his humble church to worship. All are industrious, well-fed, well-clad, and happy.
As the Padre, however, is felicitating himself on these
results of his labors, an accident occurs which well nigh ruins
all. He is called to baptize a sick woman, with whom he
finds an old sorcerer employed according to their ancient customs. The Padre bids him depart, administers extreme unction tothe woman, remains with her till death, buries her
according to the forms of the church, and after reprimanding
severely the converts who have lent their sanction to the juggler, dismisses them with much indignation. This severity of
the Padre rouses the sullen fierceness of the Indians to such
extent that, instigated by the disgraced sorcerer, they form
the design of murdering him. They use the utmost secrecy,
and make death the penalty of divulging their purpose. The
Padre always has a boy sleeping in his apartment; and when
at length the night of the massacre comes, this boy desires
that he may be allowed to spend it with his friends, the Indians. The Padre objects! The boy urges! The Padre inquires the reason; and the boy, after much hesitation, tells
him, "Because, father, this night they are going to kill you!"
On hearing this, he sends for some of the chief ones, and
with a resolute and dauntless air tells them, " I know you
have formed the design to kill me this night. But remember!
With this musket I will, when you come, slaughter you all."
Having said this, he quickly leaves them full of consternation at what they have heard.
Oppressed with fear, they retire to their associates in the




1S6        s C'ENES IN  TH'E  PACIFIC.
design; consult much, and at last conclude to seek safety
from  the Padre's musket in flight.  In the morning their
lodges are deserted; not an Indian is in sight of the Mission
San Juan Baptista Ligui. On the following day the Padre
goes out to seek his lost fleck.' They are found hidden
away among the cliffs, and flee at his approach. After considerable parleying, however, they are convinced that the
Padre seeks their good alone, and return to the mission tho.
roughly persuaded that he loves them, but can never be made
to fear them.
This excellent man continues at his mission, enduring every
privation, till 1709, when the severe fatigues of years weigh
him down and compel him to seek health in Mexico. Thither
he goes in the character of negotiator and procurator of the
missions. No sooner, however, does he recover his health in
a tolerable degree, than he returns and resumes his labors.
But illness again compels him  to leave this inhospitable
shore for the mission at the River Yaqui, on the opposite
coast, where he makes himself useful as an agent and pur.
veyor-general for California.
But let us follow the Padre Juan Manuel Bassaldua to the
River Mulege. He starts in 1705, and with great difficulty
surmounts the crags as far north as Concepcion Bay. Here
his progress is arrested- by hills to all appearances insurmountable.  But "trial before despair" is the Padre's
motto. He fills ravines with rocks, and cuts away the woods;
and after incredible labor, passes his animals over to'Mulege.
There is a valley near the mouth of this little stream ten
leagues in length, suitable for tillage. In this, two miles from
the Gulf, he locates his mission, and consecrates it- to Santa
Rosalia; builds his dwelling and church of adobies; remains
four years; collects the Indians from all the neighboring settlemlents; instructs them in religion and thie useful arts; and
so endears himselfto them, that when his health fails, and he
is transferred t ) Guaymas, the poor savages finid it difficult to




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFO RNI AS.    187
discover in his successor, the excellent Padre Piccolo, his
equal in kindness and active benevolence.
Padre Piccolo exerts in this new field all his well-tried energies. Besides his labors as a spiritual teacher, he travels
into the interior several times in search of proper sites for
new settlements, and discovers those places which are afterwards occupied by the missions of Guadaloupe, La Purissima
Concepcion, and San Ignacio. In the year 1718 he surrenders his charge to Padre Sebastian de Sistiaga. This Padre.
digs trenches to convey the waters of the river over the
fields, and in other ways improves the facilities for training
those active and intelligent children of the desert to the habits:
of a better life.
On the sixth of November, 1706, Padre Piccolo, three soldiers, and some Mulege Indians, with two asses bearing their
provisions, journey westward towards the country of the North;
Cochimes, which is called Cada Kaaman, or Sedge Brook.
It lies on the skirts of the mountains, thirty-five leagues, by
the vales, from Santa Rosalia. On the third day he is met
by a whole settlement of Indians, in a valley which, on a,
former visit, he has named Santa Aguida. These poor peo-.ple express great joy at seeing the Padre again, and follow
him to the neighboring rancherias, called Santa Lucia and
Santa Nympha.  In these places also he is greeted most
kindly, and desired to remain. On the nineteenth of November he arrives at the head springs of the brook which waters
the vale. Here he finds three considerable neighborhoods of
savages, who welcome his coming with feastings, dances, and
songs, in which those from Santa Lucia and Santa Nympha
join with exceeding delight. He remains at this place until
December, comforting and teaching them. A large arbor is
built by the willing Indians, in which mass is celebrated. The
neighboring villagers forsake their homes to attend upon the
Padre's instructions. Fifty mothers eagerly offer their children in badpitt.  And now he departs, followed by a large
crowd of people, who mourn that he leaves them; and pre



183         SCENES  IN  THE  PACi FIC.
ceded by others who shout their gladness among the parched
hills, that he journeys towards' their villages. They clear the
path before him of stones and other obstacles; present him
with strings of wild fruit to eat; and bring him water from
the stream to drink.
While these new missions are in progress, the old ones, at
Loretto, San Xavier, and Londo, are slowly advancing in comfort and usefulness. Nor are the Padres in charge of them
idle in making explorations for other establishments.
In 1706 Jayme Bravo, in company with the Captain, seven
soldiers, and some Indians, goes to San Juan Baptista Ligui,
anl having felicitated Padre Pedro Ugarte upon the happy
beginning of his mission, passes along the shore towards the
south. He has travelled a day and a half, when an Indian
brings word that four of his soldiers are dying! Jayme Bravo
and the Captain return, and find that one of them has found
a fire where some Indian fishermen have been roasting a species of fish called Botates, the liver of which contains a very
active poison. This soldier communicates the news of food
at hand to his fellows, and they hasten to devour it.  A
friendly Indian warns them not to eat. But the soldier who
first discovered the fire replying, " None of your noise, Indian;
a Spaniard never dies," eats plentifully and gives to his companions. One of them chews and swallows a little; another
chews, but does not swallow; the other merely handles and
views the fish. Well would it have been if they had regarded
the caution of the Indian: for in a very short time they are
all seized with convulsive pains more or less violent, according to the use they have made of the fish. The first expires
in half an hour. He is soon followed by the second! The
third, who merely chewed the fish, remains insensible till the
following morning!' The man who only handled them is
in a very bad condition for several days. This misfortune
obliges the explorers to abandon their enterprise., They return to Ligui to bury the dead in the consecrated grounds of
the mission, and send their sick to Loretto.




CHAPTER XI.?aIre Juan Ugarte and Jayme Bravo explore the Pacific Coast-Dearth
-Thirst-PADRE SALVA TIERRA-A Tempest-Landing at Loretto —
San Josef-Wrecked-PADRE SALVA TIERRA goes to the Rescue-Energy-Suffering-Die by Thousands-Wrecked-At Sea in a Long.
boat-The Limit of Despair-They toil on-The Guaycuros-Massacre-San Ignacio-PADRE SALVA TIERRA leaves California-Death of a
Hero at Guadalaxara.
MEANTIME Padre Juan Ugarte prepares to reconnoitre the
coast of the Pacific. The chief of the Yaqui nation waits on
him with forty of his warriors. The Captain, with twelve soldiers and some converts, is at his command for the same duty;
the beasts and provisions for the journey are ready; and Padre
Juan Ugarte and the layman Bravo, on the twenty-sixth of
November, 1706, leave Loretto, with their troops and pack
animals divided into three companies, on their wearisome way
over the western mountains. Their march lies through the
Mission of San Xavier and the Indian village called Santa
Rosalia, and from that point passes over the dry and herbless waste of heights and vales to the sea. Here they meet
several. hundred Guaycuros' who are friendly to them. Thence
they march southward many leagues, and find no water in all
the distance except in little wells dug by the Indians. They
then turn their course to the north. They march all day over
burning sands, famishing with thirst, and halt at night near the
channel of a dry rivulet. Thence they send men a few leagues
farther up the shore, and others up and down the thirsty
channel, in quest of water. They all return to camp without success. Next they disperse themselves in every direction to find -a plat of low ground where they may dig wells,
but find none. As a last resource, they now let loose their




190        SCENES I N  THE  PACIFIC.
animals, that they may, by their powerful instincts, find means
of quenching their thirst; but all these contrivances are vain.
They kindle a fire to keep themselves warm, and, weary and
famishing, stretch themselves on the sand for the night.
In the morning Padre Ugarte greets the rising sun with the
services of Mass; and while they sing the " Litany de Seno.
ra de Loretto," an Indian calls out in the language of his
people that he has found water! With solemn gratitude they
dig into the oozing soil; they obtain a supply for themselves
and their animals; and having filled several vessels to serve
them on their return, offer a service of thanksgiving to the
Virgin, and commence their journey to Loretto.
While the Padres are thus employed in establishing missions and exploring California, PADRE SALVA TIERRA is earnestly petitioning the Pope to discharge him from the office of
Provincial Bishop of New Spain. He desires to spend his
declining years among the Indians of California. In 1706
his discharge comes; and with inexpressible pleasure does
the good old man collect supplies of clothing, provisions
and ammunition, for the mission. He is joined by two other
Padres, Julian de Mayorga and Rolandegui.  To their
care he commits the stores, with directions to repair to the harbor of Matanchel and await the arrival of the bark which is
to take them to the peninsula. The PADRE himself goes by
land four hundred leagues along the coast to the harbor of
Akomi in Senora, for the purpose of collecting free contributions from the missions in the regions through which he journeys.
About the first of January he sails for Loretto. He has a
long tempestuous voyage. " This night," says he, "the
thirty-first of January, was extremely dark. We were with
the mast lashed, and without a rudder; and amidst rocks and
islands; the sea continually making a free passage over us;
the sailors spent with toil and hunger, having been without
food for a day and a half, were prostrate, giving up all for
lost. The least damage we could expect was to be driven




TFRAV ELS IN  TH E  CALI F ORI N  AS.    191
Into the sea of Gallicia or Acapulco.' Trstissinma noctis
imago.' The Californians got about me like chickens, and
they were not my least confidants, as being new-born sons of
the Great Madonna, and had run this risk in her service. After all my journeyings and voyages, I never knew what dangers or distresses by land or sea were, until now." They are
driven by this horrible tempest into the bay of San Josef, thirty
miles south of Loretto. On the third of February, the storm
abating, they run up to the desired haven, and are received
with universal gladness.
In 1708,:Padres SALVA TIERRA and Juan Ugarte go with
Padre Mayorga into the midst of the mountains to an Indian
settlement called Comondu, and invest him  with a mission
there under the name of San Josef; and after having aided
him in gathering the Indians, building a chapel, and some
bough: huts, they return to Loretto. Padre Mayorga forms
some neighboring Indians into two towns which he calls San
Juan and San Ignacio; builds a fine church at the former
place; opens a school for boys at his own house; erects a
seminary for girls; builds a hospital for the sick; prepares
maize fields at San Josef, and plants vineyards at San Juan
and San Ignacio.
Many other fertile spots are discovered among the deserts
of California, soon after SALVA TIERRA's arrival, suitable for
the establishment of missions. But misfortunes by sea and
land retard their occupancy. The following is an instance of
this kind. The bark San Xavier sails fromLoretto in August,
1709, with $3,000 in specie, to purchase a supply of provisions in Senora. A storm of three days' continuance drives
it on a barren coast, north of Guaymas, where it is stranded
among the sands and rocks. Some are drowned; others save
themselves in the boat. Hostile Indians, called Seris and
Tepocas, fall upon those who escape and drive them to sea in
the open boat; dig up the $3,000 which they have hidden in
the sands; take the helm from the bark, and partly break it
mi pieces for the nails. The crew in the boat-encounter very




192        SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC
many dangers in their perilous voyage to the south. Storrrms
overtake them. Their boat becomes leaky. They have no
water. They live, however, to reach the river Yaqui, sixty
leagues from the wreck. From this place a pearl-fisher's
bark is sent to Loretto with an account of these disastersi
PADRE SALVA TIERRA hastens over in the Rosalia to Guaymas;
sends her to a port near the scene of the shipwreck; dispatches the bark San Xavier to the vessel, while he himself,
attended by fourteen Yaqui Indians, passes up the rugged
coast by land; is two days without a drop of water; and at
last arrives at the wreck. The San Xavier's men are merely
sustaining life on boiled herbs. He sends to the nearest mission for food by an Indian, who succeeds in passing through
the hostile Seris and Tepocas, with a small supply. This
does not suffice. Death is near them, when the indefatigable
PADRE determines to journey through bands of murderous savages to the harbor of San Juan Baptista for help!
He has not travelled far along the coast when he arrives at
a settlement of Indians, who come out against him under arms.
They are led by an old man, who urges them on with terrible
vociferations. Nothing less fearful than death seems promised
in their present situation. But the PADRE, with his usual intrepidity, advancing alone towards them, makes some small
presents to the old man and his son, which, accompanied by
signs and kind gestures, soften their ferocity a little, when to
their surprise and joy they hear the guns of the Rosalia! The
explosion of these cannon is new to the Indians they
think it the voice of avenging gods-they immediately run
away and bring to the PADRE food, and $3,000 which hai
been taken from its place near the wreck. The PADRE thus
unexpectedly recovers his lost money, and the means of continuing the lives of himself and men.
The Rosalia anchors near the disabled San Xavier; and
the provisions on board for a time relieve the distressed workmen, seamen and Padres. But as two months are consumne,
in refitting the wreck, they are again often in want. The




: r
FahrSlc  ~ragPsln  ome h~das-.12








TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS              193
missions of the region afford them occasional aid; but the
dearth which has pervaded the country during this year, so far
disables these establishments from furnishing adequate supplies,
that PADRE SALVA TIERRA sends a messenger to the distant
mission garrison, ninety miles up the country, called Nuestra
Sennora de Gaudalupe, begging the Captain Don Francisco
Xavier Valenzuela to send them food. This excellent man
immediately despatches what succors he can command; and
soon after comes in person with some of his men and a moir
liberal supply.
When he arrives, such is the distressed condition of the
PADRE and those with him, that this commander and his veterans seat themselves on the beach and weep. After a continual repetition of trials like these, during two sultry months,
the San Xavier is afloat, and the brave PADRE sails his vessel
to the Californian coast; visits the Padre Piccolo at Santa
Rosalia Mulege, and encouraging that lonely priest in the
prosecution of his holy labors, drops down to Loretto. Soon
after his arrival the small pox, that exterminator of the Indian race, sweeps away the greater part of the children and
many adults, in all the missions. The garrison also suffers
very much from irregularity of diet consequent upon the precarious means of supply, and the necessity of living in that
sultry climate, on salt meat and maize. All these sicknesses
and deaths the Indians attribute to the Padres. Their children,
say they, are killed by baptism; the adults with the extreme
unction; and the soldiers are made sick by continual exposure to the malign influence of prayers, masses and the exaltation of the Host. These suggestions are raised by their old
sorcerers, and threaten to embitter the Indians fatally against
the Padres. But the neophytes stand by their Priests, and
convince their countrymen of their error.
From 1709 to 1711, a famine spreads over the entire Meecan Territories, and California consequently obtains no aPh
plies from that source. The distress of these years is so 6
eedingly great, that the Indian neophytes betake themselvm




194        S-CE N-ES IN  THE  PAC I FIC
to the mountains, and live on roots and wild fruits; while the
soldiers of the garrison eat herbs with the self-denying Padres:
and to complete the misfortunes of this devoted country, two
barks used in bringing a little food from Senora, are cast
away.
In 1711, PADRE SALVA TIEREA sends Padre Francisco Peralta,
who arrived in California two years before, to Matanchel to
repair the old Rosario. But the frauds practised by the workmen consume many thousands of dollars, and make the bark
so miserable a thing, that in its first effort at sailing it runs
ashore in spite of the helm, and is ufterly lost. They now
build a new one, at an expense of $22,000. In this, then,
laden with supplies, they put to sea. But a storm rising, the
ill-built craft proves to be unmanageable, the sport of the
waves and winds. She is driven to Cape San Lucas and
back again to the isles of Mazatlan. Here some of the sailors
forsake her; others remain on board, and after many difficulties, take her in sight of the coast of Loretto. A storm now
drives her ashore on the opposite coast. It is the eighth of
December. The night is terribly dark and tempestlolw-,
Four seamen clear away the small boat, and regardless of the
lives of the others, shove, off. Those who are left hang to
the main and mizen masts surging in the seas! Padre Bensto
Guisi and six seamen are drowned. Padres Guillen and
Doye, and twenty others, with the greatest difficulity, unlash the long-boat, bail out the water with two calabashes,
and throwing, aboard a piece of an old sail and some bits of
boards for oars, commit themselves to the mercy of the waves
In the morning they find themselves several leagues from land.
They row down:the coast a day and-a half, and after a boisterous night land three hundred miles south of Guaymas
Eighteen persons, naked,; wet,. pierced with cold, exhausted
with "trowing, without food or water, with the single- comfort
of having escaped death in the sea, land on a barren waste
interspersed with, fertile tracts overrun with briars and brambles   They gather oysters, vllks and herbs to gat, awti




TRAVELS  IN1  THE  CALtF ORI AS.    195
march into the interior to find inhabitants.I As they break
their way, the brambles and briars lacerate their naked bodies.
Two days of agony from this cause and from hunger and
thirst, bring them into an open plain, where they are found by
Indians. These they induce to give information of their presence and sufferings, to the commander of the town Tamasula,
who visits them with horses, water and maize cakes, for their
relief.
From this town they go to Guazave, the nearest mission in
Cinaloa, where they fortunately find Padre Francisco Mazaregos. This lesuit Missionary entertains them in the most
liberal manner. The briars of the rugged path over which
they travelled, have torn their clothing from their backs;
and this holy man calls upon his Indian converts to contribute
of their means, while he himself bestows his own wardrobe,
to clothe the naked sufferers.
Having been refreshed by rest and foodi and once more
clad, they leave the hospitable Padre of Guazave for the town
of Cinaloa. Here also they are generously entertained by
Padre: Juan Yrazoqui, until each departs to his appointed station. Padre Guillen is rousedsinstead of discouraged, by
these hardships. Like all those great spirits who are sowing
the gospel on the deserts of California, his sinews become the
stronger as they are worn by hardship. He travels over the
deserts to the missions at Yaqui, and in the month of January,
1714, sails to California in the good old San Xavier.
The missions are again entirely dependent upon this bark
for the transport of supplies; the loss in New Rosario, of
the commodities and clothing, otn which the Padres, seamen,
and soldiers depend to sustain life,; no money left, no clothing,
no food, the only sea-craft in their possession unseaworthy,
and no means of repairing her, on a desert land and among
hostile; Indians kept in subjection chiefly by the supply of
their physical wants, now impossible to be done, are the dis.
couraging circumstances which weigh on the heavy hearts of
the Padres But who shall set bounds to the power of moral




196         S GCENES   N' THE  PACI FIC.
motive, when linked with zeal drawn from  faith in God?'rThese Padres look for death, but they desire to die, sickle in
hand, reaping the harvests of redemption! They toil on;
they gather wandering Indians into towns; instruct them,
thirsting and starving a part of each day, and spending the
remainder among the mountains and forests, gathering here
and there a dried root, or a bunch of wild fruit, to eat.
Padre Ugarte is even not content with these labors, but
makes exploring tours among the Indian settlements south of
San Xavier. Wherever he goes they throng his way, ask for
the baptism of their children and the establishment of missions
among them. It is 1712, and Padre Piccolo, though in bad
health, imitates the zeal of Padre Ugarte. With the Captain,
a few soldiers and Indians, he travels westward from Santa
Rosalia Mulege, crosses the mountains of Vajademin, finds
beyond them a small clear brook; follows it to the sea, exatmines the barren coast about its mouth, ascends a little
stream about twenty miles; erects a cross and devotes the
neighboring grounds to a contemplated mission. While he
remains here many hundred Indians come in from the neighboring settlements, beseeching the Padre to remain with them,
and as an inducement to do so, promise to give him their best
wild fruits and feathers, and devote their children to the
Catholic faith. He agrees to send them a Padre to instruct
them more fully in religion, and returns to his station.
The vessels used by the people of the opposite coast in
fishing for pearls bring a scanty supply of provisions. The
Padre and people clothe themselves in the skins of wild
beasts, and continue their labors. In the year 1716, PADRE
SALVA TIERRA sails south in a brigantine called Guadalupe,
to La Paz, in order to -make peace with the Guaycuros, who
still retain an unfavorable remembrance of Admiral Otondo's
ill-advised conduct, and the constantly repeated injuries of the,earl fishermen.  He is accompanied by three Guaycuri
prisoners taken from the pearl fishers, whom he is carrying back to their homes.




TRA VFELS  IN  THE  CALIFC RNIA S.    197
When he enters La Paz bay the Loretto Indians leap overboard and swim ashore; the Padre, Captain and soldiers follow hastily in their boats; but do not arrive in time to
prevent the Loretto tribe from such warlike demonstrations as
put the Guaycuros to flight. They flee, leaving their wive,
and children to follow after at a slower pace. The Lorett(
Indians do not regard the orders of PADRE SALVA TIERRA
but led by savage impulse, fall upon the hapless women ant
children. These attempt to defend themselves with stones.
But they must have perished had not the Captain and the
nimblest of the soldiers arrived at the commencement of the
infamous encounter.  The unoffending creatures are saved
and wailing horribly, follow their cowardly fathers and husbands.
This unfortunate event tries exceedingly the good PADRE
SALVA TIERRA. He sorrows that his benevolent designs should
terminate in an outrage upon those whom he comes to cherish.
But it is apparent that this rashness of the Loretto Indians
renders useless any attempts at friendly connections with the
Guaycuros. He therefore distributes to the prisoners from
the pearlfishers' vessels, some agreeable presents, explains to
them, that his object in visiting their countrymen was to restore themselves to their homes, and enter into friendly relations with the Guaycuros nation, and dismisses them with
such other marks of his good intentions as will open a probability of successful negotiation with their countrymen on
another occasion. He returns to Loretto with a heavy heart:
and sends the brigantine to Matanchel for goods and provisions. A furious storm strands it; the vessel and cargo are
a total loss; and nine persons are drowned. Thus death
again thins the ranks of the Californian missions; want and
nakedness stalk among them; and the old San Xavier, after
eighteen years' service, is the only sea craft connecting them
with the continent and with life. Amidst all these dlfficulties,
however, the untiring Padres found the mission of San Igna.
CiA in the Cada Kaaman, or the vale of the Sedge Brook.




J98       SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC
It is now eighteen years since PADRE SALVA TIERRA landed
in California and erected the cross at Loretto. His labors
have been arduous and unremitted. His trials by shipwreck
and tempests, by progresses over mountains and deserts, by
hunger and thirst, by arrows and Indian knives, by endu.
rances of all kinds, have whitened his hair, withered his
bones and muscles, made his steps unstable and his head
tremble at the throbs of his heart. He feels that the holy
water must soon fall on his coffin lid, and California be deprived of his services. It is the year 1717. He is at Loretto,
with little to eat, and badly clad, and scarcely able to walk
or stand. But he teaches the children-exhorts the adults to
the service of God, and superintends every particular movement of the garrison and the mission.. In March, Padre
Nicholas Tamaral, appointed to the proposed mission of La
Purissima, arrives at Loretto, bringing letters from the reigning Viceroy of Mexico, in which among other matters it is
stated that the King has forwarded important instructions relative to advancing most efficiently the spiritual conquest of
California, together with a summons that PADRE SALVA TIERRA
shall immediately repair to Mexico to aid in devising the best
means of effecting that object. Disease, pain, want and
danger present no obstacles to this aged Patriarch, when the
interest of his missions calls upon him for action. He immediately determines to go to Mexico. Accordingly the
government of California is committed to the wisdom of Padre
Ugarte, and on the 31st of the same month of March, the
good PADRE and Jayme Bravo sail for Matanchel.
Nine days' passage brings them to the desired port; they
take mules for Tepic; the good Padre suffers greatly at
every misstep of his animal; they arrive at Tepic; the Pa
dre is in extreme torture; but tortures cannot deter him fron
his holy labors; he is too weak and too much racked witl
pain to mount a horse or mule, and is therefore borne in
litter on the shoulders of Indians, to Guadalaxara. Here his
illness increases so that he can proceed no farther. He is




TRAVELS  IN  THE CALIFORNIAS.   199
lodged in the college of Jesuits.  The Padres are in atteindance upon him. Two months of agony wear toward a close;
and death begins to chill his limbs, glaze his eyes, and chain
his utterance: and when he can no longer stir, he calls to him
his faithful companion, Jayme Bravo, and in the most earnest
manner, giving him instruction and powers for acting in his
stead at Mexico, commends him and his beloved missions to
the guardianship of Heaven. And now a hero dies! NGt
one who has swung the brand of war over the villages and
cities of nations; not one who has crushed the hearts of
men, yoked them in bondage, and severed every tendril of
mercy and justice from the governing powers; not such a
hero as men will worship; but a great and good man,
offering life and every capacity of happiness within him
to the well-being of savages in a barren waste of mountains;
a hero in the heavenly armor of righteousness, enduring fatigue, hunger, thirst, and constant danger among the
flinty, unwatered wastes of unthinking and uninstructed human nature; a missionary of a Californian wilderness!
All the people of the city and neighboring villages crowd to
the college, and kneel through the streets and alleys, on the
balconies and roofs of the houses, and pray for the repose of
the departed soul of PADRE SALVA TIERRA. There is no noise
in Guadalaxara, nor business; it is a city of prayer: they
come one after another and kneel and pray, and silently
retire; thirty thousands of people beseech Heaven with one
earnest desire-that he whom they have loved, he who has
labored so ardently in propagating the faith, may find a mansion of repose and reward in the upper world! Some Californian Indians, whom he has brought with him, exhibit
extraordinary grief; the whole city assists at the interment;
they bury him in the chapel he has erected many years ago
to the Virgin of Loretto. And thus end the mortal part and
mortal deeds of PADRE SALVA TIERRA. But his remembrance
is written in the imperishable record of those great minds




200         SCENES  IN  THE  Px  CI FIC.
who have conquered nations with the sabre of truth, and led
them to a more intelligent and happy condition.
Jayme Bravo, after the burial of PADRE SALVA TIERRA, proceeds to Mexico, lays the condition of the Californian missions before the Vice-Royal Council, obtains an appropriation
of four thousand dollars for the building and equipment of a
vessel for the mission service, three thousand and twenty-two
dollars for discharging the debts due at the death of PADRE
SALVA TIERRA, and eighteen thousand two hundred and
seventy-five dollars for the pay of the soldiers and sailors.
While these things are transpiring in Mexico, a terrible hurricane, accompanied by violent rains, sweeps over California.
Padre Ugarte's house, and the church at Loretto, are levelled
to the ground; and the Padre himself stands by the side of a
rock exposed to the tempest for twenty-four, hours.  At San
Xavier, the channels used for irrigating the lands are filled
with stones, and the water thrown in torrents over the fields.
Both soil and sprouting crops are carried away.  The
same misfortune occurs at Mulege. The blasts of the ternpests are so terrific at the garrison, that a Spanish boy named
Matheo, is taken up in one of their g3yrations and never seen
more! Tornadoes of this kind are frequent in California
But the Padres have seen none equal to this for violence ard
continuance.  What little soil has been found in the country
has been dislodged and  swept into the sea; the country
is laid waste; its rocks are bare; its plains and vales are covered t th heaps of stones.




CHAPTER  X1I.
Padre Bravo in Mexico-Return to California-First ship built in Northwest America-Expedition to the Guaycuros-Nuestra Sennora del
Pilar de la Paz-Founding Nuestra Sennora de Gaudalupe-Burning
of Idols-A Famine-Locusts-A  Pestilence-The' Dying-Explorations by Land and Sea-Indian Country-Dreadful SufferingsTempests-Water-Spouts-Return of the Explorers.
TIIus stands the condition of the Californian missions in 1711.
More than five hundred thousand dollars of private benefactions have been expended upon them; and the twenty-five
thousand more lately granted by the government, have been
invested, and chiefly lost in disasters by sea and land. Now
the crops are destroyed, and the utter annihilation of these establishments is anticipated in the course of the year.
But Jayrme Bravo is in Mexico.  IHe collects a few provi-.
sions and goods, and accompanied by Padre Sebastian de
Sistiaga in a Peruvian vessel presented to the missions by the
Viceroy, arrives at Loretto in July, 1718, and gives new
energy to the missions.  The founding of the San Miguel by
Padre Tamaral, in 29- and odd minutes N. among the mountains near the Gulf, is one of the features of returning hope.
Soon after this Padre's arrival at his station, two neighboring
settlements of Indians are baptised.  After this he, with innumerable hardships, crosses the mountains to the settlement of
the Cadigomo tribe. Here he meets with the Indians from
the settlements of La Purissima Concepcion, and accompanies
them home.  He finds the soil of their fields washed away by
the late tempest, but determines to establish the mission La
Purissima among them. And after years of toil, the zealous
man builds a parsonage and church, brings several maize
ields under cultivation, opens a mule track over the moun



2U2         S (C ENEs I N  THE  PACIFIC.
tains to the mission of Santa Rosalia, and extends his jurisdiction over forty settlements, situated within a circuit of ninety
miles around him.
Many years ago the Philippine Islands were discovered aad
settled by Spain.  Soon a considerable trace sprung up between them and the Spanish possessions in Mexico. Indeed
the products of the Philippine Islands destined for old Spain,
are landed at Accapulco, carried across the country on mules,
and reshipped for Old Spain at the port of Vera Cruz. The
passage from these islands to the Mexican coast is made, for
the greater part, through the Chinese seas, to latitude 30~ N.
Here voyagers fall in with the variable winds, which take them
to the American coast, between latitudes 30 and 400 N. At
this point, during the spring, summer and autumn, they meet
the northwesterly winds, which drive them down the coast
to Accapulco. In these early times navigation is imperfectly
understood. That ocean too is chiefly unknown. Navigators are not familiar with its currents, and consequently every
voyage across its trackless waters is hazardous and prolonged.
And when they reach the American coast, the crews are sick
with the scurvy; and they should land for a supply of fresh provisions. But while no harbor is known, from Cape San Lucas
to the remote north, at which wood, water and other necessary
relief can be had, the ships are obliged to keep down the coast
Wo Mazatlan, Accapulco, or some other port, before they make
2heir first landing, after leaving the East Indies; a distance of
more than eleven thousand miles. And when they arrive at
these ports, it frequently happens that nearly all the crew are
irrecoverably diseased, or dead. In order to avoid this dreadful evil, the Spanish crown has often ordered the missionaries
to explore the coasts for a bay surrounded by a country suitable for the settlement of a colony. This they have often attempted, but the want of proper animals in their progresses,
and the miserable character of the craft used in their voyages,
have thus far prevented the attainment of their wishes. But
Padre Uga'te now determines to survey both the Pacific and




TRAVELS  IN  T HE  CALIFO RN  A5            203
Gulf coasts of the peninsula. His means are so small, howevper, in every respect, that his brethren do not perceive how
he will do it. He wants provisions, men and a ship. And
such is the condition of public feeling in Mexico, and such the
difficulty of journeying there, that he cannot hope for aid from
his friends in that quarter. But who knows the wealth of
exhaustless energy! Padre Ugarte will build a ship in California!! He has, however, neither plank, timber, sails, nor
rigging, tar, nor any other necessary materials for such a
work; nor has he either a builder or shipwright, sawyer, or other
naval artificers; and if he had, there is no food for their support; and worse than all, he has no money wherewith to supply any of these deficiencies. But the Padre says the King's
orders must be obeyed; that this cannot be done without the
ship; and therefore the ship must be built irrespective of
means. The sufferings of his fellow beings also demand it
The people of the garrison and some of the Padres smile at
Padre Ugarte's resolution against what seems to them an impossibility. But they do not estimate the creative powers of
a mind bent on the accomplishment of its desires. He obtains
a builder from Senora, and makes preparations for bringing
timber from the opposite coast, as he has done for the erection
of his churches. But hearing of a grove of large trees two
hundred miles north of Loretto, he changes his determination,
and in September, 1719, goes with his builders, two soldiers and
some Indians to Mulege. Here he remains a day with Padre
Sistiaga, and then strikes out for that line of mountains which
overhangs the mission of Gaudalupe. They climb the heights
and scour the barren plains; endure inexpressible difficulties
and toils; and at last discover a considerable number of Guarivos trees of suitable size; standing, however, in such bottoms
and sloughs, that the builder declares it impossible to get them
to the sea. The Padre, disregarding this suggestion, goes to
Loretto; makes preparations for a vigorous effort to build a
ship of Californian timber; returns to the north; levels rocks,
cuts away brush; and making a road ninety miles in length




20-4)        CsE N ES  IN  THE  PACI'  I C.
fiori Muieoe to the timber, fells it, saws it into plarnks, trans.
ports them to Mulege, and in four months builds a vessel ant
launches with his own hands, in September, 1720, the first
ship ever built on the northwest coast of North America!!
In this herculean labor the Padre has employed his entire
means.  The little valuables sent him by his friends in Mexico and elsewhere, have not been spared. Even his wardrobe
has been freely distributed among the laborers. He himself
has swung the axe, has used the whip-saw, the chisel and the
hammer; he has risen with the dawn, and invoking the smiles
of Heaven and the aid of ministering spirits in his toil of soul
and body, kindly called his men to their tasks. They famish,
and so does he. And when the fatigues of each day are over,
the jutting rocks are their resting-place; a few hides their
bed. Yet the ship is built. High on her stern, firmly affixed
to her bulwarks, is raised the symbol of their faith. Hei
name, how appropriate, is, the "C Triumph of the Cross."
During the progress of the work, Jayme Bravo, as purveyor
of the missions, goes to the coast of Cinaloa to procure goods
and provisions. On his arrival there he is surprised to find
letters from the Provincial of Mexico, ordering him to Guadalaxara for ordination. He accordingly ships his supplies
and travels with all speed to that city; is admitted to holy
orders; and by direction of his superior, proceeds to Mexico
to procure aid for the missions.
His energetic labors are crowned with success. On the
fifteenth of March, 1720, the council orders a bark built, to
sail between Accapulco and Peru, to be delivered to Padre
Jayme Bravo, together with the arms and stores which he
desires.  The means of founding a new mission at La Paz,
are also furnished by the Marquis de Villa Puente; and Padre
Bravo is designated as its priest and founder.  With a new
ship, therefore, well laden with supplies, and with new hopes
for all the missions, and especially well furnished for his new
work at La Paz, the Padre Jayme Bravo sails from Accapulco in July, 1720, and in August of the same year enters the




TRAVELS IN  TH E  CALIFORNIAS.   205
harbor of Loretto, amidst a general burst of joy and religious
thanksgiving of the starving people on shore. Comfort and
joy reign again throughout the missions. The Padres and
the garrison are clothed again; and the means being furnished, their thoughts are again turned to the establishment of
other missions. Padre Jayme Bravo leads the new undertaking. Two expeditions are therefore projected; one by
land and another by water. The former is designed to open a
land communication between Loretto and the site of the intended mission; the other for the conveyance of the men and
provisions, and other necessaries of the enterprise. The
forces intended for the expedition over land rendezvous at San
Juan Baptista Ligui, under command of Padre Clemente
Guillen. Padre Ugarte leads the other. He embarks on
board the " Triumph of the Cross" with Padre Bravo, the
soldiers and Indians, and a good stock of stores and utensils.
They arrive in safety at the bay of La Paz. This is in the
country of the Guaycuros, or Pericues, who have been
grievously wronged by Admiral Otondo and the Spanish
pearl fishermen.  They are consequently inimical to the
Spaniards, and will perhaps make deadly war upon them as
they land. But it soon appears that those prisoners from
the fishing barks, whom PADRE SALVA TIERRA has returned
to their homes, have given to their countrymen such an account of the Padre's kind treatment as disposes them to
friendship. Some of them appear in arms; but as soon
as they see the costume of the Padres, their arms are laid
aside. Seated on the ground, they allow the Padres to approach, and accept with high demonstrations of pleasure,
various presents. The object of the expedition is made
known. They are assured by the Padres that it is for their
benefit They have come to found a mission among them:
to make peace between them and the Indians of the neighboring islands: to teach them  agriculture and the useful
arts, and to instruct them in the principles of the Christian
reiigion. Thereupon the Indians receive them as friends, and




206         SCENES IN  THE  PACIF[C.
give them permission to erect the cross and consecrate their
shores to God. Huts are now erected for all the people; the
stores and beasts are brought ashore; a piece of ground is
cleared for a church and a village; and to the great surprise and delight of the Indians, a mission is founded among
them.
The expedition by land, under Padre Guillen, has not yet
arrived; and much disquietude is awhile felt for its fate.
But it is soon changed to gladness. Three hundred miles
have been travelled, over mountains, through woods and ino.
rasses; and as the sun is falling on the brown heights in the
west, a salute of musketry is heard on the northern shore of
the bay; it is returned by the ship; and the boats are immediately sent over for Padre Guillen and his company. They
are worn, naked, hungry, and thirsty; and with joy only
known to themselves, they bathe in the surf, drink the water
from the spring, and eat the food of their brethren in the new
mission at La Paz. Padre Ugarte labors three months st La
Paz, in establishing Padre Bravo in his mission. And now
having confirmed the league of peace with the Indians by
numerous acts of benevolence and Christian love, he takes a
most affectionate leave of Padre Bravo and the soldiers who
remain with him, and embarks for Loretto. Padre Guillen is
so much worn with his land expedition, that he also returns by
sea. The Ligui Indians who accompanied him, follow back
the path by which they came. Padre Bravo, as all others in
charge of these missions have done before, learns the Indian
language; builds a parsonage, church and huts; and with
the greatest assiduity, applies himself to gain the affection of
the natives, civilize and instruct them, and relieve them from
want. As a reward of his labor, more than six hundred
children and adults receive baptism: and more than eight
hundred adults are assembled in three well regulated settle.
ments, called Nuestra Sennora del Pilar de La Paz, Todos
Santos, and Angel de la Guarda. He also, as he pursues
his holy labors, discovers some tracts of arable land sixtya




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    207
miles distant, which he annually plants with maize. All this
Padre Bravo accomplishes single handed in seven years.
In the year 1720, while the Padres are yet at La Paz, a
mission is founded by Padre Everard Hellen, among mountains
in latitude 27~ N., thirty leagues northwest of San Ignacio,
thirty from Concepcion, and from  sixty to seventy north of
Loretct. The climate of this location is cold and unhealthy.
But the Indians repair to it from the neighboring settlements,
and express the utmost joy that the Padre, after long solicitations, has come to give them the religion of the white man.
This mission is dedicated to Nuestra Sennora de Gaudalupe.
In the midst of the labor of erecting the edifices of the mission,
the Padre visits the most distant of the surrounding settlements, to instruct the aged and sick, who are unable to come
to him. During his absence for these works of charity, the
captain, soldiers and Indians, forward the erection of the
church, parsonage and other buildings of the mission; so that
at the end of six weeks, it is in so good a condition that
the captain, leaving a guard of four soldiers, returns to Loretto.
Such is the zealous industry of Padre Hellen, and the interesting attention of the Indians, that on Easter eve, 1721, he
baptizes a few converts. And now from all the villages come
applications for instruction and baptism. The good Padro.
finds it difficult to make the Indians understand, that some
knowledge and the abandonment of their old practices are
necessary, before they can receive the sacred rite. He exhorts
them to give up the trumperies used in their heathenish ceremonies, and worship Jehovah. At length they bring him a
large quantity of pieces of charmed wood, feathers, cloaks,
deer's feet, &c., which he commits publicly to the flames,
while he receives the transfer of their faith to the religion ot
the cross. Thus the Padres are making all desirable progress in the spiritual culture of the Indians, and everything
promises well. But the following years, 1722 and'23, are
very disastrous to their feeble settlements; and especially so




203        SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC
to Gaudalupe. The whole country is overrun with locusts
The fruits, the chief sustenance of the Indians, are entirely destroyed. The maize and other supplies in the granaries, are di,tributed to save them from famine.  But in Gaudalupe, even
these are insufficient. The Indians are therefore compelled
to subsist on the locusts; and the consequence is a terrible
epidemic, by which great numbers are destroyed. They are
afflicted with painful ulcers of a most loathsome character.
During this epidemic, Padre Hellen has to fill the offices of
physician, nurse, confessor, priest, and father. He endures
almost incredible fatigue; flies from one village to another;
administers medicine, prepares food, and smoothes with a w&man's tenderness, the rude couches of his suffering children.
Thus he continues till the sickness ends; when worn out with
the multiplicity and the character of his labors, he hails the
approach of a season of rest with joy and thanksgiving. But
scarcely does it come, when another still more fatal pestilence
breaks out among them. A dysentery unusually fatal summons the fainting energies of the good Padre to another
effort. He again enters upon his charitable offices, going
from rancheria to rancheria, like an angel of mercy, consoling,
comforting, praying and blessing. At last the consequences
of his severe labor fall upon himself in a distressing hernia,
and defluxion of the eyes, so extremely painful, that he is
obliged to leave his flock and retire to Loretto.  In a few
months he is sufficiently restored, however, to return to his duties, and his afflicted Indians receive him with every demonstration of faithful love and veneration. The Padre avails himself of this attachment to draw them to his faith so effectually,
that, in 1726, seventeen hundred and seven converts of all
ages are the fruit of Padre Hellen's devout labors.  Some,
living at a distance, are attached to the more contiguous missions of Santa Rosalia and San Ignacio.  But twenty rancherias remain to Padre Hellen.  These he maintains in the most
peaceful and gentle intercourse with each other and with
himself. They are divided into villages of four rancherias.




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    209
with each a chapel. And in these humble sanctuaries, as
often as the Padre visits them, the red men gather and pay
their devotions to the true God! The progress made in spiritual improvement is equal to his most ardent desires. But
the nature of the country forbids equal advancement in the
arts of civilized life.  They cannot raise the small grains;
and their only resource is the cultivation of maize and the
raising of cattle. These are procured by the Padre; ant.
with the native fruits afford them  a comfortable subsistence.
The justice and kindness of the Padre win him the love and
esteem of all the Indians; and he desires to live and die
~aong them.  But his health again failing, and his superior
regarding him with more tenderness than he does himself,
transfers him to an easier office in Mexico. And thus, having
spent sixteen years in the most arduous and faithful discharge
of his duties as a missionary in California, he, with grief and
tears, in 1735, takes leave of the Indians of Santa Guadalupe.
While these labors are being prosecuted, a very strong desire is felt by the Padres to extend the commercial and civil
advantages of California by the establishment of colonies, garrisons, and good harbors, for the accommodation of the Philippine and Chinese ships. In order to accomplish this, it is
desirable to do three things; first, to take a minute survey by
water, of the Pacific coast, from Cape San Lucas northward,
in search of such harbors; second, to pursue the same search
by a land expedition, skirting the coast between the same
points; and third, to survey the Californian Gulf, in order to
ascertain whether the peninsula be really such, or an island,
cut off from the main land by a channel at the north end
Great difficulties oppose the prosecution of all these enterprises by the feeble powers of the Padre.  But after mu oh de-.
liberation, it is resolved to undertake the two last.  The survey of the Gulf being deemed the most di~fficult and important, Padre Ugarte determines to take charge of it himself, and
while he is making the necessary preparation, he desires
Padre Guillen to attempt the land tour, on the Pacific Coast.




210         SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC
They h a.rn from the narrative of Viscayno, who has sur
veyed the coast northward from Cape San Lucas, in the pre.
ceding century, that there is a spacious bay in latitude 230
or 24~ N.; and to this point Padre Guillen directs his steps in
1719, accompanied by a party of soldiers, and three bodies of
Californians, armed after the manner of the natives. They
travel over a rough, barren, craggy country, and are obliged
to use the greatest caution to prevent the natives from cutting
them off. Twenty-five days they journey thus, and at last
reach the bay of Magdalena; a beautiful sheet of water reposing in the embrace of lofty mountains. On one arm of it
they find a rancheria of Indians, whom they gain over by i
few presents, and enter into friendly intercourse with them.
From them they learn that there is but one well of fresh
water in the vicinity; but that on a neighboring island called
Santa Rosa, there is an abundant supply.  They have no
means, however, of crossing to it.  The  whole region
proves so rough and divided, between marshes and inaccessible piles of rock, as to be worthless.  They therefore make a circuit of four leagues from the sea to the
rancheria San Benito de Aruy. Here they receive from the
Indians a very discouraging account of the scarcity of water,
on the whole coast. Notwithstanding this, the Padre is anxious to survey the country from north to south, and uses all
his eloquence to induce the soldiers and Californians to undertake it. But being fatigued and disheartened, they refuse to
proceed. The Padre yields reluctantly to the necessity of the
case, and taking some friendly Indians of the coast with him
as guides, commences his return to Loretto. From the superior knowledge that the guides possess, they accomplish their
backward journey in fifteen days; and once more congratu
late themselves on their arrival at the garrison.
Their report does not much encourage the hope of Padre
Ugarte in relation to his expedition by sea  But having made
the best preparations in his power, he sets sail from the bay of
Loretto on the fifteenth of May, 1721, with the " Triunph ot




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    211
the Cross," and a boat called the Santa Barbara, to be i-sed
in sounding such waters as are too shallow for the larger
vessel. The Santa. Barbara has eleven feet keel and six feet
beam.  She carries eight persons.  The bilander carries
twenty; six of whom are Europeans, and the rest Indians.
Of the former, two have passed the straits of Magellan, another
has made a voyage to the Philippine Islands and Batavia,
and another has been several times to Newfoundland. The
pilot passes for a man of learning and experience; and thus
supported, Padre Ugarte departs on his momentous enterprise. He takes but a small stock of provisions, expecting to
receive a full supply from the mission on the opposite coast
of Pimeria. The winds bear them safely to the bay of Concepcion, where Padre Ugarte visits the mission of Santa Rosalia, and spends some hours in social pleasure with Padre
Sistiaga. Hence they pass the islands of Salsipuedes. From
these they cross the Gulf to the harbor of Santa Sabina and
the bay of San Juan Baptista. Here they observe Indians
standing on the shore, who flee as the boat nears them. When
the Padre lands, he sees a rude cross set up in the sand. The
simple solitary sign speaks to the good man's heart. He
bows before it, and the crews prostrate themselves in reverence at its foot. This is enough. The Indians, reassured by
this act, shout a friendly welcome, and rush from their concealment. They have known the venerable SALVA TIERRA;
and the strangers' reverence for the cross allays all their fears;
so strong have been their love and respect for that great man,
that they put all trust in his brethren; and are so impatient
to be near the Padre Ugarte, that they swim to the ship, and
manifest their joy by kissing his hands and face, and ernbracing his feet. The good Padre's heart is deeply touched by
these tokeos of confidence and love, and having sent two of
them with a letter to the Padre of San Ignacio, and distributed some presents among the others, makes preparations to
procure a supply of water. For this purpose all the casks are
immediately put on shore. They have no interpreter, but the




212        SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
Indians seem to enter into some dispute relative to the casks.
By and by they all take leave, intimating by signs that they
will return with the next sun. The Padre and the crew grow
apprehensive. What do the Indians mean? It cannot be
known. But being late, they go on board, and wait the
event. Night comes on; but no hostile savages break its
silence. With the early morning, however, the dreaded savages are seen returning in troops, with rush buckets filled with
water; the men with two, and the women one each. The
faithful creatures, understanding the want implied by the empty
casks, have visited their mountain springs during the night,
and now rejoice to pour their crystal treasures into the good
Padre's vessels. Repaying their kindness as liberally as his
small means will permit, he undertakes to visit their kinsmen
on a neighboring island. The pinnace and bilander are piloted by two of these Indians. A small party in a canoe row
in advance of the ships, during the night. At dawn they are
in a narrow channel full of rocks and sand spits; and notwithstanding their precautions, the bilander grounds on a shoal
and requires all the efforts of her crew for some hours to get
her off.
This period of anxiety over, another begins; for now the
canoe and pinnace have disappeared. The bilander therefore
goes on, though dangers beset her on every side, and after
three days of tacking and sounding, reaches a tortuous channel leading into a large bay. In this lie the pinnace and
canoe near the island they are seeking. Thither they direct
their course without more difficulties or delays. As they approach, the natives appear on the shore, armed and shouting
with the intention of intimidating the strangers. But their
countrymen swimming ashore in advance, inform them that
PADRE SALVA TIERRA's brother is come in the ship to see
them. Hearing this, they lay down their arms and express
the liveliest sentiments of joy. The bilander having dropped
her anchor, the Padre is earnestly solicited to go on shore
But being attacked with the most excruciating pains through.




TRA V ELS IN  THE  C A LI F OR N I A S.    213
out his person, from the chest downward, he reluctantly foregoes the pleasure of complying with their invitation. These
pains have followed him occasionally since the severe exposure which he endured in the harbor of Seris.  The Indians,
seeing that illness prevents his leaving the ship, construct a
nunmber of small light floats, and send aboard a deputation of
forty or fifty persons, requesting that he will occupy, during
his indisposition, a house which they have erected for him on
the beach. The good Padre cannot refuse this proffer of
sympathy, and though every motion is agony, gives directions to be placed in the boat and rowed ashore.  On landing,
he is treated with great consideration.  The islanders have
formed themselves in double file from the waterside to the
house; the men on one side and the women on the other.
Between these lines he is borne to the dwelling. It is a
smnall wigwam constructed of green boughs, fronting pleasantly on the open bay. Here the suffering Padre being
seated, the people who have lined his pathway, come in one
by one, first the men, then the women, and passing along,
bow their heads that he may lay his hand upon them, and
bless theln. The Padre conceals his bodily agonies with
great heroism, and receives them with much pleasantness and
regard.
This ceremony over, the islanders gather about for instruction. He cannot remain sufficient time to do this; and recommending them to go to the Mission del Populo, and bring
thither an Indian teacher, who will answer their inquiries and
teach them  the precepts of the gospel, he re-ernbarks and
continues his survey. He soon afterward discovers a small
open bay, where his little fleet comes to anchor. His supplies are now nearly exhausted. it therefore becomes him to
hasten his explorations. Accordingly he sends the pinnace
t3 survey the coast by sea, and three men to examine it by
land.  The latter return on the second day. They have
taken an outline of the neighboring land, and have seen a
pool of s+agnant water, andl some mule tracks in the path




214         SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
leading from it. The Padre sees much in these tracks, and
despatches two seamen with orders to follow them. These
arrive on the third day at the Mission of Concepcion la Caborca. Here they find Padre Luis Gallardi, to whom they
deliver Padre Ugarte's letters, addressed to himself and the
Padre Missionary of San Ignacio. These being found to contain urgent petitions for the promised supplies, the Padre
Gallardi immediately sets out with such small quantities as
he can collect at so short notice.
Padre Ugarte is still suffering the most excruciating tortures. The only position which he can endure, is on his
knees. He has been twelve days in these dreadful agonies,
unable even to go on shore. But now hearing of the arrival
of Padre Gallardi, and the expected visit of the Padre Missionary from San Ignacio, he determines, if possible, to
receive them ashore. It is no easy thing for him to leave the
ship. But at last it is accomplished; and he travels a league
and a half to meet his visiters.
The meagre supplies which they bring him are a source
of anxiety to the host and his guests. The pinnace, too,
is still absent. She was sent to survey the coast at the
same time that the men were despatched by land. The
shores of the Gulf have been searched for a great distance
north and south, but no trace of her being found, she is
nearly given up for lost. The bilander, too, is in cont'nual
danger from the agitation of the sea. She has already patted
one of her cables; and now a heavy sea carries away her
bowsprit, on which is mounted the "Holy Cross!"  This
causes great consternation.  Fortunately a returning wave
throws most of her bowsprit back; but the cross is still at
the mercy of the waves! and the fears of the crew increase.
Heaven frowns on their labors, and has removed from  them
the symbol of its mercy. The next day, however, an Indian
recovers the sacred emblem, and it is again planted in triumph
on the prow. Attention is now turned to obtaining wood and
water. The former is easily procured in the glen near thle




TRAVELS  IN  T IIE  CALIFO RNI  S            215
shore; but the latter they bring from a spring several miles
distant. While thus engaged, they rejoice to see three of the
pinnace's crew approaching them. They relate that after
weathering a very rough sea, and being several times in imminrent danger, they cast anchor at sunset in a large shallow
bay) 7:*in two fathoms water, and went to rest.  On the following rrnrning they were in a singular predicament for seamen, o.ut of sight-not of land-but of water!!  The sea
had retired.  What should be done?  No water, either fresh
or salt, was in sight, and the supply of provisions was very
scanty. Some ofthemresolvedtherefore, to leave the pinnace
in search of water and food. Finding none, however, and
seeing nothing but famine and death before them, they coneluded to travel down the coast to Yaqui. The pinnace, however, was visited by another flood tide, which her exhausted
crew improved to get her afloat. Her keel had been much
damaged.  This they repaired, and immediately laid their
course for the bilander. Four days after leaving her unfortunate berth she rejoins her companion. They now determine
to depart from this ungenerous region and its treacherous
waters, where neither food, fresh water, fuel nor home for
man are to be found, but a mere wilderness of lonely shores.
Somewhat disheartened by these unpropitious circumstances,
Padre Ugarte, on the second of July, turns his prow westward
for California. On the third day afterward he drops the
anchor of the bilander and sends the pinnace ashore to talk
with some Indians, who, at the sight of the fleet, have lined
the shore, all armed in their native style. Before the men
leave the pinnace the Indians draw a line on the sand, and
intimate by signs it will not be safe for their visiters to cross
it. A few presents, however, and some pantomiming, establish affairs on a better footing. They conduct the Padres
and people to their rancheria, at which is abundance of
water.
After remaining a short time with these savages, they
journey about ninc leagues along the coast and find five




216         SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC
watering places, with a rancheria at each. The Bilander
continuing her survey, at length casts anchor in a large bay;
but finding the current so strong as to prevent her riding head
to the wind, Padre Ugarte sends the pinnace down the coast
in search of a better harbor, while the pilot goes ashore in
the boat seeking an anchorage farther up the bay, returns
next day with the boat in so shattered a condition, that it
is with difficulty the people are taken on board before she
parts asunder. The pilot reports that he left her on the sand
and went a short distance to a rancheria; that while there
exchanging friendly intercourse with the Indians, the tide
came in with tremendous force, and threw the boat so violently upon the rocks, that she separated from stem to stern;
that the Indians offered them timber to build another; but as
this was impossible, they drew the nails from the oars, fastened the two parts together, and using their sounding line and
painter for oakum, and substituting clay for pitch, caulked
the seam. All night they were thus employed, the Indians
kindly rendering them whatever assistance was in their power;
and the next day keeping near the shore with their crazy
leaky boat, they reached the bilander as related. In a short
time the pinnace arrives, having cruised forty leagues and
discovered no harbor.
The bilander now again stands northward, and in a
few days finds herself sailing in waters whose variable hue
indicates her approach to the outlet of some great river.
Padre Ugarte keeps the pinnace sounding ahead, and after
standing across, and making some northing, comes to anchor
on the Peninsula side, near the mouth of the Colorado of the
west. It is disgorging a great volume of angry waters, laden
with grass, weeds, trunks of trees, burned logs, timbers
of wigwams, &c. There has evidently been ruthless work
inland. Terrible storms, accompanied with thunder and
lightning, have visited the voyagers during the night, and
spread over the country, whence the river issues. The men
are anxious, as soon as the flood subsides, to go up and sur



TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS               217
ey, thri stream. But Padre Ugarte thinks the floods beneath:
and the angry clouds above, will render the undertaking haze
ardous. Beside, himself and several of his crew are very ill.
They therefore cross the western mouth of the Colorado, and
anchor in four fathom water, opposite the island which divides
the outlet.  From this point they have a distant view of the
union of the Penihsu'a with the main land. The Padre is desirous of exploring this region more particularly; but ill
health and the great danger to which his vessel is exposed
from the impetuosity and height of the tides, make him hesitate.  The pilot is satisfied from the present height of the
tides that they are at the head of a gulf; and that the
waters beyond it are those of the Colorado. The danger of
remaining in this place becoming more and more imminent,
they at length hold a council, at which it is determined to return to California. Their decision is received by the men
with a general acclamation of applause, and greatly to the
satisfaction of all, they weigh anchor on the sixteenth of
July, 1721, for the port of Loretto.
Their course lies down the middle of the Gulf; sometimes
standing toward one shore and sometimes the other; in order
to note more particularly the islands and shoals, which fill
these waters. Meantime they are visited by tremendous tempests and storms of rain; and the Padre, fearing for the people in the pinnace, which is without a deck, urges the mate to
leave her and come with her crew on board of the bilander.
But that officer trusting to his own craft, informs the Padre,
teat if he will furnish him with provisions, he will sail directly to Loretto; and to secure safety in so doing, will keep so
near the shore as to be able to run in, should any accident
render such proceeding necessary. They therefore separate,
and each pursues his own course. The bilander, after much
trouble, arrives at the islands of Salsipuedes.  She is here
obliged, by the winds and strong currents, to lie at anchor
for several nights. At last, however, she weathers the Islands
of Tiburon.  But such is the force of the currents, that in six




218        SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
hours they lose the labor of eight days. Meantime the tempests continue almost every night with frightful fury. The
hungry waters roar around the trail bark, and the winds and
storms scourge her as if she were some doomed thing, laboring under their curse. But the men take courage, for the
" Triumph of the Cross" is a special object of Divine favor.
Three successive nights the fires of Saint Elmo light the cross
at the mast head, and no evil can befall them after such evidence of God's protection. They are encouraged, therefore, to
make a third attempt to escape from this dangerous neighborhood. Eight days struggling are vain. The currents and
storms will not suffer them to depart; and at last they resolve
to come to anchor at a convenient place which they discover
near one of the islands, and go on shore. This begins now to
be a matter of necessity on account of the sickness which has
disabled all the crevw except five.  Some have the scurvy,
and others are suffering from the effects of the sea water,
which, farther up the Gulf, in the vicinity of the Colorado,
has been so poisonous, as to produce painful, obstinate sores,
and sharp pains in many parts of the body. Padre Ugarte
himself, besides his other indispositions, is afflicted with the
scurvy; and it is essential that he take means to recover
health. The Padre, notwithstanding his illness, is desirous to
go in the boat to the Seris coast, and thence by land to Guaymas. But the bare mention of his departure causes such dejection among the crew, that he promises not to leave them if
it cost his life to remain.
They lie at anchor in this place about four days; during
which time they are visited by a tempest more violent than
any that preceded it. At length to their inexpressible joy,
on the eighteenth of August, they escape these vexations, and
are once more in an open sea. On the Sunday morning following, they hail a most happy omen to their future voyage.
Three beautiful rainbows hang over the islands they have just
weathered; bright arches of promise rising above the clouds
that have so long lowered over them. The sick too are now








(KIt
hI   /   ~~ i \/              /3)1/
t                   I!
(')j   1/'ta~ ll~h~~~lli~il~lt~f




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.   219
all recovering, and everything promises fairly to the buffeted
mariners. Their hopes are vain. Other misfortunes are in
reserve, more frightful than any they have encountered. For
just before they reach the bay of Concepcion, a storm comes
up from the north-east so very suddenly, that they have
barely time to furl the topsails and reef the foresail, before its
fury reaches them. The lightning falls around them, as if it
would scorch an ocean to ashes, and the thunder-peals shake
the firmament; the rain falls like the pouring of an upper
sea, and the wind ploughs the ocean into mountains! In the
height of this raging war, the terrified mariners discover a
water-spout not more than a league distant, travelling directly
toward the ship, with the speed of the wind! They fall upon
their knees before the cross, and implore theprotectlon ot
"Our Lady," and their patron saints. They spare neither
prayers, vows, nor entreaties! And suddenly when the foe is
almost upon them, the wind shifts and drives it among the
thirsty mountains of California. It discharges its devastating
energies upon their barren sands and rocks! Padre Ugarte
says, that among all the dangers of the voyage, this was the
time of greatest consternation.
About the first of September, the vessel comes to anchor
in the bay of Concepcion; and they repair in boats to Mulege,
to partake the hospitality of Padre Sistiaga. After spending
about two weeks in recruiting the sick, they return to their
voyage, and soon after arrive at Loretto. To their great joy
they find the pinnace has arrived four days in advance of
them. Thus ends this eventful and important voyage. It
serves to satisfy the Padres of many things which before were
doubtful; namely, that on the coast of California are some
few watering places near the shore; that the Indians are
kind, gentle, and willing to be instructed? while those on the
main coast, east of the Gulf, are sluggish, ungenerous, and
unwilling to enter into any intercourse with the whites. They
are also now convinced that California is no island, but a




220         SCENES  iN  THE  PACIFIC.
peninsula; and that all their plans for extending the missions
so as to form a chain of connection with those in Pimeria are
feasible. They have also obtained a much more accurate
knowledge of the Gulf and its islands, shoals and currents,
than they ever before possessed; so that the difficulties and
dangers of any future voyage are much lessened. Great satisfaction is felt at these results; and yet the Padres grieve
that they have not found a safe harbor, as their King has desired, in which the distressed seamen of the ships, bound from
the Philippine Islands to Acapulco, may anchor and be spared
by timely care, a dreadful death from  the scurvy.  The
Padres still consider it their duty to pursue this object. They
feel a moral, as well as national obligation to prevent this
suffering. It can only be done by discovering a harbor on the
Pacific coast, secure from seaward storms and convenient to
fresh water. With a view to this, Padre Tamaral surveys
nearly the whole coast from his mission to Cape San Lucas,
and far northward also, from the same point; but all to no
purpose. It is found inhospitable and barren hear the sea;
and destitute of a harbor in which ships may lie with any
safety.
Padre Ugarte, on his return to Loretto, directs a new survey of the same coast as far north as possible. And in compliance with this order, a small detachment of soldiers under
the captain of the garrison goes to the mission of Santa Rosalia de Mulege, and thence with Padre Sistiaga, to the mission of Guadalupe. On the nineteenth of November, 1721,
it leaves for the coast, and advances northward to 28~ N.
In this excursion they find three pretty 0ood harbors, with
plenty of water and woo-., out no arable land near them.
The largest one is not far from the mission of San Xavier;
and may therefore be supplied with provisions, timber, &c.,
from that post. Highly gratified with these discoveries, they
return to Loretto and report to Padre Ugarte what they have
found. The Padre sends a narrative of his own voyage, to



TRAVE LS I N  THE  CA LI FO RN I AS.    221
getrer with the map and journal of his pilot, and Padre Sistiaga's account of his discoveries, to the Viceroy of Mexico, to
be transmitted to the Court, for the information and action of
the Government. Meanwhile the Padres turn their attention
to the spiritual conquest of this wild country.
CHAPTER XIII.
A Mission Foundctd-A Tornado-Death-Another Mission Founded —
A Vineyard-A Harvest-Indications of Trouble-A Murder-Forbearance-Three Murders-Measures taken for Defence-The Insurgents Captured-A Trial-A Sentence-A Reprieve-Death of Padre
Piccolo-A Visitor-Further Steps in the Conquest-A VoyageBirds-Natives-Country-Islands-A Plunge-A Shark-Death.
THE Padres have lost none of their religious zeal while
prosecuting these civil enterprises; and they have gained
much topographical and other knowledge, which will be of
general service in their future missionary labors. They have
learned the practicability of extending their missions farther
north. The country there is more fertile and better supplied
with wood and water. The moral aspect too is more promising. The natives in that quarter are much superior in intellect,
more gentle and friendly, more honest and faithful; and in
every way more inviting and promising than those in the
south. There, is arich field of laboropened to them. But at
the same time the condition of the southern natives renders it
more necessary that they should be formed into missions.
They are treacherous, vindictive, bloody; and have many vices
which are unknown among the northern people. The whole
nation of Pericues with its several branches of Uchities, Guaycuros and Coras, are continually engaged in destructive wars,
so that no security can be enjoyed by the missions or their




222        SCENES  IN  THE  PACI F I C.
converts, until this entire people are brought under the influence of the Padres. To this end, during the time that Padre
Ugarte has been exploring the Gulf and coast, two new mis
sions have been founded among Pericues.
The Marques de Villa Puente, having a deep interest in the
spread of the gospel in California, has endowed two missions
which shall be founded between Cape San Lucas and Loretto.
On receiving tidings of this, it is resolved that Padre Guillen shall leave the mission San Lucas de Malibat, and found
a new mission between the Uchities and Guaycuros. Accordingly in 1721, he settles among them and lays the foundation
of a church and other buildings necessary to a mission, on the
shore of Aparte, forty leagues by sea, and on account of impassable mountains, sixty by land, from Loretto.  The mission
is dedicated to Nuestra Sennora de los Dolores, and is styled
Los Dolores del Sur.  The country around it is barren and
desolate.  The inhabitants are the most vindictive, treacherous and stupid of all the Californians. Padre Guillen has
therefore no easy or pleasant task to execute.  But he enters
upon it with so much zeal and love, is so unsparing of his
efforts, and so universally kind and gentle toward those whom
he would win to his flock, that his labors are rewarded ever
more largely than his fondest hopes anticipate.
It is found advisable after the good Padre has been laboring
here for some time, to remove his mission farther into the interior, to a place called Tanuetia, about ten leagues from the
Gulf and twenty-five from the Pacific.  In this region the Indians live in the wildest state. They have no villages; and
the Padre is obliged to seek them  in caves and woods, and
among the almost inaccessible rocks of the mountains. With
great labor and the most indefatigable  perseverance he
draws themI from their retreats and forms them into six villages, called Nuestra Sennora de los Dolores, La Concepcion
de Nuestra Sennora, La Incarnacion, La Trinidad, La Redempcion, and La Resurreccion. He also assembles many other
wandering Indians, and erects for them the new mission of




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CA LIFORNIA S.    223
San Luis Gonzaga. Lastly, he turns his attention to the conversion of the Indians on the Pacific coast, fiom the mission
of San Xavier southward to the Coras; and founds a-mong
them a new mission. The Padre has now spread his labors
over an immense tract of country, extending forty leagues up
the Peninsula from Cape San Lucas, and embracing the whole
territory from one coast to the other.
The soil of this region is extremely poor. A small tract
at Aparte on which the Indians are enabled to raise sufficient
maize for sustenance, is all that can be cultivated. And besides the physical difficulties incident to these desolate wastes,
the Padre has savage poverty and its inseparable mental degradation, to weaken his hands and try his faith. This is pe
culiarly distressing to the good Padre. It appears to him impossible to bring these Indians into civilized habits of living,
without the industry acquired by the cultivation of the soil.
Notwithstanding all these momentous obstacles, however, (and
few can appreciate them who have not seen the poor starving
Indian in his native wilderness), the good Padre's labors here
are so efficient and deeply grounded in the true philosophy of
love, that these savages, once so vindictive and turbulent, are
so changed as to stand firm during all the subsequent rebellions of the south, and offer the Padres and Christian Indians,
flying from the treacherous and cruel Pericues and Coras, an
affectionate and safe asylum in the mission de los Dolores del
Sur. During the year 1721, another mission endowed by the
Marques de la Puente, has been founded in the nation of the
Caras, near Cape San Lucas, under Padre Ignacia Maria Napoli. Padre Ugarte, before embarking on his survey of the
gulf, gave direction to Padre Napoli to wait the arrival of the
bark with supplies from Mexico, and taking whatever he
stood in need of for his new station, to proceed in the bark to
La Paz, and thence by land to the Bay of Islands, the place
chosen for his mission. This vessel arrives in the middle of
July; and on the twenty-first, Padre Napoli embarks with
four soldiers and Captain Don Estevan Rodriguez; and on




224          S SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
the seco nd of August, anchors at La Paz.  Padre Napc.i is
met by the Indians with great veneration. They conduct him
in process )n to the church where Padre Jayme Bravo, then
missionary, is waiting to receive him.
Having rested from the toil of the voyage, the Padre sends
the supplies to Palmas Bay in a boat, while himself and the
soliers proceed by land for the twofold purpose of establishiug some communication between the contemplated mission
and La Paz, and also of inviting such Indians as they may
meet on the way, to settle near him and receive instruction
During the eight days of travelling through this wilderness,
however, they meet no natives. The news of their approach
has aroused their suspicions to such a degree, that they desert
their rancherias and fly before the Padres, as if they were
come to curse instead of bless them. On the twenty-fourth of
August they reach their place of destination. Padre Napoil
is suffering extreme pain in consequence of a fall from his
mule. No Indians appear; the boat does not arrive; and the
Padre therefore is troubled. One evening Padre Napoli is
walking alone at some distance from the tent, when suddenly
his ears are saluted by the most frightful howlings, and on
looking up he sees a company of naked Indians approaching
him with the most furious gestures. They are led by one oi
gigantic stature, painted for battle, in black and red, and partially covered by a kind of hair cloak. In one hand he has a
fan of feathers, and in the other a bow and arrow. Several
deer's feet and other unseemly objects dangle from a band
around his waist. The Padre, concluding that his tkne is now
come to die, commends his soul to mercy, and advances to
meet the Indians. He remembers the instructions of Padre
Ugarte, and concealing his fears, looks them boldly in the
face, and even makes signs of contempt for their savage arts
rheir apparent fury is a little checked by his demeanor; and
me Padre gaining courage, approaches nearer and signifies
oy signs that he is grieved, but not frightened by their intentions. He then proceeds with great kindness to distribute




LS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.   225
among them some trifling presents which he has about his
person, and invites them to come to the tent and receive others. This treatment produces its desired effect. They follow
him to the tent, where they are kindly entertained; and at
length depart, bearing tokens of peace to their friends at home.
They seem much pleased; but intimate as they depart that
they are afraid of the mules and the Padre's dog; and that
they cannot return, unless these are concealed from sight.
This the Padre signifies shall be done. The next day tile
tent is thronged with little parties, to the number of five hundred, bringing such presents as the country affords, and receiving in return frocks of sackcloth, razors, and beads. This
demonstration cheers the hearts of the Padre and soldiers.
Still the boat does not arrive-and they are oppressed with
fears lest she may be lost with all their supplies; for they
have been here now five days. No tidings of her have reached them.  They are, however, looking out on the sea at
the close of the fifth day, when she makes her appearance.
She has mistaken the place of rendezvous, and lain four days
in a small bay a few leagues to the south.
Being relieved thus from thesesevera.l troubles, they begin
to clear the ground and erect the village. The Indians continue friendly and aid the work. But on a sudden they all.isappear for a whole day. Now again the heart of the Padre beats with anxiety.  When and how will the Indians
return are questions which will arise, but which no one can
answer. Toward evening he determines to go in quest of
them with only one soldier and an interpreter. He finds a
few, and expresses his regret that they should forsake him;
when they frankly state the cause of their movement, as follo~ws:-They are at war with the Guaycuros; the Padre is
friendly to the latter, and has soldiers and Indians of that nation with him. They have watched their labors and see the
walls of the church go up. For what other purpose could
these be Intended to answer, than a warlike one? Moreover,
the Padva. has that morning despatched three Guaycuros on the




226         SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
open road to La Paz; and the ostensible object is peaceful
enough, being simply to drive in a mule laden with maize.
Yet they are suspicious that some more important business
lies under this affair. In short, they believe the Guaycuros are
coining to massacre the whole nation. The Padre has much
difficulty in removing this suspicion from their minds. At
length, however, he so far recovers their confidence that a
large number return to the tent. Others, still apprehensive,
light large fires and keep strict watch, that the supposed enemy may not fall on them unawares. The night, however,
operates unfavorably on their feelings. They are all missing
again fcr two days. They look upon Padre Bravo, who
speaks the Guaycuri tongue, as the head and front of their
foes. His presence keeps their fears and suspicions continually inflamed. And though, when the mule and the Guaycuros return from La Paz, they see that Padre Napoli has told
them truth, still they cannot so far quiet their fears as to return to their dwellings. Thus they continue between hope
and fear for several days. Meantime the Padre continues his
labors at the mission; and by and by the Indians, finding
their fears unfounded, begin to come in. The women bring
their children for baptism, and the men offer perpetual friendship. Peace is also concluded between the Guaycuros and
Coras and celebrated with the usual festivities.
On the fourth of November Padre Napoli baptizes twenty-nine of their children, and everything seems to promise well
for their intercourse with the Indians. But as almost everything which was brought from La Paz, even to the furniture
of the altar, has been distributed among them, and as the
supply of provisions is growing short, Padre Napoli finds it
necessary to evacuate his post. He accordingly leaves the
little furniture and the few remaining utensils in the care of
some o' the oldest and most faithful of the savages, and promising a speedy return, goes with Padre Bravo and his men
to La Paz.
In January he returns to his mission, and finds that during




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    227
his absence, a band of forty depredators, from a neighboring
island, called Cerralvo, has visited the mission, and finding
neither Padre nor guard in possession, killed six baptized children, two women and one man; and taking another prisoner,
returned to their homes. The Padre is sad at this unprovoked
barbarity upon his neophytes. But the Captain of the guard
is so enraged, that accompanied by a small party of soldiers,
he crosses to the island to chastise the savages. They flee at
his approach and hide themselves among the rocks. He,
however, kills a sufficient number to intimidate the living from
a like attempt in future, and returns to the mission.
The confidence of the Indian converts in the Padre, is
greatly increased by this punishment of their enemies. Yet
the Padre does not think best to continue his mission so far
from La Paz, whence all its supplies must come. According
ly, he selects a spot called Santa Anna, situated thirty leagues
from La Paz, and five from the Gulf. Here he builds a
chapel and small house, and labors with much success for the
establishment of Christianity. In 1723 he builds a church
farther in the interior, with the intention of making it the
seat of his mission. But an unavoidable accident puts an end
to this design. For when the church is so far finished that
the beams and rafters are laid for the roof, the Padre is summoned one day to attend the deathbed of one of his Indians.
During his absence one of the terrible tempests, so common
in Lower California, comes up, and the Indians take shelter
in the unfinished church. The storm increases, the church is
prostrated, and several Indians are buried under it! Padre
Napoli hastens to the spot, and does everything in his power
for the relief of the sufferers. But his benevolent acts are
misunderstood. The living are thoroughly incensed at the
death of their friends, and begin to concert schemes to destroy the Padre. From this they are at length dissuaded by
the repeated assurances of the survivors, that they retired to
the church of their own choice, so that in time all becomes
quiet again. The church is built and dedicated to San Jago;




228          SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
some ground cleared and sown with maize; and comfort is slow
ly increasing among them. He spends three years among this
slothful and stupid people, during which time he baptizes ninety
adults, and about four hundred children.
The Padres have now for many years sustained a limited intercourse with the Cochimies of Tierra de San Vincente. They
have frequently expressed a strong desire to have a Padre
among them who would teach them to become Christians. But
no opportunity has offered of founding a mission in their territory, till the year 1727, when Padre Juan Baptiste Luyando,
a Mexican Jesuit of fortune, arrives at Loretto, and offers not
only to endow, but to be the founder of a mission. His offers
are gratefully accepted by the Padres. The seat of the mission has been selected by Padre Sistiaga of Santa Rosalia
Mulege, during his frequent visits among the Indians of that
vicinity. To this spot, therefore, Padre Luyando travels, accompanied by nine soldiers, in January, 1728, and arrives on
the twentieth of the same month. The natives having been expecting a Padre for some time, hail his arrival with much joy,
and flock to his tent in great numbers. Many of them are
already acquainted with the catechism, and nearly all have received some instruction from Padre Sistiaga. Padre Luyando,
therefore, finds his task comparatively easy. The Indians are
very readily persuaded to destroy all their implements of
sorcery and abandon the foolish and superstitious arts in which
they have placed their faith. Some of the Catechumens return to their rancherias after receiving baptism, but many
remain. The Padre has about five hundred at the mission
during the first six months. At the end of this time his provisions beginning to fail, he despatches seven of his soldiers
with letters to Loretto, asking supplies; meanwhile the two
that remain' together with the Indians, commence building a
church, which is finished and dedicated on Christmas day.
The Padre's heart is so encouraged by his success that he not
only undertakes the instruction of all who come to him, but




TRAVELS IN  THE CALIFORNIAS.                  229
likewise makes excursions in search of new objects on which to
expend his labors.
He finds all his people docile, kind, vivacious, and active.
Their district is well adapted to agriculture.  Padre Sistiaga
had some time before sown maize on some of it, which yielded
well; and Padre Helen had introduced the culture of garden
vegetables; for all of which the Indians have acquired a relish.
So that Padre Luyando has little difficulty in leading them,
into agricultural pursuits. He plants with his own hands five
hundred vines, besides olive and fig trees, sugar canes, and many
other exotic plants.  He induces the Indians to sow considerable
quantities of wheat and maize annually; so that on the fourth
year of his residence among them, the whole harvest amounts
to a thousand bushels of wheat, and a fine quantity of maize
and fruits.  He also persuades them  to form  themselves into
villages, and to erect adobie and bough-houses.  He introduces
cattle, and makes every effort to create among them the desires
of civilized life. And there is no doubt in the Padre's mind,
that the adaptation of their country to the pursuits of husbandry, will greatly facilitate his wishes for their spiritual im-.
provement. But in the meantime all is not as fair as it
seems.
The old jugglers and priests of their former religion, so lately
held in great respect, see their power and wealth fading under
the new order of things, and themselves becoming objects of
contempt to the younger members of the tribe.  It is not in the
nature of civilized or uncivilized man, to bear such a change
with indifference; and these men resolve to use what influence
they have left, to recover their rank. Accordingly they instigate some unconverted Indians to oppose the Padre's labors by
every available means. On a dark night, therefore, eight of
them fall upon a catechumen, near the Padre's cottage, and
murder him. After this outrage, they persuade a whole rancheria, at some distance from the mission, to refuse all intercourse
with the Padre. In this neighborhood, for two years, bands of
malcontents shelter themselves, and dissuade the people from




230           SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
yielding to any advances from the Christians. And when at
length three of its people are baptized, they are obliged to take
refuge in the house of the Padre, from the fury of their disaffected relatives.
To all these outrages, the Padre makes no resistance, and for
the evil, returns love, patience, and uniform kindness. Indeed,
were he disposed to chastise them, he has not the power. His
feeble force would be useless against an active, vigilant and
fearless band of savages.  He therefore betrays no disposition
to punish these wrongs.  He has not yet learned from experience, that undue forbearance is neither wisdom nor virtue.
Some of the wild unconverted Indians, therefore, restrained by
no fear of chastisement, falling upon a Christian rancheria,
murder two men and a little girl. The remainder succeed in
escaping to the mission. The Padre's people wish to avenge
this outrage, but he restrains them, in the hope that forbearance
may yet be effectual with these bad men. In this he is mis.
taken.  The savages concluding, from  the quiet manner in
which he submits to their treatment, and also from some kind
messages and presents which the Padre has sent them, that he
is helpless and fearful, are emboldened to attack other rancherias, and plunder the Christians wherever they meet them.
These last outrages awaken in the Padre a determination to
prevent their recurrence. He assembles his converts, and with
them retires to Guadaloupe for safety.  Effective measures are
now taken.  Three hundred and fifty converted Indians are
armed; and having, by the Padre's permission, elected their
own leader, they march against their foes with great spirit and
determination.  They find them  encamped near a watering
place at the base of a mountain. During the night they succeed in surrounding them, and at day-break, raising the war
shouts, advance on all sides upon the sleeping enemy. Finding
themselves thus completely hemmed in by a force greatly su.
perior to their own, they lay down their arms.  Only two escape. The others, thirty-four in number, are taken to the mis.
sion as prisoners.




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CA.IAFORNIAS.               23i
When thanks have been duly returned for this signal and
easy victory, a court is organized from the soldiers and Indian Alcaldes, for the trial of the prisoners. They are convicted of the capital crimes of rebellion, robbery, and murder,
and sentenced to be removed to Loretto for punishment. They
are very much dejected at the prospect of death. The Indians
of the mission are elated with the hope of being permitted to
execute them. But the Padres assure the prisoners that they
shall not die; and reprove the unchristian exultation of their
people; instructing them that as Christians they should exercise charity and forgiveness toward all men. Meantime some
of the converts are so gently disposed toward the prisoners that
they beseech the Padres to convene the court the next day,
that the sentence may be reconsidered.  The Indian converts
now come before the soldiers and Indian Alcaldes, begging
them to make the sentence of their enemies lighter. After some
deliberation it is commuted to a certain number of lashes. The
punishment is first inflicted on the principal murderer. The
Padres then pray that it may be confined to him. This is most
unwillingly complied with.  They are therefore deprived of
their arms and liberated.
The prayers of the Padres are answered in the effect which
this treatment has upon their enemies. In a few months all
these prisoners have become catechumens.  The victory and
lenity are of great service to the missionaries.  The former intimidates the unconverted Indians, the latter shows the excellence of the precepts of Christianity. Padre Luyando, however,
now finds his health so much impaired that he must leave the
mission to recruit his exhausted energies. The Indians are deeply pained at parting with him. But his place is well filled by
the kind and active Padre Sistiaga.
The years 1729 and'30 bring heavy misfortunes on the missions of California, in the death of two of the oldest and most
valued laborers among them; Padre Piccolo and Padre
Ugarte.  Both these men have by long years of the most
arduous and faithful service, woven their names inseparably




232           SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
with the history of California, and left in their characters and
lives, an example to all who would rear the cross in the solitary
wilderness.  Bold, indefatigable, self-denying, just, and true
men, they were, who never shrank from any duty, however severe, and were never swerved by passion or lcve of ease, from
the line of action marked out by judgment, truth and religious
faith.
Padre Piccolo expires in the garrison at Loretto, on the
twenty-second of February, 1729, having lived seventy-nine
years, twenty-two of which he has spent among the missions
of California. Padre Ugarte follows him the next year, having
been thirty years a laborer on the same ground. The deaths
of these excellent men are momentous events in the missions.
Their great experience, their uniform kindness, their zeal,
tempered by wisdom and sagacity, their unblemished integrity,
and the veneration in which their very names are held by the
Indians, make them powerful co-operators with the young and
active missionaries, even though age and debility forbid them
a personal participation in their labors.  At this time, too,
their presence is particularly desired, for the southern nations, never much relied on, are growing turbulent.  The unconverted among them, and there are many of these notwithstanding the efforts of Padre Bravo at La Paz, Padre Napoli
at San Jago, and Padre Guillen at Dolores, lose no occasion
to insult and annoy those who have embraced the cross.
They become so troublesome that in 1723, Captain Rodriguez,
with a company of soldiers, marched into their districts, to
intimidate them, and, if possible, put an end to their outbreaks.
In 1725, also, he finds it necessary to go with an armed force
against some rancherias of Uchities and Guaycuros, who have
been stimulated into rebellion, by a few mulattoes and mestizoes, renegades of foreign privateers, that have touched at Cape
San Lucas. These difficulties will ripen into fearful scenes.
Another attempt is now made to found an establishment at
Palmas bay, the original seat of the mission San Jago de los
Coras. It is endowed by the Donna Rosa de la Penna, cousin




I RAVELs   IN  T HE'ALIF O N IA s    233
of the Marquis de Ville Puente. This individual also offers
to endow a third, in the neighborhood of Cape San Lucas.
About this time, Padre Josef de Echeveria, the Mexican agent
for California, is appointed by the papal court, Visitor General
of the Jesuit missions; and he resolves to commence his visitation in California. Purchasing in Cinaloa, therefore, a bark
to supply the place of one that, with a year's provisions, a few
weeks before has been lost, he embarks at Ahome, and on the
twenty-seventh day of October, arrives safely in Loretto bay,
where he is received with great respect and affection by the
Padres, and their Indians. Soon after his arrival, he is attacked with a most malignant fever. For many days his life is
despaired of, but he recovers; and while yet very feeble, leaves
the garrison for the northern missions, with only the ensign,
one soldier, and a few Indians.
The Visitor finds great cause of rejoicing in the condition of the missions. The economy, neatness and order of
everything connected with them, the quiet and regular conduct of the Indian converts, and their progress in knowledge
of temporal things, the patience, kindness and industry of the
Padres, the good understanding between them and their people, and most of all, the progress Christianity has made in the
bosom of the wilderness, touch the Padre's heart with the
liveliest joy. In a letter dated the tenth of February, he says,
" I was well rewarded for the fatigue and cold, 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 frequently hearing God praised from the mouths of poor creatures, who very lately did not so much as know whether there
was such a being."
After examining the missions of the north, Padre Echeveria
prepares to visit those of the south, and establish the two missions which have been endowed at Palmas bay and Cape San
Lucas. But death and ill-health among the Padres render it
impossible to carry both these plans into execution. Padre
Segismund Taraval has been appointed to the charge of the




234        SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
former, called Santa Rosa, in honor of the fbundress; but does
not arrive. And it is determined, therefore, to commence
that at San Lucas, called San Jose del Cabo. This is a post
which requires great integrity, zeal and address. Padre
Tamaral, founder of the mission La Purissima, is therefore
chosen to fill it. This Padre and the Visitor General embark
on the tenth of March, and visiting on their way at the missions of La Paz and San Jago de los Coras, proceed to San
Lucas, and finding an agreeable spot a short distance from
the Cape, erect a chapel and houses; and though only about
twenty families present themselves, the Padre founder enters
upon his labors. As soon, however, as the Padre Visitor with
his two soldiers leave the spot, they come in great numbers to
Padre Tamaral, assigning as a reason for not appearing
sooner, that they feared the Padres had come with the soldiers,
to punish their assaults on the missions of San Jago and La
Paz. Padre Tamaral makes a journey in search of the
rancherias and the people whom he is to teach, and also of a
better site for his mission. The present one is infested
with musquitoes and other insects; the dampness and extreme
heat also render it intolerable. On becoming acquainted
with the country, he determines to remove the mission to a
spot about five leagues from the sea; and proceeds at once
to erect a chapel and houses on the new site. He labors incessantly to induce the natives who have hitherto led wandering lives, to settle in fixed habitations; and so successful is he,
that in one year he has instructed and baptized one thousand
and thirty-six souls; and so far as their indolent roving character will permit, has bettered their temporal welfare.
In the year 1730, Padre Tamaral undertakes to survey the
islands which lie near the Pacific coast. Accompanied by six
Indians, he sets out on the festival of San Xavier, and after
travelling six days by land, reaches one of the capes or head.
lands of a large bay, which he calls San Xavier. From this
point they see two islands, lying some seven or eight leagues
from the coast, which they determine to visit. Accordingly




TR.LVELS IN  THE  CAL.'FORNIAS.              235
having constructed a raft of timber, they pass over to the
nearest one, and find it a small desert, not more than half a
mile in length, and less in width. It is a bank of dry sand,
with neither a drop of water, nor a leaf of verdure upon it.
It is called by the Indians Asegua, on account of the immense
flocks of birds which frequent it. Among these is a small jet
black bird, something larger than a sparrow, which burrows
in the sand, anc makes its nest some four feet below the surface, retiring to it at night only, and living all day in the sea.
There is another bird quite unlike any known to the Padre.
It is about the size of a goose, with black wings, a snowy
breast, and light-colored feet, and a beak like the carnivora.
This also makes its nest three or four feet below the surface
It is a lover of storm and tempest, and never retires to its nest
except when the sea is calm. These birds are hunted by the
Indians for food. About four or five leagues distant from this
island, lies another, called by the Indians Amalgua, or fog
island. It is several leagues in circumference, and of a triangular form. In its midst rises a conical mountain of considerable height. It has several fresh-water springs; but no
anchorage protected from the sea. Deer and rabbits live
upon it. Among the latter is a small black species with fur
finer than that of the beaver. It is frequented by a variety
of birds, and sea-wolves, on which its inhabitants chiefly sub.
sist. They find also a fruit here called mexcales, which is
juicy and very pleasant. A variety of beautiful shells lie on
the shore; some of an exquisite azure hue. From the top of
the mountain on this island, the explorers have a view of
two other small ones, eight or ten leagues to the westward
There are also in the bay of San Xavier three other small
islands, which are frequented by the sea-wolf and beaver
Farther northward they discover others, which they conjecture
to be those that form the channel of Santa Barbara. They
can obtain no information respecting these latter from the
people of Amnalgua. For they inform the Padre that their




236         SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
sorcerers have prohibited them all intercourse with tneir in.
habitants, and even the privilege of looking toward them.
The Padre finds no difficulty in persuading the people of
Amalgua to accompany him to the mission. The only opposition arises from an old sorcerer. But his influence effects
nothing. Even his own wife proposes to leave him if he will
not go with them. And he also finally consents. They embark, therefore, on their raft for the coast; but are obliged to
seek shelter from a storm, on the desert island of Asegua, and
remain there several days. With the return of fair weather,
they put off again for the continent. As they are floating
along close in shore, they discover some sea-wolves disporting
themselves on a sand bank; and the sorcerer, anxious to vent
his ill-humor upon something, and being a dexterous swimmer, plunges into the water for the purpose of killing one of
the animals. They all flee at his approach; but in attempting to return to the raft he is seized, in sight of the whole
company, by an enormous shark! By some extraordinary
feat, however, he clears himself; and, not satisfied with this,
throws the blood, which issues from his wounds, at the hungry fish! He is seized a second time with a hold not so
shaken off. The exasperated fish goes down with him; and
no trace of his existence is left, except a faint red tinge which
slowly rises, and fades into the deep green of the sea!
Padre Taraval now receives orders from the Visitor General
to proceed at once to the erection of his new mission among
the Coras, at Palmas bay. It is particularly desirable that it
shall go into early operation. For the continual presence of
the Padres is indispensable to keep these turbulent and
deceitful people in subordination. All preparation being
therefore speedily made, Padre Taraval travels from Loretto
to the bay of La Paz, thence to the mission of San Jago,
at Palmas bay, and founds his mission on the old site
of San Jago.  He finds his people somewhat advanced
by the former efforts of Padre Napoli, and the visits which
they have received from  Padres Carranco and Tamaral.




TRAVELS  IN  THEE  jALIFORNIAS.                237
Nevertheless, he meets with so much violent opposition, that
it requires all his address to advance his objects in such manner
as not to arouse these Indians' malevolence. But he succeeds,
not only in bringing a great part of the unconverted to seek
baptism, but also in winning their confidence and affection to
such a degree, that at a future period they save his life at the
risk of their own.
CHAPTER XIV.
A Rebellion attempted-Arrival from the Seas-The Sick —Departure —Disaffection  among  the Indians-Insurrection-Fearful TimesMartyrdom of Padres Carranco and Tamaral-All the Missions in a
State of Revolt-The Padres retire to Loretto-Aid denied by the
Viceroy-It comes from the Indians themselves-The Missions in the
North send Delegates to the Padres-Peace made and Padres resume
their Labors-Southern Missions Recovered-Indians reduced to
Subjection-Condition of the Conquest in 1745.
MEANTIME, in the winter of 1733-4, some signs of revolt
have appeared in the missions San Jago and San Josef.   The
chief, called Boton, the offspring of an Indian and a negro, a
most profligate mulatto, who has been reproved by the Padre
Carranco, for some of his excesses, and afterward continuing
in the same practices, has been punished publicly, allies himself with another mulatto, named Chicori, belonging to the
mission San Josef, whom the Padre has also chidden on account of similar vices. These miserable men seek revenge.
Accordingly they excite the unfriendly Indians in every possible way to an outbreak at San Jago. Padre Tamaral hearing
of this, and unsuspicious that the like is growing in his own
mission, hastens to San Jago to assist Padre Carranco in
quelling the difficulties.   Boton being absent when he ar



238          SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
rives, little disposition exists among the Indians to persist; and
Padre Tamaral proposes to return to his own mission. But
he is informed by a friendly Indian that Boton and Chicori,
with two bodies of men, are stationed on his route, to kill
him. Being satisfied of the truth of this report by men dispatched to reconnoitre, the Padre sends to his catechumens at
San Josef, to arm themselves and go in quest of the enemy.
These, faithful to their teacher, put them to flight, burn their
dwellings, and escort the Padre home in peace and triumph.
The leaders of the rebellion now come in, and beg for peace. It
is concluded in 1734, with the great rejoicings of both parties.
When all is settled, the Indians confess their intention to have
murdered all the missionaries in the country. A few days after
this, some Indians who have been fishing off Cape San Lucas,
come running to the mission with much joy and wonder expressed in their countenances, and inform  the Padre that a large
ship is near the Cape, standing directly toward the bay San
Barnabe. The Padre sends a young man of Loretto to ascertain what this report means, and soon learns that a Philippine
galleon has come to anchor in the bay, and has sent a party of
armed men ashore for water. The mariners of this vessel are
much rejoiced to hear that a mission has been erected in the
neighborhood; and inform the good Padre that, besides their
want of water, they are so dreadfully afflicted with the scurvy
that they require his kindest attentions.  The Padre, therefore,
orders his Indians to collect fresh acid fruits and convey
them  on board.  At the same time he directs the greatest
part of the cattle to be driven down for the use of the
afflicted mariners, encourages the Indians to assist them in
filling their water vessels, and otherwise shows them every attention within his power to bestow. Under such treatment, all
the sick speedily recover, except three.  These are more diseased than the others; and accordingly, when the ship is ready
to sail, they are invited  to remain at the mission.  Their
names are, Don Josef Francisco de Baytos, Captain of Marines, Don Antonio de Herrera, boatswain, and the Most Rev,




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.                  239
Dommgo de Horbigoso, of the order of San Augustine.  They
are commended to Padre Tamaral, by Captain Don Geronimo
Montero, and the Padre Commissary, Matthias de Ibarra.
The Captain informs Padre Tamaral that the galleon will always put in here for water and the recovery of the sick; and
desires that a supply of cattle may be kept on hand for them.
This the Padre promises, and the galleon weighs anchor for
Acapulco.
The Padre takes his three patients to the mission, and devotes his tenderest skill and assiduity to their recovery.  Every
luxury or delicacy the region affords is kept exclusively for their
comfort.  He sends to the neighboring missions for the best of
their stores, and gives them his own food to eat. In a word, he
spares no self-denial or care for their benefit; and has the pleasure of seeing them all recover. But the boatswain is attacked
by another disease, which proves fatal, and is buried with proper
solemnity, in the little church. In the following April, Captain Baytos and Padre Horbigoso, being entirely recovered,
leave San Josef for Mexico, in a vessel which has come up from
La Paz for that purpose.
The Padre missionaries continue their labors; patiently
hoping that these miserable Indians will, in time, come to
such a state of comfort as shall, in some measure, compensate
them for their efforts. In the summer of 1734, Padre Gordon,
of La Paz, goes to Loretto to hasten the supplies for his own
and the other missions of the south.  Don Manuel Andres
Romero, who superintends the mission during his absence,
discovers some disaffection among the Indians.  It seems,
however, easily allayed.  They appear happy and tranquil.
But under this appearance, a most sanguinary spirit is at
work! The Indians are becoming weary of the restraint imposed on their beastly propensities by the presence and rule
of the Padres. The greatest trial, is the abrogation of their
old laws, permitting polygamy.  They are also  prevented
from entering into those bloody wars which have so long been
their principal pastime; and from seeking revenge on those




240          SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
who injure them. Altogether, the restraint of Christianity, the
personal malignity of Boton and Chicori, and the defencelest
state of the missions, encourage these ignorant savages to at
tempt a revolt and the butchery of those whom they esteem thein
oppressors. It must not be understood that there are none
among the converted to oppose so wicked a step, and abide by
their spiritual fathers through all the troubles which follow.
On the contrary, large numbers feel the deepest grief and shame
at the conduct of their countrymen. But only a small portion
of all the natives have ever professed Christianity. So that if
none of these are unfaithful, the majority will be greatly in
favor of the rebels.
The insurgents find some difficulty in concocting their plains.
Their only fear is lest the arms of the soldiers shall do better
execution than their own. And although among the four missions of Santa Rosa, La Paz, San Jago and San Josef, there
are but seven, two of whom are invalids, they turn their first
attention to disposing of them.  The first act of violence, therefore, is the murder of one of Padre Taraval's soldiers, whom
they fall upon when alone and unarmed, at some distance from
the mission. They next repair to the Padre, and inform him
that the man is suddenly taken very ill in the woods, and desires him to come to his relief. The Padre, having received
some vague hints of the rising difficulties, suspects all is not
right; and on questioning them closely, concludes from their
confused manner, that they have murdered the man, and intend
to draw him from the house alone for the same bloody purpose.  He therefore declines going or sending a second soldier; but does not in  any other way  show  suspicion or
fear. In a few days this murder is followed by that of Don
Andres Romero, at La Paz. This remains some time a secret
among the perpetrators; so that they are encouraged by these
successes to more open demonstrations in the district of San
Jago; all which the Padre, from his defenceless condition and
his desire to avoid provoking the Indians, suffers to pass vitT —
out notice.




TRAVELS IN THE  CALIFORNIAS.                   241
About this time Padre Tamaral is attacked with a dangerous
disease; and being alone with the Indians of his mission, he
sends for a soldier from Loretto to act as guard, nurse and
physician. This soldier, after his arrival at San Jago, becomes
convinced that danger broods among the savages. He communicates his thoughts to Padre Tamaral, and offers to carry him
to La Paz. But the latter thinks his fear magnifies the danger,
and refuses to go. The soldier declares he will not stay there
to die at the hands of bloodthirsty Indians; but he cannot pre.
vail upon the Padre to accompany him.  He leaves him, therefore, and goes directly to La Paz.  As usual, on his arrival, he
firms his musket at a certain distance from the mission, to give
notice of his approach.  But no answer is made.  Ile walks up
to the house. All is silent and solitary as the tomb! A rifled
portmanteau, some broken utensils and furniture, and some drops
of blood on the floor, tell a story which thrills the breast of the
solitary man! He hastens on to Dolores, a distance of sixty
leagues, through a wilderness; a long road for a single man,
when death lurks under every bush and tree!
He arrives safely, however, and immediately acquaints Padre
Guillen with the state of affairs below. The Padre immediately sends instructions to his brother to withdraw to Dolores.
But close upon the heels of the previous tidings, follow letters
from Padre Carranco, informing him of an insurrection among
the Pericues, and requesting instructions how to proceed.Orders are therefore dispatched for all to repair to La Paz,
whither he sends a canoe and seventeen faithful Indians, to
bring them to Dolores. But the letters never reach the hands
for which they are written! At the same time Padre Carranco
sends a body of Christian Indians to Padre Tamaral at San
Josef, entreating that he will permit them to escort him to his
mission for safety and counsel. The Padre replies, that no
signs of danger have appeared in his mission; that he thinks
fear augments small things to great; that he trusts in God,
whom he desires to serve in life and death; and does not think
his condition such as to justify him in forsaking his mission.




21 4 2        SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
The Indians who have been sent for him, on their return
fall in with a party of rebels, and inform them that Padre
Carranco is made acquainted with all their plans by the boy
who lives in his house.  They therefore change their design
of falling upon Padre Tamaral. It is deemed more important
to cut off Padre Carranco, in order to prevent his giving information of their purposes, or calling aid from other missions.
They communicate their plans to some of the converted Indians of San Jago, and with menaces and warnings, invite
them to join their party. After some wavering they do so;
and the whole body moves toward the mission to take the life
of their best friend and benefactor.  They reach it betwen
six and seven in the morning, on Friday, the first of October
1734.
The good Padre has just left the chapel after Mass, and is
engaged at his private devotions in his own chamber. They
first inquire for the two mestizos, or half-breeds, who act as
the Padre's guard; and are informed that they have gone, by
his order, to drive in two animals for the use of the mission.
These then are not in the house to fire upon them. Nevertheless, conscious of criminal intentions, they keep at a safe distance and send in messengers, with the letter of Padre Tamaral.  Padre  Carranco  is on  his knees praying, when
they enter. But he rises and receives them affectionately;
expresses his surprise that Padre Tamaral is not come with
them; and asks if they bring no letter?  They say "Yes,"
and give it to him.  The Padre begins to read; and when absorbed in its contents, the whole body of conspirators rush tumultuously into the house. Two of them  seize and drag him
out between the house and the church, and there hold him by
the gown, while others stab him through the body with arrows!
And while his blood flows from  the wounds, the dying Padre
offers most earnest prayer to God that He will accept this
sacrifice of his life for his own sins and'hose of his deluded
Indians!




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.                  243
After the wretches see that the Padre's life is far spent, they
whip him with sticks, and bruise him with stones! His last
word is a prayer for his murderers! Meantime one of them
sees the boy who waited on the Padre, crying bitterly at the
death of the good man, and says to him, " Why do you cry?
Go now, and tell the Padre what is doing in the rancherias!"
Another adds scornfully, " as he loved the Padre, it is but reasonable he should go and keep him company;" and taking him
by the feet, they dash out his brains upon the floor and walls
of the house, and cast him into the place where others
are beating and stoning the cold body of the good old Carranco.
The uproar of these infernal proceedings brings together Indians of all ages and sexes. Some are indignant at such inhumanity; but dare not interpose to stop its progress.  For
among the murderers are some of the principal converts, even
those who have been sent to escort Padre Tamaral from San
Josef; the very men who joined the Padre in his morning devotions, are now sharing the rancor and fury of others against
him. Some are heaping wood together to burn him; others are
dragging his bloody and disfigured body, bristling with arrows,
and still manifesting signs of life, toward the flaming pile!
Here they strip him, not so much for the sake of his raiment, as
to heap their execrable insults upon the naked body of him who
dared to reprove their infamous bestialities!  The shocking
enormities practised upon his corpse, their revolting scurrility
and lewdness while tramping, shouting, and jeering over his remains, must not be written.  These, and all other parts of this
terrible tragedy, show that tbh  new doctrine of chastity and
other Christian laws connected with the wedded state, particularly that which forbids a plurality of wives, are the chief causes
of this malignity and murder!
And now, amid savage shouts, outrages and dancings, lasciviousness, shocking pollutions and execrations, they raise upon
their shoulders the body of the venerable Lorenzo Carranco
and his little servant, and tumble them together upon the




244          SCENES IN  THE PACIFIC.
funeral pile! They next proceed to pillage the house and
church! The clothing and such furniture as they can use they
keep. The crucifixes, the statues of saints, the altars, the chalice, the missal, and other things used in worship, they heap
upon the burning body of the Padre. Amidst the wild exultations which accompany this act of contempt toward the religion
of their murdered friend, the two domestics of the Padre come
with the mules. Around these, as fresh objects of a fury
not yet exhausted, they gather, and bid them kill the animals.  No sooner have they done it, than the demon crowd
pour a shower of arrows into them, and while still shrieking in the agonies of death, throw them upon the burning
pile.
After perpetrating these cruelties at San Jago, the murderers go toward the mission of San Josef. Their number is now
greatly increased.  The disaffected from all the southern parts
of the peninsula, with many of the well-disposed who have joined them to save their own lives, are gathered together.  This
company now approach San Josef. It is the Sabbath. Padre Tamaral's prayers for his poor benighted flock have been
offered at dawn. It is now eight o'clock. He is sitting in
his house, meditating on the means of extending his usefulness to these wretched Californians, when a party of the seditious, consisting chiefly of the Indians of his own mission,
break in upon him, all demanding something, in order that,
being refused, they may have a cause of quarrel with him.
Perceiving their design, however, the Padre replies mildly,
"Stay, my children, there is enough in the house to content
you all." Being thus disappointed in getting a pretense for
resentment, and not waiting even to contrive any other excuse,
the very men who killed the Padre at San Jago, beat Padre
Tamaral to the ground, drag him by the feet out of the house,
and shoot arrows into his body. After this, the multitude
rush up and demand that his throat shall be cut with the knife
which he was accustomed to use in giving them food. This
good man, like his brother martyr, prays for his murderers!




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.                 245
A villain approaches him with the knife. He implores God
to save the soul of him who is about to slay him! The fatal
blow is struck! The dying man commends himself and his
sinning flock to the Great Shepherd of the human race, and
while uttering the name of the Saviour, expires! They practice more abominable insults upon the body of Padre Tamaral
than they have upon that of Padre Carranco. And now being relieved from the fear of their victims, a great multitude
of all ages assemble, and, for many days, celebrate their villanies with that most brutish licentiousness with which,
in the time of their infidelity, they used to solemnize their
victories!
The delay occasioned by these infernal orgies saves the
life of Padre Taraval at Todos Santos. A boy belonging to
this village happens to be in San Jago on the day of Padre
Carranco's murder; and while the rebels go to San Josef, he
hastens home and relates what he has seen to an old man of
his rancheria, who immediately induces him to tell the Padre.
The old man offers to convey the Padre to a neighboring island,
and with his friends, die, if need be, in his defence; but thinks
it out of their power to protect him  at the mission.  While
they are counselling, the boy's narrative is confirmed by the arrival of some Indians belonging to Santa Rosa, who have witnessed Padre Tamaral's martyrdom. There is now no more
hesitation. To stay will be madness; nay, a suicide, which can
answer no good purpose, since the Padre's presence can protect
no one else. Indeed, there is little if any danger to others.
For they only desire to destroy the Padres, that they may enjoy
all the savage liberty of butchery and vice, which they exercised before these men came among them.
On the night of the fourth of October, therefore, Padre Taraval taking with him, from Todos Santos, the furniture of the
altar, repairs to the bay of La Paz, and taking all the ornaments and consecrated utensils of the mission at this place, goes
on board the boat which Padre Guillen has sent in compliance with Padre Carranco's' request, and sails for the Island




246          SCENES IN  THE PACIFIC.
del Spiiitu Santo, where he fortunately meets another boat
with provisions and guards from  Loretto.  With these the
good man hastens to Dolores, in order to prevent the savages
from executing their bloody intentions against Padre Guillen.
He arrives safely, and finds the good Padre overwhelmed with
sorrow  at the fate of the beloved Carranco.  But his grief
knows no bound when he learns that Padre Tamaral has fallen
in the same manner, and that the four missions of San Jago,
San Josef, Santa Rosa, and El Pilar de la Paz, are utterly
ruined.
While this melancholy conference is being held, the insurgents, flushed with success, repair to the village of Todos Santos, whence Padre Taraval has just fled. Their rage is extreme
when they find their intended victim escaped; they vent their
disappointment on the Christian Indians in the neighborhood.
Twenty-seven of these are killed. The rest flee!
Having now no common enemy against whom to direct their
hatred, they fall into quarrels among themselves, and practice
against each other the same treachery and cruelty they have
shown the Padres and Christian Indians!
Meantime, Padre Guillen, as superior of California, on the
first knowledge of these outrages, writes to the Viceroy of
Mexico, informing him of their losses, and the danger which
threatens them, and begging immediate measures may be taken
to repair the one and remove the other. But his Excellency
estimates life and missionary effort in California too lightly, to
trouble himself much with the good Padre's complaints. He
writes that he is sensible of the dangers to which they are exposed, and also of the great importance of the missions to religion and the King; and that he will, with pleasure, concur
with the Padres in any statement which they shall judge proper
to be made to their sovereign in respect to them; and will use
his utmost interest with his Majesty, for the adoption of such
measures as shall tend to promote their prosperity.  He adds,
that if he can obtain. a warrant from his majesty to aid them, he
will execute it in its full extent. In short, the Viceroy, like




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFO RNIAS.                 247
many modern politicians and placemen, says much that is extremely flattering to the general cause of missions, and of the
faithfulness and assiduity of these missionaries in particular,
but does not raise a hand to turn the assassin's knife from their
throats.
In the meantime, as the rebellion increases, and some signs of
violence appear at Dolores, the captain of the garrison at Loretto repairs thither with some soldiers. He finds Padre Taraval, from whom he learns the cruel murders that have been committed at San Jago and Josef. But as the Indians are emboldened by their successes, and his band is very small, he thinks
it prudent to remain at Dolores, and by preserving order there,
prevent, if possible, the flame from spreading to the northern
tribes. But notwithstanding all his precautions, the evil tidings
go forth. As if the winds of heaven served the wicked purposes
of the enemy, they spread in an incredibly short space of time
from Cape San Lucas to San Ignacio, a distance of more than
two hundred leagues, and infect the common Indians to an
alarming extent. But the chiefs of the tribes remain firm, and
keep the Padres informed of the designs entertained by the people. They also beg to be participants of any measures for protection which may be devised.
Padre Guillen finding affairs grow more and more desperate,
and no assistance adequate to the emergency offering itself, issues
orders early in the year 1735, for all the missionaries to repair to
Loretto, and put themselves under the protection of the garrison.
These orders happily are acted on without the knowledge of the
rebels, till the Padres are beyond their reach. Padre Guillen
once more addresses the Viceroy, informing him that all the
missions are forsaken, and that they are still in imminent danger, even at Loretto-for the garrison is too weak to contend
successfully with such a body of savages as may be brought
against it, should there, as they anticipate, be a general rising
among the tribes.
These dispatches are sent to the river Yaqui, in Senora, and
thence by Indian converts to Mexico. They arrive on the thiro




248          SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
teenth of April, 1735, and the Provincial of New Spain irrme.
diately delivers them to the Viceroy. But though he urges attention to them in two memorials, praying him to consider the
immediate danger of the Padres, the man of authority refuses
to do anything in the premises. The Provincial has recourse to
his Majesty.  A  ship being then ready to sail for Madrid, he
forwards to Padre Gaspar Rodero, agent general at court of the
Society of Jesus for the Indian Provinces, who lays it before his
Majestry, and prays his earliest action upon it.  But long before the Royal pleasure can be known in the New World, help
has come to the little band at Loretto from the seed their own
hands have sown.
It appears that as soon as it became known to the more reflecting
of the converts, that the Padres had gathered up the consecrated
utensils of the churches, and departed to Loretto, a sense of
shame at their ingratitude, and a conception of the value of the
Padres' services, forced themselves upon their stupid minds,
and made them repent their want of fidelity. Accordingly they
now begin to act. Reciprocal messages are sent through the
country inviting each other to rendezvous and follow the Padres
to Loretto. They come in bands from each mission, and form
themselves into a long procession, the head men of San Ignacio
bearing on their shoulders the crucifixes of their mission, those
of Nuestra Senora de Gaudaloupe, the crucifixes of their mission,
and those of Santa Rosalia, the crucifixes of their mission; and
in silent sadness move on to Loretto, enter the fort and stand
weeping before the Padres' dwelling! They say, o "You have
baptized us; you have taught us the name and worship of the
true God; you have gathered us from the dry mountains to the
watered vales; you have made us believe that good acts alone
bring happiness; you have made us your children; will you
now forsake us?  We cannot live as we did before we saw you;
we do not want to die in the crimes of our dark days!" Thus
they reason with the Padres. " It is not just," they say, "' that
a whole nation should suffer for the sins of a few; especially
when the mass are willing and able to deliver the criminal to




TRAVELS  IN  TIIE  CALIFORNIAS.                249
the punishment their evil deeds merit." With one voice they
promise to protect the Padres in every emergency.  They implore them to return; and declare that if they refuse to do so,
they also will remain at Loretto, for they will not live without
them and their religion! The Padres and garrison are affected
to tears by these evidences of contrition and attachment to the
faith. They delay a few days in order to test the sincerity of
the Indians.  But noticing no defection they repair to their respective districts and are received with tumultuous joy by their
people.  The conspirators are surrendered: some of them  are
slightly flogged; and four of the most guilty of the band at
San Ignacio are banished a short time from all the mission
premises.
This submission and fidelity on the part of the Californians
is followed by a most gratifying manifestation of sympathy by
the Yaquis across the Gulf. These Indians, always noted for
their honesty and bravery, assemble immediately upon the receipt of Padre Bravo's letter detailing the condition of California, to the number of five hundred warriors, and offer to go and
put down the insurgents. But as the bilander, which is to convey them, can take only a fraction of that number, they select
from among themselves sixty of their best warriors, and send
them, with five hundred bows and arrows to arm the friendly
Indians of the peninsula to fight in their stead.
With these the bilander sails and lands them  near Loretto.
Thence they march to Dolores.  Here they meet the commander
of the garrison, who greets them with the warmest expressions
of gratitude for their generous conduct; but informs them that
tranquillity has been restored among the northern missions by
the Indians themselves.  It is therefore determined to divide
their strength between Loretto and La Paz.  Accordingly, a
sufficient force having been left in the former place, the remainder start in two divisions, the one by the sea, the other by
land, for La Paz.
On the landing of the sea party, the strictest military dis.
cipline is preserved. This precaution proves of no slight ser.




1250          SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
vice. For the lawless and still bloodthirsty savages, attack
them on several successive nights with much skill and fury. A
few are killed and several wounded. At length the land party
arrives. A portion of these being mounted on horses, which
the Indians suppose to be the running gear of irresistible monsters topped with the trunks and heads of men, so intimidate
them that they flee, and are no more seen by night or by day
for some time. At length, however, a few re-appear and join
the Padres' forces. These protest that they have always been
faithful, and have consequently suffered much from the insurgents.  They declare that the rebels have committed some recent atrocities upon the crew of a Philippine galleon. They re
port the affair in this wise. The ship arrived there from Manilla, with many of her crew sorely afflicted with scurvy; and
as her signals were not answered from the mission, the captain
sent the pinnace ashore with thirteen men to inform the Padre
of his presence. As the boat neared the beach, the people were
surprised to see neither any person nor sign of life. The
greater 1fart of them landed and walked toward the mission,
but on their way the armed Indians rushed upon them and
killed every man, or rendered him helpless, on the spot! Having murdered these, they hastened to the pinnace, and finding
those who were left in charge of it no more guarded than the
other party had been, dispatched them also. They then seized
the pinnace and broke it up for the old iron, nails, spikes,
&c. While all this was going on, the captain of the galleon
began to feel some anxiety at the long delay of his pinnace,
and sent a band of armed marines in the long boat to seek
her.
A most unexpected and painful sight met the eyes of these
seamen when they reached the shore. Their pinnace was surrounded by a swarm of leaping and furious savages. It was
already reduced to fragments; and the dead bodies of several
of their companions lay upon the beach, trodden on and mangled by their ruthless murderers. Dreadfully enraged at this
sight, the mariners and soldiers leaped ashore into the thickest




TRAVELS IN  T HE  CALIFORNIAS.                 251
of their foes, and gave them battle. A few minutes with firearms settled the question of victory. Some of the villains were
wounded, some killed, and four captured alive and taken on
board the ship. The narrators saw the ship leave her anchorage and stand away for the Pacific.  They know  nothing
more.
It soon appears, however, that the Captain left port without
making any other attempt to procure water or provisions; and
having put into Acapulco, sent his four prisoners and an account of the murder of his crew to Mexico.
The Viceroy now begins to appreciate the importance of protecting the missions of California. The lives of the Padres a
short time before could not be preserved without a special warrant from Madrid.  But as his own credit at Court would suffer from the representations of the officers of the galleon, it becomes a moral duty to quell the insurrection. Accordingly he
sends orders to the governor of Cinaloa to go over to the peninsula with a sufficient body of men to restore peace, but directs
him to act independently of the Padres and never in subordination
to the Captain of the garrison. These measures of the Viceroy
are made known in California, and Padre Guillen, in order to
facilitate their execution, despatches the bilander for the governor and his forces, and at the same time directs the Captain
of the garrison to repair to Dolores, and there remain on the
defensive until further orders.
In due time the bilander returns.  The governor is received
with great respect and joy by the Padres, and with the customary honors by the garrison. He, however, soon shows that he
intends to reject all advice from the former, and act in the reduction of the country as he shall think proper.  He therefore
spends two years in maneuvering, and attempted hostilities
with a fugitive foe, whom he knows not how to bring into a
general engagement. At the close of the year 1736, he is obliged
to confess that he has effected nothing for the suppression of
the rebellion.
At this time the Padres lose one of their number-Padre




252          SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
Julian de Mayorga, founder of the mission San Josef de Commondo.  He has ruled his mission ever since its origin, 1707,
greatly to the improvement and happiness of his Indians, and in
such manner as to win the respect and love of all who knew
him. His death, therefore, is a cause of deep grief to his brethren and the Indians of his mission. But while ihey lament
fir themselves that he is gone, they rejoice for him that he rests
from the turbulence and anxiety which have been the portion of
all for the last three years.
The governor becoming convinced that he can accomplish nothing on his present plan of proceeding, resolves to adopt the
Padre's advice, and take some steps which shall make him a
terror to the Indians. Accordingly he sets out with his troops
in earnest pursuit of tbem, and has the good fortune to compel
them to an action in which they are utterly vanquished. They
have, however, been too long successful to be subdued by one
defeat. Instead, therefore, of making any overtures of peace,
they defy the governor and provoke his wrath in a series of
most annoying skirmishes. He accordingly forces them to a
second engagement, in which they are again put to rout. Soon
after, they submit and implore his pardon. But he rejects all
their advances until they deliver up the leaders of the rebellion,
especially those who have murdered the Padres.
It will be supposed that a severe punishment was inflicted on
these men. But the policy of the governor and Padres in California is singularly unlike that which prevails in the parent
country.  Here blood is never shed by way of revenge or
punishment.'These rebels, therefore, who have perpetrated
two of the most revolting murders on record, beside the more
common butcheries of their own countrymen, and the crew of
the galleon's pinnace, are tried and banished to the coast of
Mexico.
On their way over, they rise and attempt to take the bark.
This compels the mariners to fire on them and kill more than
half their number. Among the few that escape, are the two
whose hands shed the blood of the venerable Padres. One of




T1RAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFOfANIAS.               253
these two is, the next year, killed in an affray; and the other
falls from  the top of a palm tree upon some rocks, and is so
horribly mutilated and torn as to be hardly recognizable. The
remainder never return to their country.  Thus, after three
years of trepidation and violence,peace is restored to California.
And it is chiefly attributable to the prudence and forbearance
of the Padres that the whole peninsula has not been deluged
with blood.
The refusal of the Viceroy in the first instance to protect the
missions without a special order from his sovereign, results in a
commission fiom  his Majesty requiring him to erect a new garrison at Cape San Lucas; and to take such other measures as
may be required to support the missions and maintain the conquests of the Padres.  This, like all other efforts of that nation
iin similar matters, is made when the utility and necessity of
action is past.
The Governor of Cinaloa, however, proceeds to the execution
of the order. The garrison is to be independent of the Padres,
and of the commanding officer at Loretto, and subject only to
orders from  the Viceroy.  The son of the venerable Captain
Don Estevan Roderiguez Lorenzo is appointed to the command
of the new post. He is a native of California, and having been
brought up by his father under the care of the missionaries, and
being pious, brave, prudent, and well acquainted with the country, is admirably qualified to fill the office. He has thirty soldiers under his command, ten of whom he stations at the new
camp of San Josef del Cabo, ten at the mission of La Paz, and ten
at that of San Jago de los Coras. The young Captain, however, is not thought to act with sufficient indifference to the advice and opinions of the Padres; and is therefore soon displaced by a new man from Mexico, Don Pedro Alvarez de
Acevedo. At the same time the Viceroy orders an accession of
five soldiers to the garrison of Loretto, and particularly directs
that the whole force shall be independent of the missionaries.
They shall act as an escort, indeed, during their journeyings
[,ut while so doing, shall be under the command of their officer




254          SCENES IN  THE PACIFIC.
and in nowise amenable to the Padres for neglect or disobedience; nor shall their entrance, discharge, oi payment be in any
way supervised by them.
The disorder and inconvenience growing out of this regulation, very soon became apparent. The missions are frequently
forsaken by the guards, the Padres have much difficulty in procuring them as escorts in their visits to their parishioners; the
Indians are frequently oppressed by them  when distant from
their captain; and a system of trading and chaffering commences
between the soldiers and Indians, which dissipates much that
the Padres have labored to establish, and seriously neutralizes
their instructions and counsels. So much evil, however, grows
out of this new order of things, that at the end of eighteen
months the Viceroy abandons it; puts the new garrison under
a lieutenant, subject to the captain at Loretto, and makes these
officers subordinate to the Padres.
As soon as affairs are thus established on a firm footing, the
Society of Jesus appoints new missionaries to gather the dispersed members of the ruined missions.  Meantime his Majesty,
continuing to receive advices of the condition of California both
from the Viceroy and the Society, is induced not only to order
a new garrison, but to direct that the loss occasioned by the rebellion shall be repaired from the Royal treasury; and also, that
the Council of the Indies shall lay before him the best plan for
effectually reducing the Californias.  Such means are deliberated
upon, a plan for the accomplishment of these ends proposed, and
orders for its execution signed by his Majesty sent to the Viceroy on the thirteenth of November, 1744. He is directed to
proceed in the execution of them without delay, and also to send
further information.
The reply to these dispatches reaches Madrid after the death
of Philip V. and the accession of Ferdinand VI.  His Majesty
is even more ardent than his predecessor; and, upon the information sent him, issues a more particular and full set of instructions than any that have preceded them. He decrees that near
all the safe harbors settlements shall be formed and garrisons








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TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.               25t
established; that there shall also be a garrison and town in the
centre of the peninsula, or as near it as may be practicable;
that facilities shall be afforded for establishing missions at the
north, in order to cut off intercourse between the Californi-an
Indians and those of contiguous nations; that in each mission
there shall be two Padres instead of one, as heretofore; that in
all the frontier stations there shall be a guard under the command of the missionaries; that the expense of carrying all these
orders into execution shall be defrayed from the Royal treasury; and finally, that the missionaries in California shall be
allowed the same salaries as are paid to their order elsewhere.
These measures give great satisfaction in Mexico and California.
The hearts of the good Padres are cheered by the assurance
thus afforded them, that they have in their monarch an earnest
friend, who has come forward in his strength to their aid. They
now proceed on their pilgrimage of holy labors, with hearts full
of grateful praise to Him whom they serve.
With renewed energy and a patience and self-denial worthy
of all praise, they move onward in the great work they have
commenced.  No difficulties can daunt —no obstacles shake
their fortitude.  They seem  to rise above the selfish passions of human nature and fix their hearts and their eyes
solely on the glory of God and the advancement of his
cause among these benighted Indians.
In the following year a statement of the number and condition
of the missions was drawn up by the Padres for the information
of their sovereign. From this it appears that at that time they
contained about twenty-five thousand converts, living comfortably under the paternal government of the Jesuit Padres.
PADRES SALVA TIERRA, KING and UGARTE are dead; but the
good deeds which they have done, like the grass and the flowers
on their graves, grow greenly, bud and blossom, and shed on the
deserts of the Californian peninsula, a perpetual harvest of temporal and religious joy. The handicrafts which they have taught
257




25 8          SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
them; the science of agriculture which they have given them;
the animals which they have reared around their dwellings; the
great idea of a God; and the awards which He has woven inseparably with the elements of life, mind, and every condition
of being; the discomfort, debasement, and misery of vice; the
quietness, elevation, and happiness of virtue; all these, the
Padres have scattered-seeds, bearing the fruits of the social and
religious relations, and the numberless comforts of the civilized
state. These integral laws of immortal rationality, have germinated among the wastes of man, under the kind planting of the
Padres, on the Californian Peninsula. A mighty deed of moral
suasion! Not by the steel of conquest, which drinks the blood
of the weak, and opens the red pathway to physical supremacy;
slaying body and mind; enslaving and murdering. This conquest of the Padres is a victory of Love. Instead of the torpedo,
they plant the rose of Sharon; instead of the starless night of
bondage, they bring the full day of knowledge-filled with the
industry, trust, faith, hope and energies, of a ripened freedom.
Who can contemplate these Missionaries, enduring the hardships
which have been partially related on these pages, and not venerate their memory? They have voluntarily come from the
shrines of early remembrances, and torn from the heart its young
and tender impulses. They have left on the cold fields of the
past, every tie of kindred, and the natural hopes of humanity.
They have taken the vows of God on their souls; separated
their hands and thoughts from every selfish service; and with
bosoms bared to every shaft of possible events, entered the
abodes of savages, shielded only by their good deeds and holy
purposes! They have conquered Lower California. It has become a part of the domain of the Spanish crown.
From 1745 to 1767, the Jesuit Padres continue their labors
at these missions. The Spanish government, meanwhile, give
them small relief from the famines occasioned by the failure of
their crops. They mainly depend upon the products of the mission plantations, and the rude manufactures of the Indian artizans, for every comfort of life. And not only do they sustain




TRAVELS IN THE  CALI FORNIAS.                259
themselves, but every year brings in the ships from the Philippine Islands, with crews rotting of the scurvy, for the Padres to
feed, clothe, restore to health, or bury in their cemeteries.
Their labors of love, however, draw to a close.  The society
of Jesus or Jesuits, to which they belong, has existed about two
hundred years.  It has sent its missionaries into Persia, Hindostan, China and Japan. It has written more than one hundred
volumes in the Chinese language alone, many hundreds more in
the different dialects of the Eastern tongues; has chided and
controlled the civil powers of Europe; has made the kingdoms
of the whole earth feel its power. The Pope himself holds his
throne at the sufferance of this mighty association. The mo.st
profound learning of the age is found in their colleges, and the
most vigorous moral movements of the times receive their life
from them.
Whenever the sword of Conquest is drawn over the head of
the defenceless, the Jesuit's hand arrests its fall, or alleviates its
wound. In fact, on the American continent they have spanned
the whole breadth of human society, except that part of it existing
between the Alleghany mountains and the Atlantic, and brought
a large majority of the native population under their control.
In Paraguay indeed, they have organized armies, and established
an Empire of their own; and from California to the mouth of
the Rio de la Plata, Spain holds sway only so far as these priests
permit.  They protect the savages against the ruthless cruelty
of Spanish barbarity. England in 1604 has expelled them from
her dominions; Venice in 1606, Portugal in 1757, France in
1764, Spain now in 1767, does the same.
That government would have the sole sway over the bones,
sinews and intellects of the Indians.  Its worthless officials
would be unrestrained in the use of them, to dig for the precious
metals, and work their plantations. The Jesuits have prevented this. They have uniformly befriended the Indians and elevated their bodily and mental condition.  They have so organized
and enlightened them, that they can annihilate the Spanish name
from the continent, in a day. This state of things is well known.




260           SCENES IN  TH E  PACIFIC.
A remedy is devised. Secret orders of government are issued
from  Madrid to every Alcalde and military commandant in
Spanish territory, to prepare ships and other means of transport,
and on a given day, nine months from the date of the edict, to
seize and ship to Italy every Jesuit within in dominions. And
so profoundly secret is this measure kept, and so complete in its
execution, that on the day appointed, all the individuals of this
order in Europe, America, and the Spanish islands, are on route,
to the several ports from which they are to sail for their destination. The worthy Padres of California are now, therefore,
taking leave of their weeping converts. The whole land is sad.
The services of the churches are interrupted with their lamentations. The poor savages crowd about the departing Padres for
a blessing. How shall they console their grief? Who shall
love and labor for them? Who shall teach, pray for them, and
rear them step by step onward, to the high estate of a virtuous,
enlightened and religious people? Alas, poor Indians! from
this day onward, you return to vice, and fade away.
This is the history of the conquest of Lower California, by
the priests of the Catholic church. Religious men persuaded
the Indians into submission to the civil authorities of Spain.




CHAPTER XV.
Padre JTunipero Serra-An Expedition by Sea, for the Conquest of Upper California-Arrival at Loretto-Expedition by sea and land to the
North-Arrival at San Diego-Ceremonies of Founding a Mission-A
Battle-Going Northward — Naming the Bay of San Francisco-Return
to San Diego-The Resolution of Padre Junipero-An Arrival-Departure for Monterey-Founding a Mission, &c.-Arrival of thirty
Monks-Other Missions Established-Padre Junipero goes to Mexico
-Great Scarcity of Food-Padre Junipero returns by Sea-A Land
Party from Mexico-Exploration to 55 O N.-A Diabolical Plot at San
Diego —A Dreadful Battle at Night-Death-Mission Destroyed-San
Juan Capistrano-Mission and Presidio of San Francisco FoundedDeath of Padre Junipero-Number of Missions in Upper CaliforniaDates of their Establishment-Progress, Wealth and Influence of Missions-Mexican Revolution-General Echeandra arrives in California
-Measures taken to Destroy the Missions-A Revolution-California
Independent-Declaration of Rights-Alvarado and Villejo-Jose
Castro-Don Carlos Antonio Carrello-Domestic War among Californian Freemen-Operations of the Grand Armies of the North and
South-A Victory of Noses —Return of Upper California to the Mexican Dominion.
As related in my account of Lower California, the Jesuits,
who have brought the Indians of the territory into subjection to
Spain, and induced them to embrace the Catholic faith, have, in
1767, been expelled from these scenes of their usefulness.  And
now, that the influence of this powerful society is prostrated, the
Government turns its attention to the conquest of the country by
the employment of another religious order, who are supposed to
be more subservient to the dictates of the civil authority.
In 1768, Padre Junipero Serra, a Franciscan monk, is ap.




2G2          SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
pointed Missionary President of the Californias, and arrives at
San Blas in the month of February of this year, accompanied
by a staff of sixteen brothers of his own order, from the Convent of San Fernando.  Here he meets sixteen of the expelled
Jesuits, in sorrow that their forsaken flocks must return to the
misery of the savage state. These men have labored long to
plant the tree of life in the rude soil of the savage heart; it has
begun to put forth its branches to the sun, and shed its odors
over the land; but while the fruits of their trials are being garnered, they have been compelled to retire from the harvest, and
leave others to reap or despoil.
On the twelfth of March, 1768, Padre Junipero and his associates sail for Loretto in the same vessel which has brought
Jesuits thence, and arrive there in safety about the middle
of the following month. Padre Junipero is a worthy succes.
sor of those great and self-denying men who have preceded
him  in this field of martyrdom.  His own peculiar faith in
religious things is warm  and far-reaching.  He sees on the
barren heights of the Californian peninsula, many a dwellingplace of righteousness for future generations; and hears in the
solemn midnight, the voices of angels encouraging him to his
work.  The miracles wrought in the days of the primitive
church, he believes may still be wrought by the saints militant;
and that the mighty arm of faith will yet bring down Omnipotence, to mould anew the distorted world. He unites with
his zeal various and extensive learning.  The ancient and
modern languages, with all their stores of philosophy and
eloquence, are known to him.  The life of courts-the sweets
of the social'ies-the vast and stirring acts of the world
moving on to its civil and religious destinies, are familiar to
him, for he has mingled with them, directed and enjoyed
them.  Yet Padre Junipero has landed in the wilderness
of California, and begins the duties of a missionary among its
Indians.
He dispatches his brethren to the several missions north
and south, and remains at Loretto awaiting the arrival of




T iAVELS IN THE CALIFOR NIAS.                  263
Josef Galvoz, the Visitador General, whose commands are to
guide him in his labors. This dignitary arrives at La Paz in
July, with orders from his superiors to visit the missions in
Lower California, to superintend expeditions about, to be dispatched to San Diego and Monterey in the upper province, for
the establishment of missions and forts.  Soon the three packet
boats of this undertaking arrive. They are called the San Blas,
San Carlos and San Antonio. In them are provisions, agricultural implements, and seeds of Spanish and Mexican grains,
fruits and esculent roots, to be planted at the contemplated establishments.  They will need cattle, horses and mules.  A
party therefore is organized to drive these over the country to
Monterey.  The San Carlos is ready for sea, and the Visitador
General fixes the day for her departure.  In this vessel is Don
Vincent Vital, Commander, Don Pedro Prat, Lieutenant,
twenty-five Catalonian volunteers, a good ship's crew, and
Padre Fernando Parron.
Death has visited the Spanish vessels in these seas ever since
Cortez' iron prow ruffled them.  In all the north the freezing
hand of the Great Destroyer is seen! No living men on board
the San Carlos dare unfurl the canvass till heaven is appeased.
The red cross is therefore raised to the peak, the orange flag of
Spain floats beneath it; and the crew and the soldiers and
officers, and priests with shaven crowns, are gathered on the
deck; the holy sacrament is administered by Padre Junipero;
and Mass is said to San Joself, the chosen patron of these expeditions; the vessel and colors are blessed; an absolution and
benediction administered to the people; and the vessel San
Carlos leaves the harbor of Loretto on the ninth of January,
1769, on her voyage to Upper California. The San Antonio
sails from Cape San Lucas on the fifteenth of the following
month.  Her commander is Don Juan Perez.  She has on board
Padres Juan Biscayno and Francisco Gomez, and her crew.
The San Josef leaves Loretto on the sixteenth of June of the
same year.
Meanwhile the land expedition is being forwarded with all




264          SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
possible dispatch. It is divided into two companies; so that if
one of them shall be destroyed, the other may chance to be
saved. Don Gasper de Portala is the commissioned Governor
of the Californias and commander of this land expedition. He
is a captain of dragoons in the Spanish army. Captain Fernando Rivera y Moncada is his second. The latter receives
command of the first division of the landsmen; and in the month
of September, 1768, takes up his line of march for the north.
He soon arrives at a place now called Nuestra Senora de los
Angelos, on the Indian frontier, and having found some supplies
and baggage, sent in launches from the missions to this place,
he proceeds eighteen leagues northward, to a valley of excellent
pastures, wood and water, and halts. Here he remains until
the first day of March, 1769, and again marches northward, until
the twenty-fourth of the same month, when he arrives at the
port of San Diego, in latitude 32~ N.  Here he finds the San
Carlos and San Antonio at anchor. These vessels have suffered
greatly from storms and contrary winds. The first arrived on
the first of May, 1768. Her whole people, except the officers,
cook, and one seaman, have died of the scurvy and thirst and
hunger. The San Antonio arrived on the eleventh of April,
having lost eight of her crew by the scurvy. The San Josef
was not seen after she left Loretto.  Don Rivera y Moncada,
his twenty-five soldiers, his three muleteers and his converted
Indians, Padre Crispi and a midshipman, now form a camp
upon the green plain, and rest from the fatigues of a march
of fifty-four days, over the dry crags of the Californian wilderness.
The second part of the land expedition, with its mules, horses,
black cattle, muleteers and baggage, on the thirteenth of 5May,
1769, are at a place called Villacata; and Padre Junipero and
the Governor are with them. They are waiting the arrival of
the troops; and while thus unemployed, examine the surrounding country-find it valuable, and consecrate it to the use of the
mission in the neighborhood called San Francisco de Borjai
and hither this mission is to be removed. The ceremony of




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.                 265
consecrating the location of this mission is worthy of being
known. The soldiers and muleteers clear away the rubbish
from the future site of the church-hang seven bells upon the
trees, and form a grand cross. This is the work of the first
day. On the second, Padre Junipero, invested in robes, blesses
the holy water, and with it sprinkles the site of the church and
the cross.  The latter, adorned with flowers, is then erected in
front of the consecrated area.  This mission then receives its
name, San Josef.  The first Mass is now chanted-and Padre
Junipero pronounces a discourse upon the coming of the Holy
Ghost. The sacrifice of the Mass is now concluded, and Veni
Creator is sung.  In the progress of all this there is a constant
discharge of musketry.  The smoke of the burning powder is
the only incense from the mountain altars of this day's worship.
They leave Vellacata on the 15th of May, 1769, and direct
their course northwardly towards the mouth of the Colorado;
but after traveling above thirty-five leagues, their progress is
intercepted by a steep and rocky mountain, over which their
cattle cannot pass.  They therefore return southward as far as
the frontier mission, San Borja.  Having rested themselves and
their animals a few days, they take a route in a north-westerly
direction.  Forty-six days do they travel.  The southern half
of their way passes through a sterile rocky country with occasional fruitful valleys skirted with timber. The northern half
is plentifully supplied with streams of water running among
rich savannas clothed with the wild grasses, roses, and vines
bearing a large sour grape.  The timber is not abundant —but
on the hilts the deep loamy soil frequently produces the live
oak and other valuable trees, and the vales which run up from
the seaside, are often clad with heavy forests. Many Indians
meet them.  The males, both old and young, are entirely naked,
while the females of all ages are covered with rush mats and
skins from their breasts downward. Their food consists of
seeds, fruits, and fish. They are uniformly familiar and friendly. On the first day of July they pitch their camp on the




266           SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
the beach among their countrymen, at the long-sought port of
San Diego.
As the crews of the vessels have been thinned by death, till
there are Learcely enough to man one of them, they cannot proceed farther north without recruits. Accordingly the remaining
members of both crews are put on board the San Antonio, and
the ship dispatched to San Bias for more seamen. It is also
determined that the Governor shall lead the principal part of
the landsmen along the shore to Monterey.  The Padre's President and two missionaries and eight soldiers are therefore detached to remain at the newly consecrated mission of San
Diego; and Don Gasper Portala, the Governor, with one servant, the Padres Juan Crispi and Francisco Gomez, with each
a converted Indian to attend on him, and Don Fernando
Rivera y Moncada with his sergeant and twenty-six soldiers,
and his lieutenant Don Pedro Foxes, with seven Catalonian
soldiers, and Don Miguel Constanzo, engineer, and seven muleteers and fifteen Indians from the southern missions, start over
land to Monterey.
They search the coast for bays and harbors, examine the
lands and their products, puss the harbor of Monterey without
recognizing it, go north to the Bay now called San Francisco,
and give it that name under the following circumstances: —
When the Padre President, Junipero, received orders from the
Visitador General respecting the names of the new missions
which he was sent northward to found, perceiving that the name
of the Patron Saint of his order of priests was not among them,
said, "And is our Father San Francisco to have no mission assigned to him?" To which the Visitador replied, "If San
Francisco wishes to have a mission, let him show you a good
port, and then it shall bear his name."  When the Monterey
expedition, therefore, see this unequalled bay, they exclaim,
" This is the port to which the Visitador referred, and to which
the Saint has led us," and immediately called the bay Bajia del
San Francisco. They now erect a cross on the western shore




TRAVELS  IN  TIIE  CALIFORNIAS.              267
of the southern great arm of this bay, and having taken possession of the country in the name of their sovereign, celebrate
the Mass, commence their return to San Diego, and arrive there
on the twenty-fourth of January, 1770.
During the half year occupied by this expedition, the Padre
President Junipero is not idle at San Diego. On the sixteenth
day of July, 1769, he consecrates the foundation of a mission.
This is the day of the year, when in 1212, the Spaniards, under
the banner of the cross, prostrated the power of the Mahomedans in the south of Spain; and the good Padre Junipero hopes
that the same banner shall yet wave over the Gentiles of Upper
California. He chants the Mass, celebrates the triumph of the
Holy Cross, sprinkles the ground with the baptismal water of
the Church, and calls it San Diego, or Saint James. Afterwards he dedicates one of their huts to the use of a temporary
church, and invites the Indians to attend service; presents them
food which they reject; gives them small pieces of cloth with
which they are greatly delighted; yet they cannot be persuaded
to bow before the cross, and gladden the Padre's heart by emr.
bracing the Catholic faith; but on the contrary, they allow
their desire for cloth to induce them in the night time to go on
large rafts built of bulrushes to the ship San Carlos, and purloin a part of her sails. This act is followed by precautions to
prevent its repetition; yet as no punishment is inflicted on the
thieves, they arm themselves with bows and arrows, wooden
swords of keen edge, and formidable clubs, and begin to steal
so boldly that the Spaniards find it necessary to oppose them
by force; and as soon as their determination to do so is manifested, the Indians resolve to accomplish their designs by war.
On the thirteenth and fourteenth days of August, therefore, they
force their way into the quarters of the people and carry off
several garments and other valuables; but are driven away
without an attempt to kill any of them.  On the fifteenth, it
becomes necessary for Padre Fernando to go on board the San
Carlos to celebrate the Mass with two soldiers who guard the




268          SCENES IN  THE PACIFIC.
ship. Padres Junipero and Biscayno are left on shore with
only two other persons able to do duty; and the Indians, perceiving the advantage to be derived from the absence of one of
the boldest of those they would rob, gather in large numbers
while the people are at Mass, and begin to carry away every
thing they find, even the sheets that cover the sick! The corporal calls " to arms!" whereupon the Indians retire a short
distance and shoot their arrows. And now the four soldiers,
the carpenter and blacksmith commence firing their guns. The
latter, although he had no armor to protect him from the arrows,
charges upon the savages, crying out, " Long live the faith of
Jesus Christ, and die the dogs his enemies!"
Meantime the Padre President Junipero is praying that none
may be hurried to the world of spirits with their sins unforgiven.
The battle rages on, accompanied by the terrible war-cry of
the savages. An arrow takes effect; a boy called Josef runs
in great haste and prostrates himself at the Padre's feet, exclaiming, "' Father, give me absolution, for the Indians have
killed me." The Padre absolves him. The arrow has passed
through his throat; and he immediately dies! His death is
kept secret and the battle continues. Many of the savages fall.
They drag away their dead and dying, till at length, panicsmitten by the destructive effects of fire-arms, they flee to the
hills in great precipitation!
It cannot be known how many of these savages have perished
by this mad act. Very many are known to be wounded; for in
a few days their friends bring them into the mission and entreat
the Padres to cure them: and the surgeon and the Padres treat
them kindly till restored to health.
Padre Biscayno, one soldier, an Indian Christian, and the
brave blacksmith are wounded; but in a short time all the
whites, except the poor boy Josef, are well again. This unsuccessful attack has a salutary effect on the Indians.  They
come fearfully into the mission every day, and treat the Padres
and the religion they teach with deference. A boy about




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFOaNIAS.                 269
fifteen years old is among the most frequent and devout. Him
the Padre President teaches the Spanish language, in order
that he may learn the prayers and catechism, and act as interpreter.  He learns easily, and is soon able to inform his countrymen that the Padre desires to baptize their children, and
instruct them in the Catholic faith. One is selected from the
many which are offered, and the holy water is about to fall
from the Padre's hand, when the parents of the child snatch it
away, to the great grief of the Padre and the indignation of
the soldiers.  The latter in their zeal ask permission to destroy these blaspheming gentiles. The good Junipero denies
them.
Distress follows these Franciscans as it has the Jesuits.
The country is unploughed and yields little food. The San
Antonio has. gone to San Blas for supplies; but heaven only
knows if the storms will spare her to save them from starvation.
She has already been absent so long that they begin to fear she
is lost. The Governor, therefore, orders an account to be taken
of the provisions on hand, and notifies the Padre President
that they can hold out no longer than March following; and
that if the ship should not arrive by San Josef's day, the
twenty-fifth of that month, he shall abandon the enterprise, and
commence his return to Loretto. This announcement greatly
afflicts the Padre Junipero. Leaving the country he feels will
carry with it for a long time to come, the abandonment of the
Indians to their heathenism; and heretires to his closet and
implores aid from Heaven. God is his master; from Him he
seeks light. San Josef is the Patron Saint of his holy enterprise; from him he seeks celestial intercessions with the Ruler
of events. The conversion of the Gentiles is the work which
burdens his heart; and he holds the cross toward Heaven and
vows never to leave California till he has thrust the spiritual
plough into the glebe of its moral wastes. He communicates
his resolution to the Governor, and waits the approach of the
eventful day with the greatest solicitude.
The twenty-fifth of March at last comes. The Padre greets




273          SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
its dawning light with the chants of the Mass, and the celebration of the most sacred services of the church. The people are
called together at mid-day, and prayers are most devoutly said
and praises again sung to the Creator.
The good Padre speaks. He draws an exhortation from the
Laws of God.  He exhorts as one soon to be left alone in a
land of martyrdom.  He ceases; he blesses; and the tide of
thought and emotion is now setting upon the busy movements
of the departure for Loretto, when lo! in the offing is perceived
the outline of a vessel standing towards the land! Was it an
omen! shadowed on the rim of the sky to arouse faith in God?
It disappears during the night! The sun rises and sets over
the hot seas three times afterwards, and it does not re-appear!
The fourth day dawns and waxes to the meridian, and wanes on
the western waves! And when night shuts in, the cable of the
San Antonio rattles its rude salutation to the silent shores
around the Bay of San Diego!
On the arrival of this ship with provisions and a recruit of
men, it is determined to make another expedition to Monterey.
A party by land and another by sea, are detailed for the undertaking. Both leave San Diego about the middle of April,
1770.
Long and tedious are the voyages of these infant days of
navigation. Forty-six days are spent by the San Antonio in
making 4~ of latitude. On the thirty-first of May, however,
Padre Junipero with joy beholds from the ship the green hills
around the bay of Monterey. The anchor is let into the waters,
the boats are lowered, they shoot away to the shore; the land
expedition having arrived eight days before, meet their countrymen on the rocks at the beach. The first and second of June
are spent in that hearty social intercourse, which those alone ever
feel who have thrown their hearts for months on the cold breast
of the wilderness.  Dangers incurred, sufferings endured on rock
and surge, remembrances of the sacred past, the sensations cf
dawning joy crowding on past misery like day on the heels of
night, cluster around the mind and bid the affections increase the




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFO R NIAS.               271
pulsations of life. On the third of June, they celebrate their
lanhing.  It is the Pentecost day.  The officers and men of the
sea and land expeditions assemble under a great oak tree near
the shore.  They erect an altar in its shade, hang bells on its
branches, and proceed with their services.  They chant Veni
Creator, consecrate the water, erect and bless a grand cross, unfurl the royal standard, chant the Mass, and sing a Salve to the
Virgin, whose image occupies the altar. And after the Padre
Junipero has delivered a pathetic discourse, a solemn Te Deum
is sung to the Great Creator.  The officers now take formal possession of the country in the name of their king. These cerenlonies being completed, they repair to a shady place on the
beach and dine, as they have worshipped, amid salutes of small
arms, and the cannon of the vessels. Thus is commenced the
settlement of Monterey, in Upper California. All this done,
the Padre President proceeds to found the mission of Monterey,
in the same manner as he has done that at San Diego. But he
finds it more difficult to induce the Indians to avail themselves
of his teachings.  The firing of the artillery and muskets at the
celebration of the first Mass, has so terrified them, that the
heart of the excellent Padre is not gladdened by a baptism, till
the twenty-sixth of the following December.
Meanwhile the ship San Antonio being detained some time
at Monterey, the Padre President is enabled to explore portions
of the neighboring country. He finds the fertile soil so abundant and the natives so numerous, that he writes to the chief
of the College of San Fernando in Mexico, that a hundred
more missionaries may be well employed in the Californias.
This favorable account of the country induces the Viceroy at
Mexico to order thirty Franciscan monks to proceed to San
Bias-twenty of whom are destined for Lower and ten for
Upper California. The latter sail from San Blas in the San
Antonio, on the seventh of January, 1771, and on the twelfth
of March, put into San Diego, sorely afflicted with the scurvy.
They go overland to Monterey.
The monks destined for Lower California are less fortunate.




272          SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
Their ship, the San Carlos, is allowed by its unworthy comrn.
mlander to drift ashore, in the Port Mansanillo, a fine harbor.ying some distance south from San Bias; and the poor friars,.left to shift for themselves, are compelled to toil over three hunired leagues of rough, pathless, uninhabited coast along the
ocean and gulf, till they find themselves on the coast of Senora
opposite to Loretto.  They cross the gulf to Loretto, thither
the San Carlos follows them in the month of August, having
been eight months at sea, between two ports which are now but
five or six days' sail apart.
The reinforcement to Upper California enables the presiding Padre to found a new mission, which he dedicates to San
Antonio de Padua. This station is built among the green
hills of Santa Lucia, about eight leagues from the Pacific coast,
and twenty from Monterey.
The  grounds are broken  and  the  seed  sown;  but a
blighting and untimely frost comes, and the total loss of
the wheat is threatened.  The Indians are disheartened, and
still mre so the Padres, who anticipate with keen forebodings the loss of their bread.  They send the Christian Indians to the woods to gather seeds, roots, fruits, &c., for
their subsistence, as in former times has been their custom.
The Padres strengthen their own and the Indians' faith, oy a
firm reliance on their patron saint; and to conciliate his highest favor, they resolve to celebrate his Novena with all their
converts. At the same time they take the more business-like
precaution of irrigating the blighted field; and in a few
days, such is the efficacy of the water, and still more, as they
believe, their prayers, that the resuscitated grain field is seen
springing into new life. At the end of the Novena, the whole
field is covered with beauty and promise, and at harvest
yields more abundantly than was ever before known. This
encourages the new converts, and kindles the gratitude of the
Padres. Meanwhile new efforts are resolved on in San Diego;
and on the tenth of August, Padre Pedro Cambon and Padre
Angel Somera, with a detachment of ten soldiers and the re.




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CA LIFORNIAS              273
quislte number of mules and drivers, set out and travel northwardly. When they arrive at the river Temblores, about forty
leagues from San Diego, and while they are seeking a desirable site for their mission, the Indians, armed and led on by
two commanders, rush from their lurking-places with dreadful yells and the most unequivocal demonstrations of hostility.
The Padres dread bloodshed. They exalt the image of" Our
Lady;" the subdued savages prostrate themselves in crov,
around the standard; allow them without;nterruption to pro.
ceed with the solemn ceremonies of fo)unding the mission of
San Gabriel; and the swelling notes of the first Mass chanted
in these solitudes, mount to the ear of the Omnipotent in the
year 1771, from a little group consisting of the Padres, the
rude soldiers, the careless muleteers and wandering Indians,
gathered under the spreading boughs of a tree on the consecrated ground, just as the sun is rising to bring the anniversary
of the nativity of the Virgin.
The Padres have now divided their forces as much as
practicable. No more missions can be founded till help arrives from Mexico; and oppressed with care, labor, hunger,
and anxiety, lest the Indians should relapse into their heathenish belief and practices, they remain with little to encourage their minds, or strengthen their fainting hearts, until
the autumn of 1772, when Padre Junipero founds the mission
San Luis Obispo de Tolozo, and in November embarks at San
Diego for Mexico. There he struggles with the Viceroy
Bucareli to prevent him, if possible, from abandoning the port
of San Bias as a naval station; and so successfully presents
the cause of the infant missions to him that he is induced to
finish a frigate which has been begun at San Blas, for the
purpose of exploring the coast of Upper California, and
also to freight a packet boat with provisions for Monterey.
But again these navigators, on whose skill so much depends for
the comfort and sustaining of the missions, fail through ignorance, negligence, or misfortune, to reach the port of destination; ar2. the packet enters the bay of Loretto without her




274            SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC
rudder, and otherwise disabled fri an proceeding on her voyage
So that the good Padres, with their ignorant, helpless dependents, are doomed to another tedious famine. For eight
months they subsist almost exclusively on a scanty supply of
milk. But in the meantime, food and aid and kind hearts are
on their way to them from Mexico. The indefatigable Padre
Junipero toils faithfully till September, 1773, when, with
misionaries, officers, soldiers, and a large supply of necessa.
ries, consisting of maize, beans, flour and clothing, to the
value of $12,000, he joyfully embarks for California. He
has also procured the despatch of an expedition, under the
command of Captain Juan Bautista Anza, through the interior
by the rivers Gila and Colorado, in order that the disasters
by sea which have so often overwhelmed the missions with
disappointment, famine and despair, may in future be averted
The good Padre himself proceeds to San Blas, and freighting
the packet San Antonio and the new frigate Santiago with
his supplies, embarks on his return in January of 1774, and
after forty-nine days' sail puts into San Diego.
Monterey is the place of destination; and Padre Junipero proceeds thither over land, that he may visit the various
missions on his route. Anza's land expedition is there: and
the Padre rejoices to learn that there is no obstacle to a land
communication between Mexico and Monterey.  But the
pleasure arising from this discovery is greatly lessened by the
announcement that there are no provisions among the people,
and that famine is rapidly wasting the energies and hopes of
his new establishments. The good man's heart is wrung by
this tale of suffering, and he hastens on with a few supplies;
but finds at his arrival on the eleventh of May, that the
frigate he left in San Diego is two days in advance of him,
and that the hungry are already fed. Joy and welcome everywhere meet the Padre President; the Friars hail him as a
loved brother and strong companion; the poor Indians as a
father and protector. Thus strengthened and encouraged,the




TRAVELS  iN  T HE  CA LIFORNIAS.   27t
laborers of the cross toil on. Meantime the frigate, which is
under orders from the Viceroy to explore the northwest coast,
departs from Monterey on the eleventh of June, proceeds as
far as Lat. 550 N.. and finds an inlet which they name Santa
Margarita, and returns. In March of the next year, she makes
tnot er expedition, accompanied by a schooner under the
command of Bodega, afterwards the friend of Vancouver.
As these vessels, however, are separated in a gale on the
thirtieth of July, the frigate proceeds to Lat. 490 N.,
and puts back in search of the lost schooner; arriving
at Monterev on the twentieth of August, she finds her
consort riding at anchor in the bay. The failure of these expeditions seems rather to stimulate than cool the enterprise of
the Viceroy. He orders a new frigate to be built at San Blas,
and sends a naval officer to Peru to purchase a vessel to ac
company her over these vexed waters. These vessels sail
from San Blas on the twelfth of February, 1779, under command of Don Ignatio Artiago. Two missionaries from the
Convent of San Fernando accompany the expedition. The
object of the voyage is to discover a water passage from the
Pacific to the Atlantic. They reach Lat. 550 N. on the third
of June, and discover a strait which they call Bucareli. Here
they look in vain for a passage eastward; and about the first
of July proceed still farther northward. On the first of August, in about Lat. 600 N., they discover a large and safe
harbor, with abundance of wood, water, and fish. This they
name Santiago; and after spending several days in searching
an inconsiderable creek for the passage, the prudent commander, finding his crew infected with the scurvy to an alarming degree, and dreading the rigor of the advancing season,
resolves to return. Accordingly he sails southward, and on
th, fifteenth of September, 1779, safely moors his little fleet in
the harbor om San Fernando. The return of this expedition
is hailed as a momentous event in the progress of the conquest.
While the civil arm is thus extending itself over the unex
plored wilderness, the spiritual warriors lose none of their




276         SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
ardor  The accession of laborers and the abundant supplies
brought by the Padre President enable the missionaries to
prosecute their holy enterprise with renewed energy. New
missiont Ace founded, the old ones zealously advanced.  Converts are added to the flock, and  everything encourages
the hearts of the lonely self-sacrificing Padres.  In the
fall of the year, 1775, however, a most diabolical plot is laid
and partly executed by the unconverted Indians aided by two
apostates, for attacking San Diego, and murdering the missionaries and other white persons. The onset is made in the
dead of night, by two strong bands of armed savages; and
the good Padres, all unprepared for defence as they are, with
their feeble force of a few soldiers and mechanics, have but
a small chance of escape. One of them, the Padre Luis, is
cruelly murdered and chopped in pieces, and Padre Vincente
is dangerously wounded. A whole night is spent in this precarious defence, and at sunrise the Indians retire, carrying
away their dead and wounded. All the whites are wounded,
some of their buildings are burned, and their peaceful intercourse with the Indians is sadly interrupted.
The Padre President at Monterey hears of this calamity, and
resolves to proceed at once to San Diego to repair, as he best
may, the misfortunes of his brethren. He is prevented from
reaching them until June of the following year; when with
the aid of the crew of the Princesa, he re-builds the burned
tenements, and by his influence renews the amicable intercourse of the mission with the natives.  On his return, he
founds the mission of San Juan Capistrano. Here he is attacked by hostile Indians. But he escapes all dangers, endures all trials, and on reaching Monterey, prepares to establish
the mission of San Francisco, on the bay of that name. Great
preparations are made for this event. Supplies are sent to
the harbor of San Francisco in one of the packet boats, and
the good Padre with a small detachment of soldiers, and a
number of families with cattle and mules for the new mission,
leaves Monterey on the seventeenth of June, 1776. Ten davys




TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    277
ners, and they arrive near the proposed site of their future
hbr-ne on the banks of a beautiful lake near one of the arrms,r the bay, select a situation for the Presidio, and cut the timher to erect it. The natives, meanwhile, throng around to
witness their labors and make demonstrations of friendship.
The vessel arrives on the eighteenth of August. The work
progresses, and on the seventeenth of September, they take
solemn possession of the new garrison. The holy cross is
planted above the peaceful waters of the bay, and the silent
hills re-echo the chanting of the Mass, the sublime Te Deum
and the roar of artillery and musketry, announcing to the
untamed tenants of the wilderness, the dominion at once of
the cross and the sword. The same ceremonies attend the taking possession of the mission on the ninth of the following
November. These objects accomplished, the vessel returns
to San Blas.
The faithful Padre Junipero continues his labors without
ceasing, founding in addition to the missions already named,
those of Santa Clara, Santa Barbara, and San Buenaventura.
But his efforts draw to a close. He has thrown the gushing
energies of a warm and kind heart upon the arid wilderness.
Solitude, famine, heat and cold, thirst and hunger, have been
welcome as the sole conditions under which he could perform
his errand of mercy and love to the red man. And now that
the holy cross which his hands have planted, gleams heavenward from the dark bosom of these wastes, and devotion
blends its gentle tones with the harsher pceans of the winds
and waves, and the voices of human industry, the good Padre,
worn out with the fatigues and anxieties of his arduous post,
must prepare to rest from his labors. The hand of age is
upon him; his head whitens; his frame bends and trembles;
his steps falter; he leans upon his younger and more vigorous brethren for support; and at last his grateful and beloved
spiritual children, the sons of the forest, see him no more He
retires to die. His heart clings to those who have so long
lived under the protection of his fostering hand, and the la.t




SCEN E: S IN  THE  PACFIC:.
beating of life mingles with a prayer for blessings on ms in
ihant missions. The bereaved Friars watch his last breath and
close his eyes on the day of San Augustine, in the year 1'782.
His life has been nearly seventy-one years long; fifty-three
of which have been spent in holy orders, thirty-five in the
stern and trying duties of a missionary in the New World.
Thus closed the life and earthly labors of Padre Junipero
NAMES OF MISSIONS, AND DATES OF THEIR FOUNDATION
Date of Foundation.            Missions.
1769,       -   -_   -  San Diego.  [de Monterey.
i77     -   -   -   - San Carmelo,or San CarlQs
1771,       -   -   -  San Gabriel.
"      -      -   -  San Antonio de Padua.
1772,  -   -   -   -  San Luis Obispo.
1776,  -   -       -  San Juan Capistrano.
1777,  -   -   -  -  Santa Clara.
1779,  -   -  -   - San Francisco
1782,  -   -   -   -  Santa Buenaventura.
1786,  -   -   -  - Santa Barbara.
1787,  -   -   -   - La Purissima Concepcion.
1791,  -  -   -   - Na Sade la Soledad.
1794,      -   -   -  Santa Cruz.
1797,  -   -   -   - San Miguel.
-   -   -   - San Jose.
cc        -   -   - San Juan Bantista.
-   -   -   - San Fernando.
1798,  -  -  -   - San Luis Rey de Francia
1817,  -   -  -   -  San Rafael.
1822,  -   -           San Francis,-o Solano.
These missions at length became very rich, and from 1793
to 1820 sold an immense quantity of hides and tallow to American and British ships which visited the coast. An anecdote related to me by an intelligent man in California Is in
point. Previous to 1793 the Padres killed the surplur bulls




TRAVELS  IN  THE  C&LIFORNIAS.   279
of their herds, saving the hides, and leaving the tal-ow to rot
on the plains; because it was an article difficult to preserve
until foreign ships should begin to visit them and furnish a
market; and thus untold quantities of it were lost. One of
the Padres, however, who had a little more chemistry and
other worldly wisdom than his brethren, caused his Indians to
dig a very large and deep vat in the earth on a shaded spot,
and line it well with brick and a durable cement, in which
from year to year, as his bulls were killed, he stored his tallow; and thus continued to do, till the trading ships called for
fhe deposit; when it was found that his vat contained three
large cargoes of excellent tallow.
The cattle in the missions at this period were very numerous.
Most of them had from eighty to one hundred thousand each.
They also had bands of horses and other kinds of stock proportionably large. The Padres of a single mission not unfrequently purchased an entire cargo of goods from American
merchants-and such were the known resources of their establishments, and their uniform punctuality and honesty, that
these cargoes were frequently delivered to the priests with
no olhier security than their verbal promise to pay. Indeed,
these old Franciscan Friars, who entered this wilderness clad
in their grey habits with sandals on their feet and the cross in
their hands, were men for whose equals in mental power, in
physical courage and moral intrepidity, we shall seek in vain
in these days of vapid benevolence, of organizations whick
spend their money in sustaining a system of denunciation,
instead of applying it with day-laboring energy for the extirpation of the evils against which they inveigh. These men had
not made addresses before the assemblies of anniversary occasions, but had wielded the pruning hook of holy truth and of
the principles of the social state, and of the refining and exalting virtues, upon the unpruned territories of degraded
human nature. They had not bewailed the woes of men at
the point of a goose-quill, and from the dark walls of a complaining heart shut up in an indolent body, sent forth a sack




280        SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC
of theories for alleviation, which the world must adopt befo
a freezing hand can be warmed or a hungry mouth filled
But they had bared their hearts to the arrow of the savage
and gone out to the theatre of personal labor, driving before
them domestic animals bearing seed-grain, the plough, the
axe, the spinning-wheel and the loom, gathering the stupid
wandering Indians into communities, rearing the edifices of
Christianity and the family condition on the shore of that
great ocean girded with heathenism and wretchedness, opening
its unploughed plains and training them to yield their increase tc
nourish the body-and from the garner of Heaven drawing manna for the soul. They did not teach religion only and at all times,
and rely on that as a nutriment for the rearing and comfort of
the whole man. On the contrary, they recognized in the human
being a nature allied to matter as well as spirit; with faculties
which connect him as a material existence with his material
abode, and powers of mind which were made to teach him
his relations to the material world, as well as those which
raise the hand of religious faith to the skies, to seize the
hope of the after world. Like knowing and reasoning, as
well as pious men, they cared for the bodies as well as the
souls of those whom they went to convert to Christianity.
And in bringing the Californian savages into that industry,which must always accompany true virtue and piety, tht
iabor of the converts produced in that climate, where so littlh
is required to sustain them during unproductive seasons, a vast
amount of surplus wealth. This the Padres alone were capable of throwing into the market; and consequently, at the
period just spoken of, the business of the Californias received
its origin, its character and impulses from them. Society from
them took its form and its tone; and the Government of the
country was as mild, wise and just, as these unpretending
men who directed its action. The golden age was this of the
Californias. The Indians in the whole of Lower, and that
part of Upper California which lies between the first range
of mountains and he sea, and extending from San Diego t.o




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    281
the xLorth till it embraces the shores of the Bay of San Fran.
cisco, were gathered into missions; not less than seventy-five
thousand of them were living, laboring and worshipping
God with the Padres on those immense plantations! Their
granaries were filled with grain, their orchards were laden with
oranges, plums, pears, citrons, lemons, apples and figs. Their
vineyards covered the hill-sides, and their flocks and herds the
plains! If a stranger arrives in the Californias, and approaches
a mission, the Indians and Padres go out to meet him! He receives the welcome of sincere hearts. The wine from the
vineyards —the bread and beef and frixoles are placed before
him, and the Padre's best bed given him. He is pressed to remain, not a cold hour of freezing ceremony and suspicion, but
months-during life if he will-in their hospitable abode. But
if he will travel on, he is firnished with horses and attendants to
the next mission, where he is again welcomed and treated in a
similar manner, and thus he journeys through the entire country:f he desires, and leaves it with regret. But the history of this
Jelightful realm shows a change in the features of this scene.
In 1821, New Spain had achieved an independent national
existence, and adopted a partially republican form of government. The Californias, removed by their geographical situation, as well as the feelings of their people, from the wars and
Aictories of that eventful crisis, had retained their loyalty to
old Spain until as late as the year 1825, when General
Echuandra arrived in Monterey with full powers to receive
the submission of California to the authorities of the Mexican Republic.
The first act of this functionary was to require of the Padres to take the oath of allegiance to the new Government.
This they coula not do according to the rules of their Order,
without the consent of their Prefecto-the Padre President.
This priest declared himself unwilling to give his consent
until his King had abandoned the sovereignty of the Ca]ifornias; whereupon General Echuandra arrested him, conveyed
him to Monterevy, and banished him to Manilla.




282        SCENES  IN  THE  PACIF1U.
Immediately after the Padre Prefecto's banishmen., Ec'ioa
andra made a tour of the missions, assembled the Indians in
each, and by an interpreter, explained to them that the AMexican Government had directed him to declare the Indian con.
verts of the Californias to be free citizens of the Mexican
Republic —released thereafter from what he termed slavery to
the Pad&es, and subject only to the laws of the nation and his
commands as its official agent; aud that all those who bore
good characters, and had learned agriculture, or any of the
useful arts by which they could gain a livelihood for themselves and families, he was instructed to say were entitled to
have lands assigned them on the mission premises, and a proportionate quantity of the animals, as cattle, horses, &c.,
and be gathered into parishes with Padres to superintend them
who should be subject to the missions; that those of them,
who had not learned agriculture, or other useful art, or had
not sustained reputable characters, must remain at the
missions and earn by their increasing knowledge and virtuo
a title to freedom  and the rights of property. The Padres
were required to aid in carrying out these mandates of the
Republic, and at the same time to continue their work of
converting and training the Indians for the civil and social
state contemplated by the Government. Meantime the General
informed the Padres that their yearly stipend of four hundred
dollars would be indefinitely withheld; ordered them to have
bells rung whenever he approached the missions; and to instruct the converts that they, as well as themselves, were
subject to his authority.
This course of the Mexican Government appears on its
face to be one of those high moral acts which a single age
seldom sees twice performed. The Creator has sent down to
us, through the train of ages, the evidence that in the beginning He created as great a variety of the human genus as He
did of any other race of living beings. From the New Hollander, who is connected to our kind by a physical form but
little superior to that of the ape, and by the instinct and za



TRAVELS IN  THE  CALTFORN[A..    283
pacity to build a fire to warm his frame when beset with cold —
to the Negro-the Hottentot-the Indian-the Asiatic and
the European species, there is a gradual development of beauty
and capacity of body and mind, which forces us to think that
the same harmonious variety was introduced into the creation
of the human family, which is so manifest in other orders of
the animal world. Among celestial intelligences, toe, there
are greater and lesser stars of existence; and the Great AMaker burns above them all. Such variety is a palpable fact on
earth. The highest obedience to God is the recognition of
Him in His own character, and of creation as it fell from His
hands; and having done these things dutifully, to place ourselves in the ordained relation to the external world, to other
men, to ourselves and to Him. One of the noblest acts in
this line of obedience is to say to those who are for wise
purposes made inferior to us, be free —be men. And if we
had no other sources of information from which to learn the
real nature and intent of the course of the Mexican Govern.
ment towards these Mission Indians, we should place it among
the noblest deeds of men. But unfortunately it deserves
equal distinction of an opposite character. Let succeeding
events be heard in evidence.
These declarations of Echuandra and the banishment of
their Prefecto, diminished the Padres' hopes of perfecting
what they had so gloriously begun-the rearing the Indian
population by degrees to the labors, the thoughts, the religion
and happiness of civilisation. They well understood what all
men will eventually come to know, that an ignorant, stupid
species of the human kind, never was and never can be free
before their stupidity and ignorance are removed; that the
introduction of such people as civil agents among a body
of citizens of the higher species, who sustain the respatsibilities of advanced society, is attended with no good
to any party; but on the contrary, attaches to the acts and
thoughts of the higher, advancing and thinking species, the
antagonism of the unthinking, the indolent and degrading in



284         SCENES  N  THE PACIFIC.
ferior, whose influence can only be to weaken the moral
power of their superiors, and draw them off with all the force
of physical indulgence to the confines of barbarism. They
perceived, indeed, that freedom to their converts, from their
paternal restraints, was only an illusive synonyme of annihilation; that they would, when removed from the action of a
superior intelligence, return to the savage state, or use their
liberty in following their strongest instincts, which, after all
their labors, were towards vices alike ruinous to bodily and
moral health. The Padres, for all these causes, became discouraged, and made less effort for the temporal enlargement
of their missions. The departure of their best neophytes to
the lands assigned them by the Government, left them only
the refractory and the ignorant to work the lands, guard ne
herds and flocks, and manufacture the cloth, leather and wine,
and these being encouraged by Echuandra, neglected theil
labor, and insulted the Padres when punished for so doing.
They even went in bodies to Echuandra and complained that
the Padres insisted that they, the free citizens of the Mexican
Republic, ought to cultivate the mission farms; and the General encouraged them in their folly. They informed him that
the Padres withheld their rations, unless they cultivated the
land to raise a new supply; and Echuandra assured them they
had reason for dissatisfaction. And on one occasion, when a
Padre was insisting on obedience to these wholesome regulations by which they had been elevated from the most abject
barbarism to the comforts of a partially civilized state, the
deluded creatures threw him violently upon the ground, and
otherwise abused him.  This, Echuandra assured them, was
in act worthy of a citizen of the Mexican Republic.
While the Padres were thus seeing the mission plantations
becoming covered with weeds, the buildings going to ruin,
their influence over the converts lessening, and these, their
spiritual children, given to drunkenness, gambling, theft, and
lasciviousness, a party of young Friars from the Convent of
San Fernando, in Mexico, were distributed among some of




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    285
the missions, and the Padres resident commanded to instruct them in the Indian languages and other matters
which would prepare them to supplant their teachers. The influence and usefulness of these excellent men was, by these
measures, rapidly undermined, till the year 1827, when two
of them, Padres Repol and Altemira, of the mission Santa
Barbara, fearing for their personal safety, secretly left the
country in an American vessel bound to Boston, and sailed
from that city to Spain. In the year 1835, others left with
passports from Government, and went through Mexico to
Spain; and others, worn out with labor and sorrow, died in
the country and were buried under the churches of their
missions.
In the same year a body of Franciscan monks from the College at Zacatecas, were sent into the Californias by the Gov.
ernment.  To these were assigned the rich missions lying
north of San Antonio. The old Padres retained the poorer ones
lying to the South. Thither these good old priests retired,
banished from the missions they had reared, and deprived of
the means of comfort which they had procured; and now, in
those inhospitable places, they continue to perform their spiritual finctions, deprived in their old age not only of the comforts, but of the very necessaries of life. Aged men, tottering
grey-headed men; men who had in youth left the abodes of
civilized life; who had forsaken father, mother, kindred, and
for forty years toiled in the Californian wilderness; ploughed the soil, built churches and dwellings; brought into life,
justice and hope and music and prayer to the God of the Universe; under whose hands the trees of virtue and civilisation flourished, adorning the hitherto barren wastes of matter and soul; such were the men condemned by a selfish
anarchy to wretchedness and want. But a policy so blind
brings evil as its legitimate result.
In 1835, the whole power of the priests over the temporal
affairs of these establishments, in both the Californias, was
transferred to officers of government called Admlnistradores.




286,       SSCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
One of these was located at each mission. Their duties osten.
sibly were to farm them for the benefit of the converts, in order
to allow the Padres their whole time for their spiritual labors.
But the actual object of this measure was to bring the income
and property of the missions within the grasp of the hungry
leaches of the Californian Government. For, immediately after
the appointment of these officers their wants became pressing,
and they began to send orders for hides, &c., to the Administradores, which were uniformly honored and passed to the credit
of the missions.
Thirty thousand hides and as many arobas of tallow, had
been the annual export of this country; but now, a slaughter
of the animals commenced, which surpassed the annual increase; and the Padres encouraged the defrauded Indians at
the yearly branding, to let many go unmarked and run wild,
in anticipation of the approaching period, when tyranny would
drive them from their homes to the wilderness. The effects
of these measures were to decrease the number of cattle and
the amount of the products of the missions, paralyze the industry, deteriorate the morals of the whole community, and
introduce in the place of the mild and paternal government of
the Padres, the oppressive anarchy of a weak and cruel military despotism; the more despicable in itself, as it proceeded
from a source where liberty and equality was the theory, and
slavery and robbery the practice of the governing class.
In the year 1836, a quarrel arose between the Mexican Governor at Monterey, and a custom-house officer by the name of
Juan Baptiste Alvarado, in regard to the division of certain bribes
which had been paid to the officers by the supercargo of a foreign ship, as a remuneration for entering upon the government
books only half of the cargo, and admitting the remainder for a
certain sum in specie and goods, paid to themselves; and the first
result of the difficulty was a revolutionary movement under
Alvarado and Graham, as I have heretofore related. But it is
necessary here to add that, after the surrender of the Mexican
authorities, the foreigners and Californian Spaniards assembled




TkAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    287
at Monterey and passed these resolutions as the basis of a provisional government.
1st. Upper California is declared to be independent of Mexico during the non-re-establishment of the Federal system,
which was adopted in 1824.
2d. The said California shall be erected into a free and
governing state, establishing a congress which shall dictate all
the particular laws of the country, and elect the other supreme
powers necessary, declaring the " Actual Most Excellent Deputation Constituent."
3d. The Religion shall be the Roman Catholic Apostolic,
without admitting the exercise of any other; but the govern.
ment will not molest any persons for their particular religious
opinions.
4th. A Constitution shall regulate all the branches of the
Administration "provisionally," in conformity as much as
possible with the expressed declaration.
5th. Until what is contained in the foregoing articles be
put in execution, Seiior Don Guadalupe Vallejo shall be
called to act as Commandante General.
6th. The President of the' Most Excellent Deputation"
shall pass the necessary communications to the municipalities
of the Territory.
These proceedings were followed by the banishment of the
Mexican Governor, officers and soldiers from the country;
the proclamation of Juan Baptiste Alvarado, Civil Governor,
and his uncle, Sefior Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, Military
Governor, or Commandante of the "Republic of Upper California."
Meantime this new Government had placed the seal of final
ruin upon the missions. The official corps which had formerly
drawn salaries from the Central Government at Mexico
was now dependent upon the resources of the country. The
Revolutionists and Lawgivers owned large plantations, many
of which grazed ten or fifteen thousand head of cattle, besides
horses, mules, sheep, &c. But these were private property,




SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
not to be taxed for public purposes by these self-denying
patriots. The missions, therefore, were resorted to for the
means of supporting the Californian Government during the
years 1836, 1837, and 1838; and sad was the havoc made
upon them by those base descendants of the Chivalry of Spain.
As soon as information of this Revolution in Upper California reached Mexico, the Central Government, with Bustamente at its head, and a kennel of worthless cowards to bark,
but never to bite at approaching danger, raised, as is the
custom of that hybrid nation of Indian and Spanish Don Quixote-Sancho-Panza-Rosinante-Windmill-Furiosos, on such
occasions, an army of fulminating proclamations to the citizens of La Republica Mexicana, and the remainder of the
universe, to arm themselves and proceed in terrible array,
dealing death elbow-deep in annihilation, against these audacious and unnatural sons of the great, brave, free, glorious,
and never-to-be-insulted or conquered nation of Mexico. But
these Californians were true, at least, to the weakness and folb
iies of their Spanish blood. Nowhere on the vast plains
and mountains of one-half of this continent is there anything
Spanish, whether negro, Indian, mulatto, or mestizo, in which
may be found anything stable and bloodless. The character
of these people may be summed up in these few words: vola
fility, ignorance, stupidity and pride, coupled with the basest
and most cowardly cruelty. Their very language is a furious
hyperbole, and their entire nature as a people, is the superlative
degree of the adjective frothy, without a substantive of any
sort to qualify. The lofty chivalry of Spain was buried in the
tombs of the American discoverers and conquerors. Its corslet
and spear have fallen into the hands of their Indio-Spanish
descendants; and a more worthless rabble of bastards never
assumed the name of nation.
See these Californians. No sooner had they declared their
independence  and  rid themselves of the officers from
Mexico, than they divided into two parties; the one in the
North under Alvarado of Monterey asserting complete inde



!
Bustamente. —P. 288:








TRAV ELS  IN  TH E  C A LIFORNI A S.    289
pendence of Mexico; and the one in the South under Don
Carlos Antonio Carrillo, seeking to unite the country again to
the parent State. And a blight of idiocy must have fallen on
that mind which cannot perceive in the events that ensued,
the terrific tread of oppressed human nature, when, clad in
the armor of its own avenging power, it goes forth to the
conquest of its rights. The Ides of March! How ominous!
Caesar quailed in March! And how much more ought all
the enemies of the great Alvarado's supremacy to have shaken
from heel to crown, when, on the fifth of that dreadful month
of March, he announced to his troops that Don Pedro, the
Russian Governor at Bodega, had received letters from St.
Petersburg, containing news that France and England had
resolved to place Iturbide II., son of the Emperor Iturbide I.,
upon the throne of Mexico!! The reader may almost see
His Excellency's wrath kindling at this proposed encroachment on the liberties of nations. " What, France and England pretend to foist a monarch upon the people of Mexico,
and even upon His Excellency of California!"-and that too
while he was Governor?  Such impudence, if it were not
"ridiculously impotent as against Mexico, would be found so
in regard to California!!" And to this effort at patriotism
and self-complacency, see his heroic Californians emitting
some fumes of bravery, accompanied with a series of consolatory threats, stamping their feet on the Lord's footstool, and
strongly grasping their swords, looking things unutterable
enough to put a notable end to the hopes of Iturbide II.
During this daring demonstration for freedom, Alvarado is
universally believed to have stood firmly at his post, and unshrinkingly done his duty. The Don in the South also is
reported not to have lost a meal of beans on account of this
startling intelligence. Courage in California, as elsewhere,
is a fine tonic for weak nerves. The event too which suc
ceeded this in the history of the Californias found both these
worthies in the field of glory. So that if some ignorant readel
should presume to say, at this point of our narration, that the




290         SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
Don was less brave, patriotic, or in any other sense less a
Californian cavallero, than Alvarado, he is desired to suspend
the expression of such an unworthy opinion until he shall
have read the following account of a campaign which, I am
credibly informed, is considered by the warriors of that country the most remarkably glorious on record.
In the spring of 1838, a courier arrived from Santa Barbara, bearing a message of mighty import from the illustrious
Don Carlos Antonio Carrillo to Alvarado the Conqueror.
Its purport was that the high-mighty-invincible-and
ever-to-be-dreaded Central Government at Mexico, had bared
its puissant arm, stretched it out, raised it up, brought it down,
and at a single blow, made and put together a gentleman
Don, to wit, Don Carlos Antonio Carrillo, and constituted
him the Goubernador del Alta California: and with the exercise of the like resistless power had ordered the said Alvarado-villain-robber-slave-to surrender, lay down, and
for ever after eschew the sceptre of Goubernador del Alta
California; unto which message His Excellency, in the true
Castilian spirit, and with as much good sense as any one had
a right to expect of him, Alvarado the Conqueror, replied.
"' On seeing the commission of my successor, and on finding
it conformable to the usages of the Nation; and on obtaining
from him my said successor, a guaranty of safety to my person and property, and also to the persons and property of
those who acted with me in the Revolution of 1836, I will
resign the reins of government into the hands of my illustrious uncle. Otherwise not-never!"  This response of the
lofty Alvarado was soon en route towards the dwelling-place
of the Don. But the mountainous character of the country
over which its bearer passed retarded its speed so much that
the sixth day had well nigh closed before the indignation of
that exalted man was fired a.t the story of Alvarado's insolence. It was fortunate, undoubtedly, that so much time was
allowed to elapse between the development of the courage
necessary to enable the Don to send the messenger to Alva.




MIexican Cavalry.-Page 290.  Mlexican Infantry.-Page 290.








TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    291
rado, and that effort of sublime forbearance required to receive his answer. For it is deemed an established principle
in the physiology of courage as well as of steamboats, that
too great a pressure upon the internal surface of an enclosing
boiler will cause a bursting, disastrous, in a certain sense, to
those in the vicinity. Soldiers going into battle for the first
time are said to give the happiest illustrations of this law.
Be this as it may, however, true it is, that when the courier
related to him all that the Governor had said, the exalted
Don exhibited a capacity in the manufacture of fury at short
notice, which made the floor tremble on which he stood; and
it is currently believed that if there had not been a hiatus between the demand of the Don and the said refusal of Alvarado, greater danger to the integrity of the Don's physical
system would have been the unwholesome consequence. As
it was, however, that immense personage merely took a glass
of native wine, and summoned his friends to arms for doing
battle in behalf of La Republica Mexicana.
Alarm, that protecting genius of all cowards, is declared to
have a swift wing. At all events, no sooner did the banner
of the glorious old Don begin to flap on the breezes of wakeful night, than she presented her fluttering form at Monterey,
and whispered in the ear of Alvarado, of power, of camps,
of carnage fields, of fame's bold clarion, and the terror of
his uncle Don.  All these things put together made one
other thing quite clear to Alvarado's vast comprehension;
namely, that he must again take to the field-the field in
which in 1836 he had earned bright laurels, and again fight
as he then did, for country and freedom, or bow submissively
before the overpowering valor of his great rival. Nor was
his genius at fault in this trying exigency. He took his reso.
lution; and having done so, what else could the world have
expected, than that his Excellency and the never-to-beequalled Captain Jose Castro, of villainous memory, should
call the troops to arms and march for the seat of war. And
this th-re certainly did as nearly as circumstances permitted;




292         SC E NES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
that is to say, Alvarado remained in Monterey, three hnim
dred mniles from powder and ball, and Jose Castro marched
towards Santa Barbara with an army of six men.
The Don meanwhile was not inactive. He wisely determined, as a first step, to take military possession of Santa
Barbara. Accordingly, from the balcony of his habitation,
which the foreign residents had fitted up for him at El Pueblc
de los Angelos, he gave notice to his veteran army assembled one hundred strong, that he should march immediately
upon that devoted town and sack it according to the rules of
war.  After a long and tedious forced march on horseback,
of thirty miles, in a single day, over a grassy and undulating
country, during which they endured more, if' possible, than
their forefathers did in all their wars with the Moors, they
arrived on the 20th of March, 1838, upon a hill about two
miles from that village, encamped, held a council of war, and
hnmanely determined to send in a flag, and an expression of
their unwillingness to shed blood; but the messenger was
especially instructed to announce, that the town of Santa
Barbara must be surrendered, or the veteran army would take
possession of it, if, in so doing, they " trode at every step
upon the pulseless hearts of the dying inhabitants!"
The Commandant of the place was not so much frightened
by this announcement as he ought to have been. But, on
the contrary, knowing probably that the old Don was a man
of his word and not of deed, sent back the following reply.
" Sefior Carlos Antonio Carrillo had better not be in haste to
enter Santa Barbara.  Alvarado will soon make his grand
entrance.  If, however, the Don should deem it his duty to
sack Santa Barbara, it will be mine to yield to the disagreeable necessity of preventing such a catastrophe, by firing on
his ranks and destroying the lives of fellow-countrymen. God
and Liberty!"  This message was more terrific than satisfactory to the commander of the invading army.  But as night
soon cast its protecting mantle over the fierce brows of the
immortal one hundred, it was never known to the fullest




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNI A S.    29,3
extent how much heroism they exhibited when ordered into
quarters for the night, with the injunction to hold themselves
ready for the dreadful work of death at a moment's warning.
It is however known that a mounted pioket guard was stationed on the hills, and a strong patrol along the ravines,
between the camp and the town, and that all, Napoleon-like,
slept upon the eve of vast events; that the next morning
dawned; the earth turned on its axis, showed the sun and hid
it again; and that the army of the Don neither left its encampmnent, nor took possession of Santa Barbara; and that
night came again; that patrols and pickets were stationed as
before. But such apparent inaction was not to continue
On the morning of the 23d, a movement clearly showed that
Irresolution was no part of the Don's nature. And well did
he exclaim, as he addressed the soldiery on that most memorable day,-" The pent fires of Californian bravery, who can
quench them? What one of us, whether plebeian born or a descendant of the Spanish Cavaliers, will flee before the servile
minions of the ignoble Alvarado?  What man with a
heart quickened by Castilian blood, will not pour out that
blood in defence of California, and the union of the Mexican
States?" To this appeal a response arose and echoed among
the hills, in that hearty and lusty manner so characteristic of
Spanish Californians, and other animals distinguished for long
ears. He next commended the courage displayed, and the
valorous exploits performed in the siege they were prosecuting. " They had crowned their names with deeds of immortal renown." And then the officers' swords flamed from their
scabbards, and the privates stood shoulder to shoulder in the
most threatening attitudes of the genuine warrior, as the Don
took breath, and with emphasis remarked, that the army of
Santa Barbara was approaching!!!  It approached!!! All
saw it!!! Halted! The Don reconnoitred! and horrible to
tell-the opposing forces numbered one hundred and four
noses!! His own, himself included, one hundred and one only!!!
A difference of three whole noses, against the Don!!! And




294         SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
who in California knew better than he, the power and effect
of such superiority?  Who understood more clearly than the
Don, the execution which fhat number of noses might do in
the approaching struggle for " LAW AND ORDER? "  But who,
among all living and dead heroes, could better rally the
energies required to meet that horrible crisis, than the Don 1
None! His horse even partook of the overpowering magnitude of the energies that bestrode his back, and bore
his rider along the line with unwonted speed and fire as the
order boomed along, for the soldiers to prime anew their pans
-shoulder their gleaming muskets, and retreat within the
walls of the Mission Santa Buenaventura!!
Three days after this intrepid retreat of the invading army,
the redoubtable Captain Jose Castro arrived at Santa Barbara, with the army of the North, six men strong, well appointed with muskets, powder, ball, and Californian patriotism. His entry was a triumph; rendered sweet to that warrior's
heart by the consciousness of being 16oked upon, while his
army defiled through the streets, as the saviour of all the mud
walls, tiles, and babies of that famous town. He repaired to
quarters in the barracks, dined with becoming dignity, and
smoked a cigar. After this important business had been dispatched, he summoned before him the authorities, and made
an exhibit of the luxuriant love of country, which had led
Alvarado-that superlative adjative of the genus homo, to
assume the government of Alta California, and assured the
Commandante, and Alcaldes, that he was authorized and ready
to receive the surrender of the place, and the fealty of the
inhabitants to the Revolutionary Government. He added,that
he hoped-it might not be necessary for him to use force in the
premises. This latter intimation, backed as it was by the
standing presence of the army of six, was deemed of great
service to humanity, for no hesitation was manifested by the
population, amounting to some six hundred souls, about sub.
mitting to the new order of things so gallantly proposed to
them by the renowned Captain.




' I
o..
Captainn Castro. —Page 294,








TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.   29'5
The next act of Captain Castro which history will delight
to record, was that of arresting certain persons at Santa Barbara supposed to be favorable to the pretensions of the Don;
namely, Pedro C. Carrillo, the old Don's son, and a Don Angelo, former Administrador of the Port of Monterey, under
the late Mexican authorities.  The former he put on board
the bark Kamamula, and sent to sea for safe keeping; the
latter was transmitted to Monterey as a tropny of the glorious
victory achieved by the Grand Army of six at Santa Barbai a.
Captain Castro tarried only two days at Santa Barbara.
But during that short space of time he was enabled, by using
that indefatigable industry and intrepidity for which he was
so remarkable, to make the two arrests which I have mentioned. And although it has been said by persons presumed
to be envious of the Captain's right to call himself the Napoleon of California, that these prisoners made no attempt to
escape, but, on the contrary, surrendered themselves without
resistance, yet the impartial historian will undoubtedly find,
on thorough investigation, that he who captured Graham and
others with so much bravery and renown, could not, in the
possibility of things, have done this act so tamely as the enemies of the Captain would maliciously represent.  Captain
Castro was a Napoleon, and by what specious sophistry can
mankind be made to believe that he did not arrest Seiores
Pedro and Angelo, in a manner worthy of that immortal
name?
On the third day, the Grand Army of the North being increased by the people of Santa Barbara to one hundred men,
and supplied with three field-pieces, moved against the Grand
Army of the South at San Buenaventura.  They arrived in
the night; and while the darkness shielded them from view,
they planted the cannon on the heights overlooking the Mission, and otherwise prepared themselves for the horrors of
the coming day. When the morning dawned, the Captain
had the satisfaction to perceive that his position had been so
well taken that the garrison of the opposing forces was comrn.




296         SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC
p{etely at his mercy; and like all other great men, being
shocked at the idea of shedding blood so profusely as he must
do, if he opened upon the Mission the terrors of his cannon,
he sent in a flag and demanded a surrender. But, strange to
say, the Doni, not having before his eyes the fear of Castro's
ammunition, refused obedience to this reasonable request, and
commenced a brisk discharge of musketry from the walls.
This was answered by those outside with both muskets and
cannon.  The work of death thus commenced went on until
the shutting in of night on the fourth day! How grateful were
the shadows of that night to the besieged! The lighted taper
that burned at the altar of the Chapel, sent a straggling ray
over the area within the walls, and glimmered faintly on the
arms of the Don's soldiery'  But neither that light from the
altar of hope, nor the beaming bayonets of the besieged veterans, could inspire their hearts with the firmness required to
prolong so terrific and destructive a conflict.  In the silent
moment of midnight, therefore, more than half of the Don's
remaining troops made a desperate sally from the gate, and
not being opposed for awhile, believed that their intrepidity
had saved them! But they were unfortunately mistaken!
The Captain's sentinels had noticed their operations, and
sounded the alarm  so bravely that they surrendered themselves at discretion, without waiting for the unnecessary ceremony of being captured, or in anywise endangered.
After these men had thus daringly given themselves up to
their foes, their companions, the glorious old Don and all,
capitulated. And now came the calling of the rolls and the
burial of the dead! Sad rites to those who survive such days
of carnage! Forty-eight hours of cannonading on the one
side, and of busy musket-shots on the other!! How many
had ceased to breathe, was the anxious inquiry! The official returns read thus, " Of the army of the South one man
killed. Of the army of the North one man wounded.-God
and Liberty." It is proper to observe in this place, that it
was afterwards a question often raised between the soldiers




TRAVE  L S IN  THE  C A LI FO R  I AS.    297
of the two armies, whether the Don or the Captain surrendered.
But the most authentic accounts rather favor the opinion that
the Captain had the better of the battle. And I have little
doubt that when the Hume of that country shall write its
annals, and some unborn Ossian shall sing of the mighty tread
and thundering bucklers of the Castros and Carrillos of that
streamy land, they will not only commemorate the bloody
ramparts of San Buenaventura, but speak worthily of the
Don, as great even in defeat, and of Captain Jose as gloriously triumphant. This idea is remarkably strengthened by
the fact that as soon as the termination of the campaign was
announced at Monterey, the puissant Alvarado journeyed to
San Buenaventura, and thence in company with his Captain
Castro to El Pueblo de los Angelos, where he took possession of the worthy old Don's house, and acted the Governor
upon the wines and brandies therein contained, with all the
taste and suavity so well known to be his peculiar excellences, and possessed himself of whatever else he listed of the
Don's personal estate. But-how unjust not to name it —
after having robbed his uncle, he gave in return a promise to
pay, which I was told still stands good against him, a sum
equal to his own estimate of the value he had taken.
From El Pueblo de los Angelos, Governor Alvarado
proceeded to San Diego, the southernmost port of Alta California; and received there and elsewhere the submission of
the inhabitants, till the whole country recognized the said
Juan Baptiste Alvarado, El Goubernador del Alta California.
Even the glorious old Don Carlos Antonio Carrillo is said to
have paid court to the young conqueror, and not altogether
unwillingly, after so much blood shed in defence of his dignity and the high honors of his office, to have laid aside his
pretensions with much grace and apparent satisfaction; thus
demonstrating that noble and rare principle which leads the
truly great man, —after the exercise of every energy, after
wading through seas of gore, after baring his bosom to the
knife of fate, after having met, defied, endured, every hazard,




298         SCENES  IN  THE  P. CIFIC.
every hardship, for the attainment of his just rights,- to prove
himself not only " par secundis," but " major adversis," by
seeking repose, and calling on the shades of forgetfulness to
fall around the memory of heroic exploits, which such a man
blushes to hear coupled with his name. So little need has
true worth of noise and praise. But I should do great injustice to the worthy Don, if I neglected to state his manner of
obtaining the commission of Governor of Upper California,
in support of which he struggled so manfully.
About two years after the Revolution which raised -ilvarado to power, the excellent old Don sent a1n account of that
event to his friend Sa Excellentissimo, E1 Presidente Bustamente, in which among other matters it was stated that, in
case Mexico would make an appointment of a Californian of
the Governorship of the country (suggesting at the same time
that he the worthy Don was at the service of the State,) —he.
the Don, and his amigos would reconquer the country, and
return it to the allegiance of Mexico. The Don's brother, a
man of great patriotism —id est, Mexican patriotism, or the
most devoted disposition to take care of himself, —bore this
dispatch. In due time he returned with a commission —empowering his brother Don to assume the Government of Alta
California. The only irregularity in the instrument which
arrested attention was the absence of the proper signatures and the Seal of State. But as the Don was called
El Goubernador in the body of the instrument, that irregularity was deemed by his friends of trifling importance. But
it was this that the wily Alvarado seized upon as a pretext
for not delivering up the helm of Government to the most
excellent and stately old Don, and allowing himself and his
partisans to be shot according to the law, for having rebelled
against La Republica Mexicana.
From the year 1838 to the year 1840, the time when the
author entered California, Alvarado continued to be the Gov.
ernor of that lovely land. And during that period no events
occurred worthy of being detailed.




CHAPTER XVI.
A New Era in California —War with the United States —Various
Battles-Heroism of the Americans-Conquest-Discovery of
Gold —Brilliant Hopes - On the Pacific again —Long Tom
Finishes his Yarn-Speculations on the Future of CaliforniaThe Prisoners-Poor Graham-Home and my Wife —Reflections.
SOON after this commenced a new era in the history
of California. In 1845 a rupture occurred between the
United States and Mexico. Commodore Sloat of the
Pacific Squadron, hearing of the commencement of hostilities on the Rio Grande, immediately seized Monterey,
hoisted the Star Spangled Banner from the Custom House,
and issued a proclamation of war to the people of the
Californias.
It would be foreign from our purpose to give a detailed
history of this war. The principal incidents are doubtless
still fresh in the memory of most of our readers. Suffice
it to say, that Commodore Stockton, General Kearney,
Colonel Fremont, Captains Barrows and Thompson, and
hosts of others, did honor to the flag of their country by
their gallant achievements. At the Rio San Gabriel,
and on the plains of Meza, decisive battles were fought
against overwhelming odds, when victory, as usual, perched
upon the American banner, with a loss of only one killed
and thirteen wounded in the two fights. Various other
engagements occurred, the history of all of which will be
found in other volumes.
One incident will illustrate the daring and heroic character of the men engaged in that glorious struggle. At
(299)




300            SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
Santa Barbara, Lieutenant Talbot, with only nine men
under his command, was besieged by a large body of the
enemy and compelled to evacuate the place. He gallantly forced his way through the besiegers to the mountains in the vicinity, where, refusing to surrender on any
terms, he kept the enemy at bay like a tiger in his lair,
until they set fire to the groves and bushes around him,
and actually burned him out. He then forced a march
of five hundred miles through the enemy's country on foot
to Monterey, where his arrival caused the utmost joy to
all the Americans, with whom he was a great favorite,
and who had given him up as lost.
By the terms of the treaty of peace, California came
into possession of the United States. Next came the
discovery of gold and the rush of emigrants to that country from all parts of the world. Exaggerated stories of
the immense mineral wealth of the new El Dorado inflamed the minds of men, and thousands left the slow
but sure pursuits of home for sudden wealth in a strange
land. With a few the dream has been realized; and
although in the aggregate vast sums of gold have been
obtained, yet a large proportion of the miners have learned
the to them sad lesson that man, in any country, to be
truly happy, must earn his living by the sweat of his
brow. Through much exposure and suffering, wearied
and heart broken, the poor miner has not unfrequently
returned from the scene of his brilliant hopes to spend
his last hours among his early friends-a sadder but a
wiser man.
But to return. On the fifth of May, 1840, we made
our adieus to our acquaintance in Santa Barbara, preparatory to falling down the coast. The American visited the
sick Englishman,found him breathing faintly,and apparently
very near death. But it was necessary to embark, and leave
the dying man in the kind care of his nurses, who, I have no




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TRAVELS IN  THE  CALIO P  R NTAS.    303
doubt, admirnistered to his last want, and made his grave-dress
with willing hands. " Dead-starved to death! Death of a
Briton from thirst and starvation, by direction of Juan Baptista Alvarado, Governor of Upper California," is the account
which truth will give, on earth and at the judgment, of this
man's death.
At twelve c'clock, the lusty fellows at the windlass had the
anchor on the bow, and our good old ship was bearing down
the coast under a fie northerly breeze.  She, or rather he,
for I believe aii Dons are males, and particularly Don Quixotes, being in ballast, ran rapidly, cheeringly, and exultingly
over the quiet sea. And right glad were we to be under
weigh. We had been long enough among the jolly birds
and flowering meadows of California, to rejoice to be again
at sea. It was sad, however, to be borne away from the
prisons and the moans of our fellow-countrymen. And now
the deep blue sea-its mermaid song-its anthems of sublimity-its glories and beauties; really and in truth, what are
they? What man in his senses loves the Ocean? The mermaids are all porpoises, and their songs all grunts! The
deep sounds of the ocean's pealing organ, are the rude groans
of the winds and the dashing rage of far-rolling surges, rapping madly at the bows! The tufts of (lancing foam on the
bitter wastes-desert, heaving, unsympathizing, cold, homeless! Love of Ocean!! Poetry of Ocean!!  It is a pity I
cannot love it-see in its deep still lower realm, or in its
lonely tumults, or its surface when the air is still, its heat,
thirst and death, its vast palpitating tomb, the shady hand
and veiled smile of loveliness!-that I cannot believe Old
Ocean has a heart, which sends its kindly beatings up and
down all the shores of earth! Poetry! Loveliness! They
may be there; but Ocean's odor and mien are not poetry to
me! If I have ever said anything to the contrary, I beg the
pardon of the sea poets. There is, however, a certain class
of beings who hold a very different opinion: these are the
regular old Salts; men who from boyhood have slept in the




304         SCENES  IN  T HE  PACIFIC 
forecastle, eaten at the windlass, sung at the halyards, danced
on the yards to the music of the tempest, and hailed the tumult of the seas as a frolic in which they had a joyful part.
We respect these poets. Indeed, the Ocean to them is a
world, the theatre of their being; and by inhabiting it all
their days, these singular men become changed from participants in the delights of natural life on land, to creatures of
memory. Memory! that mental action which sifts the past
of its bitterest evils, and gives only the blossom and the fruit
to after-time. These they enjoy in the midnight watch, at the
dawn, in the storm, the calm, and in visions of sleep; but for
ever upon the deep, on the great expanse of the Sea! Is it
wonderful, then, that they should love it? that their affecions
become poetry?  See them seated at their meal before the
mast; their wide pants lap over their sprawled limbs; the
red flannel shirt peers out at the wrists, and blazes over their'broad chests between the ample dimensions of the heavy peajacket; and crowning all is the tarpaulin with its streaming
band, cocked on one side of the head; and grouped in the
most approved style of a thoroughly lazy independence, they
eat their meal. At such times, if the weather be fine, studding-sails out, and top-gallants pulling, they speak of the
ship as a lady, well decked, and of beautiful bearing, gliding
like a nymph through the gurgling waters. If the breeze be
strong, and drives her down on her beams, they speak of her
as bowing to her Lord and Master, while she uses his might
to bear her on to her own purposes. And if the tempest
weighs on the sea, and the fierce winds howl down upon her
dead ahead, and the storm-sail displays over the fore-chains
its three-sided form, and the ship lays up to the raging elements, breasting every swoop of wave and blast, she still is. a
lady, coming forth from her empire of dependent loveliness
to bow before an irresistible fbrce, only to rise again, and
present the sceptre of Hope to dismayed man. These Salts
believe in the poetry of the sea, and of the noble structures in




TRAVEL8 IN  THE  CALIFOIIAS.    305
which they traverse its pathless immensity. And it may be
that they are right, and I am wrong.
During the day we passed near to the coast. A fruitful
strip of land running along the shore; broken by hills increasing in height from the water-side towards the interior,
and bounded by high mountains partially covered with trees,
but generally burnt and barren, is a true showing of that
part of California. It was a bright day, with a cool wholesome air. Every sail was out and filled, as white as snow,
the wind on the larboard quarter, the crew lounging, and the
dolphins chasing, and the gulls screaming, and the spray
dashing at the bows. Home, and the mother of my buried
boy, if I may speak of myself, the heart's guiding star on
those wastes of soul and of nature, were drawing near me,
and in thought were there. Speed on, noble ship, speed on;
it is the illusion of happy memories, speed on!
On the sixth and seventh the breeze continued favorable.
The coast was generally in sight, and appeared to be more
and more barren as we followed it down!
On the eighth we sailed along the east side of Guadeloupe.
This island is about thirty miles in circumference, somewhat
mountainous, evidently of volcanic origin, surrounded by immense reefs of black rocks, and destitute of coral formations
There are two places of access, the one on the southwest, the
other on the northwest side. It has no harbor for anything else
than small boats; and though containing considerable quantities
of arable land, is uninhabited except by sea birds, turtles and
goats. The latter are the offspring of a few of these animals
landed upon it by the early Spanish navigators. They have
been in unmolested possession of the island for the last eighty
years, and are now so very numerous, that they could be profitably hunted for their skins and tallow. In former times this island
used to abound in sea elephants and hair seal; but the Ame.
rican hunters and whalers have nearly destroyed them.  As
we passed, a right whale spouted near the shore. The cir



306        SCENES IN  THE  PACIFIC.
cumstance electrified Tom, and opened his word loom to the
following yarn.
" The lubber, that whale! I would like to be in the bow
of a staunch boat, with four stout oarsmen, and a bold fellow
to steer upon him; I would soon make him spout blood instead of water!' I was telling you the yarn of my becoming a sailor, when
the old man coiled up my thoughts among the halyards.
Now that whale brings them back again, and while he is
taking his observation, and blowing his nose, I'll finish my yarn.
I was about nineteen when I blundered against the capstan
of a whaler, and shipped at New Bedford for a three years'
cruise. We left port with as good an outfit of harpoons, lines,
knives, trying-pans, stores, and ship's crew as ever swam the
brine. I remember we had a studdin-sail breeze a longer
time on our passage out, than I ever saw before or since, except in the trades. We put out all sail in sight of the New
Bedford Light, and never took in a rag until we had crossed
the equator; and then we struck a dead calm, which continued fifteen days. That was the worst siege at oakum and
spun yarn that Tom ever saw. The sun seemed to pour
down fire! It was so warm that the tar in the deck fried
and bubbled; and the old long boat shrunk so much that you
could stick your thumb through between the planks; and the
decks were so hot that we were obliged to keep them constantly wet to enable us to stand on them. And as to breathing, we found that the hardest work of all.  The great
atmosphere seemed to have escaped, and left a perfect void!
The ocean was smooth; not a rough spot upon it as big as a
cent, except when the cook threw his slush overboard! It
lay and rolled like a bending sea of glass! The vessel, with
its sails hanging loose on the mast, rose and fell on it like a
sheet upon the breast of the dying. The sky was awfully
bare and deserted! Not a shred of a cloud dotted it for fifteen days! I never felt lonesome till that time. I had rather
lay to under storm sail a twelvemonth, than be compelled to




TRAVEL   IN  THE  CALI F O RN A.    307
pick oakum and make spun yarn, and think through a calm
like that. Well, at the end of fifteen days, just as the sun
set, a little cloud about as large as John's tarpaulin, scud up
in the nor'west, like an angel of mercy to tell us there was
wind once more in the heavens; and about eight o'clock the
old ocean began to stir; the air struck our parched bodies,
and the sails flapped, the vessel moved, and we began to feel
that we were climbing out of a great hot grave; I never shall
forget that calm.
" Well, we had light breezes till we got off Montevideo,
when a stiff norther came on, which bore us on under doublereefed topsails down to the Cape. Here it came on to blow
a gale, and we were obliged to run into Magellan, and lay
to under the lee of the highlands. After lying there two
days, the wind chopped round northeast, and the old man
thought we might as well run through the Straits. But the
gale was renewed, and rushed overland upon us with such
fury that we could carry for a number of days, only sail
enough to make the ship lay her course. At last we hove in
sight of the Pacific, and run afoul ofe of those villainous head
winds which you know often set into the west end of the
Straits. This detained us nine days. At the end of this time,
it hauled into the northeast, and enabled us to get into the
open sea. Our course from the Straits was NW. But the
wind again chopped round dead ahead; consequently all we
could do was to try to hold our own. We accordingly beat
off and on, and lay too twelve days, when we found me must
up helm and let her run. The gale was awful; and as we
advanced south the raggedness of the sea was continually
more and more frightful; the -cold became intense; the water
froze upon the deck six inches deep; and the spars, and masts,
and rigging were covered with ice to such an extent, that the
ship swayed under the gale, and was likely to swamp; the
most like a death-call from the mermaids that Tom ever saw,
was that gale. The ship lurching her spars into the waves,
the sailors slipping, the rigging stiff, and the only sail set,




308         SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC,
covered with ice several inches thick; the mnasts like vast
icicles, and the old man and every man expecting every moment to go down! After drifting, however, as far as 70'
South, the gale abated, the wind changed, we cut away the
studding-sail, rigged another, and stood away for, the north,
and in a few days got rid of our ice and other troubles. We
now took our course for New Zealand, and about 300 miles
east of that island fell in with the whales I thought of, as
we"-. " Bear a hand there, you lubbers." " Aye, aye, sir."
" Bring out the old trysail, and run your yarns into that."
s" Aye, aye, sir." And thus was Tom's yarn again severed,
much to his chagrin, and my regret; for I longed to hear a
whalesman's account of his bold and dangerous calling.
On the 10th of May we came in sight of Cape Sa_ Lucas,
bearing thirty miles SE. It was about five o'clock, P. M.
The wind had been dying away since noon, and now barely
kept the ship moving. The western portion of the sea was
all light and glorious; it lay panting, as a wearied giant just
returned from the field of conflict. The sun, as he fell steadily down the great arc of heaven, was reflected more and
more widely and intensely, until his reddest rays shot through
the clear tops of the billows, and scattered a purple drapery
of clouds sprinkled with gold up half the western sky. Gayplumaged land birds gathered on the rigging, and twittered
and sang to the approaching twilight. The land was eight
miles from us; a rough red waste of mountains! those holy
desolations where the Indians' God made his descent to bless
them, their streams, their fruits, and give elasticity to their
bows. Sturdy scenes! rocks on rocks, gloom on gloom, sand
on sand, and dearth feeding dearth, and universal thirst preying on animal and herb! The living things in the sea frolicked around us. The dolphin, the bonitos, the flying fish,
the porpoise, the right whale, were all employing their
muscles in their own way among the sleeping waters; and
about the sides of the almost motionless vessel swarmed shoals
of bright and active little fish that seemed to beseech us for




TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIF ORNIAS.    30f
protection and food. As the sun's disc sank below the horizon, and he withdrew his last rays from the mists of the sea,
and left the stars to their own twinkling, the mellow clear
blue of a tropical sky came out over us; such a sky as hangs
over Athens and the Egean tides and islands. This was re.
flected back from the waves, on which the stars danced and
flickered, were extinguished and lighted up again, as swell
after swell approached the ship, and rocked, as does the
heart of the mother the child slumbering on her breast. The
moon was in the first quarter, rounding to the full. And I
remember never to have felt so strong a sympathy with it as
on that glorious night. If dreams come when reason sleeps.
and recollection serves only to feed the affections, and deepen
the musings of the imagination and associating powers, I certainly dreamed with eyes on the moon and stars and the sea
of that night. The day had gone; it was night; the sta%
were out, and the sea was dancing to the music of the &r
distant and ceased tempest, and the moon had come over my
home, was shining through its windows upon the table at
which we ate, on the chairs in which we sat, on the was
that had witnessed the high and unmarred pleasures of the
domestic affections. It was lighting up the altar of my holiest
hopes, and crowding upon it every gem of joy which had
shone on the path of the past! A bird chirped among the
rigging a note which resembled one that had gladdened even.
ing walks, and often died in the ear as in the opening spring
sleep was gathering us to rest; and that chosen star, that consecrated star, that star on which we hung our vows at parting,
was looking down upon me! I walked forward among the
watch, who were loitering about the forecastle in silence.
"A fine night this, sir," said one of them, " a fine night, sir.
This weather reminds one of our New England Indian sum.
mers, when I used to go out of an evening to a country dance,
and throw clubs into the trees to get the finest apples for the
neighboring girls. I recollect that I lost my heart on just
such a night as this, when about twelve years old! I wen*




310        SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC,
over to neighbor Parker's to invite them to a husking, and
the old gentleman insisted, after I had done my errand, that
I should stay awhile and help John shell a grist of yellow
corn; for he wanted to go to mill at sunrise next morning.
So down I sat on a little wooden bench at one end of the
warming-pan handle, which was put through the ears of a
wash-tub, and shelled away bravely. But all the time I was
at work, Rachel was pulling my ears, and throwing kernels
of corn at me, and showing her white teeth and sweet lips
and eyes around me, until my ears and cheeks burnt, my eyes
were swimming with love, and my head and heart felt so
mixed up together that they have never got unravelled since."
Another one said that these yarns about love were always
coming up around the windlass, and he hoped they would be
hauled in, and stowed away soon, for it was quite enough to
remember one's girl and poor old mother thousands of miles
away when obliged to; and that this way of bringing them
into every watch, and harrowing up one's feelings, was worse
than being strung up at the yardarm every twelve hours: as
he said this, he turned away, and wiped his moist cheek on the
sleeve of his pea-jacket.
On the 11th, we lay along the Cape. The contour of
the land was distinctly visible. The mountains rise in arid
grandeur, rough volcanic cinders, red and desolate.  They
are curiously piled. Huge mountains sprout from the main
masses, and hang over wooded jungles a thousand feet below.
Turrets rise on turrets like giant castles of an olden land
They are an irregular, unstratified, ugly, desolate confusion
of rocks and dust. On the 12th, we lay six miles SE. of the
point of the Cape. We had a fine view of both shores of
the Gulf of California for fifty miles. The scenery was extremely interesting. The eastern Cape shore was much like
the western. The eastern shore of the Gulf, the edge of the
Mexican main, was sublime. Not so much so on account of
its massiveness or its altitude, as its resemblance to a conti



TRAVELS  IN  THE  CALIFORNIAS.    311
nent of continuous cities, interspersed with groves.  The
general aspect was dreary.
On the 13th, a light breeze from the south bore us along
about three knots the hour. The Gulf shores opened wider
as we advanced. High mountains rose on the main in the NE.
The coasts of the Gulf are said to be mountainous up to the
mouth of the Colorado of the West.
In the evening the mountains on the Mexican side were
lighted up with immense fires-some of them resembled those
of volcanoes; others, the raging flames among the firs and
pines of the Green Mountains; others, the deep glow of the
log heaps of the American fallows.
On the fourteenth we sailed across the mouth of the Californian Gulf or sea of Cortes, and at night-fall lay in full view
of the rocky islands around the anchorage of Mazatlan. Cape
San Lucas had faded away in the northern horizon fiear sunset, and I confess I regretted to know that I should probably
see its hills and plains no more; but a reflection upon the des.
tiny of the Californias took the place of such sorrow. That
country must become a constituent member in the great brotherhood of American Nations. As a maritime country it is
unequalled on the western coast of America; indeed I should
say, it is not approached in this respect by any country border.
ing on the Pacific seas.
The harbors of San Quintin in Latitude 30~ 23' N., San
Diego in Latitude 330 N., and San Francisco in Latitude 37~
N., afford secure anchorage for the navies of the civilized
world, and every desirable facility for erecting wharves, docks
and arsenals. These indenting a country capable of sustaining thirty-five millions of people, with the healthiest climate
on the continent, affording abundance of live oak and other
materials, without stint, for the construction and rigging of
vessels, and a rich soil bearing on the same acre the fruits of
the tropical and the temperate zones; with the greatest possible facilities for commercial intercourse with the eastern shores
of the Russian Empire, China, India, Australia, and the Ha*
62




312         SCENES  IN  THE  PACIFIC.
waiian, and other Islands of the Pacific, as well as the whole
western coast of America, indicate the Californias as the seat
of the ruling maritime power of that half of the world.
But there are other reasons for this opinion. A canal can
easily be cut from the head of steamboat navigation on the
San Joaquim to the head waters of the Gulf of California.
This, for warlike and commercial purposes, would be invaluable.
Another circumstance, however, is of more value than any
I have named in forming an estimate of the undeveloped
greatness of this charming country. It is the intellectual and
physical might of the people who are to inhabit it.
In order to indicate what race this is to be, we need only
refer to the facts, that the navigable waters of the Missouri
River are within six hundred miles of Puget's Sound: that a
railroad of that length will send the commerce of the Indies,
China, and the Californias into the Mississippi valley, and send
the inhabitants of that valley to the Californias; and that
Nature herself has connected that country with the States by
an excellent natural road.
This route from the San Joaquim to the plains of the Missouri is not only feasible but easy. A Mr. Yunt, from Franklin, in the State of Missouri, and now a resident of Upper
California, travelled from the Great Salt Lake to Monterey
with loaded mules in thirty days. From this lake to the navigable waters of the San Joaquim is not more than three hundred and fifty miles, with plenty of wood, water and grass the
whole distance. The high range of mountains between the
San Joaquim and Mary's river can be passed in six hours.
There is a low gap, pathway leading through it. The route
from this gap leads up Mary's river to the forks; thence up
the east fork, and over the plains, to the Pont Neuf branch of
the Saptin; thence through a gap in the mountains to Big
Bear river at the Soda Springs; thence up Bear river and
over the plains to the Rendezvous on the Sheetskadee; thence
over the plains to the Sweetwater branch of the north fork o




TRAVELS IN  THE  C A L I FORNI A S.   313
Great Platte; thence down that river to its entrance into the
Missouri.
Along this track population must go westward. No one
acquainted with the indolent, mixed race of California, will
ever believe that they will populate, much less, for any length
of time, govern the country. The law of Nature which curses
the mulatto here with a constitution less robust than that of
either race from which he sprang, lays a similar penalty upon
the mingling of the Indian and white races in California and
Mexico. They must fade away; while the mixing of different
branches of the Caucasian family in the States will continue
to produce a race of men, who will enlarge from period to period the field of their industry and civil domination, until not
only the Northern States of Mexico, but the Californias also,
will open their glebe to the pressure of its unconquered arm.
The old Saxon blood must stride the continent, must command
all its northern shores, must here press the grape and the olive,
here eat the orange and fig, and in their own unaided might,
erect the altar of civil and religious freedom on the plains of
the C alifornias.
MIazatlan; we anchored in the roads, and having passed a
day and two nights with Mr. Parrot, our worthy consul, and
another American who was addicted to aristocracy and smuggling, we bade adieu to Captain Paty and his Don Quixote,
to Messrs. Johnson and Chamberlain, and sailed for San Blas
in the schooner Gertrudes, formerly the Honduras of the
Hawaiian Isles. On the sixteenth we anchored along side the
prison-ship in the roads of San Blas, and had the pleasure of
knowing that none of our countrymen had perished on the
passage. They had suffered greatly from thirst and hunger;
but they lived; and that to us and to them was cause of the
deepest gratitude.  Forty-six Americans and Britons in
chains! —in the chains of Californian Spaniards! Will not
the day come when vengeance will be repaid?
During the afternoon and the night following day we rode
sixty miles to the city of Tepic, and laid the case of these pris.




314             SCENES IN THE PACIFIC.
oners before the American and British consuls, who rendered them all the aid and protection which their situation required. Graham finally returned to California, a
broken-spirited, ruined man. The others are dispersed
elsewhere.
From here we mounted our mules, crossed the Republic
of Mexico, and sailed to New Orleans.
THE END.