USA > California > Amador County > History of Amador County, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 4
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On the 19th of October, 1697, the little party of adventurers went ashore at Loreto, and were kindly received by about fifty natives, who were induced to kneel down and kiss the crucifix.
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HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
METHODS OF CONVERSION.
It is said of Father Ugarte that he was a man of powerful frame. When he first celebrated the cere- monials of the church before the natives they were inclined to jeer and laugh over solemnities. On one occasion a huge Indian was causing considerable dis- turbance, and was demoralizing the other Indians with his mimicry and childish fun. Father Ugarte caught him by his long hair, swung him around a few times, threw him in a heap on the floor, and procceded with the rites. This argument had a converting effect, as he never rebelled again. As the conversion of the natives was the main object of the settlement, and a matter of the greatest impor- tance, to the natives at least, no means were spared to effect it. When the natives around the mission had been Christianized, expeditions inland were under- taken to capture more material for converts. Some- times many lives were taken, but they generally suc- ceeded in gathering in from fifty to a hundred women and children, the men afterwards following. Two or three days' exhortation (confinement and starva- tion) was generally sufficient to effect a change of heart, after which the convert was clothed, fed, and put to work. Father Ugarte worked with them, teaching them to plant, sow, reap, and thresh, and they were soon good Christians.
The imposing ceremonies and visible symbols of the Catholic church are well calculated to strike the ignorant savage with awe. Striking results were often attained with pictures. When moving from one mission to another, and especially when meeting strange Indians, the priests exhibited a picture of the Virgin Mary on one side of a canvas, and Satan roasting in flames on the other side. They were offered a choice, to become subjects of the Holy Mother, or roast in the flames with Satan, and gen- erally accepted the former, especially as it was accom- panied with food.
DEATH OF TIERRA.
After twenty years of earnest labor, privation, danger, and spiritual success, Father Tierra was recalled to Mexico by the new Viceroy, for consul- tation. He was then seventy years old; and, not- withstanding his age and infirmities, he set out on horseback from San Blas for Tepic; but, having fainted by the way, he was carried on a litter by the Indians to Guadalajara, where he died July 17, 1717, and was buried with appropriate ceremonies behind the altar in the chapel of our Lady of Loreto.
The historic village of Loreto, the ancient capital of California, is situated on the margin of the gulf, in the center of St. Dyonissius' Cove. The church, built in 1742, is still in tolerable preservation, and, among the vestiges of its former richness, has eighty- six oil paintings; some of them by Murillo, and other celebrated masters, which, though more than a hun- dred years old, arc still in a good condition; also
some fine silver work, valued at six thousand dol- lars. A great storm in 1827 destroyed many of the buildings of the mission. Those remaining, are in a state of decay. It was the former custom of the pearl-divers to dedicate the products of certain days to Our Lady of Loreto; and, on one occasion, there fell to the lot of the Virgin a magnificent pearl, as large as a pigeon's egg, of wonderful purity and brilliancy. The Fathers thought proper to change its destination, and presented it to the Queen of Spain, who gratefully and piously sent Our Lady of Loreto a magnificent new gown. Some people were unkind enough to think the queen had the better of the transaction.
ARREST OF THE JESUITS.
The Jesuits continued their missionary work in Lower California for seventy years. On the second day of April, 1797, all of the Order throughout the Spanish dominions, at home and abroad, were ar- rested by order of Charles III., and thrown into prison, on the charge of conspiring against the State and the life of the king. Nearly six thousand were subjected to that decree, which also directed their expulsion from California, as well as all other colo- nial dependencies of Spain. The execution of the despotic order was intrusted to Don Gaspar Portala, the Governor of the province. Having assembled the Fathers of Loreto on the eve of the nativity, December 24th, he acquainted them with the heart- breaking news. Whatever may have been the faults of the Jesuits in Europe, they certainly had been models of devoted Christians in the new world. They braved the dangers of hostile savages, ex- posed themselves to the malarious fevers incident to new countries, and had taken up their residences far from the centers of civilization and thought, so dear to men of cultivated minds, to devote them- selves, soul and body, to the salvation of the natives, that all civilized nations seemed bent on extermin- ating. It is probable that the simple-minded son of the forest understood little of the mysteries of theology; and his change of heart was more a change of habit, than the adoption of any saving religious dogma. They abandoned many of their filthy habits, and learned to respect the family ties. They were taught to cultivate the soil, to build com- fortable houses, and to cover their nakedness with garments. They had learned to love and revere the Fathers, who were ever kind to them.
MIDNIGHT PARTING.
After seventy years of devoted attention to the savages; after building pleasant homes in the wilder- ness, and surrounding themselves with loving and devoted friends, they received the order to depart. They took their leave on the night of February 3, 1768, amidst the outcries and lamentations of the people, who, in spite of the soldiers, who could not keep them back, rushed upon the departing Fathers,
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PERMANENT OCCUPATION OF CALIFORNIA.
kissing their hands, and clinging convulsively to them. The leave-taking was brief, but affecting: " Adieu, my dear children! Adieu, land of our adop- tion! Adieu, California! It is the will of God!" And then, amid the sobs and lamentations, heard all along the shore, they turned away, reciting the litany of the Blessed Mother of God, and were seen no more.
For one hundred and sixty years after the dis- covery of California, it remained comparatively un- known. It is true that many expeditions were fitted out .to explore it for gold and precious stones. The first was fast locked in mountains of the Sierras, which were occupied by bands of hostile and war- like Indians; and the last have not yet been found. The circumstances attending the discovery of the great bay, will always be of interest, and deserve a place in every record; for up to 1769, no navigator ever turned the prow of his vessel into the narrow entrance of the Golden Gate.
On the expulsion of the Jesuits from Lower Cali- fornia, the property of the missions, consisting of extensive houses, flocks, pasture lands, cultivated fields, orchards, and vineyards, was intrusted to the College of San Francisco in Mexico, for the benefit of the Order of St. Francis. The zealous scholar, Father Junipero Serra, was appointed to the charge of all the missions of Lower California.
FATHER JUNIPERO, as he was called, was born of humble parents in the island of Majorca, on the 24th of November, 1713. Like the prophet Samuel, he was dedicated to the priesthood from his infancy, and having completed his studies in the Convent of San Bernardino, he conceived the idea of devoting himself to the immediate service of God; and went from thence to Palma, the capital of the province, to acquire the higher learning necessary for the priesthood. At his earnest request, he was received into the Order of St. Francis, at the age of sixteen; and, at the end of one year's probation, made his religious profession, September 15, 1731. Having finished his studies in philosophy and theology, he soon acquired a high reputation as a writer and orator, and his services were sought for in every direction; but, while enjoying these distinetions at home, his heart was set on his long projected mission to the heathen of the New World. He sailed from Cadiz for America, August 28, 1749, and landed at Vera Cruz, whence he went to the City of Mexico, joined the College of San Fernando, and was made President of the missions of Sierra Gorda and San Saba. On his appointment to the missions of Cali- fornia, he immediately entered upon active duties, and proceeded to carry out his grand design of the civilization of the Pacific coast. Acting under the instructions of the Viceroy of Mexico, two expedi- tions were fitted out to explore and colonize Upper or Northern California, of which little or nothing was known, one of which was to proceed by sea, and the other by land; one to carry the heavy sup-
plies, the other to drive the flocks and herds. The first ship, the San Carlos, left Cape St. Lucas, in Lower California, January 9, 1769, and was followed by the San Antonio on the 15th of the same month. A third vessel, the San Jose, was dispatched from Loreto on the 16th of June. After much suffering, these real pioneers of California civilization, reached San Diego; the San Carlos, on the 1st of May; the San Antonio, on the 11th of April, 1769, the crews having been well nigh exhausted by scurvy, thirst, and starvation. After leaving Loreto, the San Jose was never heard of more.
EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS.
The overland expedition was divided into two divisions; one under command of Don Gaspar de Portala, the appointed Military Governor of the New Territory; the other, under Capt. Rivera Y. Moneado. Rivera and his company, consisting of Father Crespi, twenty-five soldiers, six muleteers, and a party of Lower California Indians, started from Villaceta on the 24th of March, and reached San Diego on the 14th of May, 1769. Up to that time, no white man had ever lived in Upper California; and then began to rise the morning star of our civilization.
The second division, accompanied by Father Junipero, organized the first mission in Upper California on the 16th of July, 1769; and there the first native Californian was baptized on the 26th of December, of that year. These are memorable points in the ecclesiastical history of this coast.
On the 14th of July, 1769, Governor Portala started out in search of Monterey, as described by previous navigators. He was accompanied by Fathers Juan Crespi and Francisco Gomez; the party consisting of fifty-six white persons, including a sergeant, an engineer, and thirty-three soldiers, and a company of emigrants from Sonora, together with a company of Indians from Lower California. They missed their course, and could not find the Bay of Monterey, but continued on northward, and, · on the 25th day of October, 1769, came upon the great Bay of San Francisco, which they named in honor of the titular saint of the friar missionaries.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME OF THE BAY.
It is said that, while on this expedition, a regret was expressed that no mission was as yet named after the patron of the Order. Says Portala, " Let the saint guide us to a good harbor, and we will name a mission for him." When they came in sight of the bay, Father Gomez cried, " There is the har- bor of San Francisco," and thus it received its name.
Father Junipero Serra was not of this illustrious company of explorers, and did not visit the Bay of San Francisco for nearly six years after its dis- covery. The honor belongs to Fathers Crespi and Gomez, Governor Portala, and their humbler com- panions. The party then returned to San Diego, which they reached on the 24th of January, 1770,
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HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
after an absence of six months and ten days. Six years thereafter, on the 9th of October, 1776, the Mission of San Francisco de los Dolores, was founded on the western shore of the great bay, the old church remaining in tolerable preservation to the present time, the most interesting landmark of our present civilization.
MISSION DOLORES.
One may retire from the noise and bustle of the city, and spend a pleasant hour among the quaint surroundings of the old church. The adobe walls, the columns of doubtful order of architecture, the bells hung with rawhide which called the dusky converts to worship, all were doubtless objects of wonder and mystery to the simple-minded natives. From 1776 to 1881, what changes on either side of the continent. A hundred years is much in the life of men, little, except in effect, in the life of a nation.
Father Junipero, who founded these missions, and under whose fostering carc they reached such unex- ampled prosperity, reposes in the old church-yard at Monterey. His life reads like a romance.
CHURCH HISTORY .- It is related of him as illustrat- ing his fiery zeal, that, while on his way to found the mission of San Antonio de Padua, he caused the mules to be unpacked at a suitable place, and the bells hung on a tree. Seizing the rope he began to ring with all his might, regardless of the remonstra- tions of the other priests, shouting at the top of his voice, " Hear! hear, O ye Gentiles ! Come to the Holy Church! Come to the faith of Christ!" Such enthusiasm will win its way even among savages.
FATHER JUNIPERO'S DEATH.
At length having founded and successfully estab- lished six missions, and gathered into his fold over seven thousand wild people of the mountains and plains, the heroic Junipero began to feel that his end was drawing near. He was then seventy years old; fifty-three of these years he had spent in the active service of his master in the New World. Hav- ing fought the good fight and finished his illustrious course, the broken old man retired to the Mission of San Carlos at Monterey, gave the few remain- ing days of his life to a closer communion with God, received the last rites of the religion which he had advocated and illustrated so well, and on the 29th of August, 1784, gently passed away. Tradi- tions of the "boy priest" still linger among the rem- nants of the tribes which were gathered under his care.
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CHAPTER IV. *
THE MISSIONS OF ST. FRANCIS.
Their Moral and Political Aspect-Domestic Economy-The Es- tablishments Described-Secular and Religious Occupations of the Neophytes-Wealth and Productions-Liberation and Dispersion of the Indians-Final Decay.
CERTAIN writers upon the early history of Califor- nia, have taken an unfavorable view of the system under which the missionary friars achieved their wonderful success in reducing the wild tribes to a condition of semi-civilization. The venerable Fathers are accused of selfishness, avarice and tyranny, in compelling the Indians to submission, and forcibly restraining them from their natural liberty, and keeping them in a condition of servitude. Nothing could be more unjust and absurd. It werc as well to say that it is cruel, despotic, and inhuman to tame and domesticate the wild cattle that roam the great plains of the continent. The system of the Fathers was only our modern reservation policy humanized and Christianized ; inasmuch as they not only fed and clothed the bodies of the improvident natives, but likewise cared for their imperishable souls. The cure of Indian souls was the primary object of the friar enthusiasts ; the work required of the Indians was of but few hours' duration, with long intervals of rest, and was only incidental to the one great and holy purpose of spiritual conversion and salvation. Surely, " No greater love hath any man than that he lay down his life for his friend;" and it is a eruel stretch of sectarian uncharity to charge selfishness and avarice to the account of self-devoting men who voluntarily went forth from the refinements, pleas- ures, and honors of European civilization, to traverse the American wilderness in sandals, and with only one poor garment a year, in order to uplift the de- graded and savage tribes of Paganism from the regions of spiritual darkness, and lead them to the heights of salvation; nay, even to starve and die on the " coral strand" of California in helpless and deserted age. In 1838, the Rev. Father Sarria act- ually starved to death at the Mission of Soledad, after having labored there for thirty years. After the mission had been plundered through the perfidy of the Mexican Government, the old man, broken by age and faint with hunger, lingered in his little church with the few converts that remaincd, and one Sunday morning fell down and died of starvation before the altar of his life-long devotion. O, let not the Christian historian of California, who is yet to write for all time to come, stain and distort his pages by such cruel and unworthy charges against the barefooted paladins of the Cross.
To entirely comprehend the system and proceed- ings of the friars, it will be essential to know the
*This and Chapters V, VI, VII, VIII, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV and XV are taken from the History of Sacramento County, and Chapter IX from the History of San Joaquin County, these works being among those published by Thompson & West.
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THE MISSION OF ST. FRANCIS.
meaning of certain descriptive terms of their insti- tutions of settlement. These were-
1st. Presidios.
2d. Castillos.
3d. Pueblos.
4th. Missions.
The presidios were the military garrisons, estab- lished along the coast for the defense of the country and the protection of the missionaries. Being the head-quarters of the military, they became the seats of local government for the different presidencies into which the country was divided. There were four of these presidios in Upper California-at San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Francisco. They were uniform in structure, consisting of adobe walls twelve or fourtcen feet high, inclosing a square of three hundred feet on each side, defended at the angles by small bastions mounting eight twelve- pounder, bronze cannon. Within were the barracks, store-house, a church for the soldiers, and the com- mandant's residence. On the outside they were defended by a trench, twelve feet wide and six feet deep, and were entered by two gates, open during the day, and closed at night. The number of sol- diers assigned to each presidio was limited to two hundred and fifty ; but rarely were there so many at any one station. In addition to the duty of guarding the coast, small details of four and five men, under a sergeant, accompanied the Fathers when they went abroad to establish missions, or on other business. A certain number of troops were also assigned to each mission, to keep order and defend the place against the attacks of hostile na- tives. They dressed in buckskin uniform, which was supposed to be impervious to arrows, and the horses, too, were encased in leather armor, like those of the knights of old.
The castillo was a covered battery, near the pre- sidio, which it was intended to guard. It was manned and mounted with a few guns, and though but a slight defense against a powerful enemy, it served to intimidate and keep off the feeble and timorous Gentiles.
The pueblo was a town, inhabited originally by discharged soldiers who had served out their time at the presidios. It was separate from the presidio and mission, the lands having been granted by the Fa- thers. After a while other persons settled there, and sometimes the inhabitants of the pueblo, or independ- ent town, outnumbered those of the neighboring mission. There were only three of those pueblos in Upper California-Los Angeles, San Jose, and Bran- ciforțe, the latter near Santa Cruz. San Francisco was not a pueblo. There were three classes of these settlements in later times-the pueblo proper, the presidiol, and the mission pueblo. The rancherias were King's lands, set apart for the use of the troops, to pasture their cattle and horses.
The mission was the parent institution of the whole. There the natives resided, under religious
treatment, and others were not allowed to inhabit the place except for a very brief time. This was to prevent the mingling of whites and natives, for it was thought that the former would contaminate and create discontent and disorder among the natives. The missions were all constructed on the same gen- eral plan. They were quadrangular, adobe struct- ures, two stories high, inclosing a court-yard orna- mented with fountains and trees ; the whole consist- ing of a church, Father's apartments, store-houses, barracks, etc. The four sides of the building were each about six hundred feet in length, one of which was partly occupied by the church. Within the quadrangle or court, a gallery or porch ran round the second story, opening upon the workshops, store- rooms, and other apartments.
The entire management of each mission was under the care of the friars ; the elder attended to the interior, and the other the out-doors administration. One large apartment, called the monastery, was oc- cupicd exclusively by Indian girls, under the watch- ful care of the matron, where they were instructed in such branches as were deemed necessary for their future condition in life. They were not permitted to leave the monastery till old enough to be married. In the schools, such children as manifested adequate capacity, were taught vocal and instrumental music, the latter consisting of the flute, horn, and violin. In the various mechanical departments, the most in- genious and skillful were promoted to the foreman- ship.
The daily routine of the establishment was usually as follows : At sunrise they all arose and repaired to the church, where after morning prayers, they ·assisted at the mass. The morning religious exer- cises occupied about an hour. Thence they went to breakfast, and afterwards to their respective em- ployments. At noon they returned to the mission, and spent two hours at dinner and in rest ; thence to work again, continuing until the evening angelus, about an hour before sundown. Then, all betook themselves to church, for evening devotions, which consisted usually in ordinary family-prayers and rosary, but on special occasions other devotional ex- ercises were added. After supper, they amused themselves in various games, sports, and dances till bedtime when the unmarried sexes were locked up in separate apartments till morning. Their diet con- sisted of good beef and mutton, with vegetables, wheaten cakes, puddings, and porridges, which they called atole and pinole. The men dressed in linen shirts, pants, and a blanket, the last serving for an overcoat ; the women had each two undergarments, a new gown, and a blanket every year. When the missions had grown rich, and in times of plenty, the Fathers distributed money and trinkets among the more exemplary, as rewards for good conduct.
The Indians lived in small huts grouped around, a couple of hundred yards away from the main building ; some of these dwellings were made of
22
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
adobes, and others were of rough poles, conical in shape, and thatched with grass, such as the people had been accustomed to in their wild state. Here the married Indians resided with their families. A tract of land, about fifteen miles square, was appor- tioned to cach mission, for cultivation and pasturage. There is a wide distinction between the signification of the terms " Mis ion " and " Mission lands ;" the former referred to the houses, vineyards, and or- chards, in the immediate vicinity of the churches, and also included the cattle belonging to the es- tablishment; while mission lands, assigned for graz- ing and agriculture, were held only in fief, and were afterwards elaimed by the Government-against the loud remonstrance of the Fathers, however. The missions were originally intended to be only tempo- rary in duration. It was contemplated that in ten years from the time of their foundation they should eease, as it was then supposed that within that period the Indians would be sufficiently prepared to assume the position and character of citizens, and that the mission settlements would become pueblos, and the mission churches parish institutions, as in older civilizations; but having been neglected and undisturbed by the Spanish Government, they kept on in the old way for sixty years, the comfortable Fathers being in no hurry to insist on a ehange.
From the foregoing, derived chiefly from Gleeson's valuable work, " History of the Catholic Church in California," it will be inferred that the good Fathers trained up their young neophytes in the way in which they should go. Alexander Forbes, and other historians, say that during ehureh-time a sort of beadle went around with a long stiek, and when he perceived a native inattentive to the devotions or inelined to misbehave, gave him or her an admonitory prod, or a rap over the cabesa ! But all authorities, both Catholie and Protestant agree eoneerning the gentleness and humanity of the Fathers, who were absolute in authority and unlimited in the monarchy of their little kingdoms. Not that there was never any application of severe and necessary discipline; there were among the Indians, as well as in civilized society, eertain vieious and turbulent ones, incapable of affeetion and without reverenee for authority, and these were soundly whipped, as they no doubt deserved, as such erooked diseiples now are at San Quentin. Oeeasionally some diseontented ones ran away to the hills, and these were pursued and brought baek by the mission cavalry. They gen- erally returned without much trouble, as they had an idea that, having been baptized, something dread- ful would happen to them if they stayed away.
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