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YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

ECLECTIC SCHOOL READINGS
THE SPANISH IN THE
SOUTHWEST

BY

>w^ . ROSA V. WINTERBURN

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NEW YORK ¦ : • CINCINNATI • : ¦ CHICAGO
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY

Copyright, 1903, by
ROSA V. WINTERBURN.
Entered at Stationers' Hall, London.
spanish in southwest.
W. P. 3
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Ka ifflg flusbanti
THIS work is dedicated

INTRODUCTORY NOTE
From the simplicity of the Indians, through the biogra
phies of gold-seeking Spaniards and the indolence of the
Spanish occupation, to the complexities of the constitu
tional era, runs this writing. To have been purely his
torical by omitting the story element would have taken
the work out of the realm of the children for whom it is
intended ; to have presented only incidents and biogra
phies would have destroyed historical values. So the
book is indeed a story of history, a collection of stories
selected and arranged to present historical characteristics
and tendencies of periods.
Believing that to some extent the form of narration
should follow the psychological development of the sub
ject treated, the manner of telling the story has been
steadily adapted to meet conditions. Simple and childlike
when writing of the Indians; biographical in the early
days before the efforts of an individual were reckoned
into the sum of activities ; thoughtful and reasoning in
the difficulties of the contact with foreigners.
If the children of the Pacific slope read and enjoy,
finding in and between the lines an uprising of love and
respect for their glorious country, and of determined
loyalty in the protection of its honor and morality, this
little book will have fulfilled its mission.
R. V. W.

CONTENTS
I. BEFORE THE COMING OF THE SPANISH
CHAPTER I
PAGE
Indian Life in California  9
Homes. Food. Catching wild fowl and animals. Fishing.
Clothing. Quarrels and battles. Diseases and their treatment.
Games. Result'of the coming of the white men.
CHAPTER II
Indian Legends  27
Legend of creation. How man was made. How fire was
brought to the Indians. A legend of the geysers.
II. DISCOVERERS AND EXPLORERS
CHAPTER III
Cortes  43
On the coast of Mexico. Messengers from Montezuma. March
to the city of Mexico. Meeting of Cortes and Montezuma. Mon
tezuma a prisoner. His submission lo the Spanish king. Attempt
of the Aztecs to drive the Spaniards out of the city. Death of
Montezuma. Character of Cortes. Use of the name California.
The island of California. CHAPTER IV
Reports of the Seven Cities ... .... 57
Story told by Tejos. Army started north. Cabeza de Vaca.
New enthusiasm about the seven cities.
CHAPTER V
Fray Marcos de Niza .  64
Fray Marcos starts to find the seven cities. Death of Stephen.
A glimpse of the seven cities. Wonderful accounts to the governor
of Mexico. Three expeditions started north.
5

Contents

CHAPTER VI PAGE
Coronado and Alarcon . .  68
Coronado's army. Disappointments. Cibola. Journey to Qui
vira. Land of the "wild cows." Letter to the king of Spain.
Treatment of Coronado on his return to Mexico. The failure of
Alarcon to meet Coronado. CHAPTER VII
The Spanish Claim to the Pacific Ocean  79
Reasons for early voyages to the west. Discoveries by Spain
and Portugal. Quarrel between the two nations. The Pope's divi
sion of the unknown world between them. New quarrels in the
Philippines. Long voyages of the Spanish ships. Reasons for
exploring the North Pacific. CHAPTER VIII
Cabrillo and Viscaino .  83
Cabrillo's voyage into the North Pacific. Ports taken possession
of for Spain. Severe weather. Death of Cabrillo. His commands
to his pilot. Viscaino. Retraverses Cabrillo's voyage. Sailors
charmed' with Monterey. Failure to find the Straits of Anian.
Report to the king of Spain. CHAPTER IX
The English in the North Pacific.  89
English privateers. Drake and the Golden Hind. Search for
the Straits of Anian. Vessel repaired near San Francisco Bay.
Relations with the Indians. Country claimed for England. Named
New Albion. Farewell to the Indians. Reception of Drake in
England.
III. THE MISSIONS OF ALTA CALIFORNIA
CHAPTER X
The Desire of a Youth . . 
Youth of Father Serra. Desire to be a missionary. Friendship
with Fathers Palou and Crespi. Voyage across the Atlantic. Walk
from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico. Beginning of Father Serra's
long illness.

97

Contents

CHAPTER XI PAGE
Expeditions into Alta California  101
Determination of Spain to settle Upper, or Alta, California.
Priests permitted to accompany soldiers. Father Serra made presi
dent of the missions of Alta California. Expeditions started by
Governor Galvez. Father Serra delayed by illness. His visit with
Father Palou. His illness after overtaking the company. Arrival
at San Diego. CHAPTER XII
Founding of San Diego Mission  . 109
Company started for Monterey. San Diego mission founded.
Greed of the natives. Their thefts. Attack on the mission. New
hopes of converts. Disappointments. Father Serra's self-accu
sations. CHAPTER XIII
The Search for Monterey Bay  118
Failure to recognize the bay. San Francisco Bay visited. Dis
couragements. Return to San Diego. New discouragements.
Anxious watch for the San Antonio. Monterey Bay found.
Establishment of the mission. Country claimed for Spain.

CHAPTER XIV
The Last Days of Father Serra  125
Father Serra's busy life. His final illness. Arrival of Father
Palou. Death of Father Serra. Grief of the Indians and the
Spaniards. CHAPTER XV
Life at the Missions  129
Reasons for establishing missions. Supplies. Founding new
missions. Attempts to win the confidence of the Indians. Mission
buildings. Estates. Early sufferings. Irrigation. Daily routine.
The Indians under the orders of the church. Work done by the
Indians. Their teaching. Punishments. Amusements. Old
superstitions. Hospitality of the missionaries. Gifts from visitors.

Contents

CHAPTER XVI PAGE
The Slavery of the Missions .  152
Failure of the Spanish king's plan for the missions. Reasons.
Meaning of "mission slavery." Affection between the Indians and
the early priests. Two periods of mission history. General peace
during the " era of calm." Cruelty and rebellion during the era of
resistance. Approach of secularization.
CHAPTER XVII
Secularization  161
Meaning of secularization. Objections of the priests to state
control. Untimely knowledge of the Indians of the plan. Law
put into effect. Results. Indians scattered. Relapse into savagery.
Ruin of the mission system.

IV. SPANISH CALIFORNIA
CHAPTER XVIII
Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches  171
Pueblos. Pueblo of Los Angeles. Food. Entertainments.
Dress. Horses and horsemanship. Carriages. A Spanish school.
Life on the ranches. Cattle raising. Rodeos. Matanzas.
CHAPTER XIX
Foreigners on the Pacific Coast  191
Foreigners tempted by valuable furs. Contraband trade. Pirates.
Illegal trade with the Russians and the Americans. Jedediah S.
Smith. More foreigners. CHAPTER XX
Spanish Governors of California . . . . 2oi
Royal governors and military commanders. Portola. Borica.
Sola. Echeandia. Victoria Three governors at one time.
Figueroa. Chico. Guttierrez. Revolution. Independence from
Mexico. Alvarado, Vallejo, and Castro. Return to Mexican au
thority. Alvarado again. Micheltoreua. Seizure and restoration
of Monterey by Commodore Jones. More rebellions. Pio Pico
made governor. More Americans.

THE SPANISH IN THE SOUTHWEST

I. BEFORE THE COMING OF THE
SPANISH
CHAPTER I
INDIAN LIFE IN CALIFORNIA
BEFORE white people came to California there were
Indians everywhere. In the mountains, on the sea-
coast, along the rivers, were the rude homes of the dark-
skinned natives, grouped into villages in each of which
a tribe usually lived. They were a happy, jolly people.
They liked to play games, to laugh, and to have enough
to eat ; but they rarely worked except when it was neces
sary to hunt food. The neighboring tribes had so little
to do with one another that often the Indians of one
village could not understand the language of another only
a few miles away.
The huts were scattered along the streams where fish
were most abundant ; or near groves of trees where nuts
or acorns grew ; or where any kind of food was to be
found. They were built in different ways. In those parts
of California where there were few trees a round hole
was dug, three to four feet deep and ten to twelve feet
9

IO

Before the Coming of the Spanish

A winter hut

across ; poles were erected around the edge and fast
ened together at the top ; twigs or tules were woven
into the framework
thus made, or mud
was plastered over the
outside ; a small hole
was left at the bottom
for a door, and another
at the top to let out
the smoke. This was
the warm winter hut,
which when finished
looked like a big bowl
turned upside down.
All winter long, when fires were burning, the hut was
close and filled with smoke. As a result, the eyes of
the Indians were often badly diseased. Many old people
had very sore eyes, or they became totally blind.
The Indians were
not bothered with fur
niture. They had no
beds, chairs, nor tables.
They ate with fingers
instead of forks. They
slept on the floor.
When night came, fa
ther, mother, and chil
dren crept in through
the low doorway,
stretched themselves A summer hut

Indian Life in California

1 1

on the ground, and went to sleep. There was no attempt
to keep the floor clean. During the winter, when they
ate in the hut, pieces of meat, bones, and other refuse
were thrown around until even the Indians could no
longer endure the filth. Then the old place was burned
down, and a new one built. If the spring had come,
this was of brushwood, and for a time, at least, it was
clean. The Indians ate almost anything that was not poison
ous. Acorns, grass seeds, nuts, clover, wild oats, ber
ries, — whatever was in
season. They caught
fish, and hunted and
trapped deer. They ate
lizards, rabbits, frogs,
grasshoppers, and even
repulsive worms.
The acorns and grass
seeds were pounded
into a kind of coarse
meal. This was work for the women, who spent the
greater part of their time gathering and preparing food.
Even to-day, if one goes near an Indian village where
the old ways of life are kept up, he will hear a steady
" thump ! thump ! " It is the women and girls sitting
on the ground, pounding meal or cracking acorns and
nuts with stones. The mortars in which they ground their
meal were rude stone bowls pounded out of the rock by
years of use. The pounding was done with long, slender
stones called pestles.

Mortars for grinding meal

12 Before the Coming of the Spanish
The Indians who lived in the mountains or foothills
did not always take the trouble to make mortars. They
pounded the acorns and nuts on some flat rock, probably
in some hole already there ; as month after month and
year after year passed, and the pounding was continued in
the same places, holes as large as mortar hollows were
made. Some rocks have a large number of such bowls
in them, showing that many squaws must have sat near
each other at their work. Perhaps they laughed and
talked as they pounded, and the rock may have been their
pleasantest place of meeting during the day.
When the white people came to California, the Indians
had no kettles. They used baskets in which to cook their
food. These were woven so tight that they would hold
water, but they could not be placed on the fire. To
cook the meal a basket was filled with water, and hot
stones were then dropped into it. When the water was
almost boiling, the stones were taken out and the meal
put in and stirred constantly until the mush was well
cooked. The Indians ate their mush with their fingers.
When it was so thick that it could be taken up with one
finger, it was called one-finger mush ; and it was two-finger
or three-finger mush, according to the number of fingers
necessary to make the spoon for dipping it out. When
ever the Indians were going hunting or on a long trip
gathering food, a basketful of cold mush was carried along
on the back of some squaw.
Grasshoppers, cooked in -several ways, were thought
fine eating. Catching them was usually work for the
women and children. Dry grass was drawn into a heap,

Indian Life in California

13

and the Indians scattered around it in a large circle, beat
ing the grass and bushes. The grasshoppers were driven
into the pile of dry grass, which was set on fire at all
places at once. Dry as tinder, it blazed up instantly,
burned fiercely for a few moments, and died out, leaving
the grasshoppers roasted on the ground. Basketf uls were
picked up by the Indians ; they were either eaten as they
were or ground fine in the mortar and stirred into the
mush. This was a favorite dish.
Gathering grass seeds was hard work, and therefore
was usually done by
the women. Early in
the morning, before the
man of the family was
awake, the woman
started out to collect
seeds for the day. Her
cone-shaped basket
hung on her back,
supported by a strap
across the forehead.
Her scoop basket was
in her hand. Often a
child or two clung to
her, or they, too, were
carried on her strong,
broad back. Coming
to the ripe grass, she
whipped off the seeds with her scoop and threw them
over her shoulder into the deep basket. When this was

Pounding the grass seed

14 Before the Coining of tlie Spanish
full, she returned home, and pounded the meal for the
daily mush.
The women were the drudges of the family, especially
in gathering and preparing food. The husbands do not
seem to have been unkind to their wives and children,
except that by their laziness they shirked nearly all of the
hard work. In some respects, however, they were kinder
than the eastern Indians ; for when they hunted and
fished they carried home their heavy loads themselves,
instead of leaving them for the women.
In the season for wild ducks and geese the Indians had
merry feasting. The whole village often traveled many
miles to reach the rivers, ponds, and swamps visited by
these birds. There were some strange ways of catching
them. One tribe used to scatter on the bottom of a
shallow stream red berries which they knew the ducks
liked. A net was stretched over them a few inches under
the water, and a decoy was placed. Then the Indians
waited for a real duck to come along and dive for the
tempting bait. A berry might be picked up, but as the
duck tried to raise his head, he twisted it in the net;
before he could loosen it he was drowned. Thus held
fast, he served for another decoy, and the Indians soon
had ducks enough for several meals with very little
trouble to themselves.
A trick was played on the deer also. An Indian put
on a deer's head and antlers, and crept toward the feeding
place. He was careful to make no noise, and not to be
seen. When he was very near he raised his head under
the antlers which he wore, and pretended to be eating

Indian Life in California

15

grass. The deer were curious ; they stopped eating to
look at the newcomer; but the Indian kept quietly on
as if he were really feeding. Finally the deer felt so
sure that this was an animal like themselves that they
were no longer afraid of him. Then the Indian crept
nearer and nearer until he could send an arrow straight
home to the life of a deer. In this way two or three

Deer stalking
might be shot before the trick was discovered and the
herd took to flight.
The Indians thought it great sport to run down game.
They even ran down deer. This was not so hard as it
seems, for the Indians knew the trails, and men as well
as boys shared in the sport. Runners were put in relays
along the trails. One Indian started up a deer and ran

1 6 Before the Coming of the Spanish
after him as long as he could, or until he came to the
place where the second runner was waiting. This one
took up the chase, and the first one rested. So they kept
it up until the animal was tired out; then he was killed
and the meat carried home.
Rabbits and other small animals were frequently run
down. A company of men and boys spread out in a sort
of circle around the place where they knew that a rabbit
was hiding. They began to shout, to caper, to beat the
grass and bushes, and to make hideous noises. The
frightened rabbit ran, became perplexed by his many
tormentors, and if not really frightened to death, he was
soon so confused that he was easily caught and killed.
In some parts of California, catching salmon was a
great event of the year. At certain seasons these fish
come up the rivers from the sea ; and in the days before
the white men had muddied the waters of the rivers with
their mining, the salmon were sometimes so numerous
that there was hardly room enough for them in the water.
One tribe in the northern part of California had an easy
way of catching salmon. Going to a river where there
were many fish, the men built a booth out over the water,
covered it with brushwood, and laid a rude floor. Here
an Indian slept at night, waiting for the fish. Near the
booth, in the stream, a net was stretched, and a string
was taken from it to the Indian's hand, to which it was
tied fast. If a salmon got into the net at night and
began to flounder, the jerking on the string wakened
the Indian. The fish was brought on shore, and the net
set again.

Indian Life in California '7
In other parts also of California fishing meant great fun
for the Indians. The sport was to drive the fish into a
pool from which they could not escape. In some shallow
stream a dam was built just below a deep pool. The men
and boys went up the brook a mile or so to drive the fish
down toward the dam. Going into the water, they waded
around, splashing and stamping, shouting and throwing
water on each other, and making all the noise possible.
The frightened fish v hurried away from the clamor, swam
down the stream, and consequently went into the pool,
where they gladly hid in the deeper water. The Indians
quickly followed them and built a second dam aboVe the
pool, making the fish their prisoners. This was what they
wanted, for now, whenever they needed fish to eat they
went down to the pool and picked them out. Such feast
ing did not last long, however, for the Indians were great
gluttons. Whenever they had anything extra they did not
know how to save it up, but hardly stopped eating until
the dainty was gone.
The Indians who lived on the plains and in the valleys
wore little clothing ; but those who were in the mountains
or the colder parts of California wore skins of animals or
blankets of braided grass. For everyday wear their
dresses were very rude, but for festivals they were
trimmed quite elaborately according to an Indian's taste.
They used beautiful white down from the owl, glossy
black feathers from the eagle, and the brilliant red
scalps of woodpeckers. The last were so rare that
only the great men of the tribe could afford them.
Ornaments were made from shells and feathers, and,
SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — 2

Before the Coming of the Spanish

after the coming of the white men,
beads were the best-liked adornment.
Nearly all the California Indi
ans liked to bathe. Every morn
ing they went to the river or
creek near the village and
took a plunge into the
cold water ; but in spite
of their daily baths they
were never clean.
The different tribes often
quarreled over silly trifles,
and had many battles with
each other. Their wars
were seldom as serious as
those of the eastern In
dians, who sometimes kept
up hostilities with each
other until a whole tribe
was killed off. The Cali
fornia Indians fought
easily, but not long at a time. One tribe might think that
another had taken acorns from its trees ; or the men of
one village might say that those of another had made fun
of them and insulted them. Either excuse was enough to
cause a battle between the tribes.
The chief could not declare war, but he called the men
together and asked them if they wanted to fight their
enemies. If they did, everybody hurried off to get ready.
Bows were brought out and tried ; quivers were opened to

Indian dressed for a festival

Indian Life in California 19
see if there were plenty of arrows. The women made up
more acorn mush than usual, and packed it away in their
deep, pointed baskets. When everything was prepared,
the men took their weapons, the women strapped on their
backs the heavy baskets of bread, usually with a baby on
top, and the whole tribe, children included, went to the
battle. As little noise as possible was made, so that the other
Indians would not know that the enemy was coming.
Surprise was an easy way of conquering. When near the
enemy's village all kinds of hideous cries were suddenly
made to frighten the people into believing that a very
large force was on its way to make an attack. As the
fighting progressed, the women and children made them
selves useful. When the arrows began to be scarce, they
ran out on the field of battle, picked up those that had
been used, and brought them back for the men to shoot
again. Such a battle never lasted long. As soon as blood was
shed, or a few warriors had been killed, everybody was
ready to go home, and the war was over. California
Indians would rather enjoy life than go to war. Of course
there were times when more severe fighting was required.
Then the women and children stayed at home, and many
men were killed; but for an Indian country there was
very little warfare.
Some people think that the Indians were usually well
and happy, but that was not the case. They were often
very sick, and after the white people came the savages
were always begging for medicines. They had sore eyes

20 Before the Coming of the Spanish
from the smoky huts in which they passed the winters.
Those who lived near the rivers had rheumatism and
malarial fevers. After the coming of the Spaniards and
the Americans, smallpox sometimes swept over the country,
and its victims were always counted by the hundreds.
There were many medicine men among the Indians.
They were the great men of a village, and their power to
cure sickness was never doubted. One of their ways of
doctoring was to try to bring out an evil spirit, which they
said had gone into the sick man. In order to do this, one,
and sometimes two, medicine men came to suck out the
spirit. Sickness was also said to be caused by a stick,
bone, hair, or thorn which had gotten into the body ; but
the treatment was the same as when the evil spirit was to
be drawn out. The medicine men danced, tossed their
hands and arms wildly, and blew toward the north, east,
south, and west. They worked the patient up to such an
excitement that it is a wonder he did not die. Then the
real treatment began. A medicine man put his lips to the
place where the sick man felt the greatest pain, and com
menced to suck out what the Indians thought was the poison.
At last the medicine man showed a bone, a hair, or even a
frog, which he pretended he had drawn out of the body.
If this did not bring about a cure, the sufferer was laid on
a bed of sand and ashes, vessels of food and water were
put at his head, and a fire was kept burning at his feet.
Thinking that everything possible had now been done,
friends gathered around and anxiously watched to see if
the sick man was going to live or die.
The sweat house, or temescal, was another means used

Indian Life in California 21
by the Indians to cure their diseases. It must have been
worse than the medicine men. The sweat house was
shaped like the living houses, except that it was larger
and was dug out deeper, so that half, or even more, of the
hut was underground. The roof was covered with clay so
thick that hardly a breath of fresh air could get through.
When the Indians wished to use the sweat house, they
went inside, closed the door, and built a hot fire. Then
they danced some solemn, religious measures, or sat on
the floor while the fire burned up bright and fierce. The
room soon became so warm that every one was dripping
wet with perspiration ; the air was so impure that it was
almost impossible to breathe ; the dancers were ex
hausted ; but all stayed until they could no longer endure
the heat and the foul air. Then the Indians made a rush
for the door ; they burst outside, the strong often carrying
the weak; they ran, never stopping, until they could throw
themselves into a stream of cold water, near which the
sweat house was usually built. Harsh as was the treat
ment, many Indians were cured by it of their diseases,
although many others were killed.
The lazy, fun-loving Indians liked to play games. Men
and boys often stayed around the wick-i-ups, or huts, all
day long, doing nothing but sleeping and playing. A
favorite game was one called "takersia." To play it, a
large, level piece of ground was chosen ; it was carefully
cleared of grass, weeds, logs, and sticks ; a space about
twenty feet square was staked off, and the ground was
ready for the game. A small hoop about three inches in
diameter was made. Two players went on the ground;

22 Before the Coming of the Spanish
each with a small stick in his hand, and watched closely
to see how and where the hoop was to be thrown. After
many false moves to take the players off their guard,
some one sent the hoop rolling swiftly across the open
space. In an instant the two sticks shot forward. If
they fell short or passed over the hoop, the game was
lost ; if a stick went through the ring but knocked it over,
one point was gained ; while if a deft player sent his stick
through the rolling hoop without touching it, he gained
two points. The game was short, as only three points had
to be won by any person.
The Indians probably took turns on the field, but the
most skillful soon became the favorites. The onlookers
watched the merry performances with the greatest delight,
shouting and cheering at the best moves, and laughing
heartily when some one was taken off his guard by the
tossers of the hoop.
Another noisy game, somewhat like our " shinny," was
played with a ball of hard wood. Old and young enjoyed
it, but it was usually left to the boys and girls. The
players were divided into two sides, each having a base.
Each group struggled hard to send the ball over the
enemy's base. As the small piece of wood started across
the field, there was the greatest excitement, expressed by
howls and whoops. Even some of the bystanders seized
sticks and rushed into the game on one side or the other,
while those who resisted the excitement and watched the
rest, shouted and cheered on the favorites. The crowd of
,men, boys, and girls pushed and raced across the field,
driving the ball now this way, now that, until some lucky

Indian Life in California 23
player sent it over the enemy's base, and the game was
won. A hundred or more players were sometimes on the
field at once. Many a knock was given and taken, but no
one seemed to mind. Indian boys learned to stand hard
hits without grumbling.
The children had great sport when the clover was in
blossom. Out into the sunshine they went, hunting a
clover patch. When one was found with rich, honey-filled
heads of blossoms, the children formed themselves into a
large ring, pulled up some of the heads, and made them
into a ball. Then the fun began. Away went the clover,
tossed by the brown little hands ; away went the children
after it with their mouths wide open, for the game was to
catch the ball in the mouth. What shouts and screams of
fun ! Every open mouth was struggling to get the sweet,
juicy clover heads, and the child who finally caught it was
given the clover to eat.
To change the game, a child was sometimes made to
close his eyes, open his mouth, and wait for his playmates
to throw him a ball of clover. If only soft blossoms were
thrown, the victim might be glad, for the temptation was
too great for the fun-loving Indian lads. Many a clod of
dirt, a stick, or even a stone found 'its way into the wait
ing mouth. So with shouts of laughter the play went mer
rily on until every one was tired out.
Learning to fish, to hunt, and to swim were almost like
games to the Indian children. The natives on the Sacra
mento River used to teach their children to swim when
they were only a few weeks old. A father took his baby
down to the river and, holding him on his hands, put

24

Before the Coming of the Spanish

him into the water. The little fellow was held so closely
that he could not drown ; and, like a small frog, his
kicks and plunges soon taught him to swim.
These Indians used to ride on the river and even on the
bay on their tule rafts. It was often riding in the river ;
for, sitting astride of the long, cigar-shaped raft, the feet
hung down in the water. If the raft rolled and tipped off

JjgaaaS&g^

Mission Indians
the rider, he seemed to care no more than if he had
stumbled and fallen on land ; for these Indians could swim
long distances and were no more afraid of water than are
fish. When the Spanish came, California was full of Indians,
— happy, easy-going, good-natured. With no hard work
to wear them out, no long, cruel wars to kill them off, and
in a country that gave them food so easily, the Indians
often lived to be a hundred years old or more. These

Indian Life in California 25
happy conditions were not greatly changed during the
time of the Spanish. But when at length the Americans
occupied the country, they seemed to bring death to the
poor natives. The two races coufd not live together. The
brown-skinned Indians were the weaker of the two, and
they faded away before the white men ; they disappeared
like melting snow in a rapidly rushing mountain stream.
To-day not many are left of the thousands that less than
a hundred years ago thronged our fertile, sunny state.
There were no great wars between the Indians and the white
men, but many on both sides lost their lives in the efforts
to hold land. The natives could not live as did the Ameri
cans. They were easily subject to contagious diseases, and
a whole village might be carried off by a plague of smallpox
or fever. They tried to wear the clothes of the newcomers ;
but not knowing how to dress for different seasons, they
took cold and died from all kinds of lung troubles. They
drank the white man's whisky, and strong drink soon
carried off its victims. Food became scarce, for great
stock ranges and wheat ranches took the place of the open
country where the Indians had hunted wild animals or
found insects and roots. Pigs ate the acorns that had been
the bread of the Indians ; the salmon no longer came up
from the ocean ; the deer fled to the mountains. Slowly
the Indians disappeared from the . great valleys which had
become the homes of the white men. To-day they are
, rarely to be seen except in the mountains.
Many white men were kind to the Indians whose homes
had been taken. Villages were built for them, and the
simple-hearted natives were proud to call themselves by

26 Before the Coming of the Spanish
the name of their protector: as, Bidwell's Indians, Red-
ding's Indians. But life was harder in many ways, and
the Indian went down in the struggle.
To-day there are a number of schools in California
where the Indian boys and girls are taught many things
which the white children learn. It may not be long before
the young people will forget or never be told that their
fathers once owned all of California from the mountains
of Siskiyou to the deserts of San Diego ; and they may be
as happy in the ways of the white men as their fathers
were in their wild, free Indian life.
Questions. — Was life difficult or easy for the Indians of .California ?
Why ? Why did the Indians move from place to place ? Where were
they most liable to move ? What amusements did the Indians have ?
How did they act toward each other in their games ? Did they care
about fine dress ? How about their everyday clothing ?
In what part of their life did the Indians show shrewdness ? Their
enjoyment of society ? What other traits of character can be men
tioned ? In what way was each one shown ?
What caused diseases among the Indians ? How did they try to
cure them ? What help were they glad to get from the white men ?

CHAPTER II
INDIAN LEGENDS
The California Indians had a great many legends, the
most of which were very simple. Some were quaint
fancies, the answers of the savages to such questions as
how the world had been made, why the sun rose and set,
where the mountains came from, what lighted the fire in
the stars. Nearly all these legends had something in
them about animals, but the coyote was always the favor
ite, probably because of his cunning. In some stories he
helped make the world, or he was the creator of man.
He was generally the friend of the Indian, bringing him
help and knowledge. Legends told in different parts of
the country often contradicted each other, for the Indians
who lived in one place probably knew nothing of the
lives and stories of those who lived a few miles away.
LEGEND OF THE CREATION
Once there was no earth, but only a great body of water
that stretched as far as one could see in all directions.
Man had not yet been created ; and, except the coyote
and his companion, the eagle, there were no animals.
The coyote grew tired of being alone so much of the time
when the eagle was away on his long flights, and ne began
27

28 Before the Coming of the Spanish
to scratch in the air with his claws. Something seemed to
appear out of the nothingness around him. He watched
it in surprise; he was making the earth. He kept on
scratching, and finally land appeared. Coyote was
pleased, but the eagle, coming home, found fault.
"This will never do," he said to the coyote. "There
is no place for me to rest. You must make some moun
tains." The coyote began to scratch again, and made some hills
for the eagle.
" These are not high enough for me," said the eagle,
angrily. " Make me some mountains which shall be high
above the level of the earth."
" I am sorry that my mountains do not suit you," an
swered the coyote, "but lam tired and I really cannot do
any more to-day."
So he went to sleep, too lazy to do anything more to
the world. It was good enough for him just as it was,
and if the eagle wanted it improved, the coyote thought
that he could do it for himself. The eagle saw that the
coyote had gone to sleep, and as he wanted the mountains
at once, he decided not to wait for the lazy animal to wake
up. He began to scratch with his feet, and the mountains
grew higher and higher, until even the eagle was satisfied
with their size.
When he saw them rising up toward the sky he said,
" How bare they are. I must plant trees on them."
He flew slowly over the mountains and then slowly
back again. As he moved, many of his feathers fell to the
ground. The large ones grew up into great trees, and the

Indian Legends

29

little pin feathers became bushes and plants. The eagle
was happy when he saw the result of his work. He flew
away over the land, perching on his mountains when he
was tired, and making his nest, on high cliffs far out of
reach of all the animals.

HOW MAN WAS MADE

When the coyote had finished making the world and all
the animals, he was ready to make man. But how should
he create so wonderful a being ! Cunning as he was,

Tne council of animals
coyote hesitated about trying all alone to make man ; so he
called in the other animals to give him their advice. They
sat down around him, the mountain lion at their head.
" How shall we make this mighty creature, man ? "
coyote asked.

30 Before the Coming of the Spanish
Up spoke the mountain lion with a great roar. " He
must have a strong voice," said he, "so that everything
in the forest can hear him and be afraid."
The grizzly bear said, " Nonsense ! " and shook his big,
shaggy head. " Such a voice would scare away the very
animals that he wanted to kill. Man must be very strong,
able to kill his prey when he catches it."
So it went all around the circle of advisers. The deer
thought that man should have antlers, thin ears, and sharp
eyes. The beaver thought that a broad, flat tail was nec
essary for carrying mud and sand. The owl hooted out,
"Give him wings, of course! How can he live without
wings ? " Even the little mouse squeaked out his ideas
about making man.
The coyote listened until he lost patience. "You are
all wrong," said he. " Man must not be like any of you ;
he must have the good points of every one of us."
So they quarreled. The coyote bit a piece out of the
beaver's cheek ; the owl flew on the coyote's head and
tore it with his claws. Not one would give up his idea of
how man was to'be made.
" I will make a man myself ! " said each one at last ; but
they had talked and quarreled so long that it was almost
dark before any one could commence his work of creation.
They all made a start, and then went to sleep, leaving
their work for the next day.
Sly coyote did not sleep. When he thought that the
other animals would not wake up, he went softly around
and poured water on their models and spoiled them. Then
he worked hard all night, and finished his before sunrise ;

Indian Legends

31

he gave it life, and when the sleepy animals were finally
awake, the coyote's man was living. He was not like any
animal, but had the good points of all, just as the coyote
had said in the council.

COYOTE S CUNNING
The Indians knew that the coyote was very cunning.
They liked to watch him, and to tell stories about his
goodness to the Indians ; but they laughed at him and
made fun of his tricks. The squaws told the children
many of these stories, as they sat around the fire in their
warm huts on the chilly, rainy days of winter.
Here is one of them.
The Great Spirit sat on his sacred stool and
rested. He was very tired, for he had just
finished making the world and the animals.
Last of all, he had made a man, who was,
of course, an Indian.
"Now," said the Great Spirit, "man, you
shall tell the animals what to eat and what
to do. I will call them together, and they
shall walk in front of you so that you can
see them. Then you will know what to say
to them."
The Great Spirit told the animals that they
were to be ready to meet the man the next
morning. Then he turned to the Indian.
"Make bows and arrows," said he, "as many as there
are animals. When they march in front of you to-morrow,
give one to each. Give the longest bow and arrow to the

Bow and arrows

32 Before the Coming of the Spanish
animal which is to have the most power ; give the shortest
to the one which is to be weakest."
The animals met that night, so that they might sleep in
one place and be ready to go together to the man the next
morning. All went to sleep but the cunning coyote. He
was planning how to get the longest bow and arrow.
" I will not sleep," he said to himself. " I will keep
awake all night, so that I shall be first in the morning.
Then the man will give me the longest bow, and I shall be
the strongest animal in the world."
His eyes shone as he looked at his companions. The
grizzly bear was fast asleep. The timid deer started at
every rustle, and glanced fearfully around. The little
field mouse peeped from under a bush, and ran a little
farther away before it dared settle down to sleep. The
coyote stretched his thin snout on his fore paws, shut his
eyes, and waited.
"Ha, ha!" laughed he. "These stupid animals will
soon be asleep, but I shall keep awake until I have that
bow and arrow. Then I shall be a match for even old
Grizzly-skin himself."
He would have liked to tweak the ear of the old bear,
but he was afraid of a cuff from the big, flat paw ; so he
lay still and waited.
" Hi ! how hard it is to keep awake ! " he muttered.
" How old Grizzly snores ! I'll take a little walk just to
keep my eyes open." He crept slowly out, but still he
was sleepy. '• I'll run," thought the coyote. But he
stepped on a dry twig ; it broke with a snap. Up sprang
the deer, wide awake in an instant. The coyote jumped

Indian Legends 33
back and stepped on the rattlesnake, who set up his
hideous warning.
" Keep still, old fellow," whispered the coyote.
It was too late. All the animals were stirring, and
the coyote had to lie down or they would soon be wide
awake. There was one comfort for the coyote. He
saw a bright star in the sky, which he knew was the
morning star.
" If I can keep my eyes open just a little while longer,
it will be daylight," thought he; but he was so sleepy
that both eyes shut in spite of himself. Coyote shook his
head angrily.
"This will never do. I shall go to sleep, no matter
how hard I try not to."
He stretched out his fore paw sleepily and yawned. He
started as his paw touched a dry branch on the ground.
"Aha!" said he, softly. "The animals say that I am
cunning. I'll show them that I am more clever than they
dream." He drew the stick toward him, gently broke off two
small pieces, and sharpened them at the ends. Then he
opened his eyes wide, and put the sticks in so that they
would prop up his eyelids.
" Now," said the cunning coyote," I can take a little nap,
and still watch the morning star."
He was so sleepy that he could not keep awake another
moment. Down pressed his eyelids on the sticks. Slowly
the sharp ends pricked through. The coyote did not
know it; he was so sound asleep that he did not feel the
pricks. Up climbed the morning star ; down went the eye-
SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — 3

34 Before the Coming of the Spanish
lids until they were pinned fast together by the sticks that
were to have held them apart.
Paler grew the star, nearer came the sun. The birds
began to twitter softly. The animals yawned and stretched.
Just as the sun looked over the mountain, all the animals
but the coyote went out to meet the man. The last to
creep away was the poor little frog. He was the weakest
of the animals, and should have had the very smallest
bow. But when he had received his, the man still held
the smallest one in his hand.
" What animal have I missed ? " cried the man.
The animals, looking around in surprise, saw the coyote
lying with his head on his fore paws, fast asleep, his eye
lids pinned together by the sharp sticks. How they
shouted and laughed !
" See the coyote ! " they screamed. " See the cunning
coyote ! He is beaten this time ! "
They ran to him, jumped on him, danced around him,
and laughed themselves hoarse at his plight. The man
was sorry for the poor coyote. He pulled out the sharp
sticks, and gave him the only bow that was left, the short
est one of all.
Disappointed coyote ! He was to be the weakest of the
animals. Again the man was full of pity. He had no
strong bow left, so he prayed to the Great Spirit to send'
some other gift ; and in answer to his petition the coyote
was made ten times more cunning than before. Coyote
never forgot this kindness, and in return he always helped
the man and his children.

Indian Legends 35
HOW FIRE WAS BROUGHT TO THE INDIANS
After man was on earth, the coyote began to plan to
show him some great favor. The god of the Indians had
made fire and hidden it away in a casket, guarded by two
women, very old and very ugly. They lived far away
toward the rising sun, no one knew just where.
The coyote determined to steal some fire from them for
man. As he would need a great deal of help, he collected
a large company of animals, one of every kind he knew.
The strongest were to go farthest from home with him, to
the very land where the old women kept the casket of fire.
The weakest were to stay nearest home, because they
could not run fast nor far. An Indian was to go with the
coyote almost to the hut of the fire watchers.
When they were at the end of their journey the coyote
hid the Indian under a hill.
" Stay here until I come for you or call out," said he.
The Indian crawled under the hill and waited quietly
for his companion. The cunning coyote went boldly up
to the cabin where the old hags lived, and rapped on the
door. One of the women came to see what was wanted.
" Good evening," said the coyote, politely, " may I come
in and warm myself at your fire ? "
"Certainly," said the woman. "It is cold out of doors
to-night. Come in and lie down where it is warm."
The coyote went in and found a snug place by the fire.
The warmth made him stretch out his sharp nose and
curl himself up drowsily. " This is fine," said he. Then
he pretended to go to sleep ; but he shut only one eye,

36 Before the Coming of the Spanish
and kept the other open so that he could watch the two
women. " I don't believe that they ever go to sleep," he thought,
as hour after hour went by, and their eyes were as wide
open as ever. He was right. That was one reason why
they had been chosen to guard the precious casket. All
night and all day they watched the treasured fire, and did
not give the coyote the chance for which he was waiting.
In despair he at last went out to get help from the Indian
who was lying hidden under the hill.
"You will have to come," said the coyote. "You must
go up to the hut and pretend that you want to steal the
fire. They will watch you, and not think of me. I will
take some of the fire and run to the mountain lion."
Everything went as the coyote had planned. When the
Indian came to the hut, the old women tried to chase him
away before he could get the fire, but while they were
running after him out of one door, the coyote seized a
burning brand, and fled out of the other. As he ran, some
sparks that fell were seen by the old women. Knowing
now who was the real thief, they turned from the Indian
and gave chase to the coyote.
Away he ran, the fire in his mouth ; away went the two
old women after him. The coyote could run fast, but the
old women could run faster. They were almost up with
him when he came to the place where he had told the lion
to wait. There stood the faithful lion, ready to start ; for
he had seen them all running toward him, and had guessed
what he was to do.
The coyote's breath was quite spent. He could not say

Indian Legends 37
a word as he held out the burning brand. But the lion
took it in his mouth, and before the hags were quite within
reach of him he was gone. Since the old women never
grew tired, they ran on after the lion. Just as they
thought they were about to catch him he reached the
place where the next animal was waiting. Again the
brand was taken by a fresh animal, again the old hags
gave chase. So it happened every time. The old women
were never quite fast enough, and the coyote had placed
the animals so wisely that not one gave out before the next
was reached.
The last but one was the little ground squirrel. Although
he is small he can run fast ; but when he took the fire
brand, the hags were so close that he thought he would
not escape them. Off he ran so fast that his tail caught
fire. It hurt him so badly that he curled it up over his
back, where it burned the little brown stripe which we can
still see to-day. In spite of his pain the brave little fellow
would not give up. He ran on, and before the old women
came up with him, he reached the last hiding place.
The frog was waiting there.' He could not run, but had
to hop along ; so he could not carry the fire as the others
had. He opened his mouth and swallowed the brand ;
then off he hopped toward the home of the Indians.
Closer came the old hags. One of them reached out and
caught the tail of the frightened little froggie. Still the
brave messenger hopped along. He gave his tail a wrench
to pull it free. Oh, horror ! It dropped off in the hand
of the old woman. But the frog would not give up the
fire. Jumping into the water, he swam as long as he could

38

Before the Coming of the Spanish

hold his breath ; then he came on land and spit the fire
out into a big log of driftwood.
There it stayed ever after ; and when the Indians wanted
a fire, all that they had to do was to rub two pieces of dry
wood together, and the sparks of fire flew out. But no
grown-up frog since that time has been known to have a tail.
A LEGEND OF THE GEYSERS
Two young Indians were out hunting. They were near
the place where Cloverdale is now situated. They had
startled a big grizzly bear,

2

H3e*?°t

and both shot him at almost
the same moment. The
great animal fell, and they
waited quietly to see if he
were dead or only sham
ming. " Shoot him again," said
one ; and they let fly their
flint headed arrows at the
struggling bear1.- By this
time the grizzly had man
aged to get on his feet
again, and had started to
ward the brush. After him
went the Indians, guided by the heavy trail of blood.
Wounded though he was, the bear went rapidly up the
canyon; the Indians followed at a safe distance, waiting
for the savage beast to drop dead from the arrow wounds
which he had received. Mile after mile they went, guided

A grizzly bear

Indian Legends 39
always by that trail of blood, growing more marked the
farther they went.
"He cannot last much longer," they said; but as the
sun sank lower in the west, and the bear still held out,
they began to talk of giving up the chase and going back
to camp. Suddenly they saw the animal before them,
writhing on the ground.
" Now we have him ! " they shouted, and gave a loud
whoop of joy as they started for their prey. Frightened by
the noise, the dying bear rose and staggered on again. He
plunged into the ravine ahead of him to die. The Indians
saw him fall and ran forward to get his body. Suddenly
they stopped. With eyes starting from their heads they
looked around. Had they gone mad ? Was all the world
bewitched ?
Jets of steam hissed up from the ground around them.
Smoke drifted from the hillsides. A smell of sulphur
nearly choked them. Before them was a great basin in
which water boiled and bubbled. The earth beneath their
feet was spongy, and seemed ready to sink with their
weight. With a look of horror and with a fear beyond words, the
terrified hunters fled back the way that they had come.
Into the village they rushed and told their story. The
grave old Indians who listened said not a word. In amaze
ment they looked at the hunters.
Earth that smoked ? Water that boiled and bubbled
without fire ? Steam that came from the hillsides with
the noise of a rushing, roaring storm wind ? Such things
were impossible. But the two young Indians were known

40 Before the Coming of the Spanish
to be truthful, and there must be some reason for their
story. " We have told you the truth," they said. " Come and
see for yourselves."
About twenty of the Indians went back with them to
the place where they said the bear had died. There he
lay just as they had left him. That part of their story was
true. There too was the black water, boiling and seething,
hot as the hottest fire could have made it.
All the Indians came now to see this new wonder of
their land. The medicine men said that such water would
cure any disease. Booths were therefore built over the jets
of steam, and the sick people were laid on them to be cured.
So many became well that the fame of the geysers spread
among the Indians.
All the wonders of the geyser country were not yet
known to the simple natives. One night the clouds hung
dark above the land. It was just the night for an evil
spirit to be out, doing mischief to the Indians. Suddenly
the earth shook. Again and again it trembled violently.
There was a strange rumbling sound in the canyon.
" The spirit of the grizzly has come back to haunt the
place of his death," said the Indians, as they fled from the
spot. Many of them believed that evil spirits often went
into grizzly bears, and for this reason they could not
make up their minds to go back to a place which they
believed to be haunted.
"We have many sick and dying," they said to each
other. "We must find some way of going back to our
healing springs."

Indian Legends 41
At last a gray-haired man who had come among them
said : " I will make an offering to this evil spirit. We
will put it at the edge of the basin which boils and bubbles.
If it is accepted, the evil spirit will go away and leave us
the springs that heal."
The old man went to work. Day after day he cut and
scraped, until a human face seemed to be growing out of
the rock. All alone he went into the canyon, and all alone
he worked there. The Indians watched him with reverence
and superstition. The face was almost finished. Early
in the morning and late at night the sculptor was at his
work. One night he did not come to the village even
when it grew late and the stars shone in the sky.
" He will finish it to-night," said the Indians, waiting
eagerly in their village.
Suddenly there came a moan, a groan, from the canyon
where the old man had been at work. Then there was a
rumble such as they had heard before. The ground shook
again and again. Cliffs trembled ; some of them fell from
their bases.
The horrified Indians threw themselves on the ground,
and waited breathlessly for the morning sun. When at
last it rose above the hills, the Indians in fear and trem
bling hurried to the place where they had last seen the old
sculptor. Not a trace of him was to be found, and he was
never seen again. The image was finished, however, and
its cold, stony face looked down into the boiling waters of
the basin, an offering to the evil spirit of the place.
Silently all looked at the face, and silently all crept away.
Three quarters of a mile farther down the canyon they

42 Before the Coming of the Spanish
found new springs that had burst out in the earthquake
shock of the preceding night.
" The old man was sent by the Great Spirit to help us,"
said the Indians. " We will bring the sick to these new
springs, for they are a gift from the evil spirit to show
that he is no longer angry with us for killing the grizzly.
But the horrible sounds from the upper springs mean that
we must not go to them again."
The Indians obeyed what they took to be a warning.
Even after the white men had come to the country and had
visited the upper springs without harm, the Indians re
fused to go back to their old haunts. They continued to
take their sick to the lower springs which they believed
had been given to them by the evil spirit when he accepted
the carved face on the rock.
Questions. — What did the Indians admire in the coyote? Do these
legends tell us anything about the lives ofthe Indians? Why were
not the legends the same all over California? Who made them?
How were they remembered? Were they liable to change?

II. DISCOVERERS AND EXPLORERS

CHAPTER III
CORTES
WHEN Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean,
he thought that he was going straight to China. He
touched the coasts of Central and
South America, and to the end of
his Hfe believed that he had found
some islands near the shore of Asia.
He was greatly disappointed that
he could not succeed in sail
ing around the land which
lay so obstinately in his way, f
for he believed it to be only
an island, and that the fabu
lous East, with all its wealth
of silks and spices, was just
beyond. Other Spaniards had the same belief, and, in their ef
forts to sail around the land which had blocked the way
for Columbus, some of them touched the eastern coast of
Mexico. Among the latter was Hernando Cortes,1 a
1 Cortes (Kor'tez).
43

Hernando Cortes

44 Discoverers and Explorers
brave man, and one of the greatest of Spanish explorers
and conquerors. He was sent out with some ships to visit
the country known to be west of Cuba, and to bring back
all the information he could gather about the land and its
people. Cortes stopped at many places on the coast of Mexico
and Central America. He was told that there was a rich
country farther inland ; that the natives wore many valu
able ornaments, and that they had fine temples where they
gave gold, silver, and precious stones to their gods. He
heard, also, about a great body of water beyond Mexico to
the west.
Cortes determined to visit this country, hoping to find
there gold enough to satisfy himself and all his men. But
he was not sure that his men would stand by him in so
dangerous an undertaking. What if they should desert
him in the midst of the new country ? Cortes did not
intend to come back himself until he had learned all
about the land ahead of him ; neither did he intend to
have his men come back without him. At last he made
a remarkable decision.
His ships were anchored in a small harbor on the coast
of Mexico. He ordered his men to take out everything
that could be of use ; then, under the pretext that the ves
sels were no longer seaworthy, he caused them to be sunk.
He felt now that he was safe, so far as his own soldiers
were concerned. If they deserted him, there was no way
for them to return to Cuba or Europe ; and Cortes well
knew that they would rather risk their lives in the strange,
hostile country ahead of them with him as a leader, than

Cortes

45

• to choose any one else in his place. He, as well as his
men, knew that he was the bravest and most capable man
in the company. As the soldiers rode away toward the
blue mountains rising before them in the west, they must
have realized that the surest way to preserve their lives
was by giving implicit obedience to Cortes.
Stories of the city of Mexico, the capital of the Aztecs,
continued to reach
Cortes as he traveled
toward the mountains.
They made him all the
more determined to
visit that city, and find
out for himself how
much truth there was
in the reports about its
vast wealth and stores
of precious stones. At
one of the cities con
quered on the march,
the Spaniards were met by some messengers from the
king of the Aztecs. The name of this king was Mon
tezuma, and he was the ruler of the most powerful nation
in the country. He was so feared by many of the small
states, and so hated by others, that all along his route,
Cortes found tribes who were ready to help him in his
attack on the dreaded king.
Soon after Cortes landed on the shore of Mexico, word
had been sent him by Montezuma that he wished to be
come a vassal of the king of the white man's country.

A Spanish ship of the time of Cortes

4.6 Discoverers and Explorers
He promised to send across the seas a yearly tribute of
gold, silver, slaves, and anything that he had. The mes
sengers who met Cortes at the conquered town had come
to assure him again of the good will of Montezuma, and to
ask that the Spaniards should come no nearer the Aztec
capital. The roads were bad, they said ; Mexico was on
the water and could be reached only with canoes ; the
country was so barren that the Spaniards would suffer for
the necessities of life ; and it would be better for everybody
if these strange white men would stay near the coast, or
leave the country entirely, sailing away in their great
winged ships. Cortes could not be deceived by such weak
excuses ; and, besides, the messengers had something to
add which, instead of hurrying him away as they hoped,
quickly decided him and all his men to press on to Mex
ico. They brought him an abundance of rich presents.
The Aztecs thought that the white men were gods, and
they had brought them rich gifts, such as they offered to
their own deities when they went to the temples to wor
ship. If the strangers took the gifts, the Indians hoped
that in return they would do whatever was asked. Poor
messengers ! Poor Montezuma ! They could not under
stand that these very presents were to bring death to them
selves and ruin to their loved country. For, among other
things, they had brought considerable gold.
There were pieces of armor trimmed with gold. There
were crests of feathers with gold and silver threads run
ning through them, and scattered over with pearls and
precious stones. There was a helmet filled with grains
of pure gold. They had brought, also, two large plates,

Cortes 47
one of silver and the other of gold ; both " as large as
carriage wheels," said the historian who was with Cortes
and who wrote about the scene. The one of gold, so
admired by all, was used by the Aztecs in their worship
of the sun ; and as they thought that Cortes was a long-
promised god, Montezuma had sent him this gift, one
truly fit for gods.
How the Spaniards must have stared at all this wealth
of presents ! No one thought now of going back to
Spain. On, on to Mexico ! was the cry of every soldier.
The Aztecs had sealed their own fate by the gifts which
they had brought. The Spaniards, cruel and greedy,
would never leave the country now until they were mas
ters of all this wealth. What were these articles that
were given away, to all the riches that must have been
kept at home ? On to Mexico !
It was a weary march, and the soldiers were tired
long before they saw Montezuma's capital. They had
climbed far up the mountains that lie between the city
and the sea, and at last, as they passed around a rocky
projection, they beheld a beautiful valley below them.
Like Moses of old, they stopped to look at the glorious
country. " It is the promised land ! " 1 they cried in their delight,
as the great leader of Israel had cried out when he saw
Canaan before him. But Moses had dreamed of peace
and rest for his people in the land toward which they were
traveling ; while Cortes thought only of war and conquest,
and of taking by force all the riches that he and his men
1 Torquemada, quoted by Prescott in his Conquest of Mexico.

48

Discoverers and Explorers

could carry away. Why should he think of the sufferings
which were to fall on the gentle people who lived in the
lovely valley below ? What did he care for the country
that he was to ruin, for the slaves who were to tremble
under the lash of the white man ? He had come for gold ;
gold he would have, no matter what it cost.
In the clear air of the mountain regions Cortes and his
men could look over all the valley. Vast forests covered
much of it; but there were also the fair orchards and
gardens of the peaceful Aztecs. In the midst of the
valley were lakes surrounded by villages and cities. There
was no need to ask which was Mexico,
the city of their desires. It lay on the
water's edge, larger than the rest, and
like a queen it overlooked and ruled its
dependents. Montezuma was waiting for the com
ing of the white men. From the time
of their landing, he had seemed to feel
that they would bring him only trouble,
and he had kept himself informed of
every move which they had made. He
knew when any town tried to stop them ;
when any of his enemies gave them
help ; and now his faithful scouts hurried to tell him that
the dreaded strangers were before his own beautiful city.
He listened to the stories of the wonderful animals that
seemed a part of the men, obeying them, never seeming
to tire, carrying men on their backs as if they were chil
dren. These were the horses of the Spaniards, animals

Montezuma

Cortes 49
which the Aztecs had never before seen, and which they
feared almost as much as they dreaded the men them
selves. Montezuma Hstened quietly to all that his people had to
tell him ; then he made ready to welcome Cortes. It-was
a notable event, this first meeting between a great ruler
of the New World and an invincible conqueror from the
Old. Borne in his palanquin, attended by his nobles, and
followed by a great number of his subjects, Montezuma
went out on the causeway which connected the city with
the mainland.
Cortes had advanced to the very entrance of the city,
where he was met by a large number of the nobles of
the Aztec court, sent by Montezuma to be the first to
greet the white leader, and to herald his own approach.
As they drew near Cortes, they gave him the peculiar
greeting of their country for men of rank ; every noble
put one of his hands to the ground, bent over and kissed
it. Then all advanced to speak to the leader. Cortes
had reached a drawbridge which separated the causeway
from the main street of the city. After the greeting from
the large company of nobles, this drawbridge was crossed,
and the Spaniards found themselves at the beginning of a
beautiful avenue. Cortes described it in a letter to his
emperor, Charles V. He said that the street was so wide
and straight that one could see to its farther end, two
miles away. It was lined on both sides by large temples
and palaces. Its beauty so surprised the Spaniards that
they declared there was nothing finer among all the streets
of Europe. SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — 4

50 Discoverers and Explorers
Montezuma was approaching the drawbridge as Cortes
crossed. Two hundred nobles, richly dressed, were
formed in two lines, one on each side of the broad street,
close to the houses. In the center of the procession came
Montezuma, borne in his palanquin. When he alighted
and advanced toward Cortes, slaves swept the ground
before him, and then spread carpets on which he walked ;
for his royal feet in their golden sandals must not touch
the common earth.
As the emperor approached, Cortes dismounted and
walked haughtily forward, a servant following, leading the
horse. There was no appearance of fear in the proud
man, although he could see that he and his small army
were surrounded by swarming multitudes of Aztecs.
After the first greetings had been exchanged, Cortes made
a motion to embrace the emperor as he had the chiefs
whom he had met on the road ; but he was instantly pre
vented by a noble. To have touched the lord of all the
Aztecs would have been a profanation of the royal person.
Rich presents were exchanged, some words spoken by
means of an interpreter, and Montezuma stepped again
into his palanquin.
He had welcomed Cortes to his kingdom, but he had no
hope nor pleasure in greeting this cold, proud man ; he
had only fear for his unknown power. He had yielded to
what he believed was his fate. He thought that Cortes
came from the gods, and he did not know yet whether he
brought from them good or evil. So he met the strangers
courteously, but he would not be the one to conduct them
into the city. Carried back to his palace, Montezuma left

Cortes

Si

the Spaniards to be escorted slowly after him by some of
the nobles.
The long and interesting story about Cortes and Monte
zuma cannot be given here.

Meeting of Cortes and Montezuma

Montezuma was all too kind and gentle to withstand the
wily and cruel Spaniards. He was made prisoner by them,
and, although he was allowed to live in a palace, there
was always a strong guard before the gates. One day
heavy irons were fastened to his feet, just to show him
how completely he was in the power of the strangers.
The heart of the kind monarch was broken. If he had

52 Discoverers and Explorers
fought against the Spaniards, he might have saved his
country ; but he had tried by kindness to retain the friend
ship of the supposed messenger from the gods, and now
he was a prisoner, disgraced before his people, and his
nation was without a leader.
The Aztecs had made many conquests and consequently
many enemies ; but at home Montezuma was a kind ruler.
His friendly greeting to Cortes had displeased his people,
who began to call him weak. As if this were not enough,
he was forced by Cortes to promise obedience to the
Spanish king. Montezuma wept as he spoke the required
words, but he still thought it right and wise to obey. To
his nobles he said : —
" They have come across the sea. Long years ago the
greatest ruler of our land went away toward the rising
sun, promising to come-back some day, bringing us bless
ings. These men have come from him; we must obey."
So, although tears ran down his cheeks- as he spoke,
Montezuma, the great, free, rich king of all the Aztecs,
gave the promise that Cortes demanded. It was so sad to
see him in such sorrow and still doing what he beHeved to
be right, that even some of the Spaniards wept. Hard
and rough as they were, the tears ran down their cheeks as
they listened to him. They had learned to like this man
who was now promising that he would obey an emperor
whom he had never seen, their own king, Charles V, far
away on the other side of the Atlantic.
To show that he meant all that he had promised, Monte
zuma caused great heaps of treasures to be put before
the Spaniards. There were large piles of gold and

Cortes 53
silver dishes, of the wonderful cloth made by the Aztecs,
of gold in small grains, and in bars as it had been melted
down for the treasury. Then there were beautiful Mexi
can ornaments, birds, insects, flowers, all of gold; and
there were collars, bracelets, fans of gold and feathers,
with pearls and precious stones scattered over them.
Even the Spaniards were amazed at all the wealth
before them ; but they did not wait long before taking
possession. After the king's share had been laid aside,
the men fell to quarreling bitterly about dividing the rest
of the treasure.
Poor Montezuma ! he had not much longer to live, but
he had much to suffer. Bitterest of all to the heart of
the proud but fond king, his own people turned against
him, saying that he was the friend of the Spaniards and
the enemy of his own nation.
At length the people of Mexico determined to drive
the Spaniards out of their city and to release their king.
There was only a handful of the white people and their
allies, compared with the great numbers of Indians soon
massed around the palace where the Spanish army was
lodged. Montezuma, who still believed that Cortes had
come from the gods, wished to help his captors. He
was led by the guard to a balcony from which he spoke
to a multitude of his subjects below, trying to quell their
rage ; but he succeeded only in turning it against himself.
The Indians soon began to grow angry at what they called
their monarch's weakness; they said he was a woman,
and not a man to lead his people in the hour of their
need. Some one raised a bow and pointed it at the king ;

54

Discoverers and Explorers

others saw the motion, and, picking up mud, stones, sticks,
threw them at their once loved and reverenced monarch.
A stone struck Montezuma on the head and he fell to
the floor. Seriously injured, he was carried to his room.
He could endure ho more; his own people had deserted
him, and the man whom he had tried to
serve held him a prisoner. Far worse
than the stone which struck him down
was the hatred to be read in every eye.
He would not take any of the medicines
brought him by the Spaniards ; he tore
off the bandages which they put on his
wound. In a few days he died, dis
graced, broken-hearted, but still half
believing that the man who had so
humiliated him was one sent by the
gods. On Cortes lies the death of Monte
zuma and the ruin of a great and pow
erful nation. He destroyed the civilization of the. Aztecs,
the highest race in North America when the Europeans
came. He made wretched slaves of a people that had
opened to him the gates of their city. But while the
cruelty of Cortes must be condemned, it must 'be remem
bered that, according to the spirit of his age, he was a
wonderful conqueror and leader of men. That he was
not wantonly cruel is proved by his later life, when, as
governor of Mexico, the Indians themselves recognized
his justice. He was also sincere in his love for adven
ture and exploration ; and when he lost favor with the

An Aztec warrior

Cortes

55

court of Spain, he spent large sums from his private
fortune in order to send expeditions along the Pacific
coast. It was his never-dying energy in these efforts
which helped bring about the later discovery of Cali
fornia, for he inspired others with his belief that some
wonderful country lay to the north. It is supposed to
have been Cortes who first gave the name California to
the lands beyond Mexico. On one of his expeditions,
when ill luck had followed him, and his people were well
nigh hopeless, Cortes called the barren land on which
they were resting, California. It was the name of a
fabled island of wondrous wealth ; and, half believing that
they had reached some such promising country, his men
aroused themselves from their despair.
The name clung to the peninsula, which we now call
Lower California ; it was given to the gulf on its eastern
side, once known as the Sea of Cortes ; and it finally
attached itself to the mainland farther north.
Enemies, jealous of the fame of Cortes, made trouble
between him and his emperor. Twice he went to Spain
to right himself with the monarch. On his first visit, al
though great attention was paid him, the Cortes who was
trying to secure justice and favor from the throne was a
different man from the one who had sent home such vast
quantities of gold. As a mark of what was called special
favor, he was allowed to return to Mexico, where he con
tinued his explorations at his own expense. Still his
enemies pursued him, and finally they forced him to go
again to Spain to meet his emperor, Charles V. There
at the court he waited long for justice, overlooked and

56 Discoverers and Explorers
neglected, until all hope of recognition for his services
was past. Finally he died, disheartened by the treatment
shown him.
By the time that Cortes returned to Spain there were
many Spaniards in Mexico, all eager to gather wealth.
They searched everywhere, and were ready to believe any
story, however exaggerated, of the splendors of distant
lands. One of the tales that they heard was about the
island of California, — the same that Cortes told his sol
diers when they were ready to despair.
This wonderful island was said to be not far from India.
Its inhabitants were women, all of them black. They
were strong and fearless, well armed, and such excellent
soldiers that no one dared go to their island. Instead of
being afraid of war, these women were true Amazons,
killing all who came to interfere with them. They were
very rich in gold and jewels ; they wore armor made of
gold ; their weapons were of gold.
This romance helped to give zest to the search for gold,
and to give the name California to the lands found by the
Spanish explorers.
Questions. — What led Cortes to go to Mexico? Why did Monte
zuma wish Cortes to stay away from the capital? Why did he send
the Spaniards gold and rich presents? What were the results of Mon
tezuma's belief about the white men?
How was the civilization of the Aztecs shown? In what respects
were they still simple savages, the inferiors of the Europeans?
In what way was Cortes rewarded for his discoveries and exploration ?

CHAPTER IV
REPORTS OF THE SEVEN CITIES
In their efforts to find wealth the Spaniards in Mexico
were always asking the Indians if they knew where gold
or silver could be found. Probably the natives did not
always understand them, but simply tried to get rid of their
questioners ; hence there were many false reports which
sent the Spaniards on useless journeys.
One of the governors of Mexico had an Indian slave,
Tejos,1 who had once lived far to the north of Mexico.
He belonged, in fact, to the tribe which gave its name to
the present state of Texas. Tejos was fond of telling how
his father had traveled from one tribe to another, selling
feathers to the Indians. These feathers, he said, were
used in making headdresses, and they were often paid
for in gold and silver.
The governor questioned Tejos about the places which
his father had visited, asking him if he had ever been taken
on those trading trips. In reply Tejos said that he could
easily find the rich cities, which he well remembered, for
he had been with his father and knew the places very
well. He said that they were nearly as large as Mexico,
and that there were seven of them, known as the Seven
l Tejos (Ta'hos),
57

58 Discoverers and Explorers
Cities of Cibola.1 To the governor's disappointment, Tejos
said that they were far from Mexico, that it would be nec
essary to travel many days on the desert, and to go some
distance beyond it.
Not discouraged by the length and dangers of the jour
ney, the governor hurriedly collected an army and started
for the land of the Seven Cities of Cibola, as every one
now called the wonderful country described by Tejos.
The march began with flags flying, with armor shining,
and with loud laughing and joking ; for every one ex
pected to return soon, loaded down with the precious gold
of which the Spaniards were always dreaming. How dif
ferent was the coming home ! The men had suffered from
hunger while crossing the desert, and many had died of
thirst ; some had been killed by savage Indians ; and no
where had any trace of the seven cities been found. The
soldiers were discouraged, and only too glad to return to
Mexico. The governor was in trouble with the emperor
and had to go back to Spain, and, for a time, people
almost ceased to talk of the famous seven cities.
Tejos's story had seemed strange to the Spaniards, but
the second time they heard about the seven cities it was in
a far more remarkable manner. Some Spanish explorers,
who had been in the northern part of Mexico, returned
one day with four men who had not left the city with
them. Queer-looking creatures they were. Their only ¦
clothes were the skins of wild beasts; their hands and
feet were so hardened that they looked like the claws and
hoofs of birds and animals ; their hair and beards were
i Cibola (Se'bo-la).

Reports of the Seven Cities 59
long and matted. The strangers looked like wild men
from the desert.
One of these men was taller than the rest. He was
thinner than they, if that were possible ; but his eyes
shone bright and clear, and he spoke and acted like a

yp^^Pfgf'

"The strangers looked like wild men "
commander. There were two other white men and a
negro in the little company brought thus strangely out of
, the wilderness. They spoke Spanish, and were so glad
to hear their own language from other lips that they were
nearly frantic with joy. Many of those who crowded
around to watch the strange scene called the poor beings
madmen, and, as they listened to the story they told, said
that they were crazed by trouble. Again and again the
wild-looking men insisted that they were Spaniards.

6o Discoverers and Explorers
They said that they came from Florida, and that for years
they had been wandering in the country of the Indians.
Again the Hsteners laughed and touched their foreheads,
as if sure that these were the dreams of crazy men.
Florida was far away, and no white man had ever crossed
the countries between ; such a story was too improbable
to be believed.
Finally the men were taken to the governor, who told
the leader to narrate his experiences once more. The tall
man told him that he was Cabeza de Vaca ; 1 that the two
white men with him were Spaniards like himself, and that
the negro, Stephen, had followed him through all his
sufferings and wanderings across the continent.
It was now nearly nine years, said De Vaca, since they
had landed in Florida with a large company of Span
ish explorers. They had met with many misfortunes.
They had marched far into the interior, hoping to find
rich cities to plunder. One large river after another was
crossed, swamp after swamp was waded through, day after
day the men went hungry. At first the Indians left them
alone, but finally began to attack them whenever there
was a chance. At last, sick and discouraged, the men
could go no farther. The ships which had brought them
from Cuba had returned, and they therefore decided to ,
build boats or rafts and go to Mexico by water. They had
no nails, saws, axes, or other tools with which to work.
They had no ropes or sails with which to fit out boats if
they should succeed in making them. They were almost
without food, and hostile savages were around them.
I Cabeza de Vaca (Ca-ba'thii da Va'ca).

Reports of the Seven Cities 61
"We decided," said De Vaca, "to make tools and nails
out of the stirrups, spurs, and crossbows that we had with
us. And, as we had little food, we agreed that every
third day we would kill one of the few horses that were
left us, and eat the meat, saving the manes and tails for
making ropes when we had finished our boats."
But the boats that they made were all lost on the stormy
Gulf of Mexico, and the few wretched Spaniards who
escaped drowning were cast on shore among the Indians.
Although their lives were spared, they were made slaves
by their savage captors. They worked, until, as De Vaca
said, "My fingers were so worn that, did a straw but
touch them, it would draw blood."
At last De Vaca escaped from these savages and found
his way to another tribe farther west. There he was
better treated and stayed about six years. Sometimes he
traveled for the Indians as a kind of pecMler, and wherever
he went he was always on the lookout to learn which way
he should go to reach Mexico.
When at length he escaped from his captors, he took
with him two other Spaniards and the negro Stephen, all
of whom had been slaves Hke himself. They started west,
going as fast as their weakness and the dangers around
them would permit. Again and again they asked to be
sent to the place where the sun sets. Sometimes they
were helped by friendly Indians ; sometimes they were
kept for a while as prisoners ; sometimes they were looked
upon as gods or as great medicine men. Whenever they
came to deserts or tribes of warlike Indians they were
obliged to take roundabout routes. But they kept on in

62

Discoverers and Explorers

the general direction of south and west, where they knew
Mexico must be.
Finally they heard rumors of white men farther west.
They came to a place where horses had been tied to a
stake. Surely this was a sign of Spaniards. Almost with
out rest they pushed on until they overtook the white men.
How they longed for and still dreaded the first words from
their lips! Would they be Spanish, or were the poor
strangers still among enemies ? The first words set at rest
all doubts and fears. It was their native tongue which the

wanderers heard ; but it was some time before De Vaca and
his friends could make their countrymen believe their
story. The story of De Vaca was deeply interesting to the
governor; but when he had finished it, there was some
thing else which the eager listener wanted to know. Had
the Spaniards seen any gold and silver on their wander-

Reports of the Seven Cities 63
ings ? Were there any rich cities to plunder ? Yes, De
Vaca had heard of large cities, and he was sure that there
were precious metals in the country through which he had
passed. The Indians had had some, and they spoke of
jewels, or so De Vaca had understood them. His words
revived the old story about the Seven Cities of Cibola and
the rich country to the north. Again the Spaniards deter
mined to hunt for those cities. All the old enthusiasm to
explore the interior was awakened, and expeditions were
soon on their way to the north. Before the Spaniards,
now, was the real California of their dreams, but they were
not yet to discover it or its hidden wealth.
Questions. — What kind of cities did the Spaniards picture to them
selves from the reports of Tejos and Cabeza de Vaca ? What was knowl
edge and what was hearsay in the stories told by the two men? In
what direction from Mexico did they imagine the wonderful cities to be
located? What was the route followed by Cabeza de Vaca? What
besides the appearance of De Vaca and his companions led the Spaniards
to believe them crazed? How could the Spaniards account for their
coming except by believing their story? What probably led the Span
iards to accept as true the story of the wanderers?

CHAPTER V
FRAY MARCOS DE NIZA
Among those who were most interested by the stories of
Cabeza de Vaca was a priest called Fray Marcos de Niza.1
He met and talked with the wanderers from Florida, and
as he listened to their accounts of the countries to the
north, he was stirred by the desire to see them for himself.
Fray Marcos was a bold man, for he planned to go
almost alone into the savage country from which De Vaca
had recently escaped. He was, however, well fitted for
such an undertaking, for he had been in Peru with Pizarro,
and he had lived and worked long among the Indians of
Mexico. He persuaded the negro Stephen to go with him as
a guide, and a few Indian servants carried the things which
he might need on the way.
The Indians for the most part treated him in a kindly
manner ; and as he neared the farther limit of his explora
tions, he sent the negro Stephen ahead of his companions
to hunt out the way. Stephen put up crosses at different
points to indicate the road which he had taken ; he also
either left some statement of what he had learned, or sent
back a messenger with news for the priest. At last
word was taken back that the seven cities were not far in
!Niza (Ne'tha). 64

Fray Marcos de Niza 65
advance of the little party. Fray Marcos hastened on,
feeling that the end of his journey was near; but as he
approached the valley where the cities were said to be, he
was met by some of the Indian servants who had followed
Stephen. They were in great fear, and brought the
appalling news that the negro had been killed by the
inhabitants of the first city.
Fray Marcos was in a grievous dilemma. His guide
was dead ; his, Mexican Indians were so frightened that
they refused to go near the city again. Bold as the priest
was, he did not wish to take the risk of losing his life.
He wanted to take back to Mexico an account of the
country which he had explored, and of the seven cities
which were at last discovered. He determined to have a
view of the wonderful cities, for he was told that they were
not far away. Going to the top of a hill that overlooked
the valley beyond him, he gazed upon the land that he
had come so far to find.
Scattered on the plain below were, indeed, seven cities,
or villages. To the priest's excited imagination they
seemed to rival the splendors of Mexico and Peru. The
houses were very large, four, five, and even seven stories
in height, with flat roofs, and built of something that
shone in the sun, so thought Fray Marcos. For days the
Indians along his route had been telling him of the mag
nificence of these cities; they were without doubt the
same of which Cabeza de Vaca had heard when he was far
to the southeast. The friar remembered the wealth ol
the palaces of Mexico and Peru, and pictured to himself the
rich rooms probably in the houses before him. He called
SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — 5

66 Discoverers and Explorers
to mind the tales told by the Indians about emeralds and
turquoises over the doors of the dwellings in the seven
cities. He could accept any report that came to his ears.
Fray Marcos gazed long at the scene below him, and
then turned slowly back toward Mexico, to tell his story
to eager listeners.
His journey had been indeed a remarkable one; and
he told not only what he had seen himself, but all that
had been related to him by the Indians, and all that his
fancy had pictured. More marvelous still grew the stories
as they passed quickly from mouth to mouth among the
Spaniards in Mexico. Everybody was fired with the
desire to start immediately for the seven cities. The com
mon soldiers who were to be sent by the governor were
looked on with envy, and sometimes their places were
bought, if the lucky men could be induced to sell.
It was in the summer of 1539 that Fray Marcos went
to the seven cities. Cortes was still in Mexico, but it was
after his removal from the governorship. The viceroy, or
governor of the country, was Mendoza, who was eager to
outdo Cortes in his discoveries. A third man in Mexico
had been given permission to send out exploring parties ;
this was Alvarado, the governor of one of the provinces.
On the return of Fray Marcos with his stories of great
wealth, all three of these men planned to make expeditions
into the north. Cortes started his first, sending it by
water up the coast, under the command of an able man
named Ulloa. The shore was explored some distance
north, and then the ships were obliged to return on ac
count of severe winds, mutinous sailors, and scanty pro-

Fray Marcos de Niza 6j
visions. The enemies of Cortes were working against
him with the emperor, and soon after the return of his
vessels in 1540, Cortes sailed for Spain on a last, un
happy voyage never to return.
Alvarado collected a large fleet, but he finally joined his
forces with those of Mendoza. ^Mendoza planned two
expeditions for the spring of 1540. One was to go by land
to take possession of the seven cities found by Fray
Marcos ; the other was to go by water up the coast to a
point near which the land company was supposed to pass,
and to send it men and supplies if such were needed. The
leader of the land force was Coronado ; the fleet was under
the charge of Alarcon.
Questions. — In what ways did the early journeys of Fray Marcos
fit him for the difficulties of looking for the seven cities ? Mention at
least three characteristics of the man. Why should he wish to look at
the cities when it was not possible for him to enter them ? What did
he really see ? What led him to imagine more than he saw ?

Xi-- xi

CHAPTER VI
CORONADO AND ALARCON1
Coronado was the rich and powerful governor of one
of the provinces of New Spain, as Mexico was called at
that time. He had been much interested
in the story of Cabeza de Vaca, and in his
beHef that rich countries lay to the north ;
he had helped plan the expedition of Fray
Marcos ; and, on the return of that priest,
he had hurried with him to the viceroy, to
urge that an expedition should be sent
immediately to the seven cities. It was
natural that a man so interested in affairs
should be chosen as a leader, especially
since he was a general favorite in Mexico,
and connected with some of the first fami
lies in Spain.
It was a fine army which Coronado led
But before the deserts were crossed, many
of the men became discouraged. The places mentioned
by Fray Marcos were very disappointing. A building
which he had described enthusiastically as almost like a
fort was found to be only a ruined house, a little larger
1 Alarcon (A-lar-kon'). 68

One of Coronado's
soldiers
out of Mexico.

Coronado and Alarcon

69

than some others, and plastered on the outside with red
mud. Every one, including Coronado, began to feel that
their guide had seen many things through the rosy specta
cles of fancy, and that they would find the realities far
duller in color. But there was still faith in the seven
cities ; these had been heard of from so many sources
that they, at least, must be genuine.
How bitter, then, was the disappointment when the hill
was finally reached from which Fray Marcos had looked

A native village in New Mexico

down on the famous cities. Houses of mud! Villages,
not one of which could shelter more than two hundred
people ! To be sure the houses were palaces when com
pared with the Indian huts, but those were so wretched.
The beans, melons, and pumpkins raised in the rich valley

70 Discoverers and Explorers
must have seemed abundance to the natives who often
went hungry in the dry sandy regions. But how had the
fame of these cities been spread so far, if the buildings
below were all on which to base the stories of the splen
dors of the long-sought seven cities ? No one could tell.
There was no time to give expression to anger or dis
appointment ; no time even to gaze at the scene below.
The Indians of the first village were drawn up to fight the
approaching strangers. The battle which followed was
fierce but short. Coronado was wounded twice, for he
was constantly in the front of the fight, and his shining
armor was a good target for the stones and arrows of the
Indians. Spanish arms conquered, however, and in less
than an hour the battle was won. Soon after, the neighbor
ing villages also yielded. The first village was made the
stronghold for the Spanish army, and thus the rule of
Spain began in the southwestern part of what is now the
United States.
In Coronado's letter to Mendoza, telling of the victory,
he says that the name Cibola, by which the seven cities
had so long been known, was given by the natives to the
whole kingdom, and not to any one village. As nearly as
the place can be located now, it is in southern or western
New Mexico. When the traveler of to-day looks at the
remarkable buildings of the Cliff Dwellers of this region,
and considers that they were built long before the white
people had visited the land, he can understand how great
they seemed to the simple natives in their lowly huts, and
he can almost excuse the wild fancies of Fray Marcos
about their wealth.

Coronado and Alarcon

71

Coronado was determined to learn all that he could
about the country to which he had come. He heard
nothing of gold mines, although the Indians showed him
some small pieces of both gold and silver, but he deter-

Homes of the Cliff Dwellers

mined to investigate for himself. At one village in what
is now New Mexico, he met an Indian whom the Spaniards
nicknamed " the Turk," on account of his peculiar appear
ance. He had been brought captive to New Mexico after
one of the numerous wars between the fierce tribes of that
country and the people farther east. He was unhappy
and eager to return to his home far to the east, and he
seems to have thought that here was a chance to go under
strong protection. He heard the white men inquiring
about gold, silver, emeralds, turquoises ; and we must

72

Discoverers and Explorers

believe that he was clever enough to make them think that
he could lead them to great wealth. He told about great
quantities of gold and silver to the north and east ; abo.ut
large rivers which watered the land ; green grass and
forests of trees, such as could not grow in the deserts of
New Mexico, were everywhere, he said. The stories of
vast wealth were false, but much of what he said was true,
for the man was probably a prisoner from the region of
prairies and forests.
The Spaniards eagerly believed all that was told them,
and started off toward the plains of Kansas, taking the
so-called " Turk " with them as a guide. Thus began
one of the most »otable marches in the history of our
country. It was not long
before the company
reached the land
where the "wild
cows " lived, as the
Spaniards called the buffa
loes. The soldiers wrote
home about them as "the
most monstrous thing in
the way of an animal
which has ever been seen
or read about." They
Buffaloes soon killed some, although
it was at the risk of their horses' lives, so strong and
fierce were the buffaloes. There were as many of
them as there were fish in the sea, said the men ; and

Coronado and Alarcon

73

on all their long march they were not again for any
length of time out of sight of the immense herds which
then roamed over the country north and east of New
Mexico. The farther Coronado and his little army went, the less
their surroundings looked like the rich places which the
guide had promised to show them, and the more the Span
iards doubted the Indi
an's story. They be
gan to think that he
had been sent by the
Indians of New Mexico
to lead them on and on
in these endless plains
until they died or were
killed by the savages.
At last the soldiers
begged not to be taken
farther into this awful, unknown country. Coronado
thought that it was unnecessary for the whole army to
go on, and therefore sent back all but about thirty men.
With these he decided to take all the risks and push on
to Quivira, the city about which he had heard in Cibola,
and which the guide had told him was so rich.
Coronado and ' his men marched onward until they
reached the plains of southern Kansas. Almost in fear they
looked around. The plains, so great, so wide, so unbounded,
seemed to them like the ocean. In all directions was the
low horizon line, unbroken by trees or mountains. There
was nothing to guide them, and the men asked themselves

Picture of buffalo drawn by Spaniards

74 Discoverers and Explorers
if they should ever be able to find their way back to
Mexico. " There are no paths here," they complained to each
other, " except those made by the wild cows, and they lead
nowhere. The earth is so level that we do not know where
we are or where we have been. If one of us wanders
away after the cows, and loses sight of the rest of the
party, he is lost forever, and will die miserably."
Finally Coronado reached Quivira. But how different
it was from the stories he had heard from the lips of the
guide ! Instead of large houses there were only huts of
straw. Instead of cities there were wretched, dirty little
villages ; for the Indians kept moving from place to place,
wherever they were hunting the buffaloes which fur
nished them with nearly everything needed to eat and
to wear.
The natives did not know what Coronado meant by gold
and silver, and they had no jewels. They did have a few
copper vessels, which they said came from " on beyond."
They raised corn, beans, melons, and pumpkins ; and the
Spaniards saw some wild fruit and nuts growing. But
there was nothing in Quivira to reward Coronado for all
his time and labor, nor to pay back the money he had
borrowed in order to make the expedition. He would be
a ruined man when he returned to Mexico.
Besides his own disappointment, there was the king of
Spain to think about. He had found nothing in all this
vast country that the king would care to have ; and it was
so far away from Mexico that it would be useless to try
to make settlements. What could Coronado write home

Coronado and Alarcon

75

about this expedition from which so much had been hoped ?
Perhaps the king would lose all faith in him, and leave him
to his debts and disappointments.
It was a sad letter which the young explorer wrote the
king. In it he speaks of the stories told him about the

fine city of Quivira ; and about its kings who " were served
with dishes of gold, and other very magnificent things."
He continued in the same letter : " Although I did not
believe it before I had set eyes on it, it appeared to me
that it should be investigated for Your Majesty's service,
and I determined to go and see it with the men I have

76 Discoverers and Explorers
here." He finished the letter in a way considered proper
by so loyal and courteous a subject as himself.
" And may our Lord protect the Holy Imperial Catholic
person of Your Majesty, with increase of greater kingdoms
and powers, as your loyal servants and vassals desire.
Your Majesty's humble servant and vassal, who would kiss
the Royal feet and hands. " Francisco Vasquez 1 Coronado."
There was little brightness for Coronado on his return
to Mexico. Some who have written of his life say that
the viceroy was very angry with him because he had
given up the march to the north. For many who had
not been on that trying journey over the deserts, through
the mountains, and across the sealike plains, still be
lieved that these lands were as rich in gold and silver as
Mexico had been. Broken-hearted by disappointment,
and overwhelmed with debts, Coronado went to his own
province. There he lived almost alone, seeing few people ;
and there he died neglected.
Neither he nor those who knew him ever realized what
a wonderful march he had made. To-day it can be under
stood. He went from Mexico through the deserts of New
Mexico, north and east into southern Kansas. A priest
who went with him, and who decided to stay in Quivira to
convert the Indians, was killed there not long after the
departure of Coronado. He was probably the first martyr
of the church in the central part of our country. He was
at his good work of trying to convert the Indians of Kan-
1 Vasquez (Vas-keth').

Coronado and Alarcon

77

sas only fifty years after the landing of Columbus on the
West India islands, and seventy-five years before the Eng
lish made their settlement at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Some of the explorers were
sorry to give up the attempt
to learn more about this great
interior plain, and in later
days one of them wrote thus
about it : —
"God reserved its discov
ery to others. He only per
mitted us to boast of being
the first who had any knowl
edge of it. May the Lord's
will be done."
While Coronado was mak
ing his fruitless march to
Quivira, Alarcon was coast
ing up the shore with two
ships, hoping that at some
of his landing places he
would get news of the land
expedition. The Spanish at
.that time still believed that
Lower • CaHfornia was an
island, cut off from the
mainland by the Gulf of California, or the Sea of Cortes,
as it was then often called.
Alarcon was ordered to sail up the eastern coast of the

Canyon of the Colorado

78 Discoverers and Explorers
supposed island. This course brought him to the head of
the gulf, which had been visited but not explored by Ulloa
on his voyage for Cortes. The broad stream flowing into
the gulf was discovered, and Alarcon sailed up it a short
distance. He was told by the Indians that Cibola was
only a few days' march inland, but not one of his men
would venture to carry a. message to Coronado, who was
said to be already there. Before Alarcon could arrange to
take his whole force across the dry and hostile country
between him and Cibola, he learned that Coronado had
gone farther north. It was useless to try to overtake him,
so Alarcon returned to Mexico, having accomplished noth
ing but the discovery of the Colorado River.
Mendoza was angered that the expedition had done so
little. The leader was disgraced, and left to die of grief
in a distant province. Surely the Spanish discoverers and
explorers paid heavily for any lack of success.
Two years after the return of Alarcon, Mendoza sent
out another expedition under the charge of a noted
Portuguese navigator, Juan Cabrillo.
Questions. — With what object in view did Coronado leave Mexico?
When he and his soldiers were on the hill overlooking the Indian
villages why did they not picture to themselves rich cities like those
imagined by Fray Marcos? Why should these cities have seemed so
great to the neighboring tribes of Indians? What reason for thinking
that they may have been the ones visited by Tejos and his father?
Why may they have been those heard about by Cabeza de Vaca? Was
there any reason for their fame among the natives?
Why did not Spain claim all the vast country traversed by Coro
nado? Why was Coronado sad when he wrote his letter to the king of
Spain ?
Why was Alarcon's expedition a failure?

CHAPTER VII

THE SPANISH CLAIM TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN
To understand why Spain thought that she had so good
a claim to the Pacific Ocean, to all the islands in it, and
to all the lands border
ing it, we must go back
to the beginning of the
period of discoveries.
Before Columbus -
started out from Spain
to find Asia by sailing
west, several of the
nations of Europe had
been getting rich goods
from India and China,
which had been car
ried by caravans across the deserts of Asia. The cara
van routes, however, were so dangerous and the journey
required so much time, that people began to wonder
if some easier way could not be discovered. This thought
led Columbus to study all the maps and charts he could
find, to see how much truth there was in the theory
that the world is round. The same idea caused the Por-
tuguese to send out ships to see if, by sailing around
79

Spanish ships of war

80 Discoverers and Explorers
Africa, a water route to China and India might not be
discovered. Both Spain and Portugal were trying to find
an easier way to reach the far East ; the one by going
west, the other by going east.
It must be remembered that at this time most of the
people of Europe thought the world to be flat, and the
only countries known to them outside of Europe were
those in Asia and Africa which bordered the Mediterra
nean Sea. Africa was almost unknown, except that it
was a large region south of the Mediterranean. With all
the world so strange to them, it required as much courage
for the Portuguese sailors to explore the hot coasts of
western Africa as it did for Columbus to steer his vessel
across the seemingly shoreless Atlantic.
The Portuguese were the first to reach the hoped-for
rich lands of the East, and they came back loaded with
the silks, spices, and jewels for which all Europe was so
ready to pay the highest prices. Their success meant
wealth to Portugal. About the time that they returned,
Columbus came back from his first voyage, and told of
the lands which he had found. The Spanish were greatly
disappointed, for Columbus had but few treasures to show,
and the savage lands which he had discovered were not
much like the golden kingdoms of India and China.
Although he was aided in making his voyages, far more
interest was shown in the search by other Spanish vessels
for the countries visited regularly by the Portuguese.
When it became generally known that Columbus had
reached new islands in the west, trouble arose between
Spain and Portugal. Ignorant of the real size of the

The Spanish Claim to the Pacific Ocean 81
world, they thought that their vessels had found the same
countries or their islands. They did not know that
America and the wide Pacific lay between the islands
where Columbus had seen the gentle, friendly people
whom he had called Indians, and the places where the
Portuguese had bought their goods. Neither country
would give up its claim to the lands found, nor to the
right to sail over the ocean to them ; neither would con
sent to share its newly discovered possessions with the
other. Finally, since they had to agree on something,
they said that they would let the Pope settle their quarrel.
The Pope, Alexander VI, gave the quarreling nations
a famous decision. He divided the still unknown world
between them. He said that they should imagine a line
drawn north and south through the Atlantic, three hun
dred and seventy leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands.
The lands found, or to be found, west of this line should
belong to Spain ; all those east of it to Portugal.. With
this decision both countries were very well satisfied, as,
indeed, they ought to be ; for it gave the western half of
the world to one of them, and the eastern half to the
other, and left nothing for the other countries of Europe.
Both nations hurried ships and men to the far East ; those
from Spain went west around South America, those from
Portugal went east around the southern part of Africa.
All went well until the ships of the two countries met
on the farther side of the world. This meeting took place
in the Philippine Islands, where the old quarrel began
again, and each nation was as disobliging as possible to
the other. SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — 6

82 Discoverers and Explorers
Portugal claimed all of the ocean east of Europe, as
well as all of the land, and would not let the Spanish sail
around the Cape of Good Hope, although that was by far
the shorter route. Therefore, the Spanish trading vessels
in the far East were obliged to take the long way home, —
across the Pacific, around South America, and across the
Atlantic. This was a very, very long voyage, and it
required so many weeks to cross the Pacific that the
sailors often became sick with scurvy ; so there was much
talk about trying to make a settlement somewhere on the
coast of California. There were other reasons why Spain
was desirous of exploring the countries on the Pacific.
It was believed that the Pacific and the Atlantic were
connected by a strait, somewhere to the north, which had
even been named, the Straits of Anian. It was very
important for Spain to find this passage, and so shorten
the voyage to the East. By and by, also, English vessels
had ventured into the Pacific, and coasted along the
western shores of North America ; and there was reason
to fear that England would claim the land visited by her
ships. Consequently the Spanish king commanded that'
the northern coast of the Pacific should be claimed and
settled. Questions. —What did Spain hope for from the voyages of
Columbus ? What nation was her rival ? Why was there no trouble
with other nations when the Pope divided the world between the two ?
Do you know whether this decision held good ? Into what explora
tions did it lead Spain ? Why are her trips studied here, and those of
Portugal omitted ? Why did Spain finally decide to explore the Pacific
coast of America ? Why had she not done so before ?

CHAPTER VIII
CABRILLO AND VISCAINO
Juan Cabrillo, the leader whom Mendoza selected to
command the expedition up the Pacific coast, was so brave
and daring that the viceroy believed he would stop at no
difficulty that could be overcome. At the same time he
was so careful and had such good judgment that he would
not rashly take any unnecessary risks.
Cabrillo had two ships, both of which were small and
slow. One of them was even without a deck to protect the
sailors from the rough winds and storms which they might
encounter. It was almost the last of June when the ex
plorer sailed from Navidad, on the western coast of Mexico,
under orders to stop in all the important bays and harbors
and to make maps and charts of the places visited.
As the little fleet sailed north, Cabrillo landed at every
convenient harbor and took possession of the adjoining
country in the name of the king of Spain. He went far
ther north than any of the vessels which had been before
him. He passed the coast of what is now called Lower
California, and finally sailed into San Diego Bay. For the
first time, probably, white men looked at the beautiful line
of hills circling away from the ocean ; for the first time
Point Loma stretched its long arms protectingly around
83

84

Discoverers and Explorers

the white man's ships. Charmed with the security of the
landlocked bay, with the surrounding country sloping like
an immense amphitheater to the blue water, and with
the mellow sunlight over all, Cabrillo took possession for
Spain. Whether he dreamed, while doing so, that the day
would come when the ships of civilized nations would float

Island of Santa Catalina

on the bay and a city spring up on the sunny shores we
do not know.
Cabrillo could not stay long anywhere, no matter how
attractive the place. He had been sent out to learn about
the whole coast, and he pushed on farther north, to still
unknown lands and waters. He visited the island of
Santa Catalina, so famous for its beauty ; then he went

Cabrillo and Viscaino 85
back to the mainland, where the friendly Indians gazed in
wonder at the great winged ships, as they called the sail
ing vessels. Again and again he landed to trade with the
natives or to admire the region ; and he never failed to
claim the country for Spain. The summer passed all too
quickly for the voyage which he was expected to make.
It was nearing winter when Cabrillo rounded Point Con
ception. Storms were soon rolling his little vessels and driv
ing them far from each other and out to sea. In the smaller
one, which had no deck, the sailors suffered cruelly from
the cold and waves. After the storm had spent its fury, the
ships came together again and, rounding another point,
they sailed into the quieter waters of a bay. To a project
ing headland past which they sailed, the name was given by
which it is still known, Point Pinos. The quaintly shaped,
wind-swept pines which suggested the name were greeted
,with pleasure by the sailors, for trees so near the ocean
were rare all along the coast which they were exploring.
Cabrillo wished to land, but even the bay was still too
rough to permit him to anchor his ships securely ; so, to
the regret of all on board, the cypress-grown shores were
soon left behind. It remained for an explorer of a later
day to give the bay its present name of Monterey.
Slowly Cabrillo's little vessels worked their way north.
Storms tossed and hindered them, and the sailors suffered
much from the cold. Brave man as Cabrillo was, and anx
ious to obey orders and learn all about the coast, he finally
knew it to be wiser to abandon the voyage. He was not
far from San Francisco Bay when he gave the order to
turn south ; he started on his return, promising himself to

86

Discoverers and Explorers

come again into these waters, and sail along the coast that
frowned so forbiddingly at him.
Cabrillo had made his last voyage. Instead of going
back to Mexico, he landed on an island off Santa Barbara.

Point Pinos

There he planned to spend the rest of the winter and then
to start north again in the spring. But on the island he
died and was buried.
Even in his death he was true to the mission that the
viceroy had given him, for almost his last words were to
his chief pilot, urging, commanding, him to go on with
the voyage in the spring, and to explore the coast as far
as it was possible for any ship to sail.

Cabrillo and Viscaino 87
Cabrillo's voyage was in 1542; it was not until 1598
that any effort was made to estabfish a colony in even the
northern part of Mexico. It was not until 1602, sixty
years after the voyage of Cabrillo, that another Spanish
vessel sailed into the harbors which he had visited. The
man who was selected for this duty by the king of Spain
was Viscaino; he made one voyage up the coast in 1598,
and another in 1602. On the first he did not go beyond
Lower California ; the second was more important, and is
the one which we shall follow.
Viscaino's voyage was not very different from Cabrillo's.
He stopped in San Diego, where he was charmed by the bay,
as Cabrillo had been. The sailors went to the top of the
long ridge of Point Loma. Then the ships hurried north in
search of the Straits of Anian. Viscaino stopped at Santa
Catalina, as Cabrillo had done, and gave the island the
name which it still bears. Then on he sailed, farther north.
Still following the course of Cabrillo, he rounded the Point
of Pines, and dropped anchor in the bay of Monterey.
The sailors were glad, indeed, for the rest on land.
They wandered from place to place, delighted with all
they saw. The pines came down to the water's edge in
some places, and, as it was December, the hills were already
green from the winter rains. Monterey was wonderfully
beautiful to the sailors, even as it is to us to-day. There
was plenty of fresh water in the streams flowing to the sea,
and in the springs along the shore. There were many
wild animals, and the sailors enjoyed hunting and feast
ing. One place described by them became a landmark for
those Spaniards who came many years later. This was a

88 Discoverers and Explorers
wide-spreading oak tree, close by the water's edge. Its
limbs hung so low that some of them were swept by the
waves. Near its roots springs of fresh water gushed out.
Here Viscaino built a booth of green branches and had
mass said. It was a fitting chapel in the wilderness.
After about two weeks in Monterey the anchors were
raised, and the ships sailed out on their search for the
Straits of Anian. They sailed past the narrow Golden
Gate that opens into the broad waters of San Francisco
Bay. Whether it was hidden in fogs, as so often happens
at that time of the year, or whether Viscaino was too far
out to sea to notice it, we do not know ; but he passed
without seeing what is perhaps the finest harbor in all the
world. He sailed on, almost to the southern boundary
of Oregon, and then was forced to turn back on account
of storms and the sickness of many of his sailors.
In spite of all that Viscaino had discovered, and although
he wrote a careful account of his voyage and sent it to the
king of Spain, it was nearly two hundred years before any
settlements were made north of Mexico. Such neglect
could hardly be believed were it not for the fact that dur
ing that period the power of Spain had greatly declined.
From being the first nation on the continent, she sank to
an inferior power. California and the settlements on the
Pacific coast were not forgotten, but they were neglected
until the time of Father Serra and the missions.
Questions. — What were two difficulties which Cabrillo had to meet
on his voyage north ? What did his expeditions mean for Spain ? What
bays would he surely mention in his report? Which one would probably
be the most suitable harbor for the vessels from the Philippines ? Why
did Spain so long neglect the sailors on the Pacific?

CHAPTER IX
THE ENGLISH IN THE NORTH PACIFIC
Spain and Portugal had divided the world between
them before the other nations of Europe realized the fact
that there was anything in the newly discovered coun
tries worth having. But as these two enterprising nations
grew richer and richer by reason of their new possessions,
both England and France decided to win a share of the
wealth of the New World. Consequently many of their
vessels crossed the Atlantic and visited the eastern coast
of our country, but for many years none of them ven
tured so far away as the Pacific.
No nation, however, had braver sailors than England,
and when it was known that the Spanish and Portuguese
had actually sailed round the world, English vessels were
soon fitted out to attempt the same perilous exploit. Eng
land and Spain were not good friends in those days ; and as
the galleons of Spain came home loaded with the treasures
of Mexico and Peru, and later of the far East, English
vessels were ready to lie in wait for them and take posses
sion of their riches. In our day this would be piracy ; but
at that time there were no laws applying to the sea, and it
was thought a very brave deed to seize a ship belonging
to a foreign country and bring home her cargo.
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Discoverers and Explorers

One of the most daring men at the court of Queen
Elizabeth was Francis Drake. So eager was he to earn
wealth and fame for England and for himself, and at the
same time humble the power of Spain, that he determined
to sail anywhere that Spanish ships
could go and to seize their treasures
of gold and silver for his country.
On one of his early voyages he
visited the Isthmus of Pan
ama, for the purpose of cap
turing Spanish treasures that
were being carried across
from the Pacific shore to the
Gulf. While passing over
the mountain ridge that lies
between the two great waters,
he climbed a tall tree which
stood on the summit. He
was delighted by the scene before him. To the west he
looked down upon the Pacific, that great body of water of
which he had heard but which no Englishman before him
had ever seen. So carried away was he at the sight, that
he knelt down and prayed that he might some day sail an
English ship upon the waters of that mighty ocean where
hitherto only Spanish vessels had sailed. It was not long
before his desire was gratified.
In 1577 he left England with five vessels, sailing to the
west; nearly three years later he returned with one ship,
but he came from the east. He had sailed around the
world, the first Englishman to make the wonderful voy-

Sir Francis Drake

The English in the North Pacific 91
age. The account of his adventures reads like pages from
a story book, but only a few of them can be recounted
here. From the first, he and his men were on the lookout for
Spanish ships to plunder. Some small ones were taken
when only a short distance out from England, and some
Spanish galleons were seen along the coast of Brazil, but
Drake hurried on toward the Pacific : there the treasure
ships would be more abundant, and the Spanish would
not be on their guard against English privateers as on
the Atlantic. The passage through the Strait of Ma
gellan was very stormy, and Drake's small ships suffered
greatly. While still on the Atlantic two of his five ves
sels had been sent back to England. While the fleet was
passing through the straits another ship abandoned the
enterprise and sailed for home ; for the men were already
tired of the voyage, and eager to escape the perils that
were before them. The remaining two vessels became
separated, and one of them was never seen again. Only
one ship, therefore, survived to sail triumphantly into the
Pacific, and that was the ship which carried Drake him
self. This vessel had been known at first as the Pelican,
but after passing the Strait of Magellan she was called
the Golden Hind.
Sailing northward along the coast of Chile, Drake cap
tured many Spanish treasure ships. He boarded one as
she lay at anchor, nearly all her men having gone ashore.
He secured a great quantity of gold in bars " shaped like
brickbats," says the old chronicler who tells about it ; and
"so much silver as did ballast the Golden Hind." After

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Discoverers and Explorers

while near him
of silver, worth
money. As

the treasure had been put on board of Drake's vessel, the
galleon was set adrift to go wherever she might be taken
by winds and waves. In one place, where Drake landed
for water, his men found a Spaniard asleep on the shore,
were lying thirteen large bars
four thousand ducats in Spanish
the old chronicler says, " We
took the silver and left
the man."
Drake captured so
many Spanish vessels,
whose loads he light
ened while he made
his own heavy, that
he at last began to
think of returning
to England. It was
not safe to go back
through the Strait
of Magellan ; the
Spaniards were watching for him there, and would have
little mercy should they capture him. Besides, he remem
bered how the storms raged in the straits, and he did not
like to take the risk of losing his one little vessel, heavily
loaded as she was with prizes from the Spaniards.
Drake knew of the many efforts which had been made
to find a northern passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
and he determined to see if he could discover the straits
from the Pacific side. He therefore sailed still farther
north, past the coasts of Mexico and California. Finally

The sleeping Spaniard

The English in the North Pacific 93
he reached just about the same latitude visited by Cabrillo's
pilot in 1543. There the Golden Hind met bad weather,
and the men on board were " grievously pinched " with
cold. Drake had not found the hoped-for strait, but the
storms with snow and ice warned him that he must give
up his search. He caused the ship's course to be changed,
and returned toward the south.
The Golden Hind needed repairs, and somewhere near
San Francisco, Drake entered a small bay, dropped an
chor, and stayed long enough to rest his men and to
make his ship ready for the long voyage home. Drake
believed that, difficult as it might be, the safest way to
return to England was to take the Spanish route west
across the Pacific to the Philippines and the East Indies,
and thence to follow the Portuguese vessels around Africa
into the Atlantic.
Drake was well received by the Indians of the coast.
They crowded around the crew, went on board the ship,
and made long speeches in Indian to which Drake re
sponded in English. One day they put on Drake a head
dress of feathers, and tried to show him that they would
consider him one of their chiefs. The Englishmen, how
ever, thought that the feathers were a crown, and that
this was the Indian way of giving up all right to their
country ; they were much pleased to accept the gift, and
later made this act of the natives one of their claims to
California and Oregon.
As the Indians became better acquainted with the white
people they brought in all their lame and sick to be healed
by their visitors. Going to their chests, the English

94 Discoverers and Explorers
brought out medicines and plasters, and doctored all the
aches and pains as well as they knew how. This treat
ment was so pleasing to the Indians that they not only
came back for more of it themselves, but brought their
friends from other tribes with them, and the English were
kept busy using their simple remedies.
This visit of Drake's to the coast of California had some
very important results. Drake believed himself to be the
first white man to discover that part of the world. In fact,
his chronicler said : "It seemeth that the Spaniards hith
erto had never been in this part of the country, neither
did ever discover the land by many degrees to the south
ward of this place." So Drake claimed all the region for
England. Neither Spanish nor English, however, had
discovered the most extensive bay in all the world,
although it lay so near them. Cabrillo had approached
to within two days' sail of the Golden Gate, and the
next year his pilot passed close by the narrow entrance.
Drake was anchored for thirty-six days within a day's
travel of the great bay. But the hills kept their secret
well for two hundred years more.
Drake could leave no men behind him to hold the land
he claimed, even had such a course seemed necessary.
He therefore set up a sign that the region belonged to
England. This was "a fair, great post," with a brass
plate nailed upon it. On this plate were engraved the
queen's name, the day and year of Drake's arrival, and
also a statement that the natives had of their own free
will given their lands and themselves into " her Majesty's
hands." For lack of a better portrait of Queen Elizabeth,

The English in the North Pacific 95
a sixpence of the money of her reign, having on it the
royal picture and arms, was placed under the plate.
Drake's name was also written on this monument, and, in
memory of Albion, as England is often called, the country
was named New Albion.
Everything which the roving freebooter could devise to
hold the land for his monarch had now been done, and
Drake began to make final preparations for his departure.
The Golden Hind was made ready to sail. The cargo,
which had been carefully guarded on shore while the
ship was being overhauled, was reloaded. An abundance
of fresh water and all the food that could be obtained
were taken on board.
The English had spent five weeks in the company of
the Indians, and now that they were about to leave, the
poor savages could hardly understand that these white
men, who had seemed like gods to them, were really
going away. They gave up all the gladness, the games,
the jollity, with which they had tried to amuse their
guests, and began to weep and groan, and tear the flesh
with their finger nails until blood ran. The sailors find
ing that nothing would pacify their dark-skinned friends,
finally began to sing psalms and to pray with them. The
Indians had often listened to the sailors singing, and
on all their visits had begged for music ; so now they
forgot their own way of saying good-by, and tried to
imitate the English, lifting their hands and eyes to the
skies just as they saw the white men doing.
When the ship finally began to move slowly out of
the little bay, the Indians were in great distress. They

96 Discoverers and Explorers
ran along the coast to keep the vessel in sight, following the
shores of the bay to the ocean ; at last they went to the
top of a hill that they might watch the white sails far
out at sea. As night came on, the sorrowful Indians built
a great fire on the shore, whose red light Drake and his
sailors could see long after they had lost sight of land.
Interesting as is the account, it is not a part of our
purpose to tell how Drake sailed on around the world,
When the bold navigator reached England after nearly
three years' absence, he was received with the greatest
joy. Never before had so wonderful a voyage been made
by an English vessel; never had one come home so
loaded with Spanish treasures.
Drake was the hero of the day. So pleased was Queen
Elizabeth, that she honored him in many ways. She took
dinner on board of the Golden Hind ; and on the deck she
caused plain Francis Drake to become Sir Francis Drake,
dubbing him a knight with his own sword. The queen
even mightily offended the Spanish minister at her court
by wearing in her royal hair some of the splendid jewels
taken from the treasure ships of Spain.
Questions. — What did England think about the division of the
world between Spain and Portugal? How did she show this opinion?
What was Drake's object when he started out from England? What
two great and unexpected results were there from his trip? What dis
appointment did he meet in the North Pacific? Why was it a serious
one for Drake? What change did it make necessary in his plans? What
source for a quarrel between Spain and England in Drake's voyage?
Had the English made any settlement on the Atlantic coast at this time?

III. THE MISSIONS OF ALTA
CALIFORNIA CHAPTER X
THE DESIRE OF A YOUTH
{N the Mediterranean Sea, not far from the hills of
Spain, is a small island, called Majorca. On this island,
in 1 71 3, almost two hundred years ago, was born a baby
boy, whose life is interesting to all Californians. His
father and mother called him Michael, but here in the
New World he is known only as Father Jum'pero Serra.1
The parents of Michael were poor, but good and honest.
They were very proud of their son, and wanted him to
become an educated man. In those days it cost a great
deal of money to send a boy to school, and it was not often
that poor people could give their children an education;
but Michael's parents were determined. They went to the
priests and asked their help. As these good men knew
the parents well, they said that the child might stay with
them and attend their school without pay. They never
had reason to regret their kindness.
Michael proved to be a remarkable scholar for those
days. He was so fond of reading that he was seldom
1 Junipero Serra (Hoo ne'pa-ro Sar'ra).
SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — 7 97

98

The Missions of Alta California

without a book in his hands. In this way he learned
about some of the great men of the church who had gone
into distant, foreign lands as missionaries. He pictured
their sufferings as the cruel savages tortured them and
put them to death. But he
thought also of the brighter
side. He read that some
times these missionaries made
friends of the savages, telling
them the story of Christ, and
showing them a better way
to live than any they had be
fore known. Young Michael
determined to be a missionary.
He never gave up this project,
although it could not be car
ried out until long after he had
become a priest, and had taken
the name of Father Serra.
As the years passed, Father
Serra talked sometimes about
his plans with two friends
who loved him dearly. These
were the priests, Father Crespi and Father Palou, who
became the devoted companions of his later years. One
day, when Father Serra Was sitting alone in the little cell
which was the only room he could call his own, Father
Palou came in. As the two men talked together, Father
Palou said that he, too, had decided to go as a missionary
to the Indians of America. Father Serra was delighted.

The youth of Father Serra

The Desire of a Youth 99
" Now," he cried, " we can go. For a long time the
only obstacle to my going has been the want of a compan
ion. Thank God! the obstacle is removed." In a few
months the two friends sailed for Mexico, where mission
aries were already at work among the Indians.
When the vessel bearing the two priests reached the
end of its voyage, it anchored at Vera Cruz, many days'
journey from the city of Mexico. The passengers ex
pected to find there wagons and guides to take them
across the country, but for some reason none could be
had. Rather than wait weeks, perhaps, for means of
transportation, Father Serra decided to walk the hundred
leagues to Mexico. For a time it seemed as if he must go
alone, for Father Palou was too ill to accompany him, and
no one else wanted to attempt such a trip ; but at last one
man said he was ready to try to walk to the city of Mexico.
The two started without a guide, intending to beg their
food on the way, for they could not burden themselves
with baggage of any kind. Even when they were suffer
ing from hunger, and did not know where to sleep for the
night, Father Serra thought first of others and last of him
self. One day, when they had just one loaf of bread, they
met some poor people who had none, and were starving.
Seeing that they were worse off than himself, Father
Serra gave them the loaf and trusted God for another. He
had not. made a mistake; a little farther on they were met
by a kind-hearted man who gave them something to eat.
On this journey Father Serra wounded his leg. The
wound would not heal, and until his death, thirty-five
years later, he suffered greatly from it. In spite of the

ioo The Missions of Alta California
pain thus caused, he walked from Vera Cruz to the city of
Mexico as quickly as a well man could have gone.
At last Father Serra was in Mexico, among the Indians
whom he had longed to teach. Here was the life work
which he had dreamed of since boyhood. Full of enthusi
asm and love he entered upon it, and for eighteen years
he labored unceasingly among the natives in the provinces
of New Spain. Then a great change came to his life.
He was sent to take charge of the missions that were
to be founded in Alta California.
Questions. — What part of a missionary's life attracted Father
Serra as a boy ? What reasons may he have had for walking from
Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico ? Can you mention five traits of
character already shown by this great man ?

CHAPTER XI
EXPEDITIONS INTO ALTA CALIFORNIA
It was more than a hundred and fifty years after Vis-
caino's last voyage, before the Spanish saw fit to learn
more about the great region which they claimed along
the Pacific coast. Then the former reasons for colonizing
that region were urged with even greater force than before.
Spanish sailors returning from the long voyage across the
Pacific still suffered and died from scurvy as in the days
of Viscaino, and there was much danger that foreign
nations would take possession of the coast. So again the
thoughts of Spain began to turn toward California. The
king ordered that an expedition should rediscover the bay
of Monterey and make there a settlement.
When the priests of Mexico learned that soldiers were
to be sent to establish a settlement and military stations
on the coast, they determined to send some of their
number with them. With all the zeal of missionaries
they longed to go to the thousands of Indians in Upper
California. They wanted to teach the savages a better
way of living ; to cure them of their diseases ; to bring
them into the missions ; and to hold the great country
for the church and for Spain. They urged that it would
not be difficult to found missions, for animals of all kinds

102 The Missions of Alta California
could be sent from Mexico, and, for a while at least, until
gardens, orchards, and flocks of animals could be started
in the new places, supplies could be sent to California by
ship. The king was pleased that the priests should go. He
knew that if missions were built, and the Indians learned
to love and obey the priests, it would be easier to hold the
country in subjection than if an army of soldiers went and
established military rule. As soon as the priests learned
the king's decision, they began to ask themselves who was
to be their leader in the new provinces. It was the gen
eral opinion that Father Serra was the best man for the
position, for he had proved himself one of the strongest
workers in Mexico. So he was made president of all
the missions to be built in Alta California, and was put
in charge of all the work there. The dream of the youth
at Majorca was coming to a glorious fulfillment. He was
so happy that he could not work fast enough in collecting
the supplies that would be necessary in the new country.
The Spanish governor of Mexico at that time was
Galvez,1 a man whose name deserves to be remembered
in connection with the California missions. He was as
eager as Father Serra to push forward rapidly their
founding, and he was always a helpful friend to them
and to their worthy president. Galvez also knew that
it would be a grand thing for Spain to hold all the land
then known as Alta, or Upper, California ; and, as other
nations were trying to get possession of the country,
Spain must not be slow in carrying out her plans.
1 Galvez (Gal-veOY).

Expeditions into Alta California 103
Galvez decided to send two expeditions, one by land and
one by water. But as the sea expedition was to go in
three vessels, and the one by land was divided into two
companies, he was really fitting out five expeditions.
There was much to be done, and neither Galvez nor
Father Serra hesitated to put their hands to the pack
ing and other hard work, although one was the governor
of Mexico, and the other was the president of the missions
of California. The ships had to be entirely overhauled.
They had to be repainted and the bottoms covered with
pitch. Then they had to be loaded. There were guns for
the forts, tools for working the land, seeds for the gar
dens and fields, provisions and fresh water for the voyage,
bells and ornaments for the churches. There were also
supplies -of food for the soldiers and priests who were
to stay in California, for it would be many months before
they could raise enough to feed their whole company.
With the land expeditions were to go the cattle, horses,
sheep, and mules. These were to be collected from the
missions in Lower California as the expeditions marched
northward, and were to be driven up the peninsula to
San Diego, where the first mission was to be founded.
Father Crespi went with the first land expedition.
Father Serra was expected to join the second, but he could
not start with it. He was worn out with the hard work of
preparation ; the wound in his leg troubled him ; he was too
ill to travel. The company, therefore, under Gaspar de
Portola, the first governor* of California, left reluctantly
without him, planning to move slowly until he could over
take them. Father Palou was to remain at one of the

104 The Missions of Alta California
missions of Lower California, where he had long lived ; but
when he learned of Father Serra's illness, he asked to go
to California in his place. Feeling that he would soon be
ready to start, Father Serra refused the offer of his friend.
It was three weeks after the expedition started from
Loreto before Father Serra was strong enough to mount
his mule and follow up the peninsula. His way led him
past the mission where Father Palou labored, and there he
stopped several days for the rest he so sorely needed. As
Father Palou looked into the pale face and noticed the
worn body of his beloved friend, he urged still more vig
orously his plan of going himself to California ; he feared
that, even if Father Serra survived the severe journey to
San Diego, he could not endure the still more trying labors
of founding missions. Again the sick man refused, grate
fully but firmly. He was ready to die, he said; but he
could not stay away from California at such a time.
Father Palou knew that his dear old friend never gave
up, but he urged him again to stay at least for a time in
Mexico, where the work would be so much lighter than it
could possibly be in a new country. He promised to go
in the place of the president, and to return just so soon as
Father Serra was well enough to take the work in Cali
fornia ; he begged him to remain quiet until he was better
able to make the trip. But Father Serra had set his heart
on ringing the bells and laying the foundation of the first
mission in California, and he shook his head at the sug
gestion of Father Palou.
" Let us speak no more on this subject," said he. " I
have placed my faith in God and trust in his goodness to

Expeditions into Alta California 105
plant the standard of the holy cross not only at San Diego,
but even as far north as Monterey."
It was useless to say more. Father Palou knew that
Father Serra would take no thought for himself. He
would hurry on after the company ahead of him, forget
ting his pain, forgetting his body entirely. Perhaps he
would overtake Governor Portola; perhaps his strength
would give out, and he would die on the way.
After less than a week with the friend of his boyhood,
Father Serra said he was ready to start. He was to be
accompanied by trusty servants, for he was still in such
great pain from his wounded leg that he could not mount
his mule alone. There was a tender farewell between the
two priests, for both felt that this might be their last meet
ing on earth. They could not foresee that both were to live
more than fifteen years longer, and that when death should
claim Father Serra, Father Palou would be at his bedside.
The company had stopped to wait for Father Serra, and
very glad they all were when they saw him come into their
camp. It had been hard traveling, and he had again
tried his strength too far. He was so ill that he could not
sit, nor stand, nor lie down, without the greatest pain.
His foot was badly swollen. Everybody thought that he
must soon die, and urged him to stay in Mexico. But the
resolute priest had gone too far to return.
" No," said he, firmly. " If I am strong enough to go
back, I am strong enough to go forward. God has
brought me thus far, and if it is his will, I shall finally
reach San Diego."
Governor Portola then commanded that a litter should

io6

The Missions of Alta California

be made on which the good father could be carried.
Again came an objection.
"What am I," said he, "that I should be carried by my
fellow-men ? Some other way will come to me."
" My son," he asked, turning to one of the mule drivers,
"can you find some remedy for my sore foot ? "

' What am 1 that I should be carried by my fellow-men ? '

The driver hesitated. He was only an ignorant man,
the driver of mules. It was Father Serra, the president of
all the missions of Upper California, who was asking him
for help. He was afraid to use his simple medicines on
so great a man.
"What remedy have I, Father, for men?" he asked at
length. " I am not a surgeon, only a mule driver, and I
can cure only my beasts."

Expeditions into Al'ta California 107
"Well, son," said the priest, kindly, "imagine that I am
one of the animals, and that this is one of their wounds."
Here he pointed to his swollen and painful leg. " Now
apply the same remedy."
The mule driver smiled, touched by the suffering and
the gentleness of the priest.
" I will do so, Father, to please you," said he.
He took some suet, mixed it with herbs, made of it a
kind of plaster, and applied it to the sore. The result was
surprising to every one. In the morning Father Serra
awoke so much better that the journey was resumed.
The expedition moved slowly. There were no roads,
and often the way had to be cleared of stones and cac
tus plants. There were the animals to drive, and pastur
age and water were scarce. Some of the Indians became
sick, some deserted, and some died. Everybody suffered
in crossing the sandy, rocky, cactus-grown stretches of
country. At last, on the first of July, three months after
Father Serra had left Loreto, the weary company saw a
sight that made them happy. Down below them, glisten
ing in the sunshine, lay a beautiful land-locked bay. At
that distance its calm waters seemed without a ripple.
Outside the narrow peninsula that stretched its long arm
between the bay and the sea was the blue ocean, its sur
face fretted only by an occasional whitecap. Still farther
across the ocean toward the west, almost on the horizon
line, rose the Coronado Islands.
The tired men gave a cry of delight as they recognized
San Diego Bay ; and as the slowly moving train hurried
its pace at the sight, the soldiers fired off their muskets.

108 The Missions of Alta California
For a few moments every one listened in silence. Then
came answering shots from the tents on the shore, and in
a few seconds still others from the two ships riding at
anchor on the bay. Volley after volley followed, as the
company rushed on to meet waiting friends. Four of the
five expeditions were reunited, and the men laughed,
talked, and embraced each other in their joy that so many
were at last safe in the new land. Their happiness, how
ever, was tempered by anxiety ; the third ship, long over
due, had not yet arrived. It was well that they did not
then know that she had gone down somewhere in the
ocean and that every one on board had perished.
Questions. — Why did the priests desire to go to California? Why
did they ask the king for permission? Why was the king eager that
they should go? Who else went to hold the land for the king? Why
was it necessary to take such abundant supplies?
Why was Father Serra so determined not to stay in Mexico? What
kept him from giving up under difficulties?

CHAPTER XII
FOUNDING OF SAN DIEGO MISSION
July 1 6, 1769
The expedition by sea suffered greatly. There were so
many deaths on the voyage that there were not enough
sailors left to man the two vessels that sailed into San
Diego harbor just before the coming of the land party.
The third ship had not yet arrived ; and, as food soon
began to be short, the San Antonio was sent back to
Mexico for more suppHes and for sailors to take the place
of those who had died. Then Father Serra and Governor
Portola turned their attention to the real purpose of their
trip, — the rediscovery of Monterey and the making of a
settlement on the shores of its bay.
The expedition was to have been made by boat ; but as
the San Antonio had returned to Mexico, and it was not
thought wise for the other vessel, the San Carlos, to leave
San Diego, there was no other way but to march by land
up the coast. Accordingly, the necessary baggage was
loaded on mules, and the expedition, under the charge of
Governor Portola and accompanied by Father Crespi,
started for Monterey.
Preparations were begun almost immediately for the
founding of the mission at San Diego. It was the middle
109

no The Missions of Alta California
of July. Father Serra looked around on his small com
pany. Of the forty people remaining with him, eleven
were Lower California Indians, who had been brought as
servants ; several were soldiers, sick, and in the pesthouse
which had been built for them. In the valleys and foot
hills, were the savage Indians whom he had come to
convert. In spite of all discouragements and dangers, Father
Serra's heart beat with joy. The letter which he wrote
to Father Palou in Lower California expressed his delight
with San Diego. He wrote of the valleys with their
many trees, the wild grapevines, and the roses, " as sweet
and fair as those of Castile." To the good father who had
just come from the barren lower peninsula, and whose
heart was full of glowing anticipations, everything seemed
beautiful and promising.
Father Serra determined to start his mission immedi
ately. It would have taken a long while to build a
church, but one was not necessary for a beginning. July
1 6, 1769, the bells were swung in a tree, and a great
wooden cross was raised. Around it were grouped the
men of the little settlement ; in the background, watching
everything, were the Indians. Their dusky, stolid faces
probably expressed little of the interest, surprise, and
curiosity which they must have felt.
Father Serra raised his hands toward the blue heav
ens, and with that earnest voice of his spoke. He asked
God Xo bless the rude cross which had just been raised ;
to bless the mission soon to be built. He prayed for help
to put to flight all the hosts of evil in the barbarous land,

Founding of San Diego Mission 1 1 1

The first service at San Diego
and to bring into the church the Indians, still strangers to
Christ. How solemn they all were ! How Father Serra's
heart swelled with hope and piety ! How curious the
Indians must have been as they lurked in the distance,
watching this invasion of their home !
Then the hard work began. A number of huts were
built. One of them was to be used as a church, the rest
were to be lived in until better buildings could be pro
vided. Weeks passed in this task, and the mission still
lacked one thing, the most necessary of all. There were
no converts. In Mexico and in the other missions
founded later in California, Indians soon came into the
mission life, but in San Diego many months passed before
a single scholar was enrolled.
Although the curious, greedy natives would not live

112 The Missions of Alta California
at the mission, they visited it in large numbers, eager for
the presents which the Spaniards gave them as long as
they had anything to give away. They liked the beads
and ornaments; they were always begging for cloth and
pieces of rope, but they would not eat the white man's
food. They knew that many sailors had died, and per
haps they thought that what they ate was poisonous. For
many months they would not swallow anything given
them by the Spaniards. Even if a lump of sugar were
put into the mouth of a child, he was made to spit it out.
It was really fortunate that the Indians did refuse food,
for provisions were becoming scarce. It was the long,
dry summer season, when but few things grow in San
Diego, and although the weeks stretched out into months,
the ship San Antonio did not return with the expected
supplies from Mexico.
The liking of the Indians for cloth and rope caused
annoyance and even trouble. When the Spaniards had
no more to give away, the savages eagerly watched their
chance and stole anything of the kind they could lay their
hands on. They even tried to steal from the San Carlos,
which was still lying in the harbor. On their rude tule
rafts they went up to the ship, so huge and strange in
their eyes ; they clambered up its sides, and started to
carry off the ropes and to cut out large pieces of the sails.
At last, to keep the ship from being carried off piecemeal,
two of the eight sailors who were still alive had to sleep
on board as a guard.
So bold had the Indians become that they laughed at
the threats and promises of the Spaniards. At first the

Foiinding of San Diego Mission 113
report of the firearms had frightened them into running
away ; but Father Serra had said that the sailors were
not to kill any Indian, and as the noise of the discharge
did no harm, the savages laughed at it and were amused.
Matters went from bad to worse. Knowing how many
white people had died, and how few were left, the Indians
lost all fear of either their number or their power.
Angry that so few presents were given them, and no
longer afraid of the Spanish guns, the Indians planned
to attack the white men. August 15, 1769, the Indians,
seeing that some of the men were away on the San Carlos,
armed themselves with war clubs and bows and arrows
and broke into the mission. Their first act was to tear
the sheets off the beds in the hospital, where four soldiers
were lying sick. These men, weak as they were, threw on
their armor, seized their guns, and hurried to the defense
of the little village. The blacksmith and the carpenter had
no armor, but they, too, rushed out against the Indians,
the former crying as he ran, " Long life to the faith of
Jesus Christ, and death to the dogs, its enemies ! "
Father Serra and a second priest, Father Viscaino, re
mained in the hut used as a chapel. As they were priests
they did not fight, but spent their time in praying for the
safety of their friends and defenders. Father Viscaino
grew anxious about the battle raging outside, and no
wonder. At last, in his curiosity and fear, he could wait
no longer to know how matters stood. Cautiously he
raised the mat which did service for a door, and peered
out. Quick as a thought, as if an Indian had been wait
ing for this very chance, an arrow flew toward him. It
SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — 8

114 The Missions of Alta California
struck his hand, making an ugly although not a dangerous
wound. Dropping the mat door more quickly than he
had raised it, the father went back to his prayers, and
gave no more attention to the fighting outside.
Meanwhile, the four soldiers, the carpenter, the black
smith, and two or three Indians from Lower California
were defending the place desperately. At first the arrows
of the Indians did little damage. Then one of the ser
vants was shot, and rushed into the hut, to die at Father
Serra's feet. The blacksmith and one of the soldiers
were wounded ; the priest's hand pained him seriously.
But at last the Spanish firearms conquered. The Indians
ran away, carrying their dead and wounded, and in a few
moments all had disappeared.
It is interesting to learn what became of the wounded
among the Indians. A few days after the attack they
were brought to the mission to have their wounds treated.
The savages had already learned that the fathers were
kind and forgiving. A good beginning had been made
for the great work that was to follow.
Not long after the attack on the mission Father Serra
again had hopes of converts. He had been wanting to
keep some of the Indian children at the mission, for he
knew that they would learn faster than the older people,
and would like better to stay with the white men. One
Indian boy had been persuaded to remain with the
Spaniards. He had been interested in watching their
ways, and he had learned a little of the Spanish language.
He could tell the suspicious natives what the fathers
meant when they tried to talk to their savage visitors.

Founding of San Diego Mission

H5

He explained to the Indians that Father Serra wanted a
baby boy to keep at the mission. As he grew up he
should be dressed like the white people, who would think
of him as their brother; he should be taught the wisdom
of the Spaniards, and be made a Christian. The Indians
talked about it among themselves, and finally decided that
the priest should have his wish.
One day an Indian came to the mission carrying a little
boy. It was a strange sight, for the women always car
ried the babies, but this Indian was looking very serious.
He was bringing the child as a present for Father Serra.

JfM^

' He seized the child, and ran from the mission "

All around him were crowds of his companions. They
were very quiet, and did not beg nor steal, as was their
custom. Father Serra was happier than he had been before in

116 The Missions of Alta California
San Diego. He looked around to see what he could do to
show the Indians how glad he was. He knew what they
liked, and therefore brought out a piece of bright-colored
cloth, and threw it over the baby. Everything went well.
All the Spaniards were grouped around to see the first
baptism in Upper California. Father Serra stood clasping
the shell in which was the holy water. His hand was
raised for the ceremony. Suddenly an Indian, frightened
by the solemn stillness and the strange ceremonies, sprang
forward. He seized the child, still wrapped in the beauti
ful cloth, and ran from the mission. Away went all the
other Indians, leaving Father Serra and his companions
dumb with horror and amazement.
The soldiers were very angry, and wanted to start off
hotly after the Indians and punish them without delay.
Such a deed was an insult to the good father and to the
church. Father Serra would not listen to their sugges
tions. He had common sense and prudence. He knew
that to punish the savages would be to drive them away
from the settlement and make enemies of them. He
knew that he must be patient if he would bring them into
the mission as friends. Besides, he realized that the
Indians were afraid of magic, and he understood that to
them the ceremonies and the water for baptism might
have seemed like an evil charm about to be cast over the
baby. So Father Serra told the soldiers that they must not
follow the Indians, but must wait until their savage neigh
bors could be won by kindness and their friendship se
cured. Very unwillingly they obeyed. The good priest

Founding of San Diego Mission 1 1 7
himself was so disappointed that the tears came into his
eyes. Like the unselfish man that he was, he took the
blame on himself.
"It is all because of my sins," said he; "if I were a
better man, this would not have happened."
He still worked on, and waited for his Indian converts.
Questions. — What two reasons which probably would not exist
to-day may be given for the sufferings on the trip by sea ? Why was
founding Monterey the important object of the expedition ? Why
should Father Serra have stayed in San Diego ?
How could the priests induce the Indians to visit the mission ?
What unfortunate result followed ? Why did not Father Serra wish
the soldiers to fire on the Indians ? What was gained with the Indians
by a peaceful policy ? When was this result shown ? Was it the first
result ?
What part of the Indian nature is seen in the carrying off of the child
that was about to be baptized ? What traits of Father Serra's charac
ter were shown during those trying days ?

CHAPTER XIII
THE SEARCH FOR MONTEREY BAY
When Governor Portola and Father Crespi started from
San Diego to find Monterey Bay, they had in mind the
description of that place written a century and a half
before by Viscaino for the king of Spain. Viscaino had
seen the bay in December and in the early part of Janu
ary. The rains had washed from the trees their summer
coats of dust, leaving them beautiful in their spring foli
age. The hillsides were green with grass and bright with
vast stretches of brilliant flowers. A clear river flowed to
the sea, and streams of fresh water were found along the
shore. But the early California spring, during which Vis
caino had seen Monterey, was a season still unknown to
the two explorers of 1 769. Accustomed to the barrenness
of Lower California, they saw, it is true, many of the
beauties of the new country ; but it was October, and they
could not imagine the transformation which the autumn
rains would cause. Consequently they made a strange
mistake. They went directly to Monterey Bay, but they
did not recognize it vas the place for which they were
looking. The long, dry California summer had scorched the grass
and bright flowers of which Viscaino had written. The
118

The Search for Monterey Bay 119
hills were yellow and barren. The river, instead of hav
ing an abundant supply of water, had shrunk to a tiny
stream which the mission animals could drink dry. There
was sand everywhere : long, seemingly endless dunes of
It fronted the sea, and dreary reaches of its gray and
whitish grains lay in the valleys between the yellow,
rolling hills. To the weary Spaniards the region seemed
like a desert, instead of the fertile country which they had
expected and longed to find.
Moreover the harbor itself baffled them. Viscaino, sail
ing into it from a stormy ocean, had recognized in its
quieter waters a harbor of safety. Portola and Crespi,
viewing it from the land, and comparing it perhaps with
the landlocked bay of San Diego just left behind them,
could hardly see a bay in the open expanse of water
between the southern coast on which they stood and
the distant headland far to the north. They could not
imagine that the description left by Viscaino fitted at all
the scene before their eyes.
They talked the matter over again and again. Some of
the men thought this must be Monterey ; others were sure
it could not be ; Portola and Father Crespi were among
the latter. The men hunted for some of the signs given
in the old description, but could not find any that satisfied
them. They thought that the bay must either lie still
farther to the north, or that it had been filled up with sand
during the long years which had passed since the visit of
Viscaino. Governor Portola became convinced that the
whole expedition must be given up since Monterey Bay
could not be found. Father Crespi was too disappointed

120 The Missions of Alta California
for words. He thought that Point Pinos looked like the
headland mentioned by the earlier explorers, but even he
did not believe that the right place had been found.
Before returning south it was decided to continue the
search a little farther up the coast. The march was con
tinued, and San Francisco Bay was really visited ; but, not
dreaming of the importance of their discovery, the Span
iards turned back to the smaller harbor which they could
not believe was Monterey. At last, tired and discouraged,
and nearly out of food supplies, they gave up their efforts,
and started slowly back toward San Diego. Food was
so scarce that they might have perished on the way had
not the Indians proved friendly and furnished them with
seeds, acorns, nuts, even wild fowl and fish. A little more
than six months after starting on the northern journey
the expedition came within sight of the low palisade which
protected the camp and mission of San Diego.
In spite of the pleasure of the reunion, how sad must
have been the day of the arrival! Neither party had good
news. Father Serra could tell only of sickness, of the
trouble with the Indians, and of the difficulty in getting
converts. He himself was sick with scurvy. Father
Crespi told of the long and fruitless march to the north.
He said it was his belief that Monterey Bay no longer ex
isted. He told of Governor Portola's determination to
waste no more lives in trying to settle California.
Father Serra listened in dismay. He heard Father
Crespi and the soldiers talk of the bay which they had
found; of the point covered with pines, projecting out
into the ocean; of the creek, almost dry in its sandy

The Search for Monterey Bay 121
bed. He felt sure that this was Viscaino's bay of Monte
rey, and Captain Vila of the San Carlos thought so too.
Father Crespi and Portola said that it could not be or
they should have recognized it.
Portola's discouragement grew upon him. The San
Antonio had not yet returned from Mexico with the sup
plies which were to keep the company from starving ; and
now that the two parties were together, food disappeared
with alarming rapidity in San Diego. He feared that
starvation was close before them. Finally, he declared
that if the San Antonio did not come by the 20th of
March, he would abandon California and return to Mexico.
Fathers Serra and Crespi listened in despair. Give up
the work which they had begun ! Forget the hard marches
and the sufferings ! Lose the results of what they had
already done ! Abandon the few Indians who were begin
ning to look with friendly eyes on the priests ! They
could not. They planned to stay if every one else went
away. They talked with Captain Vila of the San Carlos
until he promised that, if the others went, he would take
the two priests on his vessel and make another search for
Monterey. Will the San Antonio come ? Will she come in time ?
.These thoughts never left the minds of the two priests.
The 19th of March came, and no vessel. Then the two
fathers prayed for the coming of the ship. They wan
dered out on the hills overlooking the ocean. They
watched every part of the horizon line. Hours passed.
Afternoon came, and still no ship. The sun was sinking
slowly into the sea. The two friends were watching it dis-

122 The Missions of Alta California
appear, when suddenly they saw a sight which brought
back life and joy to each heart. There on the horizon,
far away in the distance, was a sail. It must be the San
Antonio, they said to each other ; and so it proved to be.
When the ship finally came to anchor in the harbor, it
was found that she brought not only food and new sup
plies of all kinds, but also a command for Portola, that
he should make all haste in founding settlements to hold
California for Spain. All thought of deserting the mis
sion was swept from the mind of the governor. Even
Father Serra was not more eager than he to start north
again in the search for the bay that the first expedition
had failed to find.
Again an exploring party went north. Father Serra
sailed on the vessel, and who could be discouraged when
he was near ? There was no doubt this time about the
bay. It was spring, and there were the green hills, the
pine trees, the rippling river, the deep pools of clear
water, mentioned in the earlier description. Like Vis
caino, Father Serra sailed into the harbor, and he recog
nized the outline more easily than could those on shore.
The men hunted along the beach, and Father Serra was
sure that he found the very tree described by Viscaino.
He could not be mistaken. It was a large oak whose
wide-flung branches hung down over the water ; and when
the tide came creeping in, the waves just swayed the ends
of its sweeping branches. So convinced was Father Serra
that this was the very place where mass had been said in
[602, that he, also, held service there.
The 3d of June, 1770, almost a year after the founding

The Search for Monterey Bay

123

tfit'll'iS?saHiisrjiiii.'i

WHfflaSS&fe'S

of San Diego mission, was the day fixed for the beginning
of the new mission of Monterey. Everybody was happy.
No one could work fast enough. Preparations were
quickly made. Branches were stretched as a shelter until
a hut could be built,
and later the church.
The bells were hung in
the trees and joyously
rung. A cross was
planted. The cannon
and the muskets were
fired. Hymns were
sung. In his long
priest's robes Father
Serra blessed the found
ing of this new mis
sion. In the joy of his
heart, his face radiant
with happiness, he for
got all the sufferings
and discouragements of
the past months.
Governor Portola was almost as delighted as Father
Serra. When the church services were over, he called
out the soldiers, and made ready to take civil and military
possession of the land. The royal flag was planted ; the
sea breeze swept out its folds, and as it floated over him,
Portola called in a loud voice that all this country belonged
now and always to Spain. Then the soldiers pulled grass,
and picked up stones, and threw them. This was their

Cross at Monterey

124 The Missions of Alta California
odd way, centuries old, of saying that everything which
grew and all that was on the land belonged to Spain.
All that had been done for the church and the king was
carefully written down on parchment. The news that
Monterey had been found and a settlement started must
be sent to Mexico, to be forwarded from there to Spain.
Who would be the messengers?
On a day of such excitement the question was hardly
necessary. Two men, a soldier and a sailor, sprang for
ward, ready to start on the long, dangerous journey. A
few days later they set out to carry the good news to Gal
vez in the city of Mexico.
Questions. — What two reasons may be given for the failure to
recognize Monterey Bay ? Can any reason be given for the failure of
the leaders to see the importance of San Francisco Bay ? Why did the
trip north and the return take so much time? What risks would Gov
ernor Portola have taken by remaining at San Diego if the San Antonio
had not returned? What two reasons may be given why Monterey
was easily recognized on the second trip?

CHAPTER XIV
THE LAST DAYS OF FATHER SERRA

Father Serra was
never idle. He taught
the Indians who came
to the mission to live ;
he helped in any of the
work about the build
ings ; he planned new
missions and founded
them ; he was con
stantly officiating at the
services of the church,
preaching, celebrating
mass, baptizing, con
firming. As his duties
called him, he went from
mission to mission, and
once even to Mexico.
It was slow and tedious
traveling in those days,
especially for one who,
Hke Father Serra, was far from strong. More than once
as he left a mission, its inhabitants felt that they had seen
1 25

Scene in Southern California

126 The Missions of Alta California
him for the last time ; but his will and love for the work
kept up his strength.
With occasional absences, Father Crespi remained at
Monterey until his death, and as he watched his friend
and superior he realized that he was working far beyond
his powers of endurance. He sometimes said so, but
Father Serra always smiled and shook his head.
" I have come to California to save souls," would be his
answer, as he kept on working.
One of his plans was to build a line of missions from
San Diego to Monterey, and to prolong it, if possible, to
San Francisco Bay. The missions were to be near enough
together to serve as shelters on the long journey from one
of these places to the other. He listened eagerly whenever
priests, soldiers, or Indians told about beautiful valleys
with fine trees, running water, and fertile soil. He always
inquired if many Indians were near, for it would be useless
to establish a mission where there would be no converts.
Fifteen years Father Serra labored in California. Dur
ing that time he and the priests who were with him or
who came to him from Mexico, founded nine missions.
These were, besides San Diego and Monterey, San An
tonio, San Gabriel, San Luis Obispo, San Juan Capistrano,
San Francisco Dolores, Santa Clara, and San Buenaven
tura ; some of which were later among the strongest and
wealthiest of all the missions in California. He baptized
and confirmed nearly six thousand people, the- greater
number of whom were Indians.
But Father Serra's life was nearly spent. The old
wound on his leg still caused him most acute suffering;

The Last Days of Father Serra 127
he had worn himself out, not only by the hard journeys
which he had frequently taken, but also by the severity of
his religious Hfe. Although Father Serra lived in the
eighteenth century, in spirit he was a monk of the Middle
Ages ; like them he believed in punishing the body that
he might make better his heart. He often scourged him
self with a chain, baring his shoulders to the heavy blows ;
he held aloft heavy weights, at times with both hands at
once ; he burnt his breast by holding to it lighted tapers,
doing this so often that the flesh did not heal over, and
thereby bringing on himself one of the causes of his death.
Such treatment was enough to kill a body already weak
ened by disease and overwork. We of to-day may not
believe in such torments, but certain it is that if more men
had the determination of purpose, the unselfishness of
deed, and the purity of life shown by Father Serra, the
world would be a better place to live in.
As the end drew near, in August, 1784, the good father
longed to see his dearest friends. He wrote many fare
well letters ; one of them was to Father Palou, who for
some years had been in Alta California, and who was at that
time at the mission of San Francisco Dolores. No sooner
did he receive the dying message of his beloved friend
and leader than he hurried to Monterey. On his arrival
he found Father Serra very weak. He was lying in his
little room, or cell. He was suffering dreadfully, but he
was cheerful. He had never complained while living ; he
would not complain now that he was dying.
The day before his death he wanted to go to church
once more, and no one could persuade him to remain on

128 The Missions of Alta California
his bed. The mission church was only a few steps away,
and with the help of some of those who loved him he
dragged himself slowly to it. There he knelt and prayed
for a long time, watched with tears by all the Spaniards in
the settlement and by the Indians who loved him like a
father. After mass had been said, Father Serra was assisted
back to his little cell. He could neither rest nor sleep.
He could not lie down, but there were loving arms to hold
him. The Indians begged for the privilege of support
ing his wasted form. Rousing a little, the sick man
turned to Father Palou, who never quitted his bedside.
" Bury me by the side of Father Crespi," he whispered.
Father Palou could scarcely speak for his tears ; but he
assured him it should be as he desired.
A few hours passed slowly to the watchers who were
holding the dying man in their arms. At last Father
Serra asked them feebly to lay him on his bed to rest.
Gently they did so. Whispering to each other that he
wished to sleep, they crept softly away.
Father Palou could not stay long. Coming quietly
back, he pushed open the door of the cell. Father Serra
lay stretched on his bed just as they had left him. He
was indeed at rest in the sleep which knows no earthly
awakening. Questions. — What conditions prevented Father Serra from found
ing missions more rapidly? Why was he so beloved by the Spaniards?
by the Indians? What are some of the influences which must have
passed from his life into the mission system ?

CHAPTER XV
LIFE AT THE MISSIONS
There had been two reasons for establishing missions
in Alta California. One was to convert the Indians ; the
other was to hold for the church and for the king of Spain
all the coast from San Diego to Monterey. Nineteen mis-

The Mission of San Diego
sions were soon flourishing near the ocean or a little inland ;
the most northern, on the bay of San Francisco, the most
southern, on that of San Diego, the two best harbors
in California. Later two other missions were founded
north of San Francisco, but as they were to offset the

SPAN, in SOUTHWEST -

129

130 The Missions of Alta California
growing power of Russia, they belonged to an entirely
different spirit from the one which gave rise to the insti
tutions farther south.
The supplies for San Diego and Monterey were brought
directly from Mexico by sea and by land; but whenever a
new mission was founded, food, tools, and church articles
were taken to the place from an older settlement by pack
trains of mules. The planting of any one mission was
very like that of all the others. A fertile spot was chosen
not far from the ocean and near the trail from Monterey
to San Diego. Usually it was also a beautiful place ; for
when the fathers located the mission they seem to have
had an appreciative eye for fine scenery. Perhaps,
as at San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Monterey, the mis
sion looked out on one hand over the ocean, and on the
other over the rolling hills and fertile valleys where, in a
few years, the fathers pastured their flocks ; perhaps, as
at San Gabriel, San Luis Rey, and San Fernando, the
hills cut off all the outlook to the ocean, and the eyes
rested on the beautiful country soon claimed by the
mission as its own.
When the place had been selected, the bells were swung
in some convenient trees; a wooden cross was fastened
together and elevated ; an altar was built of brushwood,
and a hut of the same to serve as a chapel until a church
could be built. The priests in their long robes pronounced
mass, the first service at the new mission ; some one struck
the bells ; hymns were sung ; for want of better music the
soldiers fired off their guns, and if the ships were near, the
cannon added their deeper tones to the music of the hour.

Life at the Missions

131

Sometimes, as at Monterey, the day was concluded with a
feast. The next morning saw the beginning of the harder
work of the founding.
At San Antonio, the first mission established after
Monterey, Father Serra was so eager and excited that he
could scarcely wait until
the bells were unpacked
and hung in a tree.
Then he began to strike
them with all his might,
shouting out, " Come,
O ye, gentiles ; come to
the Holy Church ; come
to the faith of Jesus
Christ ! " The priest
who was with him
looked on in amazement, for there were no Indians within
hearing ; but Father Serra kept on until he was tired.
Then, turning to his companion, he said that he wished
all the " gentiles," as the priests called the savage Indians,
could hear him and be brought into the church. He had
the same interest and delight in all the nine missions
founded before his death.
From the first day the priests planned how to get Indians
to live at the missions. Often the savages knew nothing
about the coming of the white men until the ringing of
bells and the firing of guns went echoing across the plains
and mountains. Startled by these new sounds, the natives
ran curiously forward to learn what was happening. The
guns might frighten them away, but peals from the bells,

El Carmelo, near Monterey

132

The Missions of Alta California

music of the voices joined in singing hymns, and the sight
of fine robes worn bythe priests during the services, were
almost sure to bring them back in open-eyed surprise and
admiration. When they had gazed and listened until the
first curiosity was satisfied, the priests tried other means
of keeping them or of inducing them to come again. Such
presents as Indians like were given them ; food, too, if any
could be spared from the mission stores. Pleased by this

Mission of San Juan-Capistrano
treatment, some stayed at the mission, and those who went
away were sure to come again, bringing others with them
for a share in the white man's pleasures. Lazy and always
hungry, the Indians were glad to stay at the missions where
food and clothing were given them. So the numbers grew;
sometimes slowly as at San Diego, sometimes rapidly as
at San Luis Rey.
When the Indians were once settled in their new life,

Life at the Missions 133
the fathers began to teach them some of the doctrines of
the church and how to work. They first went slowly, for
neither party had yet learned the other's language ; but the
results of their work soon began to show around, the mis
sions. The simple, .stupid, but usually good-natured natives
took kindly to their surroundings. They were more will
ing to work for others than for themselves, and they had
such awe and respect for the fathers that they were
usually obedient.
New mission buildings were soon begun. The brush
hut that had at first done duty for a church must be
replaced by something far better. Many of the fathers
had lived in Europe, where they had seen beautiful cathe
drals, and they wanted fine churches in California for '
themselves and the Indians. Warm, dry houses to live in
must be built before the coming of the winter rains, and
the Indians who came to the missions must be sheltered,
even if only in their own kind of huts.
At no two missions were the buildings arranged just
alike, but some parts in all of them were nearly the same.
There was a great open square, the courtyard, around
which were grouped the church, the residences of the
priests, the rooms for the three or four soldiers who acted
as guards, the workshops, and granaries. One or two large
doorways opened into the interior of this court. If build
ings did not extend around the whole of it, a high adobe
wall finished out the square to serve as a protection in case
of attack from Indians. At some of the missions, in
the center of the courtyard was a fountain. The church,
towering above all the other buildings, was on one corner.

134 The Missions of Alta California
Next to it were the rooms of the priests, at some missions
small as cells, at others large and comfortable. These
rooms, like the church, opened outside the court as well as
inside ; the former were fronted by a corridor, often very
picturesque with its pillars and arches. The other build
ings opened into the court. The dining room was next to
the fathers' rooms. At San Carlos this was twenty by forty
feet in size ; the windows were grated and had heavy inside
wooden shutters. Adjoining it was the kitchen with its
big fireplace and chimney. Near bywere the apartments
for visitors. On the other side of the court were various
shops. There was the place for the weavers where the
looms were put up ; shops for the carpenter, the black
smith, the saddlers, the hatters ; granaries ; vats for tallow.
Not far away were buildings for melting tallow, making
soap, and, at some of the missions, for storing salt, butter,
wool, and hides. At a little distance were the Indian
quarters, a village of rudely made huts.
Adobe was the principal material used for building,
although stone was used wherever it was abundant. Bricks
could be made from the adobe clay, but as the priests knew
little about its use, there were many efforts before they
succeeded in forming those flat, heavy bricks, so familiar
to all visitors at the mission ruins to-day. These bricks
were only sun-baked, so they had to be made into walls
several feet thick, and covered with a cement to keep them
from softening in the rains.
Making the roofs gave the most trouble. At first they
were covered with brush, straw, or reeds ; but these would
not keep out the rains, and after drying thoroughly, they

Life at the Missions 135
caught fire easily. Some of the missions had serious
losses from the roofs burning, either by accident or from
being set on fire by blazing arrows of hostile Indians. Adobe
bricks were tried, but they were too heavy; or in some
cases, when the heavy winter rains came, they washed
back again into mud. A priest at San Luis Obispo-
determined that he would make roof tiles like those used
in Europe. He did not know just how to go to work, and
there was no one to teach him, but he tried again and
again until he succeeded in making and burning tiles that
answered his purpose. They were just what the rest of
the missionaries wanted, and it was not long before they
were in use at all of the settlements in Alta California.
These tiles were so heavy that strong rafters were
needed for their support. At some of the missions it
was easy to get large enough timbers, but at others
there was not a good-sized tree for miles in every direc
tion. There were plenty in the mountains, but the
difficulty was in bringing them down. It was decided
to set the Indians at this work, severe as it was. Some
of the soldiers went into the mountains with a gang of
neophytes, as the mission Indians were called. They
showed the laborers how to cut and haul the trees, and
made them work if they showed signs of stopping. Tall
trees were brought back, but how we do not know. The
timbers are in the mission roofs to-day, and the Indians
brought them. But who can tell how hard they worked ?
Who knows whether they were patient beasts of burden
for the Spaniards, or whether bitterness and hatred swelled
in the hearts of these once free men ? As they pulled and

136 The Missions of Alta California
hauled those tree trunks sixty and seventy miles, did they
begin to ask themselves who had made the white men
their masters ?
When the trees were at the mission, another difficulty
presented itself. There were no nails. But the Spaniards
were equal to this also. After the rafters were brought
into place, crosspieces were laid on them close together.
These were bound fast to the heavy timbers by means of
long strips of freshly cut rawhide, which shrank as it
dried until the woodwork was held as tight as if fas
tened with nails. The roof was then ready for the tiles.
These were the shape of a cylinder cut in half lengthwise.
One layer was put on the crosspieces with the curved
side down; a top layer was added with its curved side
up and its edges in the troughs of the lower layers. At
some of the best preserved missions there are still to be
seen timbers bound together with the rawhide fastened
around them more than a hundred years ago, and rem
nants of the tile roofs remain where they were placed
or near the dilapidated walls.
The church was always the pride of the priests who
planned it, and often of the neophytes whose hands
helped build it. Those of San Luis Rey and San Juan
Capistrano were the finest in all Upper California. The
latter was destroyed by the severe earthquake of December,
1812, but the remains of the former are still to be seen.
The church of Santa Barbara is of stone ; it is a hundred
and sixty feet long by sixty feet wide. It is still in use
and is in good repair. The church had usually one or two
towers in which hung the bells, the delight of the Indians

Life at the Missions

137

as well as of the fathers. The interiors were made as
beautiful as possible. Pictures and statues were brought
from Mexico and even from Spain with the greatest
care ; gold or silver plate was used. In decorating the
church the fathers had to remember that they were living

A portion of San Juan Capistrano restored
with savages whose eyes were pleased with bright-colored
hangings and shining plate, and the good priests tried to
please the tastes of the Indians ; but for churches in the
wilderness, so many weeks' travel from civilization, it is
a wonder that they were so well made and decorated.
The little village of Indian huts contrasted strangely
with the adobe walls and buildings of the Spaniards. In
the early days of mission life the huts were made of
tules, or of poles tied together at the top and covered
with grass or reeds; or they were made in any way to

138 The Missions of Alta California
which the Indians were accustomed. As more savages
came, the village was made larger until at some of the
missions it numbered several hundred huts. These were
for the families only ; there was always a hall or dormitory
for the youths and another for the girls. At San Carlos,
as late as 1786, the Indians still lived in their wretched
huts, but often the fathers rebuilt the Indian quarters
as soon as the more important structures were finished.
This was done at San Luis Rey ; and at Santa Barbara
the Indian village was inclosed by an adobe wall, so that
it was as well protected as the rest of the buildings.
Near the low, irregular mission buildings were the
orchards and kitchen gardens ; a little farther away were
the fields of grain, and then the pastures for the herds
began. As soon as there were Indians enough to do the
work, the garden and orchards were often inclosed by an
adobe wall or a hedge of prickly-pear cactus. The fields
swept over the plains, rich valleys, and foothills, wherever
there were fertile places. The land claimed by any one
mission might be thirty or forty square miles, and when
all the nineteen missions had been founded from San
Diego to San Francisco, the claim was sometimes made
that the land of one mission touched that of the next.
Thus nearly all the fertile land along the coast was owned
or controlled by the missions, or, as the priests said, it was
held by them in trust for the Indians.
For a year or two after the founding of San Diego and
Monterey, food was sent up by ship from Mexico. But as
the vessels might be even months later than was expected,
the people at the missions were several times brought to

Life at the Missions 139
the verge of starvation. As the Indians increased in num
bers, it became impossible to bring food enough for all
from Mexico. Every effort was made to raise grain and
vegetables, and as the herds became larger, there was
meat also to eat.
More than once in the early years, the fathers had to
ask for acorns, grass seeds, and pine nuts. Then the
Indians went out and filled their deep, cone-shaped baskets
with whatever they could find. Returning home, they
pounded out the meal and baked bread as in the days
when they roamed at will, thus saving the people at the
mission from starvation. At some of the missions it was
always a custom to let the neophytes go out to gather nuts
and seeds at the proper seasons. The Indians were fond
of them for food, and their use saved some of the mission
stores. At San Diego, whenever dry seasons destroyed
the crops, the Indians were sent out into the mountains
to hunt food in their old way as best they might.
The fathers soon saw that if they were to have good
crops, they must irrigate some of their land. Here was
more hard work for the Indians. Miles of irrigating
ditches were dug, and thousands of acres watered by the
streams they brought. At Soledad there were fifteen
miles of these ditches ; at Purisima the streams from many
small springs were brought together into one flume, and a
supply of delicious water was always to be depended on
at that mission. Irrigation was a necessity for all the
missions. The fathers Hked to walk around their gardens, and
well they might. Peaches, pears, pomegranates, oranges,

140

The Missions of Alta California

limes, citrons, dates, figs, grapes, all grew freely. Wheat,
maize, beans, barley, were raised in abundance after the
missions were once well started. When Americans first
came to California they were surprised to see such a wealth
of good things to eat.
Day after day passed in much the same way at the
missions, but every day was a busy one. La Perouse, a
French traveler who visited San Carlos in 1786, left an

Ruined fountain at the Mission of San Fernando
account of what he saw there ; with a few exceptions the
description would apply to any mission. At sunrise the
whole place was astir. The church bells soon rang, and
everybody spent an hour at prayers. Then came break
fast of atole, a porridge made of barley. During the hour
for prayers this was cooked in three great boilers from
which all the Indians were served. Each family ate by

Life at the Missions 141
itself ; from every hut came some one with a bowl made
of the bark of a tree ; into it was put the family supply of
porridge, which was taken away and eaten at home. The
unmarried ate in their halls. During the forenoon all the
men and women worked in the fields or shops. Any day
of the year girls could be seen in the courtyard spinning.
At noon the church bell rang again ; work stopped and din
ner was eaten. This, too, was of porridge, but made this
time of peas, beans, wheat, and maize. Everybody worked
again until about five in the afternoon ; then came another
hour for prayers at the church, followed by supper.
Again porridge was served, made of barley as in the morn
ing. The evening was short, for all went to bed in good
season in order to be up with the next morning's sun.
As one writer says, there was plenty to eat, but 'it was
always porridge. Three times a day the great boilers
were heated, and the wooden bowls filled ; the only differ
ence in their contents being the grain used. Large as the
herds of animals became, fond as the Indians were of
meat, it was seldom given them, — according to La
Perouse, only on saints' day, and then it was often eaten
raw with pieces of fat as the choicest morsels. Some of
the missions, however, gave the Indians meat once a week.
Every Friday some of the vaqueros, or herdsmen, went
out to the herds, separated out twenty or thirty cattle,
and drove them into a corral. Saturday morning they
were lassoed, and bronght out one by one to be killed
and divided. The Spaniards selected whatever pieces
they wished, and what was left was given to the neophytes
as their share for the coming week. No matter what the

142 The Missions of Alta California
amount, it rarely lasted the Indians longer than over Sun
day and Monday, for they feasted on it with their savage
gluttony as long as any scraps were left.
Once baptized, the Indian belonged to the church ; his
days of freedom were over. He was under orders as to
the' time of getting up in the morning, eating his meals,
going to church. With all the longing of his nature, the
Indian looked at the thousands of horses around him ; but
he must not ride unless he were a vaquero, or a cattle
herder, for with a horse under him he might escape. He
must not leave the settlement without permission from the
fathers; and this was rarely given him lest he should
return to his gentile friends, and be lost to the church.
Nearly all the work of the missions was done by the
Indians, who learned quickly the simple trades. As new
neophytes came, they were taught by the priests, by Span
iards sent to California for that purpose, or by Indians
who had already become good workmen.
They cultivated fields, herded animals, built houses, spun
wool, and wove the coarse cloth used at the missions and
by some Spaniards in California. They were cooks, tailors,
hat makers, shoemakers. They learned to make saddles
and to stamp the leather used. They made ox-horn cups,
softening the horn by soaking, shaping it over wood, and
engraving it with a common nail. In many of these crafts
the neophytes became skillful, satisfying the simple wants
of the mission days. In short, the Indians who had been
so lazy in the wilderness did all kinds of work for the
priests ; but it must be remembered that the fathers
planned it all for them, showed them how to do it, and

Life at the Missions

H3

sent overseers with them to be sure tfjat all directions were
obeyed. They knew that the Indians were like children.
Left to themselves they would not/and did not work ; but
under the constant training and w*stching of the few sol
diers, the priests, and the Spanish workmen at every
mission, they did almost everything. So complete and
sudden a change in the lives of savages could not be made

Court and arches at San Luis Rey
without some evil effects. One of these showed itself
after a few years in the large number of deaths among the
neophytes. For convenience in working and in training, the Indians
were divided into small companies or gangs of workmen,
each with its overseer. A trusted Indian was often put
into this position, and by bearing responsibilities he usu
ally became still more capable. If all the neophytes had
shared in the responsibiUties of the missions, they would

144 The Missions of Alta California
have reasoned better, would have gained more self-control,
and the history of the missions and of the Indians of Cali
fornia would have been wonderfully changed.
They went to church two hours of the day and the
fathers taught them a short catechism. It was not an
education of the mind; it was more like teaching a parrot
or a monkey or a dog. The lesson was said over and over
until the Indians could repeat portions. As it was not in
their language they could not understand what they were
saying, but could only repeat names and words that came
often in the service. If they were slow in learning, or
made many mistakes, they might, perhaps, be punished
like an animal, by being cuffed or beaten. If the lesson
were well done, they were rewarded by some favorite mor
sel to eat, or by a holiday. An extra portion of grain was
a reward. It could be ground and made into a cake to be
baked in the ashes. The porridge, which, in cooking,
thickens at the bottom of the boiler, was scraped out and
given to some child to repay some well-learned catechism.
This was all the teaching that the Indians received.
They picked up a few Spanish words, but were never
carefully taught the language. On this ignorance was
built up the immense system of Indian labor at the mis
sions, and an unsafe foundation it proved to be. Such
training did not change the savage nature, which made
itself felt on many occasions.
Since the Indians were in many ways like overgrown
children, it is not surprising that they had to be punished.
This was usually done by giving a few lashes on the bare
back, but in later years punishments became more cruel.

Life at the Missions

145

As more and more Indians came to the missions, the num
ber of little offenses and annoyances increased, and the
whip was in daily use. During the first thirty or thirty-
five years of mission
life everybody, man,
woman, and child, took
his whipping as good-
naturedly as could be
expected. The Indians
knew that they de
served to be punished,
and they had great
respect for the priests,,
who were like fathers
toward them. So, after
the punishment was
ended, they kissed the
priest's hand and went
back to work with no
hard feelings in their
hearts. Later there
will be a different and
a sadder story to tell.
Although the Indians worked hard and were under
strict discipline, they were given many amusements. On
Sundays there was no work. They went to church three
or four more hours than usual, but the rest of the day was
free for games or idleness. Sometimes on Saturday
evenings there was dancing, and there were many oppor
tunities for fun and pleasure. On great occasions, such
SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — IO

Bells of San Gabriel

146 The Missions of Alta California
as the visits of a governor or some noted man from abroad,
the priests helped plan the entertainment. One of the
most important for such an occasion was a mock battle
according to savage customs. Painted as in olden times,
decked out with feathers such as they had gloried in
before the coming of white men, the Indians played at a
battle between angry villages. But it was only a show,
and, at the end, the bows and arrows and war clubs were
brought back to the priests. They might have proved
dangerous weapons if left in the hands of the Indians.
The old games, such as " takersia " and driving the
wooden ball to the enemy's base, were often played, and
there seems to have been no new one to take their places.
One of the new pleasures that came to the Indians was
the music learned for the church. They were taught to
use several instruments, and they played with equal gusto
whether at mass in the morning or at a ball in the even
ing. Celebrations at the church were brilliant days, dear
to the Indian musicians. Near the priests in their cere
monial robes were the Indians of the choir in bright-col
ored dress. Thirty or forty, or for great occasions even
a hundred, men and boys took part. They played the
viol, violin, flute, trumpet, and drum ; and the voices of all
joined in singing the hymns. An Indian of Santa Clara
is mentioned who possessed a tenor voice which filled the
church and delighted all who heard it. It is true that the
music was not always in perfect harmony, but as the
instruments used by the Indians were usually also made
by them, it is not surprising that there were many dis
cords in their playing.

Life at the Missions

H7

The religion taught by the priests did not go deep
enough to root out all the superstition of the Indians.
Who could expect that it would in one generation ? We
may be sure that even the best and brightest of the
mission Indians could not quite escape from the weird and
fascinating magic of the savages, as they heard it whis
pered among their parents and grandparents.
They believed that on dark nights the fore feet of a
horse could be so paralyzed by an owl that the animal
could not travel. They watched with all the absolute cre
dulity of the savage a sorcerer swallow a fiber from a

Mission of Santa Barbara
plant and pull it out of his big toe as a snake. When
sick, they often preferred their native medicine men, for
they believed in their ways of treatment rather than in the
doses given by the priests.
At Santa Barbara many Indians were dying from »

148 The Missions of Alta California
disease which it seemed impossible to check. While it
was raging, one of the neophytes dreamed that all the
baptized Indians would die unless they made sacrifices to
Chupu. Now this Chupu, or Achup, was a god of the
Indians living on the channel, and the priests had long
been struggling to make the Indians give him up. But
the neophyte who had dreamed of Chupu believed in his
power to save from death. Secretly he told his dream to
his friends, they passed it on to others, and in less than
an hour it was known to all the mission Indians. It was
death for any one to tell it to the priests, who therefore
remained in ignorance of all the fears and superstitions
trembling around them. Unknown to the fathers, the
Indians went to Chupu, offered sacrifices as commanded
in the dream, and declared themselves no longer Chris
tians. Whether the epidemic was checked is not re
corded, but for a time the old superstition was far stronger
than the new religion.
Visitors were always welcome at the missions. The
guest rooms were ready, the dining room was large, food
was abundant. When Father Serra's plan had been car
ried out, and the nineteen missions had been founded from
San Francisco to San Diego, they were about a day's
travel of thirty miles apart. The traveler could leave
one in the morning and arrive at the next in good season
for a night's meal and rest. There was no need to ask
for food and shelter, they were ready for any one. As the
horseman rode up to the gate of the courtyard he was
met by an Indian lad who came forward to take his horse.
If a meal hour were not near, chocolate and some light

Life at the Missions 149
refreshments were offered to stay the appetite until dinner
could be served. The table was supplied with the best
from the gardens, orchards, and herds. Perhaps, in obe
dience to his vows, the priest ate sparingly ; but the visi
tor was expected to do justice to whatever was on the
table. In the morning a fresh horse was brought to take
the place of the tired one ridden the day before ; or the
horseman might take his pick from the herds. A boun
tiful luncheon was provided, and, if necessary, a guide to
the next mission. Should the visitor decide to stay a
week instead of only over night, he did not wear out his
welcome. The usual visitors were from Mexico or they were Cal
ifornians, such as the governor or military commander of
the province, soldiers or priests, going from one mission
to another. There were many of them, and probably a
week or even a day rarely passed without one or more
guests to share the hospitality of the mission. By this
means the distance from San Diego to San Francisco was
covered easily and almost without expense to the traveler.
Occasionally some ship's captain or traveler or explorer
from the distant countries of Europe or America cast
anchor in one of the bays and visited- the missions.
'These were pleasant occasions for the priests, giving them
glimpses into the world so far away from them. In the
accounts of some of these men, as La Perouse of France,
Vancouver of England, and Alfred Robinson of the United
States, is to be found our most valuable information of
conditions at the missions. It would have been useless
and discourteous for such visitors to offer money in pay-

150 The Missions of Alta California
ment for the lavish hospitality which they had enjoyed;
but the fathers gladly accepted gifts for the church.
La Perouse, who was in California in 1786, sent the
priests at San Carlos some presents which proved valuable.
These were some potatoes and some seeds of French
plants, prized additions to the kitchen garden; and a
handmill for grinding grain into flour. Up to this time
there had been no mills in California ; the Indian women
pounded or crushed the grains in their mortars or on
metates .; some of them were kept grinding constantly to
supply meal for the porridge for hundreds of Indians
three times a day. Strange as it may seem, the fathers
at San Carlos did not make much use of this mill. They
said that it ground out the meal too rapidly and left the
women nothing to do. They knew that it was necessary
to keep the Indians busy.
'Questions. — What kind of a place was selected for a new mission?
What supplies were taken? What men must stay at the new settle
ment? What two reasons can be given for the Indians learning more readily
to work than to understand the religion ofthe fathers?
Who did the work at the missions? Were there many Spaniards
there ? What was usually their part in the work ? Was there any rea
son for keeping the Indians so busy?
What caused the affection between the fathers and the natives ? In
what three ways, at least, did the Indians improve by their life at the
missions ? Can any reason be given why they may have been unhappy
at times? What were the fathers trying to do for them?
What was the probable feeling of strangers toward the missions?

Longitude  121 West

from 119 Greenwich

CHAPTER XVI
THE SLAVERY OF THE MISSIONS
When, in 1769, the priests were allowed to come to
California to establish missions, it was with the under
standing that they should teach the Indians to take care
of themselves so that they could be made citizens. The
missions were in existence sixty-five years, from 1 769-1 834,
but they failed in this object desired by Spain and later by
Mexico. Thousands and tens of thousands of Indians
were taken into the church at the various missions along
the coast, but very few of the neophytes reached the point
where they could safely have been made citizens.
There were several reasons for this failure of the mission
aries to do what was expected of them. Tribes of savages
cannot, in sixty years, be changed into a civilized people ;
centuries are needed for such a change. The Californian
Indians were naturally very stupid and, worse yet, lazy
both in mind and body ; their stupidity might have been
educated out of them or their children, as is shown by
many honest, fairly intelligent laborers to-day, but with
most of the savages the laziness seemed to cling to the
very marrow of their bones. A third reason was that
none of the teaching led the Indians to think or act for
themselves ; every act was planned for them. It was the
'52

The Slavery of the Missions

153

policy of the missions to train obedient, industrious, child
like servants of the church, and the early missionaries
succeeded remarkably ; but they did not educate thinking,
reasoning, questioning men and women. As years passed,
this policy of training the body without developing the
mind had a most unfortunate result, unexpected, probably,
by the missionaries themselves : it brought about what has

Mission of San Gabriel
been called the slavery of the missions. This means
simply that the neophytes were not their own masters, nor
were they capable of being so; they belonged to the
church and were ruled by the priests.
In the later years of missions this condition became
unbearable to the Indians and to all thinking, sympathetic
Spaniards both in and out of the missions ; but in the
early days it was a pleasant relation on both sides. The
fathers taught the Indians and took care of them in many

154 The Missions of Alta California
ways, giving them a fairly happy life ; in return, the neo
phytes loved and served the priests.
Father Serra was beloved by the Indians of San Carlos
where his work was done. Father Peyri, of San Luis
Rey, was devoted to his neophytes and they to him.
Vancouver, an Englishman who visited California in 1793,
tells of the strong affection of the Indians of Santa Bar
bara for their priest. He offered to take the missionary
home from a visit to another mission. The Indian ser
vants could not be accommodated on the ship, and for
some reason they began to suspect that the priest would
not be safe. They begged him not to return by water.
Breaking out into cries and entreaties, they insisted that
they knew he would not reach home in safety. To their
distress he embarked, and their moans and tears redoubled
as he left them on the beach. When the voyage was at
an end, Vancouver saw a new proof of affection on the
part of the Indians.
It was early in the morning when he and the father
walked over to the mission. By some means the Indians
learned of the approach of the priest, and came quickly to
meet him. The road was soon filled with neophytes, who
crowded forward, expressing in many ways their affection
for the father and their joy at his safe return. At first,
Vancouver thought that the great numbers coming toward
them were attracted only by curiosity, but he was soon
convinced that nothing but love for the missionary had
caused the neophytes to come out so early in the morning.
A number of such incidents might be given, showing
the affection between the fathers and the Indians. There

The Slavery of the Missions

155

can be no question about the earnestness and sincere
intentions of the priests. They braved all the hardships
of life in a new country in their honest desire to improve
the condition of the Indians. They did not doubt that
they were taking the right way to accomplish their
object. They must not be judged by the standards of
to-day nor of our coun
try. They were Span
iards ; they lived in the
eighteenth century ; and
Spain at that time was
behind the rest of the
world. They believed
that the Indians had no
need to think for them
selves, but that they
should be guided in
everything ; that their
happiest life was to do
just what the church
told them and in just
the way the church
directed. The priests
stood for the church
in the lives of natives,
consequently it was the
priests who were to be obeyed. If the Indians disobeyed
they must be punished for their own good, since it might
help bring them into a happier life. With all the fanati
cism of Spaniards of their day the missionaries labored to

Stairway to choir, San Gabriel

156 The Missions of Alta California
teach the natives. They were earnest and genuine, and
many of them were kind and affectionate. There are few
men of to-day who would be willing to undergo the hard
ships, discouragements, and isolation, so bravely and
cheerily met by the priests of Alta California. Never
theless, their system was touched by the blight and decay
which fell upon everything that Spain tried to do in the
New World. Out of the very enthusiasm of the mission
aries grew the enslavement of the Indians.
The mission era from 1769 to 1834 divides naturally
into two periods. The first covers about forty years,
from the foundation to the early part of the next century,
somewhere about 18 10. This has been called the "era of
calm " ; the second, from near the first of the century
until the downfall of the missions, was a period of resist
ance. During the first era the Indians were slowly learning
family life, obedience, and industry, the first three steps
out of savagery. They were often punished by the
priests, there were many runaways and some uprisings on
the part of the Indians ; but none of these difficulties
seems to have grown out of hatred toward the priests or
resistance to the mission life. They were the natural
results of trying to teach savages. There was only one
serious rebellion, that at San Diego in 1775, when the
mission was burned, four of its people killed, and three
wounded, — a serious loss where there were so few white
people. Ordinarily life passed quietly and as happily as
could be expected for missionaries and neophytes. After
the first two or three years of struggling for a beginning,

The Slavery of the Missions 157
the number of Indians who came into the missions in
creased steadily. There were marriages, births, and
deaths, pleasure and suffering, joy and sadness, very
much as in any other condition of life ; and the missions
grew rapidly in wealth. But as the "era of calm" drew
near its close, matters changed for the worse.
Perhaps this change was due to the fact that during the
first period the priests who had come from Mexico when
the project was new, were still at work among the Indians.
Their interests in the Indians were many and genuine,
and they treated the simple natives with a fatherly affec
tion. In the second period the Indians had sunk into
the condition of slaves. They were herded to their work
like animals, almost anything was thought good enough
.for their food and clothing, and they were punished fre
quently and severely. Several new priests had come from
Mexico to take the place of the older ones who had died
or been obliged to leave California ; they looked with
less " and less interest on the stupid neophytes, until
they began to regard them as made only to do the work
of the missions, — to be punished if they did not, and to
be caught and brought back if they tried to run away
from their hard tasks. It is not strange, perhaps, that
from being always with the savages, the new missionaries
came to look on them as hopelessly weak, and that a
species of slavery became established in every mission,
more or less severe according to the nature of the priests.
In this second period, the fatherly punishments of
earlier days gave way to those given less sympathetically.
There was more frequent use of the stocks and of leg

i58

The Missions of Alta California

irons for runaways ; imprisonments were common. Not
a day passed without some punishments, and usually there
were many. The whippings had at first been only a few
lashes ; but as years passed, the floggings became very
severe. More cruel
whips were used; men,
and in some cases
women also, were
whipped in public, and
their cries and screams,
together with the sight
of their sufferings, wak
ened fear and hatred
among their fellows. It
is probable that, by see
ing the whip used every
day, the missionaries
had become hardened
without knowing it, and
increased the number of
lashes without realizing
how much they were
also increasing the suf
ferings of those pun
ished. The Indians, under this harsh treatment, grew
sullen, restless, and dangerous. Runaways were so fre
quent that it became a common practice to send out hunt
ing parties to bring them back. These were usually of
soldiers, but trusted Indians were also used to hunt out the
fugitives. Punishments for runaways were made more

A wood carrier

The Slavery of the Missions 1 59
and more severe, but still the more savage as well as the
more intelligent Indians would take the risks rather than
endure life at the missions. Some of the less daring spirits
vented their hatred in attempts to poison the priests or
set fire to the mission buildings. Every offense of this
kind tightened the bonds of the Indians and widened the
breach between them and the white people. The missions
were not succeeding in educating citizens, but they were
stirring up the spirit of opposition and revenge.
These conditions became a scandal to the church, deeply
regretted by all priests and laymen who had the best
interests of the missions at heart. As De Neve, one of
the early governors of the province, said, such treatment
could not elevate the Indians, could not educate their
manHness. From 1794 to 1800, the governor of the Cali-
fornias was Borica, a high-principled man, determined in
his efforts to better affairs in the province. He proved
himself a friend to the Indians, and in all that he did for
them he was ably seconded by several missionaries, espe
cially by Father Fernandez. Borica insisted that the
brutal floggings should cease, that the neophytes should
be well fed and clothed, and that they should not work as
hard as had come to be the case. While he was gov
ernor the Indians received better treatment, for he was
known to be earnest in his demands ; but when he
returned to Mexico, the Indians were again used as harshly
as before.
During the second period of mission life there were
many outbreaks on the part of the Indians; and the
Spanish Indian fighter, Moraga, had his hands full in

160 The Missions of Alta California
quelling revolts at different places from San Diego to San
Francisco. In 1824 there was said to be a plot to kill off
all the white people, in order that the Indians might get
back the right to their land and to their own liberty. But
all the risings were put down before there was serious injury
to any mission. The Indians found expression for their
hatred in other ways, more secret and dangerous. At
Santa Cruz a priest was murdered ; once or twice food was
poisoned ; fear and suspicion were felt at all the missions.
The desperate struggles .of the Indians were of no use ;
but interference in their condition was coming from an
other direction. The government of Mexico was about to
secularize the missions.
Questions. — What did Spain expect the fathers to do for the
Indians ? What three difficulties prevented the priests from doing it ?
(See text.) Can any means be suggested by which the first difficulty
might have been overcome ? the second ? the third ?
Why were the fathers unable to overcome the first difficulty? the
second? the third?
How would the Indians be helped toward civilization by learning
family life? obedience? industry? How would these lessons help them
to become good citizens?
Did the Spaniards approve of the way in which the Indians were
treated? Did the church approve? did all the priests? did the gov
ernors ?
What did the unhappy life of the Indians lead them to do? What
did the government of Mexico decide to do about the missions?

CHAPTER XVII
SECULARIZATION
For more than sixty years the missions did their work,
and then, like a gray-haired old man whose life has been
spent, they passed away. Their death blow came to them
from Mexico. It had been long expected, but it was none
the less unwelcome to the missionaries. This end of the
Spanish missions is known as secularization ; that is, giving
over to the state what had belonged to the church. The
missions were to have made citizens of the Indians ; Mex
ico now claimed that this was accomplished, and that the
Indians should no longer belong to the church, but should
be given over to the state.
The priests knew that the Indians were far from ready
to take care of themselves, and that if turned over to the
state, all the work and wealth of the missions would be
lost. How much reason they had for these fears a few
years showed.
Somewhere about 1828 the Indians learned of the plan.
This was unfortunate, for the Mexican government worked
so slowly that some years passed without changes, and
the Indians became restless, troublesome, and dangerous.
They would not obey the fathers. In some cases they
refused to work. Runaways were more frequent, and
SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — II l6l

1 62 The Missions of Alta California
large numbers of horses and cattle were stolen from the
mission herds. Some of the more intelligent southern
Indians demanded a share in land and animals, and the
right to take care of themselves.
In 1834 the law went into effect. As Mexico intended
that the Indians should support themselves, some of the
mission animals were divided among them. The priests
had always claimed that the land belonged to the Indians,
and that the church held it in trust for them. So they
were now allowed to stay on the mission estates, where it
was the plan that every Indian should have a certain por
tion of good land given him for raising fruits and vege
tables. They were to be given seeds and farming tools,
and were to obey the orders of the general government in
Mexico instead of those of the priests. The missionaries
were still to teach them in religious matters, but in all else
the Indians were to consider themselves free from the men
who had been their own and their fathers' masters and
leaders in even the smallest details of life. In short, small
Indian states were to *be formed at every mission.
Perhaps in all history there has been no better illustra
tion of how impossible it is to make a nation suddenly.
These low, brutish natives had been under the care of the
priests for more than sixty years. Children had grown to
manhood in the shadow of the missions ; they had been
taught many useful crafts ; but they were still wholly
unable to take care of themselves. As soon as the guid
ance of the priests was removed, their old laziness came
back ; only a few could plan their work or act as lead
ers ; they took no thought of the future. They were

Secularisation 163
far from ready to be left to themselves, as Mexico soon
found out.
The intention of the government was good enough in
itself ; and to the Mexicans, several hundred miles away,
the plan looked very promising. But it proved to be the
destruction of the missions, and a deathblow to the little
civilization which had been gained by the Indians.
For some years the missionaries had known that the law
must surely come. Despairing of receiving any return for all
their time and labor, they determined to act before the text
of the law could reach them from Mexico. At some of the
missions, a slaughter of the cattle was ordered, or the right
sold to some outsider. Only the hides were of value, and
so the bodies were left to rot. Around the wealthy San
Gabriel mission the sight was especially harrowing. The
ground was strewn with the carcasses of animals, and for
years the plains for miles around were whitened by the
bleaching bones.
Rapidly the missions and the system of caring for the
Indians fell into ruin. Some of the priests returned to
Mexico or Europe ; the Indians were scattered, the ani
mals killed or taken by strangers or left to run wild ;
the gardens and orchards were overrun by weeds and
underbrush, and thousands of acres were claimed by new
comers. A description of San Carlos in 1 840, only six
years after secularization, speaks of the mission as de
serted. The once busy courts and Indian quarters were
overgrown with grass, the looms were silent, the shops
were closed, the once open doors of the church were
locked, and only a few Indian huts were left near the

1 64 The Missions of Alta California
group of now gloomy buildings. Where all had been life
and action there was only solitude.
The last event in the history of the missions may be
said to have occurred in 1845. Pio Pico, the governor,
issued a proclamation which was intended to close up the
affairs of the missions of Alta California. Five of the
missions and the estates belonging to them, besides parts

¦«7^-.; <

Ruins of San Fernando
of four others, were to be sold ; four were to be rented
to the highest bidders ; the remaining six were also to be
rented as soon as their affairs could be straightened out
legally. The missions as a part of the active life of Alta Cali
fornia were dead. They passed out of existence, and the
streams of the new life in California flowed over their
ruins with hardly a ripple to tell of what lay beneath.

Secularization

165

The only people who were seriously affected by their
destruction were the Indians.
The mission Indians seemed to dwindle out of existence,
to melt away into nothingness. Where there had been
hundreds and even thousands of neophytes, they were soon
to be counted only by tens. In 1839, at San Luis Rey,
five hundred were left; at San Juan Capistrano, about

 .._ , ¦ •'..',)' '¦ »  '_j

Interior of ruins of San Fernando

eighty , in each case about an eighth of the former num
ber. Similar conditions prevailed at all the missions.
The few who were left complained bitterly of the treat
ment given them by the officers sent out by the govern
ment. They said that they were crowded off the best
lands of the old mission estates; food was rarely given
them ; and they were in such rags that some of the women
had been obliged to make and wear tule skirts like those
worn by the savages. They were flogged for every Httle

1 66 The Missions of Alta California
offense, and far more cruelly than in the days of mission
life. Those of the neophytes who stayed near the missions,
trying to adapt themselves to the new life, were usually
men and women grown old under the call of the well-
known bells. They could not go out again into the wild
mountains to live as the savages of their own race must
live; so, in their poverty and helplessness, they lived on
near the old homes, or hid somewhere away from the curi
ous, unsympathetic white men. Robbed of their share
of the horses and cattle, deserted by the younger people,
many of them too old or too weak to work, they dragged
out the remnant of their wretched Hves.
By 1845 the condition of the few remaining Indians at
all the missions may be pictured by those who still clung
to their homes at San Francisco Dolores. Eight old
Indians were then living there, poor, ragged, hungry, de
serted, too old to work, dependent on the bits of charity
that occasionally found a way into their hands.
Some who did not wish either to stay at the missions
or to go into the mountains tried to take part in the life
around them. Some of the women married white men.
They were frequently very capable both at home and in
business, and a few of them entered excellent families.
These women were probably the happiest of their race.
Other neophytes became servants among the Spaniards ;
some were well treated; some were kept against their
wills, having foolishly sold themselves to a year or more
of service in return for some trifle which had pleased their
fancy for a moment. Still others loitered around in the

Secularization

167

towns and villages ; there they were liable to yield to the
constant temptation of gambling and drinking, and so they
sank quickly to the lowest levels of society.
Many wandered off to the mountains among the " gen
tile " Indians. When they found that they no longer had
to obey the missionaries, their old laziness reasserted itself,
and with it came a delight in their freedom. The officers
of the government, sent to take care of them for a time,
remonstrated because they would not plow or sow. " They

" Many wandered off to the mountains "

cried as with one voice, ' We are free. It is not our pleas
ure to obey. We do not choose to work.' "
These wanderers killed the few cattle given them by the
state, and they were not always particular to spare those
which belonged to others. The hides were sold, and the

1 68 The Missions of Alta California
flesh eaten. They drove off the horses to the mountains,
not leaving enough for the few Indians who stayed around
the missions to cultivate their land. Nothing could induce
those who thus went away to return. They usually took
with them all the evil habits learned from the white peo
ple ; for it is a pitiable fact that when savages come in
contact with a more civilized race they are at first influ
enced most strongly by the vices of their superiors.
Such Indians as these were a constant menace to the
Spaniards and Americans. They stole horses and cattle
which were left unguarded, until it became necessary to
send out parties of armed men to hunt them down. The
taste for wine and brandy, learned among the Californians,
made them quarrelsome and killed off many. Very differ
ent were these horse thieves and marauders from the
peaceful, trusting natives who had welcomed the explorers
when they first came to the shores of the Pacific. The
coming of the white men had brought destruction to the
Indians. Lest the picture be thought too dark, it must be remem
bered that many of the Indians of to-day, descendants,
perhaps, of the neophytes, have become honest, sturdy
laborers, showing unmistakably that there was in the race
an ability to rise above the condition in which the missions
found them or left them. The missionaries, also, deserve
much credit. We may blame them for having kept the
natives in a dependent state; but in the end we must
respect the priests for the earnestness of their lives and
efforts, and we must praise them for the wonders which
they did perform.

Secularization 169
Nevertheless, the few ruinous churches and the heaps
of adobe bricks to be seen here and there in California are
sad reminders of a failure. The priests had tried to hold
the country for Spain, and it passed into the hands of
strangers. They had tried to convert the Indians to
Christianity, and, in the end, only a few kept the faith
which they had been taught. They had shown the igno
rant natives how to clothe themselves, and how to make
everything for their simple needs ; and their descendants
went back into the wilderness, where they were glad to
accept the cast-off garments of their white neighbors.
The priests had tried to teach them some forms of civil
ized life, and when the mission system went to pieces, the
most striking traits of character in the Indian's nature
were thievery and drunkenness.
With the desertion of the Indians, and the sailing of the
fathers, the missions were given over to decay. The
adobe buildings needed constant care, and when left to
themselves quickly fell to pieces. Here and there, a
crumbling ruin may still be seen, overlooking the valleys
and hills where once its grain flourished and its cattle
pastured ; but the gray adobe ruin is tottering to its fall,
like a conquered, forgotten monarch who failed in his
efforts to wear his crown.
Questions. — What life was planned for the Indians after seculariza
tion? By whom was this plan made ? How did it agree with the
intention ofthe king of Spain when the priests first came to California?
Did the priests think that secularization would be carried out? What
reasons did they have for this belief?
Had the Indians shown any progress in the mission life? Do you
know anything about the present condition of the Indians in California?

170

The Missions of Alta California

LIST OF MISSIONS
WITH DATE OF FOUNDING
In the early period of mission activity nineteen missions were founded ;
later, two more were established north of San Francisco Bay, something
in the nature of outposts against the Russians.
San Diego . . . June 16, 1769.
San Carlos . . June 3, 1770.
Removed to the Carmel River in 1771.
San Antonio . . July 14, 1771 .
San Gabriel . . September 8, 1771.
San Luis Obispo . September 1, 1772.
San Francisco de Assisi October 9, 1776.
Situated at San Francisco.

San Juan Capistrano .
Santa Clara
San Buenaventura
Santa Barbara
La Purisima Concepcion
Santa Cruz
Soledad San Jose
San Juan Bautista
San Miguel
San Fernando
San Luis Rey
Santa Inez .
San Rafael
San Francisco de Solano

November 1, 1776.
January 18, 1777.
March 31, 1782.
December 4, 1786.
December 8, 1787.
August 28, 1 791.
October 9, 1791.
June 18, 1797.
June 24, 1797.
July 25, 1797.
September 8, 1797.
June 13, 1798.
September 17, 1804.
December 18, 181 7.
August 25, 1823.

Situated at Sonoma.

IV. SPANISH CALIFORNIA

CHAPTER XVIII
LIFE IN THE PUEBLOS AND ON THE RANCHES
THERE were three kinds of homes in Spanish Cali
fornia : the missions, scattered along the coast from
San Diego to San Francisco, about thirty miles apart ; the
pueblos, or villages,
which grew up around
the four presidios or at
the settlements made by
the government colo
nists ; and the few
ranchos, miles in extent,
which had been granted
by the crown to aristo
cratic Spaniards of ex
cellent families.

. JJ^Tfjg

sfr-i .^H

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fWX '!¦¦¦<
pftYK jM

jump7" - ~ ...

iffsyi&w

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-J X-r-
Si

Acorn granaries in the Yosemite Valley

Until about 1828, the missions were the most important
power in California. They owned nearly all the region
from the ocean back to the Coast Range Mountains, and
as they claimed that the property of one mission touched
that of the next, several included in their estates thirty or
forty square miles of territory. The fathers said that all
the land of California belonged to the Indians, and that
171

172 Spanish California
the church was holding it in trust for them until they
could care for it themselves ; . consequently they looked
with dislike on a grant of land to any one. The missions
were hives of industry, where lived the priests, the neo
phyte Indians, a few Spanish workmen, and from two to
eight soldiers, to serve as a protection in case of trouble
with the Indians.
The leading pueblos grew up around the four presidios
at San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Fran
cisco. Here lived most of the soldiers in the province,
some of them with their families ; the government offi
cials, who were often men of wealth and power ; some
times, also, rancheros whose estates were not far distant.
Smaller, less important pueblos were those made by the
settlers sent out by the government ; such were the begin
nings of Los Angeles and San Jose. The colonists were
given a small tract of land, a number of animals, and tools
to cultivate the soil. For five years, certain supplies and
a hundred and twenty dollars a year for each colonist, were
sent from Mexico. Very different were these conditions
from those under which the English on the Atlantic coast
were struggling. But such help did more harm than good.
Only the lower classes came, attracted by the offer of
government aid. Once in California, there was little need
of hard work : so the colonists lived a life of idleness, and
were a hindrance rather than a development to the prov
ince. They often intermarried with the Indians, and there
resulted a race little fitted to civilize any country.
The men who were given large ranchos were often from
the best families of Spain, proud of their blood, proud of

Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches 173
their pure Castilian language, proud of their position
among the first families of the New World. They lived on
their estates almost like barons of the Middle Ages, but
there were too few of them to give character to the popu
lation of the country. Such grants were few in number,
partly because of the jealous watchfulness of the mission
aries and their claim to nearly all the good land along
the coast, and partly because the Spaniards did not think
it worth their efforts to go back into the great valleys in
the interior of the state.
All the inhabitants tried to live as they had lived in
Mexico, and years passed with hardly a change in even their
ways of dressing. There was more wealth at the missions
than anywhere else, but of course life there was very simple.
At the presidio, pueblos there was considerable luxury
in the homes of the officials and the wealthy rancheros ;
but the soldiers were always poorly paid by the govern
ment,' and often went ragged and penniless. The colo
nist pueblos were for years shabby villages, for the settlers
were lazy ne'er-do-wells, who would have starved without
the money sent them every year from Mexico.
Would you like to take a look at the pueblo of Los
Angeles in the early years before the coming of the
Americans, when it was as dreamy and easy-going as any
other old Spanish town ? In the center was a plaza, an
open square, where much of the business of the village
was done. Around the plaza were the houses of the first
settlers, and on one side were the public buildings. These
were a guardhouse for the soldiers, a town house, and a
public granary. The buildings were of adobe. In Los

174 Spanish California
Angeles they were left their original mud color, but in
Monterey they were whitewashed and the roofs were of
red tile, giving the place a very pleasing appearance. On
the plains back of the houses, horses and cattle pastured
until they became such a nuisance that an adobe wall was
built to keep them out of the pueblo.
As new houses were needed they were put farther back,
for all the space immediately around the plaza was taken.
There was little need of village streets in those days, as
there were no wagons and everybody rode horseback.
Each man, therefore, put his house where he pleased. If
it happened to stand across one of the bridle paths, no
one found fault ; the riders turned out and went around,
and in time a new path was made. So the streets, such
as they were, zigzagged around the adobe buildings.
It was no short task for a well-to-do Californian to build
his roomy home, even when it was only one story in
height. First the Indians molded the clay into bricks
about eighteen inches square by two or three inches thick ;
these were put into wooden forms and left in the sun to
bake. When one side was thoroughly hard they were
turned over to bake on the other. When dry they were
built up by the use of adobe mortar into walls two or
three feet thick, and, in the larger houses, the partitions
were made in the same slow way. The walls, like the
bricks, had to dry thoroughly, and months passed before
the roof of tile or thatch was put on and the outside of
the house was finished.
It did not take long to make the inside ready for its
owners. There was no plastering, and little wood finish-

Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches 175
ing. Often no windows were put in, no doors were hung,
no floor was laid. A curtain of rawhide, hung over a
doorway, was enough to keep out the cold ; the ground,
beaten hard and smooth, was the usual floor. Many of
these houses are still to be seen in Southern California,
and, fitted up more comfortably, are lived in by Amer
icans. The wealthier rancheros had floors, wooden shutters or
even glass for the windows, doors, and rich furniture

House of a wealthy ranchero

brought from Mexico or Spain. We read of sofas and
easy chairs, but they were few before the days of the
Americans. The usual furniture of the living room con
sisted of a rough table, some benches around the walls,
and chairs with rawhide seats. The bed, too, was made
of a rawhide, which was said to possess strange powers of
heaUng the sick. Stretched tight on a wooden frame, it

176 Spanish California
was comfortable enough for any one, and was praised even
by the Americans. Every Spanish housekeeper was proud
of her beds, and white spreads and lace-trimmed pillow
cases were often seen in the homes of the poor as well as
of the rich.
Considering how bare the houses were inside, it is not
surprising that the Spaniards lived out of doors the most
of their time. Even on a chilly morning the easiest and
pleasantest way of getting warm was to take a gallop
across the hills, for the rooms were either entirely with
out fire or were slightly heated by a pan of coals standing
in the center of the floor.
The pueblo was never kept clean. There were no
butcher shops, and every home had a slaughter yard of its
own, where the bones of cattle lay year after year. Other
refuse was every where, and the crows came in such numbers
to feed on it that the town council of Los Angeles finally
offered a bounty for every one killed. But some severe
plague might have fallen on the village if the crows had
not acted as scavengers, for the Spaniards would not clean
the place for themselves.
The principal pleasures in the lives of these simple,
hospitable people were to have friends and relatives around
them, to ride a good horse, to feast, and to dance. After
the morning services at church, Sunday was given over to
visiting and pleasure making. On the way home several
families often stopped for dinner at the home of one of
their number. The men lassoed and killed a calf, the women
entered the kitchen as if at home, and prepared a meal for
the whole party.

Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches 177
There was always meat in abundance ; beans, onions, and
peppers were plentiful, although as a rule vegetables were
scarce ; grapes and other fruits were raised at the missions
and at a few of the ranches. Milk, cheese, and butter were
luxuries ; for although there were cattle by the thousand,
they were wild. Some of the missions, however, and
occasionally a ranchero, had a few half-tamed cows, and
butter and cheese were made. To milk a cow was a great
event, which the whole family might come out to watch.
Three persons were necessary for the operation. The cow's
head was tied securely with a riata, or braided rawhide,
which was either fastened to a post or held by some strong
person. The hind legs were tied securely with another
riata and held by a second man, who must also fight off
the calf if it tried to approach ; the third person did the
milking. As this was a rare occurrence, there were no
milk pails in a Spanish household, and all kinds of vessels
had to be brought into use, including teacups, glasses, and
bowls. Milk was, indeed, a luxury in California.
On all great occasions there was a dance, or fandango
as it was called, in one of the homes or in a public build
ing. Graceful Spanish dances occupied the evening ; or
at some of the great events they were kept up for several
nights, the days being spent in getting ready for more
nights of revelry. As all Californians seem to have been
related, and as horseback riding was so common, no one
thought anything of going thirty or forty miles to a fan
dango at the home of some relative.
One of the frolics often seen in connection with a carni
val celebration was a " battle with the eggs." Eggs were
SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — 12

178 Spanish California
emptied of their contents, the shells partly filled with
cologne or sweet-scented water, and the open ends sealed up
with wax ; sometimes the shells were filled with gold or
silver paper cut into tiny pieces. As the guests arrived,
or during the evening, they were pelted with the shells,
which, as they broke, showered the victim with perfumery
or scraps of glittering paper. The fun often raged so
furiously that, when the eggs gave out, a stormy water fight
followed until everybody was drenched. This part of the
game seems to have been confined to the men, the ladies
probably escaping when the rougher amusement began.
Although so far away from what was fashionable life,
the Californians were fond of fine dressing, and liked to
think themselves very stylish. Laces, silks, satins, and
velvets were stored away in the chests that were a part of
the furniture in every Spanish home. All these luxuries
must have been given the best of care, for we read of the
same clothes being worn for three generations ; and the
grandson was as proud of his finery as the grandfather
had been when it was new.
This is the way one Spanish grandee near Los Angeles
appeared to an American early in the nineteenth century.
His vest was of blue damask, his shortclothes of crimson
velvet ; he wore a beautifully embroidered shirt and white
tie. His jacket was of bright green cloth, ornamented
with large silver buttons. His shoes were of embroidered
deerskin. On a great holiday, when this gentleman
appeared in his very best clothes, his whole suit is sa\d to
have cost more than a thousand dollars. On ordinary
occasions a gentleman wore a short jacket of silk or figured

Life in the Pueblos and on tlie Ranches 179

material; pantaloons of velveteen or broadcloth, open
below the knee and laced with gilt, or short breeches and
white stockings. A crimson scarf was twisted around his
waist. The botas, a kind of legging, were of ornamented
deerskin, secured by bright-colored silk garters. The
shoes were embroidered. The hair was worn long, braided
down the back, and tied with a ribbon.
Over the head was often laid a black silk
handkerchief. The hat was a broad som
brero, with which all Californians of to
day are well acquainted. The serape, or
cloak, was never lacking; indeed it often
indicated the rank of its owner. It was
a large, square blanket, slit in the middle
for passing over the head. Wealthy men
wore costly serapes of broadcloth, heavy
with velvet and other trimmings, while
the poorer men wore cheap cloaks of the
coarse woolen cloth woven at the missions.
The ladies also enjoyed bright colors.
The muslin skirt was often flounced with
scarlet and fastened at the waist by a
broad silk band of the same. The bodice was as richly
trimmed with lace as the owner could afford. The shoes
were of bright-colored velvet, satin, or kid. No lady's
toilet was complete without a reboso, or long scarf,
except that with the wealthier classes a shawl sometimes
took its place. The reboso was worn over the head with
that pecuHar grace for which the Spanish women have
long been noted. Bonnets and hats were almost unknown.

A Spanish grandee

180 Spanish California
Jewelry was greatly admired, and nearly every woman
managed to have at least a necklace and earrings. The
richer ladies had fine jewels, which they kept with the
greatest care, so that they often passed from mother to
daughter through several generations.
Those were the days when all the men went horseback,
and many of the women were equally expert as riders.
Horses always stood tied before the adobe buildings ready
for use, even if the owner were going only a few yards
from his house. When a horse began to look thin from
too constant riding, he . was turned out to pasture and
another was brought in, for there was no limit to the
number on the plains. On a long journey several were
used ; one was ridden until worn out, then turned loose,
and another saddled in his place. Those thus left be
hind were often gathered up on the return trip. Horses
were seldom brushed and cared for in any way except for
great occasions ; but a Spaniard liked a good horse above
everything else, and there seems to have been a perfect
understanding between the man and his animal.
It is no wonder that the Californians were among the
best riders in the world, for a boy learned to ride when he
was little more than a baby, and spent much of his Hfe
on a horse's back. One of the common sights around a
pueblo was a horse, with two or three children on its back,
tearing across the country at a full gallop. In this way
a child learned to keep his seat under all circumstances,
and to be perfect master of his animal. As soon as a boy
was strong enough, he went out and lassoed a wild colt.
Putting on saddle and bridle, he mounted, and " rode the

Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches 181
horse tame," that is, until it was exhausted and could be
readily managed.
For all common use on the rancho, the saddle and
stirrups were of the heavy Spanish make still used in
some parts of the state. The pommel was high and
strongly made, to take the resistance in lassoing animals.
The stirrups were of wood, with leather aprons to protect
the feet of the rider from the brush. Spurs were always
worn, and cruel things they were, with their four or five
long points, dull and rusty. The sides of the horses were
often savagely torn by them. The bridle was furnished
with a large bit, like those still sometimes used on vicious
horses ; with it there was little difficulty in controlling the
wildest horse that had once been ridden. A lasso, or riata,
was always at hand, wound on the pommel of the saddle.
It was of braided rawhide, with a slipknot at the end.
Men and women were adepts in its use, and their feats
of catching and felling animals are almost beyond belief.
On holidays and great occasions the Californian took
the greatest pride in the appearance of himself and his
horse. A Spaniard, who a few years ago wrote about
the fiestas in the early part of the century, says, "In
those days the people always rode good horses." ^ For
any special occasion they chose- their very best. These
had "satin mouths and feet that barely touched the
ground " ; they were " light of limb " ; their eyes were
of fire ; they were " devourers of miles and leagues, tire
less,' indomitable."
Steed and rider were decked in splendid trappings for
these occasions. The black or red saddle was of beauti-

182 Spanish California
fully stamped leather, embroidered with silver threads ;
the pommel and seat were edged with silver; the bridle
and reins were heavily mounted with silver, the latter
sometimes being made of filagree. The rider wore a
short, graceful riding jacket, richly trimmed with gold
and silver. Garments of velvet and of other rich mate
rial made the Californian seem Hke a knight come down
from the days of chivalry. The prancing horse and the
brilliantly dressed rider were a gorgeous sight.
Where so many rode horseback there was little need
of carriages. Sometimes a priest had a carreta, as the
ox cart was called ; and some of the ladies used them for
going to church or on the frequent pleasure expeditions.
But they were usually used for hauling grain or goods.
These carts were very rude affairs. The wheels, either
two or four in number, were crosscuts from a log. A hole
was bored through the center and a pole run through for
an axle. On this was placed a rough wooden frame, over
the sides and bottom of which were stretched hides. Cush
ions were used to give a little comfort to the springless cart.
Two oxen were yoked to the carreta, their heads being
lashed to a strong stick about four feet long. A driver
rode on a horse by their sides to manage them. These
oxen were not always the slow-going animals that we
think them, for they were often driven at a gallop,
rattling over the rough roads, the dust flying in clouds,
the rude wheels creaking and screaming until they could
be heard a mile away.
Rude as the carretas were for all ordinary occasions,
there were times when they seemed almost as fine as the

Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches 183
prancing steeds ridden by the men. For the fiestas
they were covered with a brilliant canopy. Sometimes
this was a gay silk bedspread, worked in beautiful
flowers ; a long fringe hung down the sides almost to
the axle, protecting the girls and women from the
bright rays of the sun. Or lace curtains, Chinese crepe,

Going to church in a carreta
or bright-colored rebosos were used as canopies, giving
beauty to the otherwise rude carriages.
Few of the Californians could either read or write, and
there were not many books in the whole province. The
two or three libraries that were owned by some of the
wealthier and better educated men never had much
effect on the general culture of the province.

184 Spanish California
Here is a description of a school in Monterey, taken
from an account written by one of the pupils aftef
he had become a man. The schoolroom was long and
narrow ; a dim light entered through a few small windows ;
the floor was the hard, beaten ground; the thick adobe
walls kept the room chilly even in summer. The whole
place had a dirty, dilapidated appearance which must have
made every child long for the bright sunshine, the pure air,
the clear blue sky out of doors.
At one end of this gloomy room was a platform on
which was a table covered with a dingy black cloth.
Here sat the teacher, the center of all the life and
misery of the school. He was an old soldier, too nearly
worn out to serve any more, but thought to be in good
enough condition to teach the children how to write and
to say their catechism. His face was so ill tempered that
even the boldest boys looked on it with fear and trembling.
Every pupil who entered walked the length of the room
and kissed the master's hand.
The writing- lesson always brought tears and trouble.
The copy was set by the master, the quill pen was sharp'
ened, and the boy began his unwelcome task. The little
fingers were more skillful in throwing a toy riata or in
controlling an unruly horse than in guiding an awkward
pen over blank white paper. A blot was sure to fall on
the beginner's sheet. When the page was finished it was
taken to the master for inspection. Then the unlucky
child who had let fall a blot trembled and held back.
" Here is a blot, you little rascal," roared the fiery
teacher.

Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches 185
"Pardon, Senor Maestro; I will do better to-morrow."
The frown and ill temper on the master's face grew
deeper. " Hold out your hand, sir," was the only answer.
Either the blots were many, or the old soldier's temper
was bad, for the ferule was seldom idle. A worse instru
ment of torture lay near the desk. It was a scourge of
rope with iron points on the ends. Alas for the child who
forgot himself so far as to laugh aloud, play truant, or
spill the ink ! He had to pay the penalty, were he large
or small. He was stretched on a bench, face downwards,
a handkerchief was tied over his mouth as a gag, and the
hempen scourge was used until the blood ran down the
little back.
It is no wonder that, with such teaching as this, the
parents as well as the children ' were willing to have
the vacations longer than the terms of school. More than
one year passed during which the children did not see the
inside of a schoolroom, and one vacation lasted fifteen
years. Several of the governors tried to keep the schools
open, and to force parents to send their children, but there
was Httle education until California ceased to be a Mexican
province. Wealthy men sometimes sent their sons to
Mexico to be educated, and the girls picked up some
learning at home. Poor people either sent their boys to
such schools as the one just described, or let them grow up
without knowing how to read or write. This was one of
the reasons why the quick-witted Americans soon had the
advantage in all respects when they came to California.
Life on the Spanish ranches was idle and happy. The

1 86 Spanish California
men did not do more than a month of really hard work in
the whole year ; this was during the planting and harvest
ing of their grain. Even then the laborious manual work
was done by Indians, who were hired from the missions
or from the ranches of gentile Indians. It is true that
the men were ready at any time to mount an untamed
horse, to lasso wild cattle, or to fight a grizzly bear. But
these were pleasures which might be enjoyed at any time.
The Californians knew nothing of regular daily work like
that to which Americans are accustomed. This is another
reason why they disappeared from the land when the
Americans came in large numbers, bringing with them
their busy, energetic ways.
The farming tools of the Californians were centuries
behind those used on the Atlantic coast. For a plow,
they used the crooked limb of an oak tree, sometimes
tipping it with a piece of iron ; a small tree was used for
a pole, to which oxen were harnessed by means of a board
lashed to the horns. With this machine the ground was
plowed, or scratched over, to receive the grain. The seed
was scattered broadcast and harrowed in by dragging
over it branches of trees. With even this rude cultivation
the rich soil yielded heavy returns.
When the grain was ready to harvest, the Indians cut
it with sickles, and carried it on their backs to a corral to
be thrashed. It was spread on the ground, which had
been pounded until it was smooth and hard, and a drove
of wild horses was let into the corral. The straw was
turned a few times, and the horses were driven about until
they had trampled out the kernels ; then they were turned

Life in the Pueblos and ou the Ranches 187
out and the straw was beaten by hand with heavy sticks
to shake out any remaining heads, or these were rubbed
out by the Indians in their hands. The straw was then
taken away, leaving the grain, chaff, and broken bits of
straw on the ground.
The breeze was now set to work. Some windy day the
mingled straw and grain were thrown up into the air by

Grinding corn
means of heavy wooden forks, the straw and chaff were
blown away, and the grain was left ready to be ground
into flour. The whole process was so slow and difficult
that, although grain would grow almost wild on the hills
and plains, flour was scarce and wheat bread was dear.
Before the Americans came there were only the rudest
kinds of mills in the country. The Spaniards, like the
Indians, used a mortar and pestle for grinding out the
grain, or rubbed it into flour on the metate. As years

1 88 Spanish California
passed, a sort of mill was made by placing one heavy
stone on top of another. The upper one was flattened a
little, and in it was placed an iron bolt, by means of
which a horse or mule could be fastened to the rude
mill. The stone turned but once as the animal walked
around, so that a day's hard work by a mule would
result in very little flour.
The Spaniards greatly enjoyed taking care of the im
mense herds of cattle. These were allowed to run wild,
almost no attention being given them except to kill those
needed for food. Once a year, however, according to the
Spanish law, all the cattle were rounded up to be stamped
with the owner's brand. This event was called a rodeo. It
was a great occasion, when there was plenty of work but
also endless excitement. All the men, women, and chil
dren of the neighborhood were present, and every man
was obliged by law to give all the help necessary. A
feast naturally went with a rodeo.
The first thing was for the vaqueros, or cowboys, to
ride over the thousands of acres that belonged to a
rancher and drive in the cattle. There were those of
preceding years, stamped at some earlier rodeo ; there
were calves that were to be freshly branded ; and there
were other animals from adjoining ranches or from some
mission a few miles away. These straggling cattle were
driven out separately, and as the brands were recog
nized, were claimed by their owners who were probably
present. The skill of the riders and of their horses was
shown in " bunching " or cutting out a small band of cattle
from the pushing, crowding, frightened mass of animals,

Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches 189
and in driving them into the corral. This corral, . or in
closure, was made of strong posts set close together, with
a narrow opening through which the cattle were driven in,
and out of which they raced when the branding was at an
end. As soon as the corral was emptied, another band
was driven in, branded, and set free for another year.
This was continued until all the cattle owned by any ran
chero had been branded.
All these thousands of cattle were kept for the value of
their hides and tallow, which were sold to the traders who
occasionally came to the coast. The traders came so
seldom, however, that the hides were worth very little
money, from a dollar and a half to two dollars each ; con
sequently the large herds were not as valuable as might
be supposed. The hides were used so frequently in pay
ing debts that they were called by the American sailors
" California bank notes."
A matanza was another busy time for the Spaniards.
This was the butchering or killing of the cattle for their
hides. A large corral was made into which hundreds of
cattle were driven. The major-domo, or general manager
of the ranch, and several vaqueros, mounted on their finest
horses, stood near the entrance. The major-domo pointed
out an animal that was to be killed ; a lasso thrown by a
vaquero caught him on the horns ; a second lasso caught
his hind feet, throwing him heavily to the ground. A
moment more and he was killed and dragged to one side.
Sometimes it happened that one of the animals escaped
from the corral ; then away dashed some of the vaqueros
after him, swinging their lassos over their heads as they

19O Spanish California
approached. Rarely did even a maddened bull save him
self from the swinging lasso, but, tripped and thrown, he,
too, was dragged to the slaughter.
In years when little rain fell and the hills turned brown
in the early spring, there was not enough feed for all the
animals. Then many of the older and less valuable stock
were killed, so that the rest might have enough to eat.
In such cases, the hides were taken off and the carcasses
left to rot.
Wild-horse rodeos were frequent. The horses increased
in number so rapidly that they ate up the grass needed
for the more useful animals ; so rodeos were held for kill
ing off the poorest ones and taking home the best to be
tamed on the ranches.
So, with little change from year to year, time passed
with the Spanish Californians, until the Americans came
to the Pacific slope and moved life forward in some re
spects by centuries.
Questions. — Of the three kinds of homes mentioned which was the
first to be formed? On what did the priests lay their claim to hold so
much good land for the missions ? To what class of people were large
estates given by the king of Spain? What other class of people came
slowly to California?
Where were the principal towns of Spanish California? Why was
there such a difference between the presidio pueblos and the colonist
pueblos ?
Why did the luxury-loving Spaniards live in such bare houses? How
did they manage to dress so well ? How did they become such expert
horsemen? Why did they not use more carriages? Why were they so
old-fashioned in ranching?
Give five or more characteristics of the Spaniards.

CHAPTER XIX
FOREIGNERS ON THE PACIFIC COAST
Spain wanted no foreigners in her provinces. She had
run a race with England and France in getting possession
of the Pacific coast, and she was especially desirous that
there should be no chance to take this part of her empire
away. As early as 1 794 a royal order was made prohibit
ing foreign vessels from stopping in California unless they
were in distress or needed supplies. But in spite of this
decree, a few English and American ships came, tempted
by valuable otter skins, which were found in some parts
of the country, especially in San Francisco Bay.
The Americans built up a paying trade by bringing
to California manufactured articles which were in great
demand at the missions and ranchos, exchanging them for
a load of otter skins which were wanted in China, and
returning to New England loaded with the products of the
Orient. But such trade in California was contraband and
attended by great risks.
In 1803 the Lelia Byrd, an American vessel, entered
San Diego harbor. The captain said that he was in need
of fresh water and other supplies, but the commandante
was watchful and suspicious. The latter visited the ship
and having satisfied himself that the supplies were needed,
191

192 Spanish California
he allowed them to be taken on board. It was soon dis
covered that the captain wanted some otter skins, about
a thousand in all, which he knew were stored at the fort.
The commandante steadily refused to take any part in
forbidden trade, no matter how much money it might
bring him. The captain tried the soldiers who also had
a few otter skins. Some men were sent on shore by the
captain the last night of his stay in the harbor, to trade with
some of the soldiers ; they were seized by the watchful
commandante and held as prisoners. In the morning the
captain daringly released his men, and immediately set sail
to escape from the harbor. The ship was fired upon from
the fort. A blank cartridge did not frighten the Yankee ;
a ball before the bows of his ship was unheeded; passing
in front of the fort, several shots damaged the sails and
rigging, and the hull was struck above the water line. In
return two broadsides from the vessel were fired at the fort.
The Spanish shots did not stop the Lelia, but they did
serve as a warning to other vessels also in the contraband
trade. For some time San Diego was given a clear field,
and commerce went tc the towns farther north.
Not all the vessels which came to California were as peace
able as the traders. In 18 16 there was great excitement all
along the Pacific coast. The South American provinces were
in revolt against Spain and were in the act of setting up
republican governments of their own. Their privateers
were on the sea looking for Spanish vessels and plunder
ing the colonies which had remained loyal to the mother
country. Word was sent all along the California coast to be on

Foreigners on the Pacific Coast 193
the watch for Bouchard, the leader of the Buenos Ayres
" pirates," as they were called ; but two years passed before
his vessel sailed into Monterey harbor. Aboard of his
two small ships were about five hundred men and sixty-six
guns, while Governor Sola at Monterey had only fifty-five
men and eight poor cannon with which to meet them.
After a brave defense Monterey surrendered. The town
was burned, only the adobe walls of the houses being left
standing. Not finding rich plunder, Bouchard sailed south.
The rancho del Refugio near Santa Barbara, belonging to
the wealthy Ortega family, was visited and everything
that would burn was set on fire. The vessels stopped at
Santa Barbara, but under a flag of truce, to get possession
of two prisoners who had been taken at Refugio. San
Juan Capistrano mission was visited. Then Bouchard dis
appeared from the coast, disappointed in the hopes which
had brought him to California. The province had remained
loyal to Spain, and the pirates had found none of the
immense treasures which they had been told were at the
missions. One of the unfortunate results of Bouchard's
attack was that foreigners were looked on with more
disfavor than before, if that were possible.
When, in 1822, Mexico declared itself free from Spain,
there was no change in the attitude toward foreigners.
Laws and regulations were made still more stringent in
the effort to keep them out. Mexico was too busy in the
various rebellions within her own boundaries to give Cal
ifornia anything but laws and bad government, and no one
realized that the selfish policies against trade and foreign
ers were driving the province to desperation.
SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — 1 3

194 Spanish California
For some years the government supply vessels had not
been fitted out by Mexico, and in order to buy anything
not produced at home, the Californians were forced into
contraband trade with the vessels which occasionally came
into their harbors. Some Russians traded with the country
around San Francisco, and even made a settlement near
Bodega Bay ; but the people who gradually won the prin
cipal business with the province were the Americans.
They studied the needs of their customers and tried to
supply them.
Even the officials, seeing the necessity of the province,
were slow to enforce the laws about keeping vessels out
of the harbors. The people had to have clothes and
shoes to wear aside from the coarse products of the mis
sions. Knives and other cutlery were a necessity. Tea,
coffee, sugar, and rice were wanted. If necessities were
bought, such luxuries as velvets, silks, and satins, could
not be forbidden. The Americans supplied all these goods
at what the Californians thought reasonable prices, and
they were welcomed on the coast.
These conditions led to a different attitude toward
foreigners. They were readily received in the towns, and
from about 1823 they became a recognized part of the life
in California. In 1823 the schooner Rover entered Mon
terey harbor, having on board the owner and captain, John
Rogers Cooper. Cooper went directly to the governor,
asked permission to trade, and offered to pay the duties
on his goods. In spite of the restrictive Mexican laws, the
governor, Arguello, thought of the needs of the people and
consented. The Californians were delighted, and from

Foreigners on the Pacific Coast

•95

that time the American trade was on a basis that grew
surer as the years passed. From 183 1—1846 it increased
rapidly. Large companies were formed in the Eastern
states to trade with California. Agents were placed in the
different cities on the coast to study the needs of the peo
ple, to get acquainted with the customs, and to serve the
Eastern companies in every way possible. The vessels

A trader in oort

which carried goods around the Horn returned loaded with
hides, tallow, and a few furs, the only exports of the land.
As there were no stores in California in those days, all
goods were bought directly from the ships. In his book,
"Two Years before the Mast," R. H. Dana, Jr., has given
a description of the arrival of a ship at San Pedro and the
sale of goods to the people of Los Angeles.

196 Spanish California
Whenever a vessel appeared there was great excitement.
The news spread rapidly, and people from all the country
were soon at the beach or on the way to it. Cattle were
hurriedly driven to the shore, for the sailors, having
eaten only salt meat for months, always made a brisk
demand for fresh beef. Hides and tallow were brought
in the rude, groaning ox carts. Many of the people did
not intend returning home until their trading was done,
and so at night camp fires Hghted up the shore, and by
day the plain was alive with horsemen galloping in all
directions according to the pleasure or business of the
moment. On board ship the decks had been cleared and an office
opened, so that the goods could be shown to better advan
tage. Men, women, and children crowded the decks to
get a look at the coveted articles. The boys and young
men wanted knives ; the girls were on the lookout for
satin ribbons ; the Indians bought handkerchiefs and
beads ; the older members of the family laid in a supply
of clothing, shoes, rice, sugar, to last until the coming of
another ship, perhaps months later.
The American merchants had studied the trade care
fully and knew just what kind of goods would be bought
by the Californians. There were cotton cloths, velvets,
silks, shoes, and rich clothing for men and women. There
were brandies, wines, tea, rice, sugar, in large quantities.
So shiftless were the Spaniards, and so dependent had
they become on the "Yankee trader," that, as Dana says,
"They had grapes and paid high prices for Boston wines.
They had hides and paid exorbitantly for shoes that had

Foreigners on the Pacific Coast

197

been made out of California leather that had been twice
around the Horn."
The Spaniards had little curiosity about the country
around them. They seemed to think that the great country
to the east was impassable, and that the only way for the
Americans to reach California was by water. Conse
quently, they were amazed when, one day in 1826, there
came from the east to San Gabriel mission a party of
Americans. The story of their appearance was really very simple.
Jedediah S. Smith was the leader of about fifteen trappers
with whom he was hunting in the Rocky
Mountains. He had come from his head
quarters at Salt Lake, and had struck the
old Santa Fe trail at a time when he was
nearly dying of thirst and hunger in the
deserts. As he was nearer San Gabriel
than Salt Lake, he made his way
thither, guided by an Indian. He was
not very well received. This was a new
kind of an American. He did not intend
staying in California, he had not come to
trade, and he was accompanied by a band
of savage-looking, well-armed men. Alto
gether the party was so unwelcome to the
Mexican officials that the governor ordered
Smith to hurry on out of the province.
This was not so easy as it seemed to the
Californians. It was more than a year before Smith could
get together the supplies needed to continue his trapping

An American
trapper

198 Spanish California
expedition. Long before that time had passed, the patience
of the CaUfornians was exhausted and their fears awak
ened. At last they would not wait for Smith to complete
his arrangements, but forced him out of the country alone,
leaving behind his faithful companions. The leader was
probably killed by the Indians, for he was not heard of
afterwards, and in his unprotected state he would have
fallen an easy prey to the savages.
Such treatment of Smith and similar usage that was
given other parties of Americans who came overland into
California could not keep out the pioneers. Smith, the
first in that great army, has been called the " Pathfinder of
the Sierras." Other hunters and trappers like him con
tinued to open the way. They were followed by traders
through New Mexico over the old Santa Fe trail. Later,
came families in the great covered wagons, or prairie
schooners as they were called, in ever increasing numbers,
until there was reason for the fear that Americans would
get possession of the country by simple weight of popula
tion. Once in California, the foreigners took a leading part in
all the business of the province. They made themselves
respected and even feared, until they could no longer be
treated like Jedediah S. Smith. In the revolutions that
were of such frequent occurrence from 1830 to 1846, both
sides were eager to have the assistance of the Americans,
who were skilled marksmen, quick-witted in all arrange
ments and cool and determined in all their plans.
Many of the men who came during these years mar
ried Spanish girls. Some of them obtained large tracts

Foreigners on tlie Pacific Coast 199
of land from the Mexican government. Occasionally a
name was changed from its original language into Span
ish, as Robert Livermore became Juan Bautista Roberto
Livermore. These men passed almost completely into
the easy-going life around them.
The Americans, Englishmen, Scotchmen, were better
business managers than the Californians. The latter
despised business, and the only work that they would do
was on their great ranches. All the trade of the coun
try, therefore, passed into the hands of the foreigners.
As there was plenty of money to be made in it, many
became very wealthy, winning for themselves by their
enterprise a place in the business and social life around
them. The California women looked favorably on the for
eigners, who usually made more desirable husbands than
the indolent Spaniards. They were better managers of
property, did more of the hard work themselves instead
of leaving it to the women, were kinder to their wives
and families. As a result, it was not difficult for the
agreeable men among them to find wives among the
daughters of the best Spanish families. In the course
of years the younger Spaniards grew jealous of their
dangerous rivals in love and in business, and would
gladly have turned them out of the country ; but by the
time that this feeling made itself known the foreigners
were too strong to be driven out, and too necessary to
be spared.
It must not be supposed that all the Americans who
came were desirable people. Many were dissipated, some

200 Spanish California
were dishonest and quarrelsome. But all brought among
the Spaniards a new spirit, that of restlessness and
of the energy which the Spaniards had never liked nor
possessed. They were face to face with all the traits
of the Anglo-Saxon which had led him to conquer the
Indians and the wilderness on the Atlantic coast. With
out fully realizing all the danger to themselves and to their
quiet, idyllic life, the Spaniards were troubled and uncer
tain about the future. Well they might be, for not twenty-
five years after they had forced Smith out of their country
the whole coast was to pass into the hands of the men who
followed him over the snowy crests of the Sierras.
Questions. — What reason did Spain have for wishing foreigners to
keep away from her American provinces? What was the long voyage
taken by the first American ships that came to California ports to trade?
Why did trading vessels get into trouble with the Spanish officials?
What two reasons brought pirate vessels to the Pacific coast? Why
did such vessels go to the Pacific rather than to the Atlantic coast?
Why were the Californians glad to have trading vessels visit their
ports? Why did the officials object?
Why was Jedediah S. Smith .hunted out of California? What does
this show about the feelings of Spanish officials toward Americans? By
what two routes were Americans now coming into California? What
kind of people came each way? Which class of immigrants seemed
most dangerous to the Californians? Why? Which entered most
easily into Californian life? What danger was there to the Spanish
life in California from the presence of Americans?

CHAPTER XX
SPANISH GOVERNORS OF CALIFORNIA
A Spanish province was governed by a royal governor
sent out from Spain or, in the case of the North American
provinces, from Mexico. He might be chosen because of
his fitness for the high position ; or because he had been
an officer in the army and was to be rewarded for his
services to his country ; or, perhaps, because he was a
man who had become disagreeable, or dangerous to the
home government, and while he was too powerful to be
offended, he was to be buried, as it were, for a time in
some distant land. A governor was an almost absolute
ruler in his little kingdom, for he always had at hand a
number of soldiers to do his bidding. The soldiers were
under a leader, called a commandante, but the comman
dante usually obeyed the orders of the governor.
Gaspar de Portola was the first governor of the Cali-
fornias. It will be remembered that he had charge of
the second land expedition to San Diego, when the
priests started out to establish the missions in 1769.
There is but little recorded about Governor Portola, but
that little is so kindly and cheery that we feel disap
pointed in not knowing him better. His life reminds us
of one of the proverbs in history, that those years are

202 Spanish California
happiest about which the least is said. History has for
him no long memorials, but while he was in CaHfornia
there were no quarrels, no hard feelings, no jealousies,
worth mentioning. Matters moved along quietly and
always toward the goal for which the government and
the church were striving. When Portola left, troubles
began. Surely he must have harmonized men and affairs,
or the years would not have been so peaceful.
The next important governor was the seventh He was
Diego de Borica, who arrived in the province in 1793.
His is a name over which one likes to linger. Descended
from an old, aristocratic Spanish family, he never lost the
courteous manner, the high chivalry, the refined daily life,
which were his by inheritance and education. He pos
sessed also a remarkable capacity for hard work ; a broad,
just mind ; and a sympathetic understanding of the coun
tries in which he lived and worked. It was one of the
blessings for early California that for five years Diego
de Borica was its governor.
When news of his appointment came, Borica broke off
regretfully his pleasant connections with scholarly friends
in Mexico, to take up" the duties of a distant post. One of
the first persons met in the new surroundings at Monterey
was Vancouver, the English explorer, and an enjoyable
acquaintance for both men followed. Nevertheless, since
Borica felt obliged to obey the orders which he had
brought with him from Mexico, to exclude all foreigners
from the province, Vancouver soon felt it wiser to leave ;
but it was with regret both on his part and on that of the
genial governor that they bade each other good-by.

Spanish Governors of California 203
Borica soon turned his attention to the condition of the
neophytes at the missions. His arrival was just about the
time that the fatherly care of the early years was chang
ing into the harshness of later times. It was a delicate
task, but he succeeded so well in it that the severe flog
gings ceased, and food and clothing for the Indians were
made better. At the same time he kept on good terms
with the missionaries. Had the following governors been
as able as he, the end of the mission history would have
been very different.
Governor Borica was greatly annoyed by the character
of the colonists sent out by Mexico. He found them a
lazy, good-for-nothing, poverty-stricken class. First of all
he struggled with their drunkenness, which was increasing
fast, as more wines and brandies were made in the prov
ince. Then he took up the still more difficult task of
making the men work instead of leading such lazy lives ;
for Borica looked with despair on the fairest land in the
world, overrun with weeds or left wild as nature had made
it, while men, women, and children slept, drank, or gam
bled away their days and nights, content in their rags and
miserable huts. Borica wrote to Mexico that such laziness
was "a sin against God, the king, and the government,"
and that it " should for the future be punished by fines
and forfeitures." He was as good as his word, and the
knowledge that he was in earnest forced the settlers to
harder work.
The next vice attacked by the governor was gambling,
and here again, by severe punishments, he succeeded in
checking if not in preventing a great waste of time and

204 Spanish California
money. He also insisted that parents should send their
children to school, and for a time the teachers in California
were kept busier than ever before or for a long time after
ward. He ordered fortifications for the cove and valley
known as Yerba Buena, to the south of what is now Tele
graph Hill in San Francisco. So to Governor Borica may
be traced the beginnings of that part of the present city.
It was the struggle of one man with many. The people
obeyed only while held by a strong hand. They loved
their fleshpots of Egypt; and when, in 1800, Borica left
California, old customs and vices were quickly restored.
The next twenty years were marked in Mexico and
South America by revolutions against Spain, and the set
ting up of democratic governments. California had little
interest in the new ideas ; she remained loyal to Spain and
to the thought of a monarchy. The governor who came
to the province in 181 5 was Pablo Vicente de Sola. He
was a royalist, and had been educated in the schools of
Spain. All Californians looked forward with the greatest
enthusiasm to his coming, for he represented their own
ideas on the questions of the day, — loyalty to the king of
Spain, dislike for democratic institutions.
On the evening after his arrival the gray old adobe
presidio was made beautiful with festoons of evergreens
among which twinkled a multitude of lights ; each was as
quaint as an old Roman lamp, — a basin of suet in which
floated a cotton wick, smoking and sputtering as it blazed.
The next morning there was a solemn, ceremonious mass
at the presidio church, accompanied by discharges of
musketry in the courtyard and the boom of cannon.

Spanish Governors of California

205

After mass came a parade by the soldiers, and an address
by Governor Sola, followed by a banquet prepared by the
ladies of Monterey. In the afternoon came the inevitable
bullfight, and the day was concluded with a grand ball,
finer than anything before attempted in California.
The festivities were not yet at an end. The next day
was spent at San Carlos mission. There the interest of

Old adobe house with modern roof
the governor was excited by the California side of the
entertainment. The fathers had arranged a mimic battle
among the Indians, who were adorned with feathers and
fought with their savage weapons. Sola watched with
closest attention, and then, the ceremonies of the inaugu
ration being over, he returned to Monterey to take up the
duties of governor.
He was in California when the pirates of Buenos Ayres
visited the coast, and he was the governor who witnessed

206 Spanish California
the reception of the news that Mexico had declared herself
free from Spain. Although he was known to be a royal
ist, and California was in sympathy with him, everybody
thought it best to accept quietly the change in Mexico.
The province was benefited a little by the new govern
ment, for an assembly, or deputation, was formed in Cali
fornia, and representatives were sent to the Mexican
congress. One of the greatest advantages of Sola's life among the
Californians came to them indirectly. He was very fond
of children, and as he was a well-educated man himself,
he wished to see the boys enjoying the privileges of good
instruction. Finding the schools closed throughout the
province, he caused them to be opened. He frequently
visited the one at Monterey, and there he became inter
ested in the boys of the pueblo. Among them weie three
who were of importance in the later history of CaHfornia.
They were Juan Bautista Alvarado, Mariano Guadalupe
Vallejo, and Jose Castro. He found these three bright
minds cramped over writing lessons from straight lines to
words; over reading lessons often taken from old letters
or exercises written by the teacher ; and over the doctrina
of the church. He introduced them to his own library ; he
put into their hands masterpieces of Spanish literature;
he gave them portions of the Spanish constitution to read.
In short, he opened to them what had been closed to
almost every boy of California up to that time, — the world
of life and letters. Alvarado responded most eagerly to
this treatment, and of him we shall have more to say at the
proper time.

Spanish Governors of California 207
The spirit of self-government was rising in California.
It was seen in frequent rebellions against tyrannical gov
ernors. None of them caused much loss of life, but they
showed that the Californians would no longer endure
unjust treatment.
In 1829, while Echeandia 1 was governor, there was a
revolt of the troops, led by Solis, a desperate convict who
had been sent from Mexico, and by Herrera, a Mexican
politician scheming for greater power.
Victoria, the governor who succeeded Echeandia, met
with greater difficulty, for it came from the better class of
citizens. He was so self-willed and violent-tempered that.
he intended to rule without any regard to the privileges
recently granted by Mexico. Determined not to lose their
rights so soon, some of the young men in San Diego
under the lead of Pio Pico rose against the governor.
They were soon joined by others in Los Angeles and
Santa Barbara, and two hundred men stood ready for the
defense of their local government. So ignorant was Vic
toria of the real feeling against him, and so unwilling was
he to take advice, that he marched against his opponents
with only thirty men. Near Los Angeles a typical Cali
fornia battle was fought, in which, at the first sight of
bloodshed, the soldiers on one side fled and those on the
other deserted. Victoria was left in possession of the
field, but he was holding it almost alone. With one or
two exceptions, his thirty soldiers had gone over to the
enemy, old comrades of theirs. He was badly wounded
and was glad to agree to leave California.
1 Echeandia (A-cha-an'-de-a).

208 Spanish California
Three governors at the same time vexed the province
after the departure of Victoria, one of whom was Pio Pico,
chosen by the assembly to act until the appointment of
a new governor by Mexico. The three-cornered quarrel
which threatened to plunge California into civil war again,
was ended when Mexico named Jos6 Figueroa1 as the
next regular governor.
Figueroa is one of the well-known names in the history
of California. The most important question of his time
was the secularization of the missions. Part Aztec, as his
build and color showed, he had a deep sympathy with the
Indians, and understood better than any other governor
the danger of giving them their full liberty before they
were ready for it. He tried forming Indian pueblos in
small ways with some of the more advanced neophytes ;
the results were highly satisfactory. But in the midst of
his efforts came the order, in 1834, for the immediate
secularization of all the missions, ' and Figueroa saw his
work frustrated before it was fairly begun.
The next regular governor was Chico. The treatment
which he gave the province called out again the spirit of
rebellion which had slept during the time of Figueroa.
Chico was a man of vicious, uncontrolled temper which
often threw him into fits almost apoplectic in their vio
lence. He declared himself the friend of Victoria, and
boasted that he would punish every man who had taken
part in expelling him from the province. This roused
against him the young men who had been active in that
affair. He took vigorous measures against foreign trade,
1 Jose Figueroa (Ho-sa' Fe-ga-ro'ii).

Spanish Governors of California 209
and ordered that every foreigner in the province should
appear before an alcalde and justify his presence in the
country, or be condemned to eight days in irons on the
public works. These acts did not tend to make friends of
the large number of foreigners by that time in California.
ln fact, Chico seemed to succeed in only one thing, — in
arraying against himself every important class of people in
the land. He proved to be so unfit for his high office that
one morning, after he had indulged in an unusually bad
attack of temper the night before, the men of Monterey
armed themselves and surrounded his house.
Chico was thoroughly frightened. Hittell compares
him to a wild beast in its cage, unable to do any more harm,
but so ugly and resentful that none dared brave his fury.
But Chico knew, at least, when he was beaten, and he did
not care to trust himself any longer to the men of Monte
rey. He gladly consented to return to Mexico, and Cali
fornia was free from another tyrant.
After Chico's departure, the man who acted as governor
until a regular appointment could be made from Mexico
was Gutierrez.1 He knew, however, that California was
on the highway to rebellion against the careless and un
sympathetic rule of Mexico, and he realized that at that
very moment the actual power was in the hands of Jose
Castro and Alvarado, ably supported by the political
sympathy and military training of Vallejo.
Alvarado was the real leader in the new world of
thought which was opening slowly to California. He
had become acquainted with books through the kind-
1 Gutierrez (Goo-te-ar'reth).
SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — 1 4

2IO

Spanish California

ness of Sola ; by some means he had met with writings
on the life and work of George Washington, whose
heroism became his model. He was active in public
affairs, holding the important office of secretary in
the territorial assembly when only eighteen years old.
When Chico was forced to leave for Mexico, Alvarado
held a position in the custom house at Monterey. Gutier
rez soon made the mis
take of accusing him of
dishonesty in his ac
counts. Alvarado, who
was probably the ablest
man in California, would
brook no such accusa
tion from a Mexican
governor. He withdrew
from the custom house
and visited some of the leading Californians in the north.
He said that in his opinion the time had come to declare
independence from Mexico. Vallejo hesitated, but many
were ready, indeed were only waiting for a signal, to revolt.
Alvarado's word was the signal, and, as he returned to
Monterey, he was joined by nearly all the men on the route.
Gutierrez had no chance for escape. He called together
the few soldiers who were willing to fight for him and for
Mexico, and took refuge in the presidio. Alvarado was by
this time at the head of the only really effective force in the
country, but even that was so small that he had no desire
to lay siege to so strong a building. He thought, however,
that he might frighten Gutierrez out of his stronghold by

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Old custom house at Monterey
Spanish Governors of California 2 1 1
deceiving him as to the number of men by whom he was
surrounded. Alvarado marched different bodies of troops
from place to place as if he were making the best arrange
ment of many soldiers. Gutierrez, watching from the pre
sidio, was completely misled ; but he was not willing to
yield without a struggle.
At eight o'clock, November 6, 1836, Alvarado sent word
to Gutierrez that unless the presidio were immediately sur
rendered he would make an attack. There was no reply.
At ten o'clock another notice was sent. No reply. At
twelve, Gutierrez was notified that Alvarado's patience was
exhausted, and that if the presidio were not delivered into
his hands without further delay he would wait no longer
than three before attacking. Alvarado, in spite of his
threats, was still determined to win by strategy, for he had
no desire to throw his untrained men against the adobe
walls of the .presidio, in close range of the few soldiers
within. He felt sure that Gutierrez had seen the disposi
tion of the troops, and that he would surrender if suffi
ciently frightened ; but he was also convinced that the
governor was not to be driven out of his safe quarters
without a show of force'.
The revolutionists looked around for ammunition for the
cannon ; but when Gutierrez took refuge in the presidio
he carried with him, as he thought, everything of the kind.
He really left behind only one cannon ball. This was
found by Alvarado's men ; enough powder for one charge
was gotten together by emptying out musket cartridges, and
the attacking party was ready to try the effect of a shot.
The single ball was so well aimed that it crashed through

212 Spanish California
the roof of Gutierrez's house, throwing the governor into
such a fright that he made haste to surrender before another
one had time to follow. Feeling sure that the insurgents
were well armed and in earnest about attacking him, he
consented to leave the country. A few days later he went
on board the same vessel that had taken Chico to Mexico,
and sailed for the south.
California was now in the hands of her own sons, and they
had no intention of doing her harm ; but they were deter
mined that Mexico should no longer burden her with
offensive laws and oppressive officials. In the course of
a month, independence from Mexico had been declared,
a new government had been put into working order, and,
with that happy faculty of the Californians of passing
through revolutions unharmed, not a drop of blood had
been shed. But peace had not yet settled on the land.
The new government went into effect with Alvarado as
governor, Vallejo as colonel, and Castro as lieutenant
colonel. All parts of California were fairly well satisfied
with the change, but trouble soon appeared on the south
ern horizon. Mexico, refusing to recognize the new gov
ernment, appointed as governor' a Californian named
Carillo, and called on all loyal citizens to support him.
As Carillo had many friends and relatives in southern
California, civil war was unavoidable.
This time blood was shed in a battle at San Buenaven
tura, one man being killed on the side of the revolutionists.
Hostilities began in January, 1837, the first battle was
fought in March, and in May Alvarado announced that
the war was at an end, victory being with the Californians.

Spanish Governors of California 213
During the two months of warfare Alvarado's ideas
had undergone a change. He had entered into the strug
gle with Gutierrez with the thought that he might bring
to California a little of the freedom that his hero, George
Washington, had brought to the colonies on the Atlantic.
But he soon realized that his countrymen were very dif
ferent from the Americans in the matter of self-govern
ment, and that their wiser course was to remain under the
general government of Mexico, insisting, however, on
their right to control their own affairs. After coming to
such a conclusion, he had too much common sense to
fight longer for independence ; so, as soon as the war with
Carillo was ended, he sent a messenger to Mexico to say
that he was willing to return California to her allegiance.
Only too glad to have the trouble settled without further
effort on her part, Mexico took the wisest course possible.
Alvarado, who was acceptable to all, was appointed
regular governor, and as he easily induced the citizens
to return to their loyalty to Mexico, no more notice was
taken of the late rebellion.
During the six years that Alvarado acted as governor
his people passed through many changes. They wakened
to new ideas politically, with Alvarado a safe guide in
them all. Aside from the growing interest in self-govern
ment, and in independence from Mexico, the principal
question was the ever increasing number of Americans
pouring into the state. Men of excellent character and
fine business ability made the Pacific coast their home,
but it was natural that the Californians should look with
suspicion and anxiety on these additions to their popula-

214 " Spanish California
tion.1 The newcomers were ranchers or merchants; for
although gold was found in 1842, at San Francisquito,
about thirty-five miles northwest of Los Angeles, the yield
was small and caused little excitement.
In 1842 Alvarado was made to feel the uncertainties of
a public position. Mexico appointed a governor, a stranger
to California, to take his place. It was a somewhat bitter
drop in Alvarado's life, but he accepted it without com
plaint. The enforced withdrawal from office was made
easier by the fact that he was in poor health, and needed
rest from the heavy cares under which he had been labor
ing. But he did not give up his hope of still serving his
country. The new governor was Manuel Micheltorena. He came
to California with instructions to stop the influx of Ameri
cans ; for Mexico saw in every fresh arrival a reason for
believing that the United States was planning to take
California by force. To aid the new governor in his task,
about three hundred and fifty men were sent with him to
do duty as soldiers. But such soldiers ! Every civilized
country must have shrunk from them with disgust and
loathing. Their very appearance was enough to turn all
respectable people from the government which had sent
them to the decent Americans whom they had come to
drive out. They were men gathered up here and there, as
Micheltorena passed from the city of Mexico to the sea,
1 Among those who came were such well-known names as William A. Rich
ardson, Daniel Hill, David Spence, Henry D. Fitch, George C. Yount, Abel
Stearns, Alfred Robinson, John J. Warner, Thomas O. Larkin, Hugo Reid,
lacob P. Leese, Dr. Marsh, Peter Lassen, and John Sutter.

Spanish Governors of California 215
and were- generally taken from prisons where they were
serving sentences for crimes. In some of the towns
through which they passed officials gave orders that they
should be kept from any contact with the people. They
were filthy to a degree unusual even for men of their
class ; they were so ragged that respect for decency made
some of the cities clothe them before allowing them on the
streets. Many of them made no pretense at clothing, but
wrapped themselves in rags of blankets. Some of these
so-called " soldiers " were accompanied by their families,
who were even worse off than the men, more ragged,
more filthy, more objectionable to the eye. No property
was safe while they were around ; anything that could be
eaten, worn, or carried off, was stolen.
With their entry into Monterey, a reign of terror began.
One of their assaults was on the captain of a French
vessel lying in the harbor ; he was robbed and so brutally
treated that he declared he would bring in the rest of the
French fleet and batter the town about their ears if Michel
torena did not make amends for the insult. This checked
their excesses for a moment, as it were, but the people of
Monterey were finally forced to free themselves from the
nightmare of their presence.
When Micheltorena first arrived in California he re
mained for some time in Los Angeles, even taking the
oath of office in that city. The reason for this neglect of
the capital was that a most remarkable event was taking
place there. On the afternoon of October 19, 1842, the
United States sloop of war Cyane sailed into the harbor of
Monterey and. dropped her anchor in front of the town.

2l6

Spanish California

On board were about eight hundred men, thoroughly armed,
under Commodore Thomas Catesby Ap Jones. Before
night came, Commodore Jones sent a message to Alvarado,
who was still in charge of affairs while awaiting the arrival
of the new governor. In his communication Commodore

Old jail at Monterey

Jones stated briefly that war had broken out between
Mexico and the United States, and that, as an officer in
the navy of the latter, he proposed to take possession of
Monterey. He gave Alvarado his choice of surrendering
quietly but immediately, or of seeing the town bombarded.
The decision must be made by the following day.

Spanish Governors of California 217
What could Alvarado do? The trim sloop-of-war,
ready for battle, lay in front of the town ; her eight hun
dred men were an overwhelming force. Alvarado was
without soldiers, and his authority as governor had re
cently passed into other hands. That night a horseman
started to meet Micheltorena, bearing him the astounding
news. The next day, without resistance, four hundred
Americans were landed and marched to the fort. The
Mexican flag was hauled down, and the stars and stripes
were raised. Monterey was in the hands of the United
States. Micheltorena was met by Alvarado's messenger about
thirty miles north of Los Angeles. The governor listened
in surprise to the news he brought; then, as he had no
desire to meet the enemy, he turned back to the safety of
Los Angeles, and issued proclamations against the "mis
erable Americans."
Tangled affairs straightened themselves out most unex
pectedly. Commodore Jones learned that he had been
misinformed. There was no war; he had no right in
Monterey ; the stars and stripes must give way to the
Mexican flag. It was a very awkward predicament, but
Commodore Jones was equal to meeting it readily and
courteously. He ordered down the American flag, apolo
gized to the Mexican officials, and withdrew his men to
the Cyane. A Httle later he went to Los Angeles to
apologize personally to Micheltorena and to explain his
mistake. Now that the danger was over, Micheltorena was very
jealous of his rights. He demanded that the American

218 Spanish California
ship should salute the Mexican flag. Commodore Jones
agreed. The governor demanded fifty suits of uniform, a
number of musical instruments, and $15,000 to pay for the
losses caused, which, however, existed only in the govern
or's fancy. Commodore Jones must have smiled to him
self at the absurdity of the demands ; but to Micheltorena
he said quietly that he could pay no claims, for that was
a matter to be settled between Mexico and the United
States. The salute was given at San Pedro the next day,
as a willing apology by Commodore Jones for his mistake.
His information as to the breaking out of war had been
wrong, but it was a prophecy to the Californians of what
was to take place four years later.
The tyranny of Micheltorena and the crimes committed
by his soldiers soon roused the people of Monterey to
action. Alvarado was called from his ranch to be their
leader. He went to Vallejo and Castro for help. Vallejo
hesitated, preferring to wait until they could be surer of
success ; but Castro, as ever, was ready to take an active
part in driving out an unwelcome governor. A few troops
were quickly collected and a proclamation made, declaring
that the revolution was for the best interests of all the peo
ple, and calling on loyal CaUfornians for assistance against
a tyrant. Since neither side was prepared for war, a peace was
patched up. Its most important provisions were that
Micheltorena should send his thievish troops back to
Mexico within three months, and their officers with them,
and that no one should be punished for the part taken in
the troubles.

Spanish Governors of California 219
Micheltorena was not the man to keep his word. He
fretted under the feeling .that Alvarado was watching his
administration and ready to check excesses. In a few
weeks he was planning new moves against the revolution
ists. Knowing that powerful help was needed, he senf to
Captain Sutter, asking that he bring in secretly a company
of armed foreigners, who should be paid for their services
by grants of land. Sutter consented, and formed a com
pany which was willing to help fight the governor's
battles. Cleverly as Micheltorena had covered his treachery,
completely as he had deceived Castro, Alvarado was on
the alert. The double dealing was discovered, but too
late to take any steps against it at San Jose-, where the
two leaders were staying. They hurried to Los Angeles,
where they and their cause were well received. A meet
ing of the assembly was called, Micheltorena was deposed,
and Pio Pico, the next highest officer in the province, was
declared governor by right of succession.
Micheltorena was furious. He hastened his own and
Sutter's troops south after the revolutionists. At Ca-
huenga, near San Fernando, the two forces met. The
familiar farce of a bloodless battle was reacted. The
artillery on both sides opened fire, killing one horse for
the revolutionists. Alvarado's men responded to the
encouragement of their leader and dashed toward the
enemy. That was enough. The break came on the other
side. Sutter began to feel that as a foreigner he was in a
ticklish position ; Micheltorena thought of his evil govern
ment and expected to be made the target of all the enemy's

220 Spanish California
bullets. Both men concluded that they had seen war
enough for that time. Sutter waved a white cloth ener
getically toward Alvarado ; Micheltorena fluttered another
frantically in the direction of Castro and his advancing
troops. Again peace was made, but this time there was to be no
chance of treachery. Micheltorena and his men were to
march to San Pedro, embark on a vessel, go to Monterey
for the family of Micheltorena and the rest of the troops,
and then the whole party was to sail immediately to Mexico.
On second thought another provision was added to the
terms of peace. Micheltorena demanded and obtained
permission for his troops to march to San Pedro with
flags flying and drums beating, and they were to be
saluted by the soldiers of Alvarado and Castro. The
whole programme was carried out. Micheltorena felt that
he left the country without disgrace, and the Californians
were glad to be freed of him and his men at so small a cost.
Sutter did not escape so easily. He found himself in
the disagreeable position of a prisoner. He was taken
to Los Angeles, where he was allowed several days for
reflection. At the end of that time he made explanation
of his conduct. He had supposed, he said, that he was
supporting the regular government of the province, and
that it was his duty to give aid to the governor if called
on for it. Alvarado and Castro could not afford to make
an enemy of so powerful a man. Sutter was allowed to
return to his fort near Sacramento, where he was of great
assistance in keeping the Indians from dangerous out
breaks.

Spanish Governors of California 221
The last revolution of Spanish California against its
Mexican governors was over; the next great encounter
was with the Americans, with whom battles were serious
affairs. The departure of Micheltorena for the south left Pio
Pico temporary governor, in which position he was soon
confirmed by Mexico. In times of peace he might have
proved an able governor, but California knew no peace
during his short administration. Soon after his appoint
ment the history of the missions was ended by the decree
of 1845, already mentioned, by which the land once owned
by them was sold or rented.
Pico did not prove himself strong enough to hold together
the different parts of his country. He and Castro were
soon quarreling, and their differences weakened the whole
province. In 1846 Captain John C. Fremont with sixty
armed men from the United States approached Monterey.
Castro ordered them out of California. Fremont defiantly
went into camp and raised the American flag ; but he soon
thought better of his position and continued his government
explorations toward Oregon. In a rage at what he con
sidered a hostile invasion of the country, Castro issued a
fiery proclamation. He called Fremont's party a band of
highwaymen ; he was furious that the American flag had
been raised again on Californian soil ; and he looked at
the presence of such a body of armed men as an insult to
Californians and a menace to their rights as Mexican sub
jects. He wrote again and again to Pico, urging him to
send soldiers, to come himself, to take any steps, to drive
so dangerous an enemy from the province. ,

222 Spanish California
Pico took little notice of what was going on in the north.
He was dazed by the disorganization everywhere. War
between the United States and Mexico over the annexa
tion of Texas was looked for at any time, and it was ex
pected that one of the first movements of the Americans
would be to seize California. This fear paralyzed all ef
forts to bring order to home affairs. To add to the uncer
tainties at which the perplexed Pico was helplessly staring,
Castro sent word that Fremont was about to return from
Oregon into the Sacramento valley. Vallejo reported a
current rumor that two thousand American families were
on the way west, and would cross the mountains about
July. The assembly, which should have been ready with
advice and assistance, was unable to do anything. The
governor was left to meet the tide, of dangers alone. Cal
ifornia was facing a new 'problem, one that might well
have puzzled far more experienced statesmen than any
who had grown up on the Pacific slope.
Then came the alarming news that Sonoma had been
seized by Americans ; that Vallejo and three other promi
nent men had been made prisoners; and that a strange
flag was floating over the place. It was the banner of
the "bear-flag" republic. The American colors were
soon to take its place.
Questions. — Did Spain choose governors for the provinces because
of their fitness for such positions ? Did her plan result in any able gov
ernors? Were there any weak ones? What difficult problems met
those who really wished to help California? What caused the frequent
revolutions in California?

PRONUNCIATION OF FOREIGN WORDS

3, as in father ; a, as in late; a, as in dance; c, as in cell ; e, as in obey ;
e, as in be ; e, as in bet ; g, as in gem ; i, as in machine ; l, as in bite ; i,
as in Mt; o, as in go; oo, as in moon ; 5, as in his; u, as in rude ( = 00) ;
y, as in by.

A-chup'a-do'be A-lar-con'
al-cal'de Al-va-ra'do Arguello (ar-gwSl'yO)
As-s'i'g'i
a-t5'lg
Bo-de'ga Bo-r'i'cabo ta
Bou-chard' <
Buenos Ayres (bwa'nos I'res)
Cabeza (ka-ba'tha)
Cabrillo (ka-brel'yo)
Ca-huen'gaCarillo (ka-rel'yo)
ca-rre'ta Castile (kas-tel')
Cas'troCh'i'co
Chi'le Chu'pu
Qi'bo-la
com-man-dan'teCo-ro-na'do Cor' teg
Cres'p'i

De Ne'vg
De Va'ca
D'i-e'go de Bo-rii'ca.
doc-tri'na E-chg-an'd'i-afan-dan'goFernandez (far-nan'deth)
fi-gs'taFigueroa (fe-ga-ro'a)
Fray Mar'cos de Niza (ne'tha)
Galvez (gal-veth')
Gas-par'Gutierrez (goo-te-ar'reth)
Herrera (ar-ra'ra)
Jos6 (ho-za')
Juan (hoo-an') Ba-u-tl's'ta,
La Perouse (pa-rooz')
La Pu-r'i'si'-ma C5n-eep-ci'-on'
L6-re'toLSs Angeles (ang'h§l-Ss)
Ma-es'tro
Ma-gel'lan Ma-jor'ea
223

224

Pronunciation of Foreign Words

Ma-nu-el' Mi'-chel-to-re'na
Ma-r'i-a'no Gua-da-lu'pe
(val-ya'ho)
mii-tan'za
Mendoza (men-do'tha)
me-ta'tg
Mi'-chSl-to-re'naMon-te-rey'Mon-te-zu'ma Mo-ra'gaNa-vi'-dad'(3r-te'gaPa'blo Vi-cen'te dg So'la
Pa'lo-u
Pe-ru'Pey'riPi 'nos
P'i'o Fi'co
Pi'-zar'roPor-to-la' pre-si'd'i-o
pueb'lo Pu-ri'si'-ma Quivira (ke-ve'ra)
riin-che'ro.
ran'efio re-bo'so Refugio (ra-foo'he-o)
ri-a'ta ro-de'oSan An-to'n'i-o
San Bue-na-ven-tu'ra
San Car'los
San Di'-e'go
San Fgr-nan'do
San Fran-ci's'eo Do-lo'res

Vallejo

San Francisquito (fran-ses-ke'to)
San Ga-bri'-el'
San Jos6 (ho-sa')
San Juan (hoo-an1) Ba-u-ti's'ta
San Juan Ca-pi's-tra'no
San Lu-i's O-bi's'po
San Luis Rgy
San Miguel (me-gal')
San Pe'dro
San Ra-fa-el'
San'ta Ca-ta-1'i'na
Santa Cla'ra
Santa Cruz (krooth)
Santa F6
Santa Inez (e-neth')
Sefior (sa-nyor')
sg-ra'pe Se'rriiSis'ki-youSo'laSo-la'noS6-le-dad'S5-l'is'
som-bre'ro So-n5'mata-ker'si-aTejos (ta'hos)
tu'le Ulloa (ool-yo'a)
Vallejo (val-ya'ho)
Van-cou'vervaquero, (va-ka'ro)
Ve'ra Cruz
Vic-to 'ri-a
Vi'la V'is-cai'noYer'ba Bue'na

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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