CALIFORNIA MISSIONS ahdLAND- M.AKK.S Tfcvt A. r f , c A L I [ F O R N I A MISSIONS AND LANDMARKS E L C A M I N O R E A L By Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes Author of Mission Tales in the Days of the Dons / L L V S T R A T E I) Third Edition Revised Los Angeles, California. Nineteen Hundred and Fifteen 6J ■Hn I ■■ I" II MM— Ml ■ Cloisters, San Juan Capistrano Fair California, with her Missions old, Her tales bewitching, and her days of gold. Her brown-robed padres of the distant past, Would that the glory of that age might last. Anna I. Dempsey. $1. pthmmfs Co^ehttti 5; fcCL^t. *^f**"SW^ Uu6 OaJ **» * a ty<^,^ <*. ^ 'fan***** Ht^j^y ,L t~ UM> INTRODUCTION The chain of Franciscan missions, Father Serra's rosary, is an heirloom left to us by Spain. The precious legacy was linked together by a ribbon of a roadway called El Camino Real. There were twenty-one missions, three pueblos, four presidios and seven hundred miles of roadway. The history and description of these missions, pueblos and presidios, together with landmarks connected with them or near by them, and El Camino Real, is the sub- ject of this book. In presenting this, the third edition, I have revised the former work and endeavored to present the pres- ent condition of the missions and the road that joins them. In the first edition, printed in 1903, I was greatly assisted in my research by the Most Reverend Archbishop George Montgomery. The gracious letter of his assistance is given that it may further help to arouse interest in the work of preserving the missions through the information given in this book. THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS Introduction — Page Letter from Most Rev. Archbishop George Montgomery 6 Maps of the Missions 12-13 Abila House 1 13 Bear Flag Monument 243 Bells of El Camino Real 275 Cahuenga Chapel 102 California, discovery and name 15 Casa Grande 247 Castillo de San Joaquin 229 Colton Hall 194 Custom House 192 Development of the Missions 25 El Camino Real 259 El Camino Real Association of California 268 El Molino Viejo 96 El Ranchito , 116 Eviction of Warner Ranch Indians 68 Fort Moore 114 Fort Ross 249 Grapevine at San Gabriel 94 Landmarks, Old Town, San Diego 53 Marshall Monument 254 Mills College 233 Mission La Purisima Concepcion 150 Mission Nuestra Sefiora de la Soledad 165 Mission San Antonio de Padua 161 Mission San Buenaventura 129 Mission San Carlos Borromeo (Monterey) 175-180 Mission San Diego de Alcala ~ 35 Mission San Fernando Rey de Espafia .. 125 Mission San Francisco de Asis 225 Mission San Francisco Solano 239 Mission San Gabriel Arcangel 86 Mission San Jose 215 Mission San Juan Bautista 167 Mission San Juan Capistrano , 79 CONTENTS— Continued Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa 152 Mission San Luis Rey de Francia 57 Mission San Miguel Arcangel 157 Mission San Rafael Arcangel 237 Mission Santa Barbara 134 Mission Santa Clara 206 Mission Santa Cruz 202 Mission Santa Inez virgin y martyr 146 Monterey 175 Old Chapel, San Diego 55 Old Theater, Monterey 199 Pala, asistencia of San Luis Rey 65 Pious Fund 29 Presidio Hill 56 Presidio of Monterey 188 Presidio of San Francisco 219 Presidio of Santa Barbara 138 Pueblo San Jose de Guadalupe 210 Pueblo of Los Angeles 104 Pueblo of Brancifort 204 Ramona's Marriage Place 53 San Bernardino, asistencia of San Gabriel 99 San Carlos Church, Monterey 189 San Diego 48 San Francisco and Presidio 219 Santa Barbara 141 Santa Isabel, asistencia of San Luis Rey 77 Secularization of the Missions 28 Settlement of California 19 Sherman Rose Tree, Monterey 200 SJoat Monument 196 Sutter's Fort 251 Tears for the Portsmouth 232 Venice 119 ILLUSTRATIONS Page Rev. Fr. Junipero Serra Frontispiece Letter from Most Rev. Archbishop George Montgomery 6 Maps of the Missions 12-13 Bear Flag 245 Bear Flag Monument 242 Bells of El Camino Real :.... .' 274 Cabrillo, cafe ship, Venice 119 Casa Grande 246 Castillo de San Joaquin 229 Colton Hall 193 Custom House 174 El Campanil, Mills College 235 El Ranchito 1 18 Forbes, A. S. C 268 First Bell erected on El Camino Real 276 Fort Ross ;. 248 Grapevine at San Gabriel 95 Johnson, J. A 143 Kinney, Abbot ..'. 122 Los Angeles, map 1786 108 Marshall Monument 251 Mills College 233 Mission Bell guide-post 260 Mission La Purisima Concepcion 156 Mission Nuestra Sehora de la Soledad 165 Mission San Antonio de Padua 156 Mission San Buenaventura 128 Mission San Carlos Borromeo (Monterey) 174 Mission San Diego de Alcala 34, 35 Mission San Fernando Rey de Espaiia 124, 127 Mission San Francisco de Asis 214, 221 Mission San Francisco Solano 214 Mission San Gabriel Arcangel 85, 136 Mission San Jose 214 Mission San Juan Bautista 167 ILLUSTRATIONS— Continued Mission San Juan Capistrano 4, 78, 80 Mission San Luis Obispo 152, 154 Mission San Luis Rey de Francia 57 Mission San Miguel Arcangel 156 Mission San Rafael Arcangel 237 Mission Santa Barbara 128-135 Mission Santa Clara 206 Mission Santa Cruz 202 Mission Santa Inez virgin y martyr 146 Our Lady of the Angeles, Los Angeles 104 Pala 65, 67 Peyri, Fr. Antonio 59 Portsmouth Square, 1854 231 Portsmouth, U. S. S 232 Presidio of San Francisco, 1850 223 Presidio of San Francisco, 1915, Officers' Headquarters.... 218 Presidio of San Francisco, plan 1792 222 Presidio of Santa Barbara, plan 1788 138 San Bernardino Chapel 99 San Carlos Church, Monterey 174 San Jose, Capitol 212 San Jose, map 210 San Luis Rey, statue at Pala 64 San Luisita Parlor N. D. G. W 155 Santa Clara College 209 Santa Isabel Chapel 76 Serra, Fr. Junipero, Monument at Monterey 201 Sloat, John Drake, Rear-Admiral, l\ S. N 196 Sloat Monument. Monterey 19S Sutter's Fort 251 Venice, cafe ship Cabrillo 119 Venice canal 123 **•• Map of Location of the Missions ^ WW \ Map of Location of the Missi MISSIONS IN ORDER OF THEIR DEDICATION Missions Founders Date San Diego de Alcala July 16, 1769 Fr. Junipero Serra San Carlos Borromeo, Monterey June 3, 1770 Fr. Junipero Serra San Antonio de Padua July 14, 1771 Frs. Serra, Pieras and Sitiar San Gabriel Arcangel Sept. 8, 1771 Frs. Somera and Cambon San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Sept. 1, 1772 Fr. Junipero Serra San Francisco de Asis (Dolores) Oct. 9. 1776 Frs. Palou, Cambon and Pefia San Juan Capistrano Nov. 1. 1776 Fr. Junipero Serra Santa Clara Jan. 12. 1777 Fr. Tomas de la Pefia San Buenaventura March 31, 1782 Frs. Serra and Cambon Santa Barbara 6 Dec. 4. 1786 Fr. Fermin Francisco Lasuen La Purisima Concepcion Dec. 8. 1787 Fr. Fermin Francisco Lasuen Santa Cruz Sept. 25, 1791 Frs. Salazar and Lopez Xuestra Senora de la Soledad Oct. 9, 1791 Fr. Fermin Francisco Lasuen San Jose _ June 11. 1797 Fr. Fermin Francisco Lasuen San Juan Bautista June 24. 1797 Fr. Fermin Francisco Lasuen San Miguel Arcangel July 25. 1797 Fr. Lasuen and Sitiar San Fernando Rey de Esparia -Sept. 8, 1797 Fr. Lasuen and Dumetz San Luis Rey de Francia Tune 13. 1798 Frs. Lasuen, Santiago and Peyri Santa Inez, virgin and martyr Sept. 17. 1804 Frs. Tapis and Clones San Rafael Arcangel - Dec. 14. 1817 Fr. Vicente Sarria San Francisco Solano. Sonoma July 4, 1823 Fr. Jose Altimira CALIFORNIA The Discovery and Name California was discovered in 1542 by Don Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese navigator in the em- ploy of Spain. He was entrusted with two vessels, the San Salvador and La Vitoria. His pilot was Don Bar- tolome Ferrelo. They sailed from the port of Navidad. Mexico, on the 27th of June, 1542, and arrived in San Diego Bay three months later. They entered the bay on the evening of the 28th of September, the vigil of Saint Michael the Archangel, and therefore Cabrillo named it San Miguel, a name which it retained for more than sixty years, or until Don Sebastian Vizcaino came in 1602 and changed it to San Diego. Cabrillo remained in the bay five days and then proceeded on his way north, stopping at San Buena- ventura on the 10th of October. He named this port Las Canoas. On the 13th he was in the channel of Santa Barbara but was unable to land. On the 17th he passed Point Concepcion, which he called Cabo de la Galera. On the 18th the two ships took refuge under the lee of an island which Cabrillo named San Miguel. They remained here until the 25th, when they pro- ceeded on their journey despite the fact that Cabrillo had received a serious injury from a fall whereby his arm was broken near the shoulder and the bone badly fractured. For two weeks thev were buffeted about bv storms 16 THE DISCOVERY and winds but by November 11th they were able to keep a course near the shore and make further discov- eries and investigations. They sighted the lofty Sier- ras and named the part of the range that now bears the name of Santa Lucia — San Martin. Few places have retained the name given by Cabrillo. The ships doubled Punta de Pinos and Cabrillo named it after the pine trees that cover the point and mark the approach to Monterey. Cabrillo attempted a landing, but the rough sea made it impossible. On Tuesday, the 14th of November, he saw the rocky elevation of Fort Ross and named it El Cabo de Pinos because of the splendid Douglas fir trees that come boldly down to the sea and are today a distinguishing landmark to navigators. Cold rains and continued rough seas determined Cabrillo to return and winter on the island of San Miguel. On the return trip he discovered the Gulf of the Farallones and named it La Bahia de los Pinos. The ships passed through the Gulf on Thursday, November 16th, 1542. Within a few days they were in Port Posesion of San Miguel Island, where they remained until after the first of the year. On January 3rd, 1543, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the discoverer of California, died from the effects of the injury received in October when the fleet took refuge on this island from the storm. He was laid to rest in the sands near the sea in a lonely grave in this distant land. All trace of his sandy sepulcher had been effaced by the time that the island was again visited by explorers, and therefore the discoverer of California sleeps in an unmarked and unknown grave — to the lasting regret of all who love California. Cabrillo's parting counsel to his pilot was that he NAME 17 continue the expedition as soon as the weather would permit. This order was fulfilled, and Don Bartolome Ferrelo set sail from San Miguel Island on the 18th of February, 1543, and guided the ships as far north as the prominent point of Cape Mendocino, which the his- torian Miguel Venegas says he named in honor of the Viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza, under whom he was serving. They reached this point on the 28th of February, but storms and heavy fogs compelled them to retrace their course. The ships became separated near San Clemente Island. Ferrelo ran the San Salva- dor into the harbor of San Diego, where he awaited the consort ship, but it failed to make that port. On March 26th both ships met at the Island of Cedros and together they reached Navidad on April 14th, 1543, after an absence of nine months and fifteen days. They brought the sad intelligence of the death of their brave commander, Don Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, but they brought also the important news of the discov- ery of vast territory — that which is today the State of California. The name of California was first applied to the locality round about Bahia de la Paz in Lower Cali- fornia when the expedition under Don Hernando Cor- tez made an effort in 1535 to found a settlement on the peninsula, which at that time was supposed to be an island. The district was referred to as "California" by Bernal Diaz de Castillo, an officer under Cort.ez and the historian of the expedition. Diaz was undoubtedly familiar with the novel entitled, "Las Sergas de Esplandian," written by Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo which had been published in Seville, Spain, in 1510, and in which a mythical island lying on the right hand 18 NAME of the Indies was called "California." The word oc- curs several times in the book, the first time the para- graph reads as follows: "Know," the Sergas says, "rhat on the right hand of the Indies there is an island called California, very close to the side of the Ter- restial Paradise ; and it was peopled by black women, without any man among them, for they lived in the fashion of the Amazons. They were of strong and hardy bodies, of ardent courage and great force. Their island was the strongest in all the world, with its steep cliffs and rock shores. Their arms were of gold, and so were the harness of the wild beasts they tamed to ride; for in the whole island there was no metal but gold.'' Again the romancist says, "In the island called California are many griffins/' and he calls the queen of the Amazons Califia. It was Dr. Edward Everett Hale who traced the origin of the name to the novel. Prior to 1862, at which time Dr. Hale's research brought him in touch with "Las Sergas de Esplandian,"' most writers had contented themselves with the speculation that the word California was derived from the two Latin words calida and fornax — hot furnace — while a few preferred to attribute the origin to chance and the belief that the discoverers had heard some Indian name that sounded like California. But this theory is certainly exploded by Miguel Venegas, a Mexican Jesuit, whose "History of California" was published at Madrid, Spain, in 1758. Regarding the name California, he says, "In none of the various dialects of the natives could the missionaries find the least trace of such a name being given to the country, or even to a harbor, bay, or small portion of it." SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA The settlement of California was due to the com- bined influence of religious zeal on the part of the Franciscans and to the solicitous but rather belated care on the part of the Spanish King, Carlos III., for the protection of his vast empire bordering on the Pacific Coast. For more than two centuries that part of California lying north of San Diego, though well known to exist, had been left wholly unexplored and unoccupied by the country that claimed possession. But when rumors reached Carlos III. that Russia contemplated making settlements on the northwest he issued orders direct- ing an immediate occupation and fortification of Cali- fornia. This was in 1768. The previous year the king had expelled the Jesuits from all Spanish domain, the missionary work of Lower California had been placed with the Franciscans, and Father Junipero Serra had been appointed President of all the Missions. At the same time Don Caspar de Portola had been appointed Governor of California. These two men, together with Don Jose de Galvez, Yisitador-General of the kingdom and member of the Council of the Indies, made preparation for the expedition. It was to con- sist of four divisions — two by land and two by sea. In course of preparation Galvez issued a circular naming the Holy Patriarch Saint Joseph as patron of the ex- pedition, as the most Holy Mary of Loreto was pa- troness of the missions of California. 20 SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA On January 6th, 1769, the packet-boat San Carlos which had been built in San Bias was ready to sail from the port of La Paz, Lower California. It was placed in command of Captain Vincente Vila, lieuten- ant of the royal navy of Spain. Accompanying him were Don Pedro Fages and his command of twenty- five Catalan soldiers ; Alfred Miguel Constanso, from whose diary of the journey we learn the particulars ; Surgeon Prat, Father Fernando Parron and thirty-one men. The ships company numbered sixty-two in all. Captain Vila was instructed to proceed to San Diego and wait there for twenty days for the ship San An- tonio. If by that time the sister ship had not appeared, the San Carlos was to make its way to Monterey. Father Serra sung a high mass on board the vessel in honor of the patron saint, the litany of Our Lady of Loreto was chanted, Galvez addressed the officers and crew, then Father Serra pronounced the solemn bless- ing upon the vessel, the flag, the officers, the soldiers, the crew, and everybody and everything present. Sev- eral days were consumed in final preparations, and all embarked on the night of the 9th. On the 10th of January, 1769, the vessel sailed and the project to colonize and civilize California through the mission system was virtually begun. On the 15th of February the San Antonio, a packet- boat, also built in San Bias for missionary work, was ready to sail. Similar services were performed by Father Serra as when the San Carlos left port, and the vessel under the command of Captain Juan Perez put to sea with a company of ninety persons, among them Father Juan Vizcaino and Father Francisco Gomez, both Franciscan missionaries. Captain Perez received SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 21 instructions like those given to Captain Vila regarding the meeting at San Diego. The supply ship, the San J ose, was next to leave port ; but is was lost at sea. The cargo that the San Carlos carried gives an inter- esting idea of the supplies that were sent to a new district. The following is a portion : "10,000 pounds of dried meat, eight casks of wine, two casks of brandy, 1,250 pounds of figs, quantities of beans, raisins, fish, clothing for the Indians, church vestments, church bells, and other necessary articles." The first division of the land expedition begun the journey September 30th, 1768. It was under the com- mand of Captain Rivera y Moncada, who had been commander of the Presidio of Loreto. He was accom- panied by Father Juan Crespi, and had a company of forty-three men. His instructions were to explore the country ahead, and to visit the missions and collect such horses and mules as he needed and such provisions as the missionaries could spare. He received explicit orders to take along from the last mission, Santa Maria, two hundred head of cattle. It was not until March 24th, 1769, that Captain Rivera left Velicata, the last settlement in Lower California, and began the final lap of the journey to San Diego, which port he reached safely on May 14th and found the two packet- boats at anchor. The second division of land travelers, forty-four in number, was conducted by Governor Don Gaspar de Portola. With him was to have marched the Presi- dent of the Missions, Father Junipero Serra, but as Father Serra systematically visited all of the missions of Lower California, he did not really join Portola until thev all reached Velicata on May 14th, the dav 22 SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA that the first division arrived at San Diego. Father Serra founded the Mission of San Fernando at VeHcat'a and left Father Campa in charge. It was the only mis- sion founded in Lower California by the Franciscans. The journey on foot from one end of the peninsula to the other had proved to be a severe physical task for Father Serra, who was in his fifty-sixth year. On his arrival at Velicata he was suffering intensely with a cnronic sore on his leg, an affliction which he had con- tracted on the first journey made through Mexico, which was from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico. It is generally conceded and believed that he was bitten by some insect or reptile on that journey and that the injury never healed. It is known that on this march from Velicata to San Diego the trouble had become an ulcerous tumor, and his leg was so badly swollen that he could scarcely walk. Yet in his religious zeal and determination he refused to be carried on a litter and likewise refused to remain behind. All were at the end of their wits to know what to do, when Father Serra bethought to call a mule driver, Juan Antonio Coronel, and asked him if he could not give him some remedy for his swollen leg. The driver replied, "What remedy can I know, Father? I am not a surgeon. I am only a mule driver and can only cure the wounds of my beasts." "Very well ; imagine that I am one of those animals, and that this is one of their wounds — apply the same remedy,'' said the humble Serra. "I will do so, Father, to please you/' said the boy, and taking some suet he mixed it with a healing herb and made a salve or poultice in which he swathed the SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 23 inflamed leg. By morning good Father Serra was able to rise and recite early matins and offer up the holy sacrifice of the mass, and then proceed with the rest of the company on the journey. The party arrived in San Diego on July 1st, 1769, the last of the four divisions to reach the camp. Extracts from Father Serra's letter to his friend Father Palou, give the best account of the conditions as he found them. He says: "On the first of July we arrived at the beautiful port of San Diego. Fathers Crespi, Vizcaino, Parron, Gomez and your humble servant are in good health — thanks be to God. The two ships are here, the San Carlos totally without a crew, all having died of scurvy except one sailor and the cook. The San Antonio was the first to arrive. Albeit she sailed forty days later than the San Carlos, she arrived twenty days ahead of her. The main cause of the delay of the San Carlos was due to leaky con- dition of her water casks, which necessitated her touching land for a supply of fresh water. The water thus secured was impure and caused the sickness aboard. Another cause of delay was the mistaken idea that San Diego lay in latitude 33° or 34° north, when it is but 32° 34' ; therefore the San Carlos sailed beyond this port and was compelled to return. So feeble and helpless were all on board that they were unable to lower the boats when they entered the bay." He speaks of the good health of the land party; of the fertility of the soil of the extreme northern part of the peninsula; of the wild game and of the numbers of Indians. He notes their docility, and dress, and has only praise for it all. Hie expedition continued the settlement of the new 24 SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA country by immediately undertaking an overland jour- ney in search of the port of Monterey, as described by Vizcaino. The party was under personal command of Governor Portola, who was accompanied by Father Juan Crespi, Sergeant Ortega, and some sixty soldiers, servants, and guides — in fact, he took all persons who were able to travel after a rest of two weeks. The}' left San Diego July 14th. Two days later, on Jul}' 16th, Father Serra began preparations for the founding of the first mission in Upper California. This da}' was considered as one most auspicious, as it is the day upon which the Catholic Church of Spain commem- orates the triumph of the Cross over the Crescent in 1212. Also it is the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, whose protection it was but proper to invoke for the expedition now on its way through unknown country and among unknown people. A few huts had been erected at San Diego, and one of them was used as a chapel. Father Serra sang mass, erected a large cross and blessed it, and then performed the usual ceremonies for the tsablishment of a new mission. DEVELOPMENT OF THE MISSIONS The first mission was established at Cosoy, now Old Town, San Diego, on July 16th, 1769; the next one was established at Monterey, June 3rd, 1770; then San An- tonio de Padua, July 14th, 1771, and San Gabriel, Sep- tember 8th, the same year. In this manner and in quick succession twenty-one missions were founded in less than half a century. They were well located and became prosperous establishments with a record of baptisms aggregating 88,876 souls. There were 63,281 deaths during the same period, leaving an enrollment of 25,595 converts. These converts or neophytes lived at the missions. The Franciscan friars, who had charge of the missions, were able to solemnize 24,692 mar- riages. The wealth of the missions lay in the number of cattle, horses, sheep, goats and other live stock, to- gether with grain and general farm produce. Of cattle and horses there were 152,000 head; sheep, goats and other stock 191,693, making a total of 344,593 head of live stock. To this wealth was added hundreds of thousands of bushels of grain at the time of the in- ventory which was taken in 1832-34, in order to com- plete secularization when the missions were transferred to the control of the Mexican Government instead of the Catholic Church. With such wealth and pros- perity within grasp, no wonder that the cupidity of a nation like Mexico became excited and the missions confiscated. 26 DEVELOPMENT OF THE MISSIONS The missions were located at irregular intervals from San Diego county in the south to Sonoma county in the north. The sites were always in valleys having fertile soil and plenty of good fresh water. They were about a day's journey apart and were joined by a well- defined and picturesque road known as El Camino Real, The Royal Road. Each mission establishment consisted of a chapel, dwellings for the padres, others for the neophytes, artisans, guards and servants. The chief buildings were either of stone or adobe, enclosed within a wall of the same which frequently was miles in extent. Generally one row of rooms or one separate building was provided for the young Indian girls and another for the boys. Most of the buildings within the wall opened upon a quadrangle or court. Here games, dancing and songs were indulged in by the Indians, Spaniards, Mexicans and other inhabitants cf this community home, the padres recognizing that in this manner they could win and keep the hearts of the free-born, non-care-wise people among whom they la- bored. The girls were under the charge of a trusted Indian matron, who taught them spinning, weaving and other domestic duties. The boys were instructed in agriculture, in the art of wood and leather carving, silver-work, shoemaking, blacksmithing, carpentering, and stone-cutting, and taught how to be self-support- ing and generally useful. Soldiers married to native women had separate houses. The population consisted of military officers and soldiers, friars and neophytes. The unconverted Indians lived in rancherias, or roamed about the country. At first, a few skilled mechanics, under government pay, were sent from Mexico to teach their trades to the neophytes and any white appren- MODE OV LIFE AT THE MISSIONS 27 tices. About twenty such mechanics were sent be- tween the years 1792 and 1795. After 1795 the padres, instead of the state, paid the artisans for their instruc- tion to the Indians. Mode of Life at the Missions The regulations of the missions were simple but uniform. At daybreak the Angelus bell rang for pray- ers and Holy Mass, after which breakfast of ground barley (atole) was served. After breakfast all joined in some work until 11 or 12, when atole in different forms, together with mutton or beef was again pro- vided. Occasionally frijoles (beans) were given in- stead of atole. Milk was the diet of the sick and aged. After the noon meal all were allowed to rest until 2 o'clock when labor was resumed until 5. During the summer the field laborers were furnished sweetened water with a little vinegar, which was considered a luxury. In the evening pinole, a particular dish made from atole, constituted their supper. The neophytes were permitted to gather and store nuts and wild ber- ries for their individual use. Food for the day was dis- tributed by the mavera to each individual or family, the young men taking theirs to the pozolera to be prepared, and the married men taking theirs to be eaten with their families. The dress of the men was a shirt, trous- ers and a blanket, though the alcaldes and chiefs of gangs of workmen generally wore the complete Span- ish costume. The women dressed as the Mexican peasantry do today, with skirt, bodice and shawl. The wealth of the missions lay in surplus grains and bread- stuffs, oil, hemp, wine, hides, tallow, vegetables, fruits and live-stock. The mission supplied the soldiers at the presidios with necessary articles of food. The In- 28 SECULARIZATION dians in one mission were frequently from many dif- ferent tribes, but they lived together in perfect har- mony and the constant increase in number of converts proved that the management of the padres, both spir- itual and temporal, was successful, and the conditions were satisfactory to the Indians. Secularization The temporal prosperity of the missions in Upper California excited the cupidity of the crown, and a decree was passed in 1813 by the Spanish cortes con- fiscating the American mission property, but the de- cree was not confirmed for seven years, and then the enactment was delayed twelve years longer, at the end of which time an edict was issued by the Congress of Mexico (May 25, 1832), whereby "the executive was empowered to rent out all the mission property for a period of seven years, the proceeds to be paid into the national treasury." This was the consummation of what is known as the "secularization of the missions." The mission chapels were made into parish churches, and the padres asked to become parish priests. The Indians might obtain a small allotment of land upon which they were to become self-supporting. The im- possibility of reclaiming a whole nation from bar- barity in fifty years is evident, yet this is what the Spanish and Mexican officials expected the Franciscan friars to do in the case of the American Indians. They chose to consider the Indians as capable, in one genera- tion, of becoming self-supporting, self-reliant civilized citizens — an utter impossibility with any people. Jurisdiction over the mission buildings and over .the Indians was taken from the padres and vested in a comisionado, or agent, of the Mexican government. THE PIOUS FUND 29 The Indians were turned adrift ; the houses and churches they had built, the orchards and vineyards they had planted, the herds and flocks they had tended were theirs no longer. Disappointed, discour- aged and disconsolate, the Indians returned to the mountains or roamed from rancheria to rancheria, be- reft of a guiding hand or a controlling interest. In less than a decade eleven of the grand buildings had been sold for debt, the herds decimated and the Indians for whom all this work had been done were gone. This was called secularization. The scheme was disas- trous and proved to be the total disintegration of the mission system. The Pious Fund The Spanish monarchs and the Catholic Church cherished the idea of colonizing and converting the Indian inhabitants of California, from the time that the first description of this part of the country was brought back to Spain by Cortez in 1540. The Spanish crown sent expeditions to these shores from time to time, but each returned unsuccessful. The Jesuits accompanied Admiral Pedro Portal de Casanate on his expedition in 1643; but even the combined efforts of church and state did not succeed, and the country remained as it was, uncolonized and unconverted. The last expedi- tion undertaken by the crown was in 1679, when Ad- miral Isidore Otondo was in command and Father Kino represented the church. This expedition cost the King, Charles II, $225,000, but was a failure. Then the Jesuits were invited to take entire charge of the work, with the assurance that Spain would pay the bills. The fathers declined, the excuse being that the conduct of the military officers retarded the work. However, in- 30 ORIGIN OF THE PIOUS FUND dividual members of the Society of Jesus offered to undertake the entire work of reduction and conversion, without expense to the crown, the only stipulation being that they be permitted to select both the civil and the military officers to be employed. The agree- ment was accepted, and on February 5, 1697, neces- sary authority was given Father Juan Maria Salva- tierra and Francisco Eusebio Kino to undertake the enterprise. The conditions named were : First — Possession of the country was to be taken in the name of the Spanish crown. Second — The royal treasury was not to be called upon for any expenses whatsoever. Fathers Salvatierra and Kino solicited and received sums of money in trust from individuals and from re- ligious organizations to be used in the propagation of the Catholic religion in California. The money was to be spent in building churches and religious schools, and in paying the expense of founding missions, such as the Jesuit Order had instituted in Paraguay, India, Canada and Northern Mexico. The first contributors were Don Alonzo Davolos, Conde de Miravelles, Don Mateo Fernandez de la Cruz, and Marques de Buena Vista, each giving $1000. Others followed with cash contributions or notes until the amount aggregated $15,000. The use of a transport and a small launch for the first expedition was offered by Don Pedro Gil de la Sierpa, treasurer of Acapulco. The Origin of the Pious Fund A separate endowment fund for the missionary church was created. The first contributors for this were the congregation of the "Neustra Sefiora de los Dolores" of the City of Mexico, which gave $10,000; ORIGIN OF THE PIOUS FUND 31 and Don Juan Caballero y Ozio, who gave $20, more. These contributions formed the nucleus of "The Pious Fund." Each new mission was to be placed on a monetary basis of $10,000. As the usual rate of interest was 5 per cent, the income was $500, and that sum was deemed sufficient for one church. Many zealous Christians left to the fund, from time to time, enormous sums of money. The Marques de Villa Puente and his wife, the Marquesa de las Torres de Rada, gave over $200,000 in money and vessels to the work of establishing missions in California, and at their death bequeathed their entire estate and immense fortune to the Pious Fund. The Duchess of Gardia provided in her will that the life annuities left to her servants should, as the life estates fell in, go to the missions of California. In 1767 (two years prior to the establishment of the first mission in Upper California, that of San Diego) the annuities had amounted to $60,000, with as much more to come in. Another vast estate was left by Dona Josepha Paula de Arguelles of Guadalaxara, to the missions of the Philippine Islands, and to California jointly. The sum of $240,000 was the proportion that fell to the Pious Fund. It was through the judicious investment and expenditure of these vast sums of money that the Fathers were enabled to build the grand mission buildings of California, and to pay the attending ex- penses of so great an enterprise. Fathers Kino and Salvatierra's work lay entirely within the boundary of Mexico and Lower California, or the Peninsula, and not within the boundaries of the present State of California. 32 CONFISCATION OF THE PIOUS FUND In 1842 President Santa Anna of Mexico confis- cated the Pious Fund and incorporated it in the na- tional treasury. This was accomplished by a sale ol all properties, stocks, mines and negotiable papers comprising the Pious Fund, and paying the cash funds thus derived into the public treasury as a loan at 6 per cent per annum upon the capital therein invested, thenceforth. The amounts aggregated over one mil- lion and a quarter dollars. Spain had frequently borrowed money of the Pious Fund and given in exchange "notes at hand," and when, in 1821, Mexico became independent of Spain, Mexico assumed the obligation of the public debt — or so much of it as belonged to the viceroyalty. The government of Mexico did not always pay the interest on the Fund; but instead continued in the footsteps of the mother country and borrowed sums of money from the church fund, religiously placing to its credit the "note at hand.'' Between the years of 1807 and 1831, the mis- sionaries of California received only $24,000 of inter- est on the Pious Fund. When Santa Anna absorbed the fund, affairs were in such a condition that the transaction created not a ripple in public sentiment ; not a mention was made of it. The Pious Fund at that time (1842) gave no returns. By the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) entered into between the United States and Mexico, the latter cleverly inserted the clause that "all claims of the United States and its citizens against Mexico existing prior to the treaty are declared to be fully satisfied and extinguished;" no doubt hoping in this manner to evade any further payment of interest on the Pious Fund. In 1851 an effort was made to trace the Pious Fund, but so com- CONFISCATION OF THE PIOUS FUND 33 pletely had it disappeared from the Mexican records that not a trace of indebtedness to the missions re- mained to give a clue. In 1853, Archbishop Alemany, Bishop of Monterey, brought to light a package of papers marked, "Instruccion Circumstanciada" of Don Pedro Ramires, which proved to be a copy of Santa Anna's decree, and other papers, giving a com- plete list of each piece of property of the Pious Fund that had been given over to Santa Anna. This evidence enabled the Catholic Church of California to enter claims against Santa Anna for unpaid interest on the Pious Fund, and the claim was granted, the church receiving over nine hundred thousand dollars. This seemed in exact opposition to the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, but owing to the unjust and illegal confisca- tion of the Fund in 1842 by Santa Anna, a law was evidently made to suit the case. The more recent controversy as presented at The Hague tribunal, re- garding similar interest due on the Pious Fund, re- ceived the same verdict. Mexico must pay $1,420,682 (Mexican money) and on the 2nd of February, 1903, and every year thereafter, the sum of $43,050.99 (Mexican money) to the Catholic Church of Cali- fornia. If Mexico were to pay this sum annually, there would be ample funds for the propagation of the Catholic religion among the Indians of California, and there would be hopes of some repairs being made upon the decaying ruins of the mission buildings; but since Mexico has paid but $114,000 in 95 years there is little or no probability that she will begin now to pay her debts. VeMMm —Photo, A. S. C. Forbes MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA. Mission San Diego de Alcala is 7.9 miles from Fifth and D Streets, San Diego, or 5.9 miles from Old Town. Can be reached by automobile. The road is marked by El Camino Real Bell guide-posts which give distances and directions. Mission San Diego de Alcala (Saint James of Al- cala) was the first permanent settlement made within the present boundaries of the State of California. It was located at a place called Cosoy by the Indians, now Old Town, San Diego. The first buildings were erected on the hill about two gunshots from the shore and faced the entrance to the port at Point Guijarros. The mission was founded July 16th, 1769, by Fr. Junipero Serra, assisted by Fr. Juan Vizcaino and Fr. Fernando Parron. The ceremony was attended by all the able-bodied men at San Diego. They were 26 MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA Captain Vincente Vila, commander of the San Carlos, that lay idly in the bay for lack of sailors to make the return trip to Mexico; Doctor Pedro Pratt, Engineer Jose Canizares, eight soldiers, five convalescent Cata- lan volunteers, five seamen, a carpenter, a blacksmith, three servants and eight Lower California Indians. Two days prior to the founding of the mission, the Governor of California, Don Gaspar de Portola, ac- companied by Fr. Juan Crespi and sixty-four of the most able-bodied men of the California expedition, had departed in search of the port of Monterey and therefore were not present at the founding of the first mission in Upper California. The 16th of July was probably selected as the day on which the first mission should be founded because it is the date the Catholic Church in Spain com- memorates the triumph of the Cross over the Cres- cent in 1212. A temporary structure had been erected as a chapel, bells were swung from the branches of a tree, a cross was constructed and raised. On this day the bells were rung, Fr. Serra blessed the cross, sung high mass and gave a short address to the small company assembled. The mission was placed under the especial care of San Diego de Alcala, a man born of lowly parents in the town of St. Nicholas, in the diocese of Seville, in Andalusia, Spain, who by rea- son of his godly life and good works was canonized by Pope Sixtus V, in 1588. San Diego was a Capu- chin monk at the convent of Alcala in 1463. Many beautiful and interesting legends are told of his life, but the true history of his deeds is even more inter- esting than the legends. The first missionaries assigned to the new post at MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 37 San Diego, California, were Fr. Serra and Fr. Parron. A few huts were erected, one of which was used as a chapel. The Indians were unfriendly but not hostile. No one understood their language, therefore progress was slow, amounting to little beyond trying to gain their good will. The Indians refused all food, but accepted trinkets for adornment and articles of cloth- ing. That they refused food proved to be a blessing to the colonists, because the supply ship, San Jose, was lost at sea and no other food beyond what they had brought with them reached San Diego until late in March the following year. The Indians appropri- ated every article of clothing within their reach. They even crept into the tents of the sick and tore the sheets from under the men. On night some of the most daring were discovered on board the San Carlos cutting sails and ropes. Persuasions, threats, and even the noise of firearms, were met with ridicule. Finally, on the 12th of August, the Indians made a raid on the colony and attempted to massacre the entire company and gain possession of everything. They were repulsed, but returned three days later in much greater force. They were armed with clubs and bows and arrows. Fr. Vizcaino was wounded in the hand and his servant, Jose Maria Segerano, was killed. Several Indians were killed and others were wounded. They fled, taking their dead and wounded with them, but in a few days they returned in a sub- dued spirit and begged that their wounded be re- ceived at the mission for medical treatment. This was done, and a somewhat more friendly relation established. A stockade was built around the camp and no Indian carrying a weapon was allowed within the enclosure. Safety was assured, but no progress 38 MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA made in missionary work. One lad about fifteen years of age came daily and Fr. Serra attempted to teach him some words in Spanish. In time he induced the boy to persuade the natives to bring their children, that they might be baptized. A child was brought, and Fr. Serra, full of joy, requested the corporal to act as godfather, and then, surrounded by the soldiers and Indians, proceeded with the usual ceremonies of baptism. However, when he raised his hand to pour on the regenerating water, the Indians snatched the child away from the surprised priest and hurried away. Fr. Serra attributed the frustra- tion of the baptism to his own sins and even in later years when relating the incident tears of sorrow would fill his eyes. Meanwhile new cases of illness occurred among the colonists and death carried away eight soldiers, four sailors, one servant and six Christian Indians. Therefore when Governor Portola returned only about twenty persons survived. Little wonder that small progress was made in missionary work ! Prior to April, 1770, a year from the first appearance of the Spaniards, not a single neophyte was enrolled at the mission. Fr. Serra and his companion set to work to acquire the Indian language, and from that time began the dawning of Christian light at San Diego. In 1771 Fr. Luis Jayme and Fr. Francisco Dumetz came from Mexico and were appointed to take charge of the mission. In August, 1774, the mission was removed about six miles up the valley of the San Diego river to a place called by the Indians Nipaguay. There are no accounts of the ceremonies with which the transfer was celebrated, nor is the exact date MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 39 known. By the end of the year the mission buildings, consisting of a dwelling, a storehouse, a kitchen of adobes and a wooden church measuring eighteen by fifty-seven feet and roofed with tules, were erected and the mission establishment was in better condition than at Cosoy. At the old site all the buildings were given over to the presidio, except two rooms, one for the visiting priests and the other for temporary storage of mission supplies coming by sea. In 1775 the number of Christian Indians enrolled were ninety-seven ; new buildings had been added, a well dug and considerable land made ready for sow- ing. October 3rd, Fr. Jayme and Fr. Fuster, who had succeeded Fr. Dumetz, baptized sixty Indians. That evening two of the recently baptized natives, under pretense of visiting relatives, left the mission and went from rancheria to rancheria telling the Indians that the fathers were about to baptize them by force. This excited the natives and caused over a thousand of them to attack the mission and also the presidio. On the night of November 4th they arrived in the valley of the San Diego river. Here they separated, one party proceeding to the mission and another to the presidio. Arriving at the mission, the Indians placed sentries at the huts of all the Christian Indians and threatened them with death if they moved or gave alarm. Other Indians sacked the chapel, robbing it of sacred vessels and vestments, while others set fire to the building occupied by the few soldiers as bar- racks. The rlames and yells of the Indians awoke the guards and the priests. Fr. Jayme thought the fire accidental, and rushing out alone he met the large band of savages, whom he greeted with his usual salu- 40 MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA tation, "Amad a Dios, hijos," ("Love God, my chil- dren"), only to be seized and dragged down to the banks of the creek, where he was stripped of his habit, beaten and shot to death with arrows. In one of the buildings lived the blacksmith and the carpenter, and with them was Ursulino, the carpenter from the presidio, who had been ill and was at the mission to recuperate. The blacksmith, Jose Maria Arroyo, rushed out, sword in hand. He fell, pierced with two arrows, and died almost immediately. Ursu- lino was wounded with arrows, which some days later proved fatal. Felipe Romero, the carpenter, seized a musket and rushed to the defense of the guards — but there were only three guards and a corporal, and what could they do against hundreds of savages r These men and Fr. Fuster took refuge in the only adobe building, which was a small room used as a kitchen, but had only three walls, the remaining side being exposed to the enemy. The roof was of dry branches. To protect themselves the soldiers erected a barricade with two boxes and a copper kettle. By the time the opening was closed two soldiers were wounded and disabled, leaving only the corporal, one soldier, the carpenter and the priest to defend the mission. The corporal, being an excellent shot, did the shooting, while the others loaded the muskets. The result was that every Indian who approached the open space was either killed or wounded. Then the> set fire to the roof, which quickly burnt. During the fire the greatest danger ensued lest fifty pounds of gunpowder which was stored in the kitchen . mi^ht be ignited by the falling firebrands. To prevent this disaster, Fr. Fuster courageously sat upon it. In this MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 41 manner the gallant little party defended themselves until daybreak, when the Indians fled, carrying with them their dead and wounded. The survivors, crawl- ing from behind their kettle and box battlements, met the Christian Indians, who with tears and lamen- tations related the story of their confinement. Search was at once made for Fr. Jayme. His body was found near the creek, bruised from head to foot with blows from stones and clubs. His face was dis- figured beyond recognition and there were eighteen arrow wounds in the body. Fr. Fuster had two biers made, upon which the bodies of Fr. Jayme and the blacksmith, Jose Arroyo, were borne to the chapel of the presidio for burial. Ursulino died a few days later and was buried also in the chapel. Fr. Fuster resumed the mission work, holding services at the pre- sidio. News of the disaster at San Diego was conveyed to Captain Fernando Rivera, head of military defense in California, and reached him at Monterey on De- cember 13th. He notified Fr. Serra at once. When the latter heard of the death of Fr. Jayme, he ex- claimed : "Thanks be to God ; that land is watered ; now will follow the conversion of the San Diego In- dians." The next day a requiem mass was sung, at which six fathers assisted. Captain Rivera made preparations for immediate departure for San Diego. He was accompanied by ten or twelve soldiers. On the way south they stopped at Mission San Gabriel January 3rd. The following day a large colony of set- tlers from Mexico under the command of Captain Juan Raptista de Anza arrived at the mission. The danger »t San Diego caused Anza and seventeen of his sol- 42 MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA diers, and also Fr. Pedro Font to accompany Rivera. They reached the presidio on January 11th. Investi- gations were made regarding the outbreak. Indians were brought in from the rancherias, forced to testify, flogged, liberated and some were imprisoned, Finally one old Indian named Carlos, a former neophyte, came to the chapel and confessed to having been a ringleader in the revolt. He professed sorrow, but as he was afraid of the military he took refuge in the church. Rivera ordered Fr. Fuster to deliver up the culprit, on the plea that the right of church asylum did not protect such a criminal. He claimed that ac- cording to the papal bulls of four Popes, i. e., Gregory XIV, Benedict XIII, Clement XII and Benedict XIV, such people as murderers, robbers, mutilators, forgers, heretics, traitors and the like were denied the privi- lege of church asylum, and also claimed that the edi- fice was not a church anyway, but a warehouse used temporarily for worship. Rivera with several soldiers entered the chapel and dragged forth the Indian, for which act he and the men were excommunicated. The trouble was referred to Fr. Serra, who naturally sus- tained Fr. Fuster, especially since the padres claimed that no one could take a refugee from the church with- out license from the bishop. Relations between the military and the missionaries had at no time been alto- gether satisfactory, and this added fuel to the flame and was the principal cause or reason for the delay in the reconstruction of Mission San Diego. It was not 'until' 1780 that a new church, strengthened and roofed with pine timbers, was completed and. dedi- cated. A report on the condition of the mission given by Fr. Lasuen in 1783 is as follows: "A church, MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 43 ninety by seventeen feet; a granary, seventy-five by seventeen feet; a storehouse, a house for sick women, a house for men ; a shed for wood and oxen, two houses for the fathers, a larder, a guest room, and a kitchen. These were all of adobe and from fifteen to seventeen feet high. With the soldiers' barracks, these buildings formed three sides of a quadrangle of one hundred and sixty-five feet. The fourth side con- sisted of an adobe wall, fifteen feet high, with a ravelin a little higher. There was a fountain for use in tanning, two adobe corrals for sheep and one for cows. These were outside the walls.'' At this time there were 740 neophytes under missionary care. San Diego was the first mission to register 1000 baptisms. The cabins for the Indian neophytes (converts) were of wood and grass. Other facts regarding this mission are that in 1793 a tile-roofed granary of adobe, ninety- six by twenty-four feet, was erected; in 1795 the vine- yard was surrounded by an adobe wall 1,500 feet in length, and in 1800 an extensive system of irrigation was begun and finished a few years later. About three miles above the mission the river was dammed by a solid stone wall thirteen feet thick and covered with a cement that became as hard as rock. In the center was a gateway twelve feet high and lined with brick. The dam was standing in 1874, but walled up with sand. Erom this dam an aqueduct constructed of tiling that rested on cobblestone and cement foundation carried a stream of water one foot deep and two feet wide to the mission lands. It was built through a precipitous gorge, often cross- ing gulches that were from fifteen to twenty feet in width and depth, but it was so strong that in 44 MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA places it supported itself long after the foundation had crumbled. On May 25th, 1803, the mission was damaged by an earthquake. In 1804 the bodies of Frs. Jayme, Figuer and Mariner were taken from their old rest- ing place and deposited in one grave, but in separate boxes, between the altars of the church, Fr. Jayme being placed nearest the altar of the Blessed Virgin, Fr. Mariner near the statue of St. James, and Fr. Figuer farthest south. Three stones were erected over the graves. On September 29th, 1808, work was begun on a new church, the ruins of which stand today. It was completed and dedicated on the day of the titular saint — San Diego de Alcala — November 12th, 1813. The ceremonies were conducted by Fr. Barona of San Juan Capistrano. The first sermon was preached by Fr. Geronimo Boscana of San Luis Rey, and the sec- ond by the Dominican Ahumada, whilst Lieut. Ruiz acted as sponsor. In 1821 the prosperity of the mis- sion was such that a crop of 21,000 bushels of wheat, barley and corn was raised. This was, with but a single exception, the largest crop ever raised at any mission. In 1830-31 the mission owned 8,822 head of cattle, 1,192 horses and mules, and 16,661 head of sheep, and there were 1,506 Indians on the roll of the mission. In 1834 Mission San Diego was secularized and passed into the hands of a parish priest. . Fr. Fer- nando Martin was one of the few missionaries of California w T ho finally took the oath of allegiance to the republic of Mexico. From the time of the estab- lishment of the mission in 1769 to the date of secu- larization, 1834, there were 6,638 persons baptized. MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 45 1,879 couples married and 4,428 persons buried. Twelve years later, that is, on January 6th, 1846, an inventory was taken of the mission property, and there were 110 head of cattle, 65 horses and 14 mules. So much for secularization. In June of the same year the Mission San Diego de Alcala was sold to Santiago Argiiello for past services to the govern- ment. His title was not sustained, but in accordance with a decision of the United States Land Commis- sioner, given in 1856, which was based on the old Spanish law that divided church property into two classes, sacred and ecclesiastical, and whereby sacred property could not be sold, Mission San Diego was returned to the church. "Sacred property" is that which is formally consecrated to God, such as churches, church buildings, vessels and vestments. This included the priests' houses and their gardens. According to this decision all the church properties of the missions that had been sold by Governor Pio Pico reverted to the church, while the ecclesiastic or mission lands were considered government property. The ruins of Mission San Diego de Alcala stand on the bluff overlooking the broad Mission Valley, a sad ' remnant of past importance and prosperity. Only the facade of the church, and the walls and roof of one or two monastic rooms remain. Round about are banks of adobe mercifully screened by spreading branches and low shrubbery, as if to veil in pity the wreck that has been made by time and the neglect of man. "Mater Dolorosa," the Bell, is picturesquely posed upon a pile of crumbling adobe that was once the tall, graceful tower of the mission. It was placed 46 MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA there in 1894 when it was recast from fragments of other bells that had been used and broken in bygone days. It is rung by a wheel, as there is no place to hang it — and the clang is in truth like a mother of sorrow wailing over a crushed and broken child. Remains of the old water tunnel may be traced. Its course is from the interior of the main enclosure of the mission patio to a deep well further down the slope; and from this well, which was fed by springs, there runs another tunnel further down the hill to another well, from which in mission days water in great quantities could have been obtained in case of urgent need. Thus did the padres protect their estab- lishment against the aboriginal Indian. The tunnels were sufficiently high to permit a man to walk up- right almost the entire length. Portions are now caved in, but the remains fully attest to the foresight and precaution taken by the missionaries in their labors of settling the new country. Below the blufl are some ancient olive trees ana a few palms; they also are remnants of past glory, and are all that is left of an orchard that was the pride of the mission. The orchard was separated from the mission by El Camino Real, the Royal Road, or pathway, that joined all of the Franciscan missions of California. El Camino Real began at Mission San Diego and following north, touched at each of the twenty-one missions, the three pueblos and the four presidios. It was like a chain that linked a band of jewels, and it has been by the restoring of El Camino Real that the missions have been rehabilitated and reset. The Old Road of the missions is marked by a unique MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 47 and most appropriate guide-post. It is a mission bell surmounting a post that carries also a signboard giving road directions, and, now and then, some historic fact about the missions. The first one of the bell guide-posts stands in front of Mission San Diego de Alcala and bears the following inscription : "Erected 1913 by Mr. and Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes, in memory of Fray Luis Jayme, the first martyr of California. Fr. Jayme was massacred by the Indians November 4, 1775. The bell was blessed and christ- tened 'J a y me ' by Rev. J. C. Mesny." Bell guide-posts direct the traveler to Old Town, the site of the first presidio, and from thence to Mis- sion San Luis Rey, Pala, San Juan Capistrano, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Sonoma, leading by way of all of the missions. Copyrighted and Patented SAN DIEGO San Diego is the extreme southwest city of Cali- fornia. From Los Angeles it is 130 miles via El Camino Real, the State Highway which leads through Rose Canon and is marked by the mission bell guide- posts that give distances and directions. The Old Pueblo land grant of San Diego extends to within two miles of Del Mar, therefore the city limits are 20.4 miles north of the improved town of San Diego, which fact explains the reason that the road is not better improved. It is not a county or state high- way, but a road through land that belongs to San Diego. The road is good and has few grades beyond six per cent. It is winding but with good curves. Hotels : The San Diego, a room and bath for a dollar and a half a day and up. U. S. Grant, tariff, $1.50 and up. Hotel del Coronado. Mission Garage, near corner of India and D Sts. The history connected with the founding of modern San Diego is unique. A man by the name of Alonzo E. Horton came from Connecticut to California in the early gold-digging days. In 1867 while in San Francisco he attended a public meeting for the dis- cussion of "What Ports of the Pacific Will Become Big Cities." Among them San Diego was mentioned. Within four days he had closed out his business in- terests in San Francisco and was on his way to San Diego. It was a fateful day for the sleepy little Old Town when this insistent man of progress landed from the steamer Pacific and began to investigate the possibilities and advantages of the port as a future SAN DIEGO 49 big city. The present site of the city was then a waste of sagebrush and chaparral. Upon inquiry, Mr. Horton found that he could buy the property by having it put up and sold at auction. But in order to insure a legal title it was necessary to first hold an election, which the trustees refused to do owing to the expense attached thereto. Horton put up five dollars for election expenses, posting the three no- tices himself. In due time an auction was held and the first tract of land put up consisted of 200 acres. Horton bid one hundred dollars, and was surprised to find that everybody laughed. He found he was bidding too high and became more moderate. He was the only bidder on all the quarter sections, with the exception of Judge Hollister, who overbid him five dollars for a fractional section, the part which is now the site of Florence Heights. Horton told the Judge he could have it, but the Judge begged him to bid over him, and he finally consented to give twenty-five cents more and take the land. The thou- sand acres he bought cost him twenty-six cents an acre. At. the close of the sale Hollister remarked to Horton that he would not give a mill an acre for all the land he had purchased, adding "That land has lain there a million years and nobody has built a city on it yet." "Yes," said Horton, "and it would lay there a mil- lion years longer without any city being built upon it if it depended upon you to do it." The thousand acres he had bought for twenty-six cents per acre were destined to be worth millions of dollars during the lifetime of the purchaser. The first construction work that Mr. Horton did was to build a wharf at 50 SAN DIEGO the foot of Fifth street. It cost him $45,000. In 1870 he built the Horton House at a cost of $150,000. It was at that time one of the finest hotels in the State, but it has been torn down to make room for the million dollar U. S. Grant Hotel. Today the foresight of Alonzo Horton is recog- nized. The site which he chose for San Diego is a logical one for the first port of call in California north of the Panama Canal. It is a broad mesa stretching from the water's edge to the bluff over- looking the Mission valley. It rises high over the matchless bay that spreads out before it like an in- land sea. As for the bay, it is one of the few great harbors of the world. It has an area of twenty- two square miles, is completely landlocked, and has a depth of water over the bar at low tide of thirty-five feet. The main channel inside the bay will average from 1,500 to 2,000 feet in width and from 35 to 70 feet in depth at low water. By act of the State legislature, May, 1911, the city of San Diego was granted absolute control of its water front, and the tidelands adjacent thereto. The tidelands comprise an area of 1,460 acres and lie ad- jacent to the city and constitute its waterfront, about eleven miles in extent. The bay is protected by Point Loma, a magnificent headland projecting fifteen miles out into the Pacific ocean. On the crest of this promontory, four hun- dred and sixty-four feet above sea level, is the old White Light Tower, established in 1851, but which now serves only as a day mark for ships, while far below is the modern lighthouse station built in 1891 and from which the watchers of the fog flash signals SAN DIEGO 51 of alternate red and white every twenty seconds. These lights are visible fifteen miles away. Other places of interest on Point Loma are Fort Rosecrans and the U. S. Wireless Station, with a rec- ord of having received messages from Cuba and Key West. There is also the naval memorial monument to the Bennington martyrs, and the homestead which is the international headquarters of Theosophy. Toward the south from Point Loma lies Coronado and Ballast Point. The latter was so named from ships taking rock from it as ballast in early days to Sacramento, where it was sold at twenty dollars per ton for street paving. Ballast Point is the old Spanish stake light station. It was changed to a beacon light in 1890 with a fixed white light visible eleven miles distant It has a ten-second fog bell run by machinery. Coronado Peninsula protects the mainland from the waves of the sea. On the point of it lies the U. S. aviation fields, and then comes Coronado, which is considered a part of San Diego, although it has a separate city government. Tt has a famous hotel and a quaint tent city, which yearly attracts thou- sands of tourists. On the mainland is Balboa Park, the site of the Panama-California Exposition of 1915. It is a mag- nificent tract of fourteen hundred acres ot rolling ground, broken here and there by deep gorges, spanned by artistic bridges. From the canyon that almost surrounds it the hillsides slope gradually up to the level mesa that was crowned by the Exposition buildings. The boulevards, streets, county and state highways of San Diego city and county are exceptional. The 52 SAN DIEGO county has expended approximately two million dol- lars in the construction of good roads. Most of them have been surfaced with disintegrated granite and no grade exceeds six per cent. Beautiful curves and proper bridges connect between five and six hundred miles of wonderful contour roads over the county. Besides the county roads, the State has built about one hundred and fifty miles of highway which is six- teen feet wide, with a base of concrete, and surfaced with a mixture of oil and small rock screenings for a wearing surface, at an approximate cost of $6,500 per mile. Seventy miles of this State highway is El Camino Real and is marked by the mission bell guide-post. It lies mainly along the Pacific coast, while eighty miles lie east of San Diego and connect with the great Imperial valley. The perfection of the county road system is due principally to the ex- ceptional ability of the county surveyor, Mr. George Butler, who has w T orked indefatigably for years upon the plan and grades for this network of good roads. The drive through the mountains is excelled in scenery by no other part of the State except the Yosemite valley. LANDMARKS IN OLD TOWN 53 Ramona's Marriage Place: It is the restored Estu- dillo House, with thick adobe walls, heavy mission timbers, hidebound rafters, broad verandas and beau- tiful, flowered courtyard and is one of the most inter- esting landmarks in Southern California. Formerly it was the residence of Don Jose Antonio Estudillo, one of the most prominent and influential men of the State. In 1825 Don Jose was granted a lot upon which to build a home. In a short time he had erected a spacious house of adobe, which he and his family occupied as a residence for over sixty years. It was, however, allowed to pass into ruins, from which picturesque state it was rescued by John D. Spreckels and Bros. In October, 1907, Maria Antonio Estudillo de Osuna sold the property to Salvador R. Estudillo and he in turn transferred it to the Spreckels interest. The restoration was made under the personal direc- tion of Mrs. Hazel W. Waterman, one of the few women architects in Southern California. It was necessary to replace the roof timbers and put in new- sills and door lintels in order to sustain the great weight of the adobe walls, which are three feet in thickness. The roofing is of caresa brought down from the Cuyamaca region for this purpose. Caresa has the appearance of bamboo and is cut in lengths of several yards. Over the heavy timbers is laid a net- work of caresa and upon it is then placed the tiling. A skilled tilemaker, Jesus Duarte, was brought from Mexico to make the tiles for the roof and floor, but the tiles on the floor of the patio were made by the Franciscan fathers about the year 1775. A tablet on the wall of the veranda tells us that "they were 54 RAMONA'S MARRIAGE PLACE used to line the aqueduct bringing water from the dam constructed across the San Diego River to the old mission. The Estudillo House is indebted to Mr. D. C. Collier, who donated these tiles from a portion of the aqueduct on his property, 1910." The charming old house forms three sides of a square, the center of which is a spacious patio, with a fountain of sparkling water. Sweet Castilian roses cling to the adobe walls and cast dreamy shadows over the historic benches. Down through a shadowy arbor is Ramona's Well, where the glistening waters reflect this message from the pebbles and shells : "Quaff ye the waters of Ramona's Well, Good luck they bring and secrets tell, Blest were they by sandaled friar, So drink and wish for thy desire." Near by the well, there is one of the old historic palms that stood guard at the foot of Presidio Hill for more than a century, but fell in a storm several years ago and has now found a final resting place in this hospitable patio. It reminds one of a hoary hermit tucked aw r ay in the quiet corner of the garden. There is an old outdoor bake oven, and over by the wonderful cactus parking is an old overland stage coach. It is old "Diamond Tallyho," a Banning coach that was shipped around the Horn at a cost of $1,600. It is the property of the San Diego Pioneer Association and at the very sight of it old-timers burst into fits of reminiscence, for the stage is a '49er and used to make the run from Fort Yuma. There is also an old Spanish carreta, which is of even greater interest than the coach. On the veranda OLD CHAPEL 55 there is posed an old tufa filter, belonging to the Alte- marana family. It is only one of many interesting things scattered about the court, and as for the rooms of the house they have become a historical museum. They are filled with objects- of interest, such as a chair used by the first district judge of California; an old print of the presidio ; quaint pictures, old furni- ture, and costumes that make Ramona's Home an educational institution as well as a pleasure resort, for here you see California as it was a hundred years ago and you hear the history of the missions told in an interesting style by the most genial of hosts, Mr. Thomas Getz, as he takes you an imaginary trip along El Camino Real and pauses at each mission to recount in an inimitable way its romance and his- tory. Old Chapel: The most interesting building in Old Town is the little old chapel made of adobe, but all of its adobe beauty and quaintness is lost behind boards — instead of repairing the adobe walls some- one has encased this monument of historic interest within an impenetrable screen. At the rear hung two old bells, one bearing the inscription : "S. Ivan. Nepo Muceno. Ave Maria Purisima. 1802," the other was a small bell of more modern date. They hung behind this church for years and attracted more interest than the church itself — because the church cannot be seen. They have been recently removed to the modern church nearby and hang in the belfry. The Cemetery and the Jail, both prisons of the flesh, are interesting places — both are relics and rem- nants. The latter was built by a man who became 56 PRESIDIO HILL its first inmate and found a way to blow up the re- sults of his own handiwork, free himself and leave no walls for other culprits. To this day Old Town has no jail, nor does it need any. Presidio Hill: The great cross on Presidio Hill was erected by the Order of Panama in 1915 in mem- ory of Fr. Junipero Serra and his works. His work was the founding of the Franciscan missions of Cali- fornia. The first crude chapel was located on this hill. It formed a part of the first settlement and was enclosed within the palisade, together with the presidio or fort. The massive cross is made of steel, concrete and fragments of tiles from the old build- ings, tiles that weld the past and present, that wring from the founders of the modern city a cry of recog- nition and appreciation of the man and first master of the port, Fray Junipero Serra. At the foot of the cross is a bronze tablet bearing the inscription : IN THIS ANCIENT INDIAN VILLAGE OF COSOY DISCOVERED AND NAMED SAN MIGUEL BY CABRILLO IN 1542 VISITED AND CHRISTENED SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA BY VIZCAINO IN 1602 HERE THE FIRST CITIZEN FRAY JUNIPERO SERRA PLANTED CIVILIZATION IN CALIFORNIA. HERE HE FIRST RAISED THE CROSS HERE BEGAN THE FIRST MISSION HERE FOUNDED THE FIRST TOWN, SAN DIEGO JULY 16, 1769 IN MEMORY OF HIM AND HIS WORKS THE ORDER OF PANAMA 1915 Without this history San Diego would be as hun- dreds of other California towns, but with it stands alone, the first town of the greatest State in the Union. ■ M ;.| vjW t3fc mtl it • *LJi J3 m^BKM »j. i j&tKE%&Nm .«»■ j t w i^Brar- 1 '" 1 ■ i;/'-;i j| -Photo, Mrs. ./. .V. C. Forfr^ MISSION SAN LUIS REY. Mission San Luis Rey is 45 miles north of San Diego and 4.7 miles inland from Oceanside. It is 8b miles from Los Angeles via El Camino Real, the State Highway, which is marked by Mission Bell posts that give distances and directions. There are no hotel accommodations nearer than Oceanside. Mission San Luis Rey, the second station on El Camino Real, was the grandest of the mission estab- lishments. It was founded on the 13th of June, 1798. by Fr. Fermin Lasuen, president of the missions, as- sisted by Fr. Santiago and Fr. Peyri. The ceremony was supplemented by the baptism of fifty-four chil- dren. Within a week Fr. Peyri, who was left in charge, had baptized seventy-seven more. By July he had 6,000 adobe bricks ready to begin the erection of the mission buildings, which were completed ana readv for dedication in 1802. Thev were dedicated SS MISSION SAN LUIS REY to God under the invocation and patronage of San Luis, Rey de Francia (Saint Louis IX, King of France). During the first decade this mission made larger gains in number of neophyte population and had a lower death rate than any other. Fr. Peyri was beloved by all. He ministered personally to the needs of his charges and likewise superintended the agricultural pursuits. In 1818 San Luis Rey was the most prosperous mission in California, in spite ol the fact that so many of the sheep died that it was necessary for the padres to go as far north as San Juan Bautista to obtain wool enough to make cloth- ing for the neophytes at the mission. Fr. Peyri early established a hospital, in which he erected an altar, and took great pains to instruct the Indians in the law of correct living and how to take care of the sick. The highest number of neophytes enrolled at one time at San Luis Rey was 2,869, which was in 1826. In 1828 there was a white population of thirty- five, which fact gives an idea of the isolation and self- sacrifice that these missionaries endured for the sake of assisting humanity. Fr. Antonio Peyri, unlike most of the Franciscans in California, was a strong supporter of the Mexican Republic and his surprise and disappointment at the enforcement of seculariza- tion knew no bounds. The pathetic romance of his being spirited away at night and taken oh board a vessel anchored in the bay at San Diego is one gener- ally credited by those interested in the missions. The story says that when the neophytes learned that the padre had been taken away by the emissaries of the Mexican govrnment they mounted their ponies in MISSION SAN LUIS REY 59 Fr. Antonio Peyri the grey dawn of the morning and gave a wild chase to the sea to try to rescue the padre and bring him back to the mission. As they appeared near the shore the ship "Pocahontas'' weighed anchor and slowly sailed out to sea. Two of the most venturesome ones swam after the ship and were taken on board and carried to Spain by the father. Mission San Luis Rey has a most beautiful loca- tion. It is situated on an eminence which commands a splendid view of the surrounding country and at the same time lends charm to the scenery by its own grandeur. Near by flows the River San Luis Rey, and surrounding the mission is a small hamlet, mostly Indians and Mexicans, which add life and interest to the picture. The architecture of the buildings was more perfect than most of the missions. The style was a composite of Spanish, Moorish and Mexican, forming a type well called ''Mission." The church was built of adobe and faced with burnt brick. It has a finely arched facade, a handsome doorway, a massive yet graceful bell tower, and a mortuary chapel which is an individual feature of San Luis Rey. This was the only mission that progressed after secularization, but it too declined after a few years and was finally sold on May 18th, 1846, to lose A. 60 MISSION SAN LUIS REY Cot and Jose A. Pico for $2,437; but their agent was dispossessed and they failed to regain possession. Later it was decided that Governor Pico had had no right to sell the missions of California, and San Luis Rey, together with the other missions, was returned to the church. But it was returned in a dilapidated and sorry condition. During the Mexican war it had been used as a military post and its value had dropped to the lowest minimum. At the time of seculariza- tion the valuation of San Luis Rey was placed at $203,737, debt $93,000— the records say that "the church, 30x189 feet, of adobe, roofed with tile of clay, board ceiling, 9 doors, 18 windows, 4 adjoining rooms, all valued at $30,000, was included in the total amount, as were also the six ranchos valued at $40,437. These were Pala, Santa Margarita, San Jacinto, Santa Isabel, Temecula and San Pedro." The mission ranchos have passed into private own- ership ; the Indians are gone, and the ruined mission building was given, most fortunately, into the hands of Rev. J. J. O'Keefe, O.F.M., in 1892, at which time a community of Franciscans was established and they began the restoration. The buildings that had been pillaged for the tiles and rafters, the beautiful arches that had been blown down with powder to get out the brick, the doors and windows that had been ap- propriated by unscrupulous parties that they might build up historic ranch houses, were made to live again and Mission San Luis Rey arose as a phoenix from its own ashes. The restoration has been made by contributions, mostly from the Franciscan Order of Mexico. During the residence of Fr. O'Keefe, who restored the mission, there was expended about MISSION SAN LUIS REY 61 $50,000, not all of which was used on the restoration — but an idea of the expense of restoration may be obtained by the fact that one thousand dollars was spent in rebuilding the mortuary chapel. It is one of the most beautiful parts of San Luis Rey. The general buildings of the mission are again in good condition and are a credit to the Catholic Church and the State of California. The restorations have been made along the original lines and from the material upon the ground. The adobes were moulded by Indians under the direction of the padres and were made from the adobe soil that lay on the ground to the depth of several feet and which had at one time been other buildings of the mission, such as the black- smith shop, the saddlery, the carpentry shop and the hospital, all of which have long since fallen and were left in heaps of ruins. The interior decorations are copies of the originals, remnants of which were readily seen in many places. Upon entering the church one is attracted to two Moorish archways; the one to the left enters the patio, and through the open door there is in view the old fountain and the belfry steps, worn and decayed, that lead to the tower and the outlook — while toward the right is an entrance under a beautiful shell arch to the mortuary chapel, which is by far the most interesting portion of the mission. It is octagonal, with a small circular pillar marking each form of the octagon, and the interesting thing is that each pillar was formed of brick moulded in a round form, the cornice concave, moulded and plastered in its proper form and the cap moulded in one square piece — most particular and unusual workmanship. This chapel 62 MISSION SAN LUIS REY % was originally constructed to provide a place where the Indians might come and remain to weep and to wail aloud for the dead. When the bereaved ones could not be pacified they were conducted to this chapel and allowed to remain until their grief was assuaged. There is a small pulpit and altar, both reached by means of blind passages. The tower has been beautifully restored, as have also the lookouts. From the latter, in mission days, Indian boys were stationed on prominent points near the tower and instructed to watch over the valley. No one could approach the mission without their presence having been known and heralded long be- fore they arrived. From these lookout stations mes- sages were signaled to the herders in the field — by day a flag was used and by night a light. Toward evening a signal flag told the herder the number of sheep and cattle to drive to the corral for use the following day. As there were two thousand persons and more to supply with food, the number of animals slaughtered daily was tallied by the hundred and was always an item of great consideration. In the belfry hang two bells. One is small and cracked, but is said to be an original bell of the olden days ; the other is large and has been recast. The tiles that cover the restored building were brought back by those who had taken them away. In some instances they were taken from the roofs of houses and returned without the padres even asking for them. Cells for the priests, opening on the inner court, have been restored. The restoration is fairly satisfactory to those interested in historical monu- ments. MISSION SAN LUIS REY • 63 Three original paintings have been returned, all of inferior workmanship. In mission days there was a splendid system of irrigation at San Luis Rey. A set of pipe lines that ran from a water supply was carried down to the mission by twelve pipes laid underneath the ground. They were small, but were of burnt brick, and led to a reservoir, and from them the fields were irrigated. Great quantities of that old pipe have been turned up by the recent settlers as they plowed and cultivated the soil back into use. The old road, El Camino Real, which ran in front of the mission, became closed and there was no direct approach to this most interesting of all the missions. Through the influence and activity of A. S. C. Forbes, president of El Camino Real Association; George Butler, county surveyor of San Diego County, and T. J. Fisher, supervisor, it has been opened, and the road, though at the present date still unimproved, now follows the original route past the mission, then turns into Camino Real de Pala, a most scenic and beautiful drive of twenty miles in length. In making the improvements at the mission some of the old tiles and bricks were found to bear the imprint of some foot or hand or other distinguishing mark of a person or age when it was made — all these have been reverently preserved. The baptismal rbnt lias been restored, but the original basin for holy water has been left untouched. From this basin 5,586 baptisms were made during the mission days of Cali- fornia. In the cemetery there is a cross which is said to be the original one that was blessed at the founding of Mission San Luis Rey — of necessity, it has been greatly repaired. 64 MISSION SAN LUIS REY Another cross marks the resting place of Fr, Sal- videa, who served at different missions in California from 1805 to 1846. He was one of the most beloved of the Franciscan missionaries who settled California. Statue San Luis Rey, Pala -Photo, A. S. C. Forbes PALA Pala is located at the foot of the Palomar mountains. Tt is twenty miles inland from Mission San Luis Rev, with which it is connected by Camino Real de Pala, an excellent county road marked every mile by the Mis- sion Bell guide-post. From San Diego it is 64.8 miles. Pala is an Indian reservation and has not hotel ac- commodations. Pala was not a mission, but a branch establishment or asistencia of fission San Luis Rey. It is situated in a picturesque, beautiful valley through which runs the river San Luis Rev. The architecture is plain, the structure having but one distinguish- ing feature, the detached campanile, which is a repro- duction of the campanile at the old church at Juarez. Mexico, that was built in 1549. The base of this tower, which, by the way, is in the cemetery and not a part ot the chapel, is of cobblestones, upon which is 66 PALA reared a superstructure of cement and adobe with arched openings for bells. The top is crowned by a growing cactus as w r ell as by a glistening cross. Pala was founded in 1816 by Fr. Antonio Peyri under the invocation of San Antonio de Padua. The estab- lishment of a chapel at Pala was a necessity in order to meet the needs of the great number of Indians liv- ing in the mountains and who were unable to attend service at Mission San Luis Rev. Within less than two years after the founding of Pala there were over one thousand converts enrolled. The Indians were of a superior type. They were athletic, being graceful dancers, magic runners, and soon become expert horse- men. They welcomed their four-footed friend, the horse, and found great sport in racing. After the secularization of the missions Pala be- came a picturesque ruin. Through the energy and ability of Rev. George D. Doyle, resident priest, the delapidated landmark has become a splendid monu- ment to religious ardor. Father Doyle sent letters to personal friends in which he set forth the needs of his picturesque but needy charge, and their response, amounting to $860, enabled him to perfectly and fit- tingly restore the chapel, the campanile and rooms for his own habitation. Before Father Doyle took charge at Pala the quaint and even beautiful mural decorations that adorned the walls had been whitewashed out of existence, and the attempt to replace them does not give a pleasing effect. The present altar is one that was brought by the Indians from their former home when they were exiled from Warner's ranch. A long- strip of drawn work of very exquisite design, handi- work of the same Indians, hangs from a beam of the ~a 4 ■iiirtfit -Phot^, A. S. C. Forbes Altar, Pala ceiling and marks a division for the chancel. The floor is made from the original tiles which were taken up and reset after the floor had been leveled. To avoid the step at the door Father Doyle ever thought- ful of the old people had the approach made an incline and not a step — not a bad idea for modern churches where it is ever the old and not the young that make an effort to attend church. In the restoration of Pala some wooden beams have been replaced with iron girders and some leather thongs by iron bolts. The repairs have been made along the lines best adapted to safety and endurance. The Indians at Pala seem contented and happy. The old ones long for their old environment but the younger ones have outgrown the great desire to return to Warner's ranch and the Hot Springs, Agua Caliente. The removal of the Indians took place May 12th, 13th and 14th, 1903. The allotment of lands in severalty 68 EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH to the Indians of the Pala reservation was not ratified by the United States government until 1913. All these years the Indians had lived in the disgraceful and ridiculous government shacks, but as soon as they knew the land was to be their own they began at once and w r ith a will to build substantial houses and make per- manent improvements. Trees have been planted and in many instances almost hide the small portable houses of those who have been unable to replace them with better ones, and the valley appears as a garden. The school does not meet the needs or demands of the older children and they are sent to Sherman to finish their education, and there become trained out of their scope of advantages so that when they return to Pala they miss the electric iron and the mandolin and rebel at having to go out and chop wood and carry water. The Eviction of the Warner Ranch Indians. The eviction of the Warner Ranch Indians was the crowning crime of the white men against the Cali- fornia Indians. Had the Sequoia League and the War- ner's Ranch Indian Commission worked one-half as assiduously in defense of the Indians' title to their homes on Warner's ranch as they did to evict them, they would have been sustained, for the sympathy of the public for the Indians was so intense that it required only a strong leader to turn the tide against this cruel injustice. But these very organizations that were expected to lead an agitation in favor of the Indians were the ones that turned against them and aided in their eviction. J. J. W r arner came to California in November, 1831. He married Anita Gale at the Mission San Luis Rev EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH 69 in 1837. She was the daughter of Captain Gale of Boston, who brought her to California when five years old and placed her in the family of Dona Eusaquia Pico, widowed mother of Pio Pico, where she remained until her marriage with Warner. Air. Warner became a naturalized Mexican citizen and was grantee in 1844 of Agua Caliente, afterwards known as Warner's ranch. (The foregoing is an ex- tract from the annals of the Historical Society of Southern California, 1895.) In 1848 the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. Quoting from the re- port of the special agent for California Indians, Air. C. E. Kelsey (the report printed Alarch 21, 1906, by the Carlisle Indian School), on page 4 we find the following : "The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ceded California to the United States, guaranteed Mexican land titles in the ceded territory as they stood at the time of the transfer. Un- der Spanish and Mexican law Indians had certain rights to the lands they occupied and could not legally be evicted from them. It would seem that this right was an interest in the land and one entitled to protection under the provisions of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The act of Congress which provided for the settlement of the titles to Spanish and Mexican grants imposed upon the commission appointed to make the settlement the dutv of first setting apart for Indian use all lands occupied by them. Tt may therefore be assumed that Congress considered that the Indians had substantial rights. It was the duty of the commission to investigate and contirm the Indian title wher- ever Indians occupied lands included within the limits of a Spanish or Mexican grant." Page 5: "The United States has always recognised, and the Supreme Court lias held that the Indians have a right to occupy the land, which right is termed the Indian right of occupancy, a right which can he cancelled only by mutual agreement." Notwithstanding the above acknowledged conditions of law, the Warner ranch Indians were evicted from a 70 EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH home that they and their ancestors had occupied from the time that the Spanish took possession of California, in 1542. Indians do not voluntarily remove from com- fortable locations, especially when their dead have found sepulcher near the place. The removal of the Indians to Pala was arranged through a commission, the chairman of which was C. F. Lummis, at the time editor of Out West, a maga- zine in which he published the fact that the United States government had paid $46,230 for 3,438 acres of land, of which 2,000 acres were arable and 316 of it now cultivated by irrigation. This was the Pala reser- vation. By this purchase the United States govern- ment paid $13.44 an acre for the entire land, or $23.16 an acre for the arable land, or $114.65 an acre for the cultivated land. The Indians at their old home on the Warner ranch had about 900 acres, of which 200 acres were arable and 150 irrigable, with a sufficient amount of water and the kind they wanted, the hot springs. Mr. J. J. Warner did not receive a patent to the land in question until 1880, while the Indians had been in possession of the land all the time. He did not live at peace with the Indians, although he kept a mercantile store on the ranch at the hot springs. At the time of the eviction of the Indians the Agua Caliente or War- ner ranch had become the property of ex-Governor John G. Downey. Mr. Warner died April 11th, 1895. The Indians were evicted by ex-Governor Downey in 1903. Of the eviction Grant Wallace of the San Fran- cisco Bulletin said in a letter published in the Out West, "It would be too much to expect any one at all familiar with the Spanish or Mexican land law to EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH 71 believe that the decision of the United States Supreme Court was based on full familiarity with those laws." He further said there were but ninety-eight Indians re- moved, but there were forty-four teamsters employed by Inspector J. E. Jenkins to remove them. These teamsters were armed, according to Mr. Wallace, who also says that night after night sounds of wailing came from the adobe homes of the Indians. When Tuesday, May 12th, came, the day appointed for the removal, many of them went to the little adobe chapel to pray, and then gathered for the last time among the unpainted wooden crosses within the rude stock- ade of their ancient burying ground, a pathetic and forlorn group, to wail out their grief over the graves of their fathers. While Mr. Wallace assisted the lay- reader Ambrosio's mother to encoop a brood of chick- ens, one of her sons, Jesus, brought out an armful of books and threw them into a bonfire. Amid the shout- ing of teamsters, the howling of dogs, the lowing of cattle and the wailing of some of the women who rode on the great wagons, the caravan started. For three long days the long wagon train wound its way over dusty roads that led across the mesa and around the mountain, arriving at Pala where no preparation for their coming had been made. There were no houses ready and not event tents pitched. Think of the dis- appointment of these Indians ! They were temporarily housed in tents. Regarding this part of the disgrace- ful job Mr. C. E. Kelsey says on page 28 of his report : "The matter of houses for the Indians who removed from Warner's Ranch to Pala was a vexed question of the times immediately after the removal. The sugges- tion was made that the Indians be at once set to work 72 EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH building adobe houses. This particular band had been making adobe, building adobe houses, and living in adobe houses for more than 100 years, and the adobe house was the one kind of house they knew all about. Adobe as a building material has some defects, but it also has some excellent qualities. It is suited to the climate, being warm in winter and cool in summer. It is wind proof, dust proof, and even when the roof was of thatch, the Indian houses were usually water proof. But for some reason the adobe idea did not meet with favor. It was said to take too much time. This objec- tion was also made against the project of buying rough lumber for the Indians to build into houses, and things were rather at a standstill until the brilliant idea was evolved of getting temporary houses for the Indians to live in permanently. The Indians were inclined to be mutinous and openly threatened to return to Warner's Ranch. There was evident need for haste, so fifty por- table houses were ordered by telegraph, — from New York. The order seems to have been filled in due course of business, and the delay in coming by freight, more than 4,000 miles, was not greater than usual with transcontinental freight, but as a time-saving device it was hardly a success. It was nearly six months before the Indians got into the houses. The expense was double what wooden cabins built on the spot would have been, and about four times the cost of adobes. There would be less room to cavil at this purchase if the houses were fairly adapted to the purpose for which they were bought. The houses are well enough constructed for the purpose for which they are adver- tised and sold, that is for a temporary house, or wooden tent. As a permanent dwelling place for human beings EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH 7i they are far from satisfactory. Being composed of but a single thickness of board three-quarters of an inch thick, they are hot in summer and cold in winter. The California sun has sprung the narrow strips compos- ing the panels and made cracks in about every panel. The sun has also warped the roof panels and injured the tarred paper which constitutes the rain-shedding part. The houses are neither dust-proof, wind-proof, nor water-proof, and are far inferior to the despised adobes. California has no winds comparable to the eastern cyclones, and yet not long ago a stiff breeze unroofed fourteen houses and made kindling wood of another. Nearly every house in the settlement is more or less wracked and twisted. In moving the Indians to Pala, one mistake was made which, though of small dimensions, is illustrative of a class. The Indians of Agua Calientc village speak a dialect of the Shoshonian stock. The little village at San Felipe, also evicted at the same time and moved to Pala, are of Yuman stock. Not a single word is alike in the two languages. Between these two diverse races of Indians there are generations of warfare and hatred, and though there has been no open war between them for a long time, a great deal of the old animosity still survives. The San Felipe removed to Pala number but thirty-four, a mere handful, surrounded by an over- whelming number of their hereditary enemies, and among whom they are unwelcome. The San Felipe are outraged in their feelings, or possibly in their prejudices, and will never be satisfied at Pala. They have said little on the subject, for they have all of a child's helplessness of making anyone understand. 74 EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH The government seems to learn very slowly that In- dians are not all alike, and that different stock or races of Indians ordinarily cannot be put together. We may consider their ideas or antipathies to be childish, yet, if we wish to be successful in dealing with them we must necessarily take some account of the human char- acteristics of the Indian. I would therefore recom- mend that the San Felipe Indians be allowed to remove to Santa Ysabel where most of their friends and rela- tives are. More than half have left Pala already. Your special agent has no desire to criticise severely those government officials at Pala who did the best they could in a time of great stress, yet, there are cer- tain things in connection with the making of the Pala reservation that are valuable in showing what to avoid in trying to improve the situation at Campo and other places. There seems to have been a considerable waste of government funds, and, as usual, no one is willing to shoulder the responsibility. The new irrigation ditch has cost nearly $18,000, or about $45 per acre of land irrigated. It can not be used to irrigate any other land anywmere. The ditch is well built, with a proper grade and fine curves. About three-quarters of a mile of it is cemented. There are some criticisms that might be made as to money spent in a diverting dam of which very little is to be seen now and to other expenses necessitated by locating the upper end of the ditch parallel to the torrent. The capacity of the ditch is given as 1,700 inches of water, and the land to be irrigated about 400 acres. The duty of water under the San Diego Ditch and Flume Com- pany, the largest irrigation enterprise in that part of San Diego county, is 1 to 6 ; that is, 67 inches of water EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH 75 would irrigate 400 acres of land. If we take the lower duty of 1 to 4, 100 inches af water would be sufficient. Or to put it another way, the ditch of 1,700 inches capacity would irrigate from 6,800 to 10,200 acres of land. These are minimum figures, however. It would be perfectly proper to make the ditch larger than neces- sary for the minimum amount of water. Four times the minimum or from 300 to 400 inches would have been ample as the capacity of the ditch. Your special agent has in former years visited Pala in the summer time, and he has seen the amount of water in the San Luis Rey river at that point. He doubts very much if the said river ever carries one- fourth of the capacity of the ditch in question during the irrigation season. The commission which exam- ined the various sites prior to the purchase of Pala state in their official report to the Secretary of the Interior that they measured the San Luis Rey river at the point of diversion, and found a flow of 142 inches. Just why it should have been necessary to build a ditch a dozen times larger than there is land to irrigate, or water to irrigate with, is a query which an inspection of the premises does not enable one to answer. This big ditch contrasts strongly with the ditch recently completed on the Rincon reservation under the direc- tion of the agent, planned to irrigate 200 acres of land, and which cost a little less than Santa Isabel SANTA ISABEL Santa Isabel, a mission chapel, is located 71.4 miles from San Diego and 16 miles from Warner's Ranch. The route is via La Mesa, El Cajon, Lakeside, Alpine, Descanso, Lake Cuyamaca and Julian. Santa Isabel, like Pala, was an asistencia and not a mission. The rancho of Santa Isabel upon which this chapel is situated is connected with the history of both the Mission of San Diego and that of San Luis Rey. This branch establishment was founded in 1822 with 450 baptised Indians enrolled and immediate ar- rangements were made to construct a chapel, several houses, a granary and, as Bancroft says, a graveyard. The brave march of civilization among aboriginals has always made a graveyard an essential. All that is left of Santa Isabel is a heap of ruins and an annual, brush ramada with floral altar. Long ago the little adobe chapel fell under the insistent patter of rain, and the quiet neglect of religion when there is no silver to cross the palm. Santa Isabel may well be termed the Church of the Desert, for it is near the line of the Colorado desert and for the greater part of the year is but a heap of ruins, but as fiesta time approaches this pathetic mound springs as by magic into beauty ; walls are made of verdant boughs, inter- woven by tules and branches of green ; wild flowers garnish and decorate the altar, and remnants of the mission converts and their few offspring gather to 78 SANTA ISABEL chant the time remembered chants and mourn the advent of the whites. The bells of Santa Isabel swing from a cross beam erected on the outside of the ruins, and among these Indians the bells are as sacred as would be the wings of angels — and any vandalism would be worth the vandal's life. When the bells begin to ring every Indian, Mexican and white person for miles around come to join in the service today just the same as they did in the yesterday of old. Capistrano by Moonlight MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO Mission San Juan Capistrano is in the extreme southern part of Orange county, about 16.5 miles south of Santa Ana, the county seat. It is about 63.5 miles from Los Angeles and 70.6 miles from San Diego via El Camino Real, the State Highway, which is marked by Mission Bell guide-posts that give distances and directions. The picturesque and very beautiful ruins of Mission San Juan Capistrano has made this mission better known to travelers than perhaps any other of the old missions. It is situated just half way between Los Angeles and San Diego on rolling land that rises be- tween two valleys. Through the valleys run the streams Trabuco and San Juan furnishing plenty of fresh water. for the mission and its gardens. The water was brought to the mission by means of underground waterways or open ditches known as zanjas. Toward the west is the Pacific ocean about two and a half miles distant. The place was known by the Indians as Sajirit. Father Serra speaks of it as Ouanis-savit and Father Boscana calls it Acagcheme. Two attempts were made to found a mission at this site before the padres were successful. The first was made by Fathers Lasuen and Amurrio in the latter part of October, 1775, at which time they erected a large cross and blessed it, swung bells in a tree and Mission San Juan Capistrano MISSION SAX JUAN CAPISTRANO 81 said mass beneath the protecting shelter of a ramada— a hut constructed of branches.- Father Palou gives the date as October 30th, but Sergeant Ortega, also a mem- ber of the party, records it as the 19th — a matter of but little import, for within a few days the project was abandoned, the bells taken down and buried, and the missionaries and few soldiers recalled to San Diego, on account of the massacre that had occurred at that mission. The second attempt was successful and the mission was formally dedicated to the memory and patronage of Saint John of Capistran by Fr. Serra on Nov. 1st, 1776. The first baptism took place on De- cember 15th, and within the following year forty ad- ditional names were added to the register. Capistrano became a flourishing mission but it did not excel either in number of converts or in wealth, and yet it was the first one to pass under the ban of secularization. In one of the record books of the mission it is stated that the church was begun February 2nd, 1797, the day dedicated to the solemnity of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, and finished in 1806. It was bh on the evening of the 7th of September of the same year by the Rev. Fray Estevan Tapis, president of the missions of Aha California, after which follow a list of names of those who assisted at the ceremony. By this record we learn that the construction of this great stone church took the Indians nine years, for the work was done by the Indians. They carried the stones from the canyon of Mission Vieja, about six miles distant. The boulders were brought down on the carretas — ox carts — but the smaller stones were carried by the Indian neophytes, men, women and even the children helping to build San Juan Capistrano. It 82 MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO is said that they formed two lines, those passing to the cast were empty-handed and those coming west car- ried stones. The stones were not hewn and fitted together, but were used more as a foundation for walls of mortar or even adobe. The round stones can be seen in the thick walls, some parts of which are seven feet in thickness. The dimensions of the church were 159x30 feet, singularly long and narrow. It was built in the form of a cross, with nave and transepts. The roof was arched and crowned with seven domes as well as a heavy, high bell tower. Sycamore logs for the beams and rafters were brought from the Trabuco canyon and the limestone for mortar from the quarry near El Toro. The tiles for the roof Avere made in the kilns that may yet be seen in the canyon of the oven, La Canada del Orno. The great magnificent building was doomed to short service. It was destroyed by an earthquake December 12th, 1812. It was a Sunday morning when a special mass was being celebrated, as the day was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, when there came a rumbling noise, a rolling of the land and swaying of the building, the domes on the roof parted wide open, then a crash, and mortar and stone fell upon the kneeling congregation, crushing the lives out of thirty-nine men and women, for there were no children present. At the first rumble a few rushed toward the chancel and were saved ; others tried to escape through the doors and were caught on the wrecked threshold. Only ten were saved. An effort was made in the early sixties to restore San Juan with adobe walls and shingle roof. The domes that still remained over the transepts were MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 83 blown down with gun powder. The walls were rebuilt with abobe, but before the wooden roof could be put on a severe rainstorm swept the country and the walls of mud crumbled to the ground. No further effort has been made to reconstruct beautiful San Juan Capis- trano. Before the great church was built services were held in the building known as Father Serra's church, a long low building, 115 feet in length, on the east side of the patio. But later a chapel has been con- structed out of two of the living rooms of the padres. The partitions were removed, a choir loft built in the west end, a modern stained glass window placed in one of the window frames — in fact, a new church was built within old walls. The church decorations such as statues, pictures and candlesticks, were used in the great stone church, as only the nave was destroyed, thus leaving the transepts and sanctuary intact. The statues are of wood and some of them are very beau- tiful. Through the zeal and care of Rev. St. John O'Sullivan, resident priest at Capistrano, the objects of historic interest and value have been restored and repaired and are now a credit to both him and the church. Father O'Sullivan has prepared an interesting and attractive pamphlet entitled, "Little Chapters about San Juan Capistrano," that may be procured at the mission or by addressing Rev. St. John O'Sullivan. San Juan Capistrano, California. The old mission is a perpetual delight to artists and to travelers. It has broken arches and ivy-grown walls ; it has quaint recesses and a charming little chimney. There are chests of vestments, that few may see ; there is an old unused confessional box and an equally old 84 MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO bier for the dead; there is the kitchen and adjoining store room or pantry with a queer gallery still in place whereon were piled the extra sacks and casks of pro- visions. The only thing that you may not see are the Indians who built this wonderful establishment and for whom it was built— they all are gone. The work of the Franciscan friars for the California Indians was and ever will be the greatest missionary work of the world. Had they been allowed to continue their method of civilization for these untutored splendid creatures, the Indians, a superior race of moral human- ity would have been preserved. As it is, both the tutor and the student are wiped away through greed and inhumanity toward man. Capistrano was secularized in 1833, and even after the loss of the great church, the inventory placed the valuation of the mission at $55,003, with debts of only $1,410. In December, 1845, the mission buildings were sold to McKinley and Forster for $710. Forster was in possession for twenty years, but after extended litigation the Catholic church regained possession of the property, but only after its great wealth and ad- vantages had been dissipated and its grandeur mel- lowed in decay. Mission San Gabriel Arcangel MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, located nine miles from Los Angeles, was founded September 8th, 1771, by Father Angel Somera and Father Pedro Cambon. The two padres, with a guard of ten soldiers, four muleteers and four soldiers who were to return, left Mission San Diego August 6th and arrived at San Gabriel river on September 8th. The party selected a fertile, well wooded spot on the banks of Mission creek, a tributary to the river. This location was about five miles from the present site of the mission. A great cross was constructed, bells hung in the tree, an altar raised and decorated, all of which was watched with much concern by the natn^es. Finally the Indians attempted by a demonstration of hostility to prevent the Spaniards from continuing their work, but accord- ing to Father Palou, one of the padres unfurled a ban- ner, an oil painting of the Virgin, when the two chiefs threw down their arms and approached the picture, laying their necklaces and bows and arrows at the feet of the beautiful Queen. Whereupon all their fol- lowers came and did likewise. The natives seemed to lose all fear of the strangers and even helped to erect the temporary structures for the missionaries. Friendly relations were soon established and would probably have remained had it not been for the rashness of one of the soldiers who grossly insulted and outraged the wife of one of the Indian chiefs. The Indians waylaid the guard, one of whom was the culprit, and in the MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 87 melee the Indian chief was slain and his head brought back and set up on a pole in front of the barracks. The good-for-nothing soldier was transferred to Monterey, the mission guard increased to sixteen and the In- dians frightened away. In a few days they came and begged the head of their chief. We venture to say that bad the soldier been led out in front of the Indians and shot for having committed a grievous sin, both in the eyes of the church and according to the moral laws of the Indian, it would not have taken two years to regis- ter seventy-three Christian baptisms, as was the case. Progress at San Gabriel was slow, both temporal and spiritual. The first chapel, long known as "Mision Vieja," was but a simple wooden building enclosed, together with the dwellings of the priests and attend- ants, within a stockade. The stockade was early re- placed by an adobe wall. Not a vestige of the old chapel remains, nor is the site marked in any manner. The Indians in this locality were numerous and be- longed to the rancheria of Sibagna. They had a form of government that allowed each eaptain absolute com- mand of his own lodge and the command was heredi- tary. Murder and adultery were punishable by death and robbery was unknown. Marriages were conducted with greatest ceremony and w r ere forbidden between relatives. Quarrels were settled through arbitration. The people were well built, strong, healthy and happy. They had quite as much superstition and religious cer- emony as we have and objected to proselyting much as we do when it is done by the Mormons and Hin- doos. Their food consisted of deer-meat, rabbits, coyote, wild cat, squirrels, gophers, held rats, skunks, raccoon, birds, snakes (excepting the rattlesnake) and 88 MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL once in a while a bear. Fish, whale and sea otter were relished when procurable, but the most favorite morsel was roasted grasshopper. A nice large fat locust im- paled on a sharp stick and toasted in front of a camp fire was particularly relished. Acorn bread with the bitterness extracted through a series of soakings in fresh water made a substantial food. Chia and moun- tain cherry provided seeds and nut pulp that were delicious to the native Californian, and were a nutri- tious aliment, according to Hugo Reid. The Indians are a Stirling race of men who have superstitions of a flood and a spiritual land ; of an evil and a good spirit ; of an unknown country where horse flesh and acorns abound in plenty ; of a land from whence the dead return — they also have actualities of a return of good for evil ; a division of the last blanket when the snow is deep and cold ; a cinch of the belt when a friend is starving that he may have succor, and a few other vital humanitarian principles that would make the civilized world gasp, if it were drawn into comparison. Little wonder that men who lived so perfect a Nature Life as to go unclothed and un- abashed and subsisted on wild game and uncooked grain should resist the instructions into a faith and religion of men of austere rules and peculiar customs no matter how good the men or easy the customs. There probably never was a better set of missionaries sent out to civilize and convert aborigines than were the Franciscan friars, but we shall never cease to grieve that the Indians of California were bent beneath the rod of Progress and that later the same relentless Progress rifted out the Franciscan missionaries. MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 89 Mision Vieja — Old Mission — which according to a document signed by Father Palou in Mission San Ga- briel Arcangel, October 9th, 1773, three years before its removal, was quite a pretentious affair for three years' work. The records say that this primitive church was 54 feet long and 18 feet wide, built of logs and covered with tule. There was a sacristy behind the altar. A second house, 45 feet long and 17 feet wide, made also of logs and covered with the tule was divided into two rooms. A storehouse 36 feet long and 15 feet wide was made of logs and tule. A fourth building, 36 feet long and 18 feet wide, was made of logs but roofed with mud or adobe. A kitchen 15 feet square was built of lumber and covered with clay or mud. All these buildings were enclosed within a palisade 60 yards square, with two exits. There were nine small houses made of lumber, with mud roofs, for the neo- phytes. There was also a small frame house used as a granary and two frame houses for the soldiers. There was an enclosure or corral for stock. The same records say that in the year 1776 (year of our Independence) the mission was removed from the old place to the present location, because the new place was better fitted for a mission. The buildings could not of course be moved, so new ones were erected. They first built a house 150 feet long, 18 feet wide and 10^2 feet high, made of adobe and divided into three rooms, one for seeds, another for tools and the third for the padres. They constructed a chapel 30 feet long by 18 feet wide and roofed with tule. There was also a corral. In 1796 the small chapel was re- placed with a larger church with walls of adobe and 90 MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL roof of tile. It was 108 feet long and 21 feet wide. This again gave way in 1800 to the present building of stone and mortar and brick. The foundation and the wall as high as the windows are of stone ; above that the building material is brick. Originally, the church had an arched roof and a tower, but the earthquake of 1804 damaged the building to such an extent that the arches of the roof had to be torn down and a new roof which was made of timbers and tiles was substituted. The tower fell and later the tiles on the roof were re- placed with shingles. The interior has always been kept in fairly good repair. The ceiling has in recent years been panelled in oak, the walls plastered, and adorned with crude paintings of the apostles, framed. The altar is plain, but the figures back of it are some of the most interesting art objects in California, as many of them are the original church decorations that were brought from Mexico. The central figure above is Saint Gabriel ; to the left is Saint Francis ; to the right Saint Anthony. The central figure below is the Virgin Mary (a new figure) ; to the left Saint Joachin ; and to the right Saint Dominic. The earthquake of 1812 overthrew the main altar, breaking the statue of Our Lord, St. Joseph, St. Dominic and St. Francis. It also damaged the sacristy, the convent of the mission- aries, and many other buildings. Other objects of in- terest to the visitor are the old brass font, the brass candlesticks, the silver naveta and aspergill (bowl and sprinkler) for holy water, and the odd silver baptismal shell, all pieces of the original set of church decora- tions. Under the entire floor, five deep, are buried many of the most distinguished Spaniards of early California. At the foot of the altar is buried the Rev. MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 91 Father San Jose Sanchez, once the President of the missions. It is said that he died of grief at the ruin of San Gabriel by secularization. Fathers Boscana, An- tonio Crusado and Miguel Sanchez, to whom the suc- cess of the mission was greatly due, all rest within its walls. To the rear of the church is a small cemetery, but in that small space it is said that 7,000 Indians have been buried. In some instances skeletons have been removed, but in many cases the bodies are believed to have been buried very deep, and one upon another. Besides the Indians, many Mexican and Spanish fam- ilies bury their dead in the church yard of San Gabriel Arcangel. In the year 1800 there were 1,078 neophytes attached to the mission, 1,953 persons had been baptized, 869 had died, and 396 couples had been married. About this time a Spanish woman, noted for her religious zeal and financial ability, came to San Gabriel mission to assist in Christianizing the Indians. This was Eulalia Perez de Guillen, wife of a Spanish soldier. She was given charge of the Indian girls, and soon became mistress of the entire place. She was appointed bookkeeper and treasurer, and was entrusted with the storehouse keys. It was Eulalia who paid all bills, whether for one hide or for a cargo of supplies brought by the ships. San Gabriel was prosperous and became rich. Industries, such as carpentering, saddlery, leather carving, soap- making, weaving, wood and horn carving, and paint- ing were taught. There was a grist mill and a saw mill, the former inside the present orange orchard fence across the Santa Fe railroad track from the church. The Indians were industrious and happy. The work shops formed a part of the mission buildings, and 92 MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL were within the enclosure. Remains of them can be seen today. In 1809 Father Jose Maria Zalvidea planted the famous cactus fences, thus fencing in hun- dreds of acres of land that was cultivated and required protection from the great bands of wild horses that overran the country. Some of the cactus grew to the height of ten and twelve feet and the fruit was highly prized as an article of diet. It was one of the varieties of Opuntia, or broad-leafed prickley-pear, known also as Tunas. In 1832 Governor Eachandia sent an envoy to the mission, demanding a loan of $20,00. Eulalia stoutly refused to pay out the coin or to give up possession of the treasury keys. The storehouse was broken open and $20,000 in gold taken forcibly — as a loan ; but it was never returned. This act of violence was followed by secularization ; and prosperous San Gabriel, with its record of over 42,000 head of live stock, 7,709 bap- tisms, and gold by the sack, passed into government control and suffered like fate with the rest of the mis- sions — temporal and spiritual destruction. In June, 1846, the mission estate was sold to Reid and Work- man in payment of past services to the government. The title was invalid and the property returned to the church. In 1847, Father Bias Ordaz took charge of the mission, and ministered to the few remaining Indians until his death in 1850. Father Joaquin Bot suc- ceeded him. On the death of Father Bot, July 14th, 1903, Rev Henry O'Reilly succeeded to the pastorate which he held until 1906. He was followed by Rev. P. M. Ban- non and an assistant, Rev. William Powers. Rev. Bannon died January, 1908, and in February MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 93 the mission was turned over to the "Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary," a congregation that was founded in Spain, 1849, by the Venerable Anthony M. Claret, Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba. In the United States they have houses in San Antonio and San Marcos, Texas, and in this diocese they have charge of San Gabriel and San Fernando. A most complete and interesting history of "The Old San Gabriel Mission" has been published by Rev. Eugene Sugranes, C. M. F., and may be secured from him (address, Los Angeles Plaza Church) or through the Mission Curio and Art Shop, San Gabriel. This shop is at present in charge of Mr. P. J. McGough, who carries a choice selection of souvenirs, among them a replica of the Mission Bell guidepost that marks El Camino Real, the Royal Road, one of which stands in front of San Gabriel, which was the fifth station on the old historic road. In 1903 there were four of the old San Gabriel In- dians yet living. One, Mrs. Rosemire, who lives at Bakersfield, kindly furnished several of the old In- dian songs sung by the San Gabriel tribes in her youth, for use at the Women's Convention of Federated Clubs, held in February, 1903, at Fresno, Cal. She sang into a phonograph, and the music and words were copied by Professor Taylor and E. L. McLeod of Bakersfield. Many beautiful stories and legends are told of the San r iabriel Indians. THE GRAPE VINE AT SAN GABRIEL The immense grape vine at San Gabriel is worthy a visit — not because of its age, but because of its size. The overzealous sometimes claim that the vine was planted by the padres, but the following copy of an affidavit, the original of which is owned by Mrs. Susan Thompson Parrish, who lives near El Monte, Los An- geles county, and who was one of the three persons present at the planting, will set the matter at rest and prove that truth is stranger than fiction. The vine was planted in 1861 and the gigantic proportions which it has attained makes the enthusiast believe and rehearse that it is over a century old, and the largest grape vine in the world ; while in reality it is only one of the largest vines in the world and it is only a half century old: State of California, County of Los Angeles, ss. Personally appeared before me, one DAVID FRANKLIN HALL, who deposes and says as follows: In 1854 Dr. George I. Rice and I bought of Hipolito Cer- vantes the house and lot now known as the Grape Vine property. The house was a small affair, of three rooms, and a bat roof, and there was no grape vine on the lot. L. J. Rose's purchase of land, which he improved and called SUNNY SLOPE, included the house of Courtney, (a son-in-law of Michael White, one of the oldest pioneers), on which he (Courtney) had transplanted a wild grape vine he procured from a canyon near the home of B. D. Wilson (Lake Vineyard). Its location obstructed the plans of Mr. Rose, and he gladly gave it to me, and assisted me in digging it up. It had been pruned to a height of two and a half (2 l / 2 ) or three (3) feet, and the trunk had thickened to a diameter of three or four inches. We left one short branch on it. I took it in my buggy to my own house, and placed it where is now flourishes, in the spring of 1861. 96 EL MOLINO VIEJO It grew luxuriantly from the start, and we used its shelter as a summer kitchen until I sold the premises to Mr. Bailey in 1881 or 1882, of which date I am not positive, but I had been there continuously for twenty-seven years. DAVID FRANKLIN HALL. Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 10th day of January, 1908. D. R. WELLER, Notary Public in and for Los Angeles County, California. The vine was planted in 1861, the year that the San Gabriel river divided its course/and therefore one to be well remembered. The growth of the vine attests to the wonderful fertility of the soil, for it should be remem- bered that it was only a wild grape vine dug up out of a canon. EL MOLINO VIEJO (The Old Mill) El Molino Viejo, The Old Mill, is located about one and a half miles from Mission San Gabriel. It was built for Fr. Jose Maria de Zalvidea by Joseph Chap- man, the first American to settle in California. Chap- man was a native of Massachusetts, but landed on the shores of California with the buccaneer Hipolyte Bouchard who visited California in 1818. Chapman was sent ashore by Bouchard to satisfy and explain to the authorities the presence of the pirate ships that Bouchard had brought into the waters of the Pacific. The explanation was not satisfactory and Chapman was taken prisoner while the pirate ships sailed away. Notwithstanding this unpleasant introduction to Cali- fornia, Chapman became a valued citizen and later married a daughter of one of the foremost citizens of Santa Barbara, Sefiorita Guadalupe Ortega. He came to reside in Los Angeles and later at the Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. EL MOLINO VIEJO 9/ Fr: Zalvidea, the thrift}-, industrious, popular padre of San Gabriel had turned the wastes of sage brush and cactus patches into fields of waving grain and in order to harvest the crop he had Chapman build a grist mill. It was located on the sloping side of a hill not far from Lake Vineyard, now called Wilson's Lake. A two hundred foot dam was built across the end of the lake in order to increase the area as part of the land was but a swamp. It was constructed of great cobble stones that were hauled from the Arroyo Seco on ox- carts or carretas. The water to run the mill was brought from Los Robles Canon or Mill's Spring creek in a flume fol- lowing the bluff on the Richardson and Stoneman ranch. The mill was built fifty-five feet long by twenty-four feet wide with walls of solid masonry three to four and a half feet thick. It has a roof of red tile. The water wheel was placed on the east side where there are two great arched openings. The upper story was the grinding room with two very small windows protected with bars and heavy shut- ters. To the west were two funnel-shaped cisterns, about twelve feet deep, which furnished the water- shed. After the water was used for mill power it was run through a cement gutter or flume down to the lake, which increased the water supply and raised the depth of the lake. Below the dam there was a saw- mill, a tannery and a place for washing wool, for thousands of sheep grazed the hills. But alas, the mill was not a success. The wheel chamber was too low, therefore the water striking the horizontal wheel splashed over the wall and seeped through the shaft hole to the mill stones on the upper floor where the 98 EL MOLINO VIE TO meal was stored. This made it necessary to remove the meal at once to the mission, as it would become damp if left at the mill. It was a sad defect and caused the mill to be abandoned except by those who carried the meal away immediately after it was ground. The old grinding stones, each two and a half feet in diameter and between seven and eight inches thick, of volcanic tufa brought from San Gabriel Canon, later became a horse block at the San Marino Rancho. In 1859 the mill passed into the possession of Col. E. J. Kewen, a veteran of the Mexican war and ex- attorney general of California. After his death in 1879 the old mill became a part of the Mayberry ranch and about 1903 became the property of H. E. Hunt- ington, who restored it to its former proportions and picturesqueness and uses it as as his private golf club house. SAN BERNARDINO CHAPEL A first crude chapel was erected and dedicated May 20th, 1810, to San Bernardino, the Saint of Sienna, whose family name was Abbizeschi. It was located at the Indian rancheria of La Politana, a place now known as Bunker Hill, between Colton and Urbita Springs. The chapel of San Bernardino was an asis- tencia of Mission San Gabriel. For many years the padres at the mission realized the advantage of estab- lishing a station and chapel near San Gorgonio Pass, where the relentless east wind blew the traders from Sonora into the Valley of Plenty, Guachama, leaving them harassed and storm beaten with the trials of the trip. As early as 1774 Juan Bautista de Anza, Captain of the presidio at Tubac, had opened the road from Sonora to Mission San Gabriel and had brought tales of the numerous rancherias of Indians at the mouth of the Pass far beyond, but until 1810 the .padres had been too much occupied with other fields to be able to establish this much needed post. Fr. Francisco Du- metz was placed in charge and apparently some prog- 100 SAN BERNARDINO CHAPEL ress in missionary work was being made, when the earthquake of 1812, which was wide reaching in its devastations, visited this district and filled the Indians with frantic fear. They fled to their shrines to Isel in the mountains and besought their medicine men to pro- tect them, but as the disturbance continued and hot mud and boiling water spurted up in the streets of La Politana, as the village was called, the priest tried to calm the populace by covering the hot mud and fill- ing up the boiling springs, but to no avail. At each rumble of the earth the frightened creatures became more frantic and finally rose in revolt and fear and destroyed not only the first chapel of San Bernardino, but leveled the entire rancheria of La Politana. The Guachamas rebuilt the rancheria and occupied it long after the secularization of the missions, which occurred in 1832-34. In 1819 they invited the padres to come again to the valley and re-establish a chapel. The padres gladly accepted the assurance of co- operation and went with workers and guards and built a far more substantial mission establishment, which was again dedicated to San Bernardino. This chapel was completed in 1820, and was located near the present city of Redlands, on the Barton ranch. For eleven years the Indians, under the guidance of the padres, cultivated the fields, planted orchards, built zanjas, herded sheep, prayed prayers to the Saint of Sienna, and all lived in comfort and contentment until 1831 when a band of marauding Indians from the desert made a raid on the mission establishment, destroyed the buildings, captured the Indian women and drove off the stock. Never wholly discouraged, but with the peace of angels, these holy men of God SAN BERNARDINO CHAPEL 101 began again to repair the ruin. The new buildings were constructed of cobblestone foundation and adobe walls three feet thick. This building is a heap of ruins, a landmark of today. In dimensions it was originally 250 feet in length, 125 feet in width and 20 feet in height. An extensive corral and adobe wall enclosure seemed to make the settlement secure. But in October, 1834, a band of renegade desert Indians under the famous outlaw Chief Cuaka attacked San Bernardino, and although every Indian in the settle- ment rallied to the defense under the neophyte Indian Chief Perfecto, the station was lost and the Indians with the padres made a retreat in the night toward San Gabriel. They were followed as far as Cuca- monga, when the chase was abandoned. The padres with indomitable courage returned to San Bernardino and reestablished their home. Only for a short time, however, for the desert renegades came again and this time destroyed the buildings with fire, sacked the church of its sacred treasures, and took Padre Estenaga prisoner to be held for ransom. The neophyte Indians paid his ransom, but the station was forever abandoned by the missionaries. The buildings were later occupied by incoming set- tlers such as Jose Bermudas and family who came to the valley in 1836, and constructed a new adobe house. June 21, 1842, a grant of land was given by the Mexi- can government to the Lugo family. It was called the Rancho de San Bernardino and comprised 37,000 acres. Jose del Carmen Lugo took possession of the Ber- mudas house, while a brother, Vincente Lugo, took up residence at La Politana, the first site of the chapel. Colonists were invited into the country. A company 102 CAHUENGA CHAPEL came from New Mexico under the command of Lorenzo Trujillo and Jose Tomas Salazar. Among them were Benito Wilson, who married the daughter of Bernardo Yorba, and M. Luis Rubidoux with his Mexican wife. These two men became later the owner of a tract of land on which the present city of River- side is located. Lugo held the San Bernardino Rancho until 1850, when it was sold to a colony of 500 Utah Mormons for the sum of $7,500, and the old Franciscan chapel was used as a tithing house for the proselytes of Brigham Young. CAHUENGA CHAPEL An interesting and historic site is that of the Cahuenga Chapel, three miles northeast of Holly- wood. It was a very small adobe building about twenty by thirty feet in size, with tile roof and porch or veranda on the side facing the road. It was the chapel for the Cahuenga Rancho and was the meeting place for the padres who were in charge at the two missions of San Fernando and San Gabriel, and the pueblo church of Los Angeles. When the Americans under Commodore Stockton, General Kearney and Colonel Fremont took possession of California, it was at this chapel that the final negotiations between Col- onel Fremont and General Andres Pico, brother of Gov- ernor Pio Pico, took place and the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed. The site, is now marked by a Camino Real bell, which was erected by the Hollywood Woman's Club, March 12th, 1910. The bell guide- post bears the following inscription : "Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana, 13 miles. CAHUENGA CHAPEL 103 Site of the asistencia where the treaty of Cahuenga was signed January 13th, 1847, by Col. John C. Fre- mont and General Andres Pico, whereby California became an United States possession." The bell was unveiled by Miss Fremont, daughter of Colonel Fremont. Addresses were made by Miss Fremont, General Beveridge, Col. J. J. Steadman, Col. J. B. Lankershim, A. S. C. Forbes and Rev. D. W. J. Murphy, who christened the bell "Saria" in honor of Fr. Junipero Serra. Miss Fremont spoke as fol- lows : "One of my father's men told me after my father's death, that as they approached the Cahuenga Pass, the heralds from the Mexicans came forward. My father gave his sword to one of his officers and stepped forward to meet Gen. Andres Pico. They then stepped aside and held a conference after which they went to the house that was then on this spot in which the armistice was to be signed. The colonel was a most happy man as he rode through the beautiful valley with the armistice in his saddlebags, which gave this beau- tiful territory to his country." -Photo F. H. Taber Our Lady of the Angels LOS ANGELES The Pueblo of Los Angeles was founded September 4th, 1781, by Governor Felipe de Neve. The site had been noted in 1769 by the expedition under the first Governor, Don Gaspar de Portola, when he, accom- panied by Fr. Juan Crespi and sixty-four volunteers, went north from San Diego in search of Monterey. On August 2nd the party forded the Rio de Porciun- cula, now known as Los Angeles River, and stopped in the Indian village of Yang-na. The river was named Porciuncula, because on August 2nd the members of LOS ANGELES 105 St. Francis celebrate the feast of Porciuncula, a word which literally means a small portion, share or allot- ment. The name Porciuncula was originally given to a slip of land of a few acres that stood at the foot of the hill at Assisi, Italy, and on which stood a little chapel called Capella della Porciuncula, and also S. Maria-degli-Angeli (Our Lady of Angels). It is the chapel to which St. Francis fled when he renounced the world. In 1781 Governor X eve's Reglamento for the gov- ernment of California went into effect, provisionally, by order of the Commandante, General Croix, of Mexico. It made provisions for the establishment of a pueblo on the Rio de Porciuncula, to be called Nues- tra Scriora de Los Angeles. According to these regu- lations, settlers were to be obtained from older provinces and established in California. Each settler was to be granted a house-lot and a tract of land for cultivation; to be supplied from the beginning with the necessary livestock, implements and seeds, which advance was to be gradually repaid within five years, from the produce of the land. Aside from this the settler was to receive an annual sum of $116.50 for two years and $60 for the next three, the amount to be paid in clothing and other necessary articles at cost price. Pasturage, wood and water were to be free. And also the settler was to be free from all taxation or tithes during that period of five years. Captain Fernando Rivera y Moncada, Lieutenant- Governor of California, located in Loreto, Lower Cali- fornia, was intrusted with the recruiting in Sinaloa and Sonoma of soldiers for the presidio at Santa Bai- bara, and settlers for the pueblo or town of Los An- 106 LOS ANGELES geles. He was distinctly reminded of a popular idea that California wages, while looking well on paper, were liable to woeful shrinkage in actuality, and that this idea must be dispelled by careful explanation of the terms offered and by avoiding exaggeration. The settler was to be made to understand that he was to receive ten dollars a month and regular rations for three years, beginning with the date of enlistment, and subject to no discount; but the advance on clothing, livestock, seeds and implements was to be repaid from the surplus produce from the land. Terms for the soldiers were different. Rivera recruited seven settlers, and forty-five sol- diers. But by the time the expedition was ready to travel north the party had evidently dwindled, as later reports state that about April, 1781, Rivera left Alamos in Sonora, with thirty soldiers and their families, but no settlers, proper. He escorted them to the Colorado river, where they were met by a detachment sent forward from Los Angeles by Governor Neve. Rivera relinquished the command to Lieutenant Gonzales while he with Sergeant Robles and a detachment of nine or ten soldiers remained on the eastern bank of the Colorado to rest some livestock and then to pro- ceed westward. He and the entire party were mas- sacred by hostile Indians while they slept. Gonzales, Limon, Arguello, thirty-five soldiers, thirty families and the Sonora escort arrived at Mis- sion San Gabriel July 14th, 1781. Another party of settlers under Lieutenant Jose Zuni^a, probably eleven families in all, arrived at San Gabriel August 18th, but were held in quarantine for a time on ac- count of having contracted smallpox. Governor de LOS ANGELES 10/ Neve gave out instructions August 26th for the found- ing of Los Angeles. On September 4th the ceremony took place. Twelve settlers and their families, whose nationality was a strange mixture of Indian, negro and here and there a trace of Spanish, constituted the founders of the fairest of all cities — the one "That by legend is the claim, That a band of angels came, And unlocked with heavenly keys, Treasures for Los Angeles." The angels did not mind the color of the settlers, whose names are as follows : Jose de Lara, Spaniard, age 50, wife Indian, 3 children ; Jose Antonio Navarro, mestizo (of different races), age 42, wife mulattress, 3 children ; Bastilio Rosas, Indian, age 68, wife mulat- tress, 6 children ; Antonio Mesa, negro, age 38, wife mulattress, 2 children; Antonio (Felix) Villavicencio, Spaniard, age 30, wife Indian, 1 child; Jose Vanegas, Indian, age 28, wife Indian, 1 child; Alejandro Rosas, Indian, age 19, wife Coyote Indian; Pablo Rodriguez, age 25, wife Indian, 1 child ; Manuel Camero, mulatto, age 30, wife mulattress ; Luis Quintero, negro, age 55, wife mulattress, 5 children; Jose Moreno, mulatto, age 22, wife mulattress; Antonio Miranda, chino (from China), age 50, 1 child. It is definitely stated that Miranda was not a Chinaman, nor even born in China, and also that although his name is on the register as a pobladore for Los Angeles, he never came to the pueblo. Therefore there were but forty-four settlers. The site had been selected and the party was accom- panied to their new home by Governor de Neve; a guard of soldiers who bore aloft the banner of Spain; a band of Indian acolytes carrying the cross, and the 108 LOS ANGELES priests from San Gabriel bearing the banner of Our Lady. The location selected for Los Angeles was occupied by a small band of Indians called Yang-na, quite shiftless, migratory and worthless — according to any records that we find. After a ceremony of speech making, procession and prayers an allotment of land was made. The building lots faced upon a plaza laid out as an oblong space, with the four cor- Los Angeles, 1786 -Bancroft ners toward the cardinal points. The town was thereby on the bias, a fact that is rather good when considered from a health standpoint, for each room has the benefit and cheer of the sun daily. The original plaza was not the one of today, only one corner of which touches the old plaza, which began at the south- east corner of Marchessault and Upper Main or San Fernando, near the church of Our Lady of the An- gels ; it continued along the east line of L'pper Main LOS ANGELES 109 almost to Bellevue, thence across to the east line of New High street, thence to the north line of Marches- satilt and back to the beginning". Work began with building palisade huts to be used for temporary homes. They were constructed of stakes driven into the ground, with poles laid across for the frame work, the whole thatched with tules and plas- tered with mud. They were comfortable and afforded protection even against rain. However, before the rains came most of the settlers had built adobe houses besides doing their part of municipal work on a dam and ditch for water. The dam was run out into the river in the vicinity of the Buena Vista bridge and the water was diverted into a zanja which carried it to a reservoir. There were fresh springs for domestic pur- poses. Some of them are in use in the basements 01 business blocks on Main and Spring streets today. Before the pueblo was six months old it was found that some of the settlers were worthless and a detri - ment to the community. Therefore they were ex- pelled. The ones falling under the ban were Jose de Lara, the Spaniard; Antonio Mesa and Luis Quintero, both negroes, and their families. This action reduced the population by sixteen. A few years later Jose Antonio Navarro, wife and three children were ex- pelled for a similar reason. ]\\ 1785 Jose Francisco Sinova applied for admission on the original terms and was accepted. About the same time Juan Jose Dominguez joined the colony and was given a special grant of land by Governor Fages, who had succeeded Governor de Neve. This land grant included the pres- ent Dominguez Rancho and also the San Pedro Rancho. It descended through his brother, Sergeant 110 LOS ANGELES Crisiobal Dominguez, to the present heirs and own- ers. For the first three years in Los Angeles there was no chapel, and those who wished to attend service trudged along El Camino Real to the mission and joined the San Gabriel neophytes in Holy Mass. It is said that the great Angelus bell when rung loud and long at the mission could be heard at the pueblo, and when the first bell of morning was rung In the early hour of light, When the sun was climbing, climbing, O'er the mountain tops, combining Crystal dewdrops with the night, that the settlers would be preparing for their journey on horses and in ox-cart to go to the mission, and would arrive in time for mass. In 1784 the first chapel, which was dedicated to Our Lady, Queen of the Angeles, was erected on the south- east corner of the first plaza. The river had a very different course at that time to the one of the present day. It ran very nearly down Main street and for that reason it is often stated that the first chapel was lo- cated near the river. This chapel was finished in 1789- 90. There is no record of the dedication. The dimen- sions of the chapel were 90x75 feet, and when it became too small to accommodate the congregation another was built. The plans for it were drawn and accepted 1811 or 1812, more than a century ago, and they agree with the chapel as it stands today. At that time Los Angeles, the great and throbbing city of today, was but a little Mexican village of thirty houses, all small, made of adobe, with roofs con- structed of poles thatched with tule and plastered with mud, then covered with asphaltum from La Brea LOS ANGELES 111 district. The floors were of pounded earth. Glass was unknown and the windows were closed with wooden shutters. Twelve of the houses ranged about the plaza, the rest clustered near by without plan or system. The public buildings consisted of a town hall, a public granary, a jail, and barracks for the few soldiers al- lowed the pueblo from the presidio. Round about the pueblo of Los Angeles there were ranchers who had received land grants similar to the one given Domin- guez, and this rural population increased the census to about 500. Writers are prone to call these people idle and shiftless, but I find that they owned more than 6,000 head of cattle, over 2,400 head of horses, 770 sheep and much other livestock ; that they had vine- yards with 53,000 vines, and that they supplied great quantities of produce to the Government for the pre- sidios, and in fact that they raised all and more than there was a market for — so what harm could there be if after all their work was done they did idle the re- mainder of the time in dance and song? Those days of a century ago were simple, earnest, prosperous days. People were religious and the town clustered about a plaza upon which the chapel always faced. When La Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los An- geles became too small a donation from the people was asked wherewith to build a larger one. Plans were drafted and accepted, as above stated. Five hundred head of cattle were subscribed, which at $5.00 per 1 head would have netted $2,500, quite a sufficient sum to have constructed this church in those days when wages were one real a day and there were many willing hands to work for the church for no wages at all. But 112 LOS ANGELES what happened? Governor Pablo Vincente de Sola appropriated the cattle with the promise that he would return the price of the stock in cash. As there was no money in the treasury, no cash was ever given. Work progressed slowly. In 1821 Father Payeras, who had charge of the building, made an earnest appeal to the different missions to make contributions of cattle, la- borers or any profitable thing in order that the church might be completed. The missions responded most generously, among the subscriptions being seven bar- rels of brandy, worth $575. This was converted into cash, drink by drink, by the citizens, and the building was completed the following year. Truly the church had a spiritual foundation. The church was dedicated December 8th, 1822, and from that building the present church was recon- structed in 1861. It was virtually rebuilt out of the old material. One of the bells is said to have been given as a penance for a misdemeanor. In 1829 Henry Fitch, a handsome American sailor lad, eloped with Dona Josefa, the charming daughter of Joaquin Carrillo of San Diego. The consent to the marriage had been obtained of the parents, but an uncle objected and brought the wedding to an abrupt and unsatisfactory termination. The priest and Pio Pico, another uncle of the bride, advised and assisted in an elopement. The young couple were married in South America, and the following year returned with a young son. An eccle- siastical court was summoned at San Gabriel and Henry Fitch was tried for violation of church and territorial law. He was. found guilty, and the penalty imposed was that he should furnish to the Church of LOS ANGELES 113 Our Lady a bell of not less than fifty pounds weight, as the church had but a borrowed bell. Some narrators say that he furnished the bell, while others declare that he escaped a second time without obeying the padres. The church and the rectory are in very good re- pair. The rectory opens upon an interior court or patio, in the center of which rises a stately palm that was planted there in the pueblo days. The church has an outer court or garden wherein stands a noble cross that is outlined by electric bulbs that illuminate the garden. Nt-ar by is a Camino Real bell, the first one to be erected. Both the cross and the bell are the emblems always carried and first planted by Fr. junipero Serra and his band of missionaries. The Plaza church, as it is generally known, is the first and principal landmark of Los Angeles. It has been restored by the people of the parish without losing its identity and yet has been transformed into a commodious house of worship and the rectory into a comfortable habitation. LANDMARKS The Abila House: The old adobe building standing a few rods north of the Plaza at Nos. 14, 16, 18 OH vera street was the residence of Dona Encarnacion Abila, widow of Don Francisco Abila of Las Cienega Rancho. During the battle of Los Angeles, which was fought January 8th and 9th, 1847, she Med from her home to the house of Louis Yignes, as she feared for the safety of herself and family should the Americans be victorious. Her son-in-law, Lieutenant-Colonel Garfias, was a cav- alry officer on the Mexican side under Governor-Gen- eral Flores, and had obtained horses for his troops 114 FORT MOORE from her ranch, the San Pascual. Commodore Stock- ton was victorious, and when he entered the town he found the deserted home near the Plaza wherein he camped his troops and appropriated it as his head- quarters. The landmark has changed but little in ap- pearance since that day. A new roof and a few win- dows have been replaced. The Bell House: Alexander Bell owned the most pretentious house in Los Angeles. It stood at the southeast corner of Los Angeles and Aliso streets, where the Haas block now stands. As there "was nothing too good for John C. Fremont," when he was appointed Governor of California by Commodore Stockton, he appropriated the Bell house as guberna- torial headquarters. Some years ago the old Bell house was torn down and a modern brick building stands in its place. Fort Moore: Fort Moore is only a historic site. No part of the fortifications remain, but there is some interesting history connected with the old fort, or rather two old forts that were built on this site. The first one was planned by Lieut. W. H. Emory, top- ographical engineer of General Kearney's staff, and the work was done by Commodore Stockton's sailors and marines. It was not completed nor was it named. The second fort was planned by Lieut. J. W. David- son of the First U. S. Dragoons, and was built by the Mormon Battalion. It was dedicated and named on July 4th, 1847, by order of Col. J. B. Stevenson, then in command of the southern military district. A para- graph in the order is as follows : "The field work at this post having been planned and the work con- ducted entirely bv Lieutenant Davidson of the First FORT MOORE 115 Dragoons, he is requested to hoist upon it for the first time, on the morning of the 4th, the American stand- ard." A flag pole one hundred and fifty feet in length had been furnished by contract by Juan Ramirez, who brought it from Mill Creek, San Bernardino Mountains. Ramirez, with a number of carretas, a small army of Indian laborers and ten Mormon soldiers as protec- tion against the Mountain Indians, brought down two tree trunks, one about eighty and the other about ninety feet long. They were strapped to the axles of a dozen carretas and each drawn by twenty yoke of oxen, each with an Indian driver. The carpenters among the soldiers spliced the timbers, making a mag- nificent pole one hundred and fifty feet high, from which the flag swung to the breeze. It was located at the southeast corner of what is now North Broadway and Fort Moore Place. The fort was named in honor of Capt. D. Moore, of the First U. S. Dragoons, who lost his life at the battle of San Pasqual. After a number of years the flag pole fell, the earth works of the fort were razed, and the old landmark was a thing of the past. In 1903 the Department of California History and Landmarks for the State Federation of Women's Clubs, Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes chairman, instituted a movement to raise another flag pole and flag upon the hill to commemorate the days of Stockton and Kearney in Los Angeles. Patriotic organizations supplied a flag fifteen by thirty feet in size and the Native Sons procured a splendid pole one hundred and twenty- seven feet long from the forests of Siskiyou. It was brought on a lumber schooner to San Pedro and hauled from there by team, being too long for the cars. By 116 EL RANCHITO means of a derrick the giant pole was raised under the guidance of Mr. Julius Krause, Building Superinten- dent, and firmly anchored in a fifteen-foot hole, which was then filled in with stones and cement. El Ranchito : Home of Pio Pico, last Mexican Gov- ernor of California. El Ranchito, little ranch, is two miles northwest of Whittier and is an interesting landmark. Pio Pico, during his short term as gov- ernor, did more harm to California by his indis- criminate portioning of the magnificent missions to political adherents than did any one or any dozen other men. He sold them right and left; he gave them away for services rendered the government and when they were returned they had been sacked and impoverished until the entire mission establishments had been ruined. His associations with mission history are not pleasant to remember, but the home of this political actor is of interest. The dignified name of the ranch was La Hacienda del Rancho Paso de Bartolo Viejo, but the Governor affectionately called it El Ranchito. Pio Pico was born at Mission San Gabriel Arcangel in 1800. His father was French and his mother Mexi- can. He was well educated in the Spanish language and the family was of great influence, especially in the southern part of the state where they possessed large land holdings, cattle and horses. El Ranchito was the smallest of his holdings yet it comprised 8,000 acres. The property became his in 1832, but the major por- tion of the main building had been built as early as 1826. It is said to have been the first two-story adobe built in California. In 1870, according to the recol- lection of many persons, the house possessed thirty- EL RANCHITO 117 three rooms arranged around a court which was paved with red brick. Boxes of rare plants outlined the court and in the center was a well, and a large black fig tree — the Don's favorite fruit. North and west of the court was an extensive garden of ornamental trees and beautiful vines. There was a large Dutch oven, a mill, a chapel which was beautifully frescoed ; but all are gone. The frescoed walls of the chapel were torn down to fill in the approach to a bridge near by. In 1867 the greatest flood in the memory of the inhabitants swept through the valley and finding the main irrigation ditch on El Ranchito an easy outlet, the water rushed down through it and the River San Gabriel followed, forming a new course. It swept away all the beautiful gardens and came within fifty feet of the foundation of the house. The devastation was never repaired. The house with its many rooms was furnished lav- ishly with splendid Brussels carpet laid without thought of matching the great glaring pattern- -the same was done with the large figured wall paper. Massive mahogany tables and sofas were ranged round the rooms, and huge French mirrors were between the windows and doors. The rooms that remain are small and all semblance to past grandeur has vanished. Don Pio Pico entertained as lavishly as he furnished his home and during his short regime as Governor he was a favorite. The house is a landmark that the State should protect as a historical link between the Mexican and American occupations of California. Pio Pico be- came Governor of California February 22nd, 1845, and although he maintained official headquarters in Los Angeles, his home was at El Ranchito. When Com- — Photo. G. G. Johnson El Ranchito modore John D. Sloat became the First American Governor under military rule July 7th, 1846, Don Pio Pico was compelled to haul down the Mexican flag, which he did August 10th, 1847, and in so doing ter- minated Mexican official rule in California. As the scene of this action El Ranchito is a valuable historic relic and landmark. El Ranchito, together with six acres of water-bear- ing land on San Gabriel River, was purchased some years ago by the city of Whittier. In 1906 an organ- ization was formed under the title of "The Governor Pico Museum and Historical Society." Mrs. H. W. R. Strong was elected President. This Society secured a fifty years' lease of the house and effected praiseworthy repairs, in fact saved it from destruction. Cafe Ship Cabrillo VENICE Venice, the most interesting beach town in Cali- fornia, has an ideal location, a charming architectural conception and a unique historical association. It took an unusual mind to conceive and perfect the project of building a city of canals through a waste of sand dunes, but that is what Mr. Abbot Kinney has done at Venice, with the result that Venice is the most beautiful, unique and interesting coast town of the State. It lies in a great horseshoe bay with gray hills to the north and bluffs toward the south. Wind- ward avenue, with its graceful arches and vivid color- ing, reminds one of Italy ; the winding canals with their gliding, silent gondolas remind one of Venice, and 120 VENICE the teeming, hilarious Zone forces Cairo upon you; but still a dominant thought creeps over the mind that after all Venice is the one place in California that speaks of the native land of Saint Francis, the founder of the Order of Friar Minors, the Franciscans ; it reminds one of Italy, the California of the Continent. Saint Francis was born in Umbria, the Eden of Italy, and not in Spain, as one might suppose from the macaronic Spanish mission architecture of California, and Span- ish music and chants. In fact the mission architecture is the outgrowth of climatic conditions in California, being similar to the climatic conditions in Italy, not Spain, and the mission music and chants are versions of the Gregorian chants of Italy. Mr. Kinney built an Italian street along true archi- tectural lines, Avith arches and colonnades that have artistic finish and substantial material, and he builded well. He built for the future as did Saint Francis. The plan of Venice was to convert the streets into canals with gondolas trolled by singing gondoliers ; an audi- torium with Chautauquan meetings that stirred the intellect to higher education ; a business street that softened commercial necessity by artistic association with beautiful and perfect architecture. It was no fault of Kinney's if the public came to a Chautauqua lecture and played truant on the beach. You can lead to the fountain, but that is all. He designed a perfect town, and so it w r ill become, if for no other reason than the charm of the plan and the climate. Venice faces directly west, therefore the ocean breeze comes inland and not overland. Every foaming ocean breaker adds its atom of oxygen to the molecule of air, there- fore Venice supplies the 100% ozone-charged air which VENICE 121 is the must perfect tonic known for the human system. The winters and the summers are perfect. I have lived in Venice, both of Italy and America, and have seen the sunset glow on clouds that dazzle the eye, but the perfect sunset glow was in America off the shore of Venice in California. The dark ridge of low hills shouldering out into the bay forms a background for the pier at Venice, when you view it from the south. The cafe-ship Cabrillo is a thing of beauty when just as God's glowing sun-paint grows dim the anchored ship is outlined with twinkling, scintillating bulbs of electricity which grow into a shower of light and you realize that Venice is lighted for the night. The amusements at Venice include every kind of entertainment. A mammoth plunge and surf bath- house; a beautiful dancing pavilion in which free Sat- urday afternoon parties are regularly provided for the children, and in which special events for the little ones are constantly succeeding each other. At holiday time a Christmas tree for the children is a spectacularly beautiful event. Venice has a privately owned pier, along which attractions are kept open throughout the year. There is a Race Through the Clouds, a Ferris Wheel, a giant safety Racing Coaster, The Rapids. The Double Whirl, Joy Wheel, Merry-go-Round, cap- tive Aeroplane, Motion pictures, Miniature railroad so dear to the hearts of children, trips in launches, row- boats, canoes or gondolas over three miles of canals. Band concerts are given afternoon and evening. The boulevard to the Soldiers' Home was laid out under Mr. Kinney's supervision and nine miles of trees along the public roads were planted during his administra- tion as a road commissioner for that district. 122 VENICE Abbot Kinney The founder of Ven- ice, Abbot Kinney, the man whose mind saw in the sand and swamps the mirage of an Italian villa, is a tall, dignified, plainly garbed, unpre- tentious man. Few would think him, at first sight, to be the multi-millionaire foun- der and owner of Ven- ice. He is a philoso- pher and a student of every subject of dis- tinct value; he is an astronomer and dreamer who makes his dreams come true. He gave the name of stars to streets, for he could read their prediction of success for Venice while untutored minds only scoffed. Mr. Kinney spent his youth in Washington, D. C, where he enjoyed the favored opportunity of the so- ciety of statesmen. His education was completed abroad. He was a student at Heidelburg, Germany, studied in France, Switzerland, Turkey and later spent a year in Egypt, arriving in California in 1880, from which time he has made this his home. Broad minded and public spirited, he has devoted the knowledge he gained through travel, investigation and research to the public benefit. He believes in the preservation of forests and conservation of water. Canal, Venice As a home place Venice can offer charming villa*. bordering the canals, or beautiful larger houses facing the ocean. There is an excellent grammar school sys- tem and a modern polytechnic high school that has been built at a cost of $250,000 and has twenty-nine acres of grounds. The Venice Auditorium seats 3400 people, has