USA > California > Alameda County > The centennial year book of Alameda County, California : containing a summary of the discovery and settlement of California, a description of the Contra Costa under Spanish, Mexican, and American rule, biographical sketches of prominent pioneers and public men > Part 3
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It is shown that 21 missions were altogether established in Up- per California. There were but four presidios, however; those of San Diego, Monterey, San Francisco and Santa Barbara. Each mission was allowed a few soldiers, officered by a sergeant. The pueblos were only two: San José and Los Angeles, besides, subsequently, the Branciforte, near Santa Cruz. Not any other pueblos existed before the secularization of the missions, in 1833. Indeed, it has been stoutly maintained that even San Francisco was never a pueblo, and it was to prove its existence that John W. Dwinelle prepared his celebrated argument in the United States District Court in San Fran- cisco, which resulted in his compiling the "Colonial History," a work to which we are indebted for much valuable information. The suit involved the pueblo lands of San Francisco, which were finally won from the United States and sold. It was the possession of pueblo lands that furnished the City of San Jose with a revenue, which has enabled her to make such fine improvements and leave her to-day without a dollar of debt.
The Contra Costa had neither presidio, pueblo nor mission. With that portion of territory received from Santa Clara at the organization of the county, in 1853, Alameda received the Mission of San Jose. That might also have brought us a pueblo had not Don Pedro de Al- berni willed otherwise with his Branciforte.
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CHAPTER IV.
THE MISSION OF SAN JOSE, OUR HISTORIC RELIC.
The Mission of San José is the cradle of Alameda County. It was established when San Francisco was an adobe hamlet of very small pretensions, and second in importance even to San José. There was no other site of civilization on the Contra Costa. Over all the broad expanse of country to the north and east of it, there was nothing but what was savage. Not a rancho, not a hut, inhabited by a white man. Occasionally a small party of soldiers from the Presidio of San Francisco, out in pursuit of their game, the unfortunate "Digger," would break the solitude of the wilderness. It may, however, have been that at that early date, a solitary vaquero attended the herds of the Mission Dolores, pastured out on the San Pablo flats.
As has been already shown, this mission was established June 18th, 1797. The order for its establishment, nor the actual circumstances attending its institution, have not been found, although diligent search has been made for the same. Indeed, the documentary information to be gathered regarding it is very meagre. The person who was most identified with the mission, since its secularization, was Father Gonzales, late Superior of the Franciscans in this State. To him a letter was addressed for information concerning the mission papers. His residence had been latterly the Franciscan College at Santa Bar- bara. Under date of May 13th, 1876, an answer was received from the present Superior of the college, Rev. J. M. Korno, stating that Father Gonzales had died on the 3d of November last, in that place. In his letter the reverend gentleman expressed the fear, "if the re- cords of the old Mission San José are not under the guardianship of the pastor, a great deal of information regarding that mission is lost to history." He further stated that they had no records there of the place. A personal visit to Santa Clara College led to no better result. There was nothing there concerning the old neighboring mission, and Father Varsi, the Superior, subsequently wrote that he could not even guess where any documents could be, found. General Vallejo, who is now the best authority on all matters pertaining to the Span- ish-American history of the State, was next appealed to, but that in- teresting old relic of the past maintained a stately silence. The
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
Spanish archives in custody of Mr. R. C. Hopkins, San Francisco, have been searched with only fragmentary results. Father Gleeson, in his "History of the Catholic Church in California," is nearly alto- gether silent regarding the Mission of San José, although he was a resident of this county when his work was put to press. A gentle- man who occupies an official position in Washington Township, where the mission is situated, and who claims a knowledge of nearly all the other California missions as well as this, and an acquaintance with many of the old padres, expressed the opinion that the documents are in the city of Mexico ; but even if known to be there they could not be conveniently followed. The author, however, has been able to glean a good deal of oral information, which, with some fragments of documentary evidence furnished by Mr. Hopkins and others, enables him to convey to his readers a tolerable idea of what the old relie was in its palmiest days, and what became of it after its decline and fall.
Although founded twenty years later than San Francisco and Santa Clara, it soon outstripped them both, and exhibited a greater degree of prosperity. It was established while Diego de Borica, who occupied the position from 1794 to 1800, was Governor of the Terri- tory. A view of the documents of his time shows that there were order and system in the transmission of public affairs. Every year the missionaries were compelled to make a report of the condition of their respective missions. The number of Indians under tutelage, their sex, age, etc., were carefully recorded, as well as the number of animals of every kind belonging to them, together with the extent and value of their crops. Even the very first year's report shows it to have received an excellent start.
Its site was well chosen. Its position was a plateau in the south- ern portion of the county, indenting the foot-hills of the Contra Costa range, and facing the southern extremity of the Bay of San Francisco, from which it was distant about nine miles. San Jose, to the south of it, was about ten miles, and San Francisco, to the west, about forty miles. A beautiful and fertile slope stretched between the two. Be- hind it were the handsome Calaveras and Sunol Valleys ; and at some few leagues' distance the magnificent tract from whose beautiful bosom rises the majestic mound of Diablo, and which stretches a dis- tance of some forty miles, or more, from the Livermore foot-hills to the Straits of Carquinez. Mission Peak stood like a giant sentinel immediately at its back, and indexed its location. Every want was
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here abundantly supplied. A fine site, a healthy climate, abundance of the purest water (which ran perennially from unfailing springs through the Mission garden), with the Calaveras and Alameda Creeks close by. Wood was near and abundant. Game was ever within shot. The pasturage was all that could be desired. The soil was as rich and mellow as a ripe apricot. The belt on which it was situated was warm and ever free from killing frosts. An embarcadero was only a few miles distant, and within an hour's walk were warm min- eral springs, possessed of potent healing qualities. hat more could possibly be desired ? If this was not the foundation of an earthly paradise, it is hard to say where it could be found.
The country all around was known as the Valle de San José. The Alameda and San Lorenzo Creeks and tracts were tributaries to them, and it would be strange, indeed, if the mission did not flourish and the Fathers roll in wealth.
They who had charge of the foundation of this mission and made a report of its first year's progress, were Friar Ysidro Barcinallo and Friar Augustin Merin. As was the custom with all the missions, presidios and pueblos, an annual report was made. The chapel at first was a small adobe structure, and it became necessary, during the second year of its existence, to add seven varas to its length. There also was constructed a wall forty-seven varas long, four high, and six wide, thatched with tules. Water-flumes were also laid down. Belonging as it did to the presidial jurisdiction of San Francisco, a number of soldiers were sent from there to protect it, and bring in Indians for education and conversion. Many, however, came of their own free will for the benefits offered them.
The first year much was not done. Thirty-three baptisms and five marriages were registered. At the end of the second year there were, altogether, 162 baptisms and twenty-nine marriages, and 154 Indians under instruction. The young institution, at the same time, was able to count 150 head of cattle, including six yoke of oxen ; 180 sheep and goats ; fifteen tame horses and six head of others ; and six tame mules. The harvest was small, consisting only of thirty-three fane- gas of wheat, twelve of beans, one of barley, and two of beans. There were sown, in the year 1788, 434 fanegas of wheat, two of beans, one of corn, and one of barley, from which there was produced an abundant yield.
Having thus seen the mission established and in ship-shape for the
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
work for which it was intended, let us now take a glance at the material which its founders had to work upon.
It will be seen that, contrary to what is sometimes supposed, the men who set themselves down to the work before them were far from leading lazy lives. It was not only a moral and religious education that they undertook to impart to the California savage- the festive " Digger"-but also an industrial one. The neophites, or converts, were also instructed in agriculture and some of the simplest manu- facturing arts, such as tanning, soap-making, weaving, etc. For two men, speaking a strange language, to take hold of, educate, even in the simplest rudiments, teach them the doctrine and practice of reli- gion, the use of raiment, the cooking of food, the cultivation of land, the care of horses, sheep and cattle, the construction of houses, flumes and fences, the tanning of leather, the preparation of soap, the spin- ning of wool and the weaving of thread, seems almost incredulous. This statement is not made for the purpose of either approving or criticising the conduct of these men towards the creatures brought under their charge. Only what the records disclose and what the facts truly represent, are stated. Of the value of their services, readers can judge for themselves. Others have condemned the Fathers, and accused them of taking advantage of the ignorance and helplessness of the savages to place burdens upon them ; while, again, on the other hand, their conduct has been extolled as partriarchal, wise and humane, in the extreme. All that is here to be remarked is, as the sequel shows, it was unfortunate that so much care, patience and zeal were used to no lasting purpose.
CHAPTER V.
THE CHARACTER AND CONDITION OF THE CALIFORNIA INDIANS.
The truth of the matter is, the California Indian was a hard sub- ject for civilization. He was one of the most degraded of God's creatures. He was without knowledge, religion or morals, even in their most elementary and perverted forms. He lived without labor, and enjoyed all the ease and pleasure he could. Physically, he was not prepossessing, although having considerable endurance and strength. His skin was nearly as dark as that of the negro, and his
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hair as coarse as that of the horse, while his features were repulsive. To gratify his appetite and satiate his lust were his only ambition. He was too cowardly to be warlike, and did not possess that spirit of independence which is commonly supposed to be the principal at- tribute of his race. In so genial a climate as ours, nature easily provided for all his wants. The best part of his time was spent in dancing and sleeping.
The aborigines of Upper California had no history, and but a meagre amount of tradition. Their remains consisted of earth and shell mounds, which were used as places of interment. They buried their dead in a sitting posture. They also used cremation. Their tongues were various, and when the Spaniards arrived in the country, the natives of San Diego could not understand the natives of Los Angeles or Monterey. They led a wandering life, moving from place to place, for the purposes of fishing, hunting, and gathering supplies. The country teemed with game of all kinds, and the flesh of deer, rabbits, etc., was plentifully used. Fish was abundant, and ran in every stream. Berries, nuts, and a variety of vegetables entered into their diet. Acorns and pine nuts, roots, and wild oats, all formed articles of consumption. The wild oats grew very plentifully, and the crop was general. It has been asserted that the natives were in the habit of eating vermin ; but it must be remembered they were not trained to prejudice against certain things, as are our fastidious tastes. It was not want, therefore, that compelled them to do this. What can be more repulsive to the civilized man than the idea of using the flesh of reptiles for food. Yet when hunger compelled, men have been known to eat even rattlesnakes, and praise their flesh as dainty. Of course, they rejected the rattles. In savage days rodents, such as rats, gophers, and squirrels, were little known. Commerce and the wheat fields have caused them to multiply.
The dwellings of the Indians were the meanest of huts, made of willows and thatched with tules or rushes. They were generally like conically-shaped baskets, made by taking a few poles and placing them in the ground in circular form and gathering them together at the top. These were interlaced with thin willows and covered with mud or brush. They were very small, and in winter time the burn- ing of a handful of twigs inside of them, would keep them warm for a day. When they became intolerable with vermin (if they could so become to them), they were easily converted into ashes and others made instead.
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
The skins of wild beasts made them comfortable coverings ; but it was no uncommon thing, even as late as the early days of the gold discovery, to see them sleeping naked on a couch of rushes, like a litter of pigs. In winter weather, the frost, acting on the heat of their bodies, would cause smoke to ascend from them. An eye- witness has stated that he has observed them in this attitude, and it was amusing to see the " outside " ones, as is ever the case, even in better society, try to get on the "inside" of the row! Their cabins or wigwams were usually built on the margins of rivers and creeks, or in the dells of mountains, but always near some stream to which they had access for their ablutions, which were frequent. The first thing they would do in the morning, after rising from their litters, would be to plunge into the river or wash themselves in the stream. They would then dance and play around a large fire until they had acquired sufficient appetite to relish a hearty meal. This was their practice in the cold mountain regions as well as the more temperate valleys ; in winter as well as in summer. Colds came with clothing. The latter they did not take kindly to, excepting for the purpose of ornament. When they ran away from the mis- sions and rejoined their tribe, the first thing they would do would be to doff their mission garments, which were emblematic of Christianity and servitude. An anecdote is told of an old chief (perhaps old Napa himself), who paid General Vallejo a visit once on a very cold day, and when all that he wore was his war paint. " Are you not cold," asked the General, " with no covering on your body, such a day as this ?" " Is not your face cold," asked the Indian in reply, "with no covering upon it but your beard ?" "I never make it a practice to cover my face for protection against the cold, Napa," replied the General, "it is not necessary." "Well, Napa's body all face and want no covering, ugh," replied the Indian, who made his point tell.
The Upper California Indians, as I have already stated, had no re- ligion ; they had no moral code nor even practical superstition. They worshipped no Supreme Being, and observed no sacred rites. They sometimes, however, set up a stuffed coyote, around which they lazily danced. They were devoid of ambition and seldom were stirred by passion. They were passive, like all Indians, but they were, never- theless, cruel in exercising resentments. They troubled themselves little about the cares of life, for they were sure of a living anyhow ;
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and rivalry, envy or emulation never took passionate possession of their souls.
The natives of the South Sea islands, no doubt, possessed more abundantly laborless supplies of food ; but they had to defend them- selves and their possessions against the incursions of their neighbors. Hence they were fierce, jealous and warlike. They were troubled with ambition and jealousy ; and, although naturally indolent too, they did not drone and dance away their days and nights as our In- dians did. The Californians were festive in their way, but they allowed the burdens of labor to be mostly borne by the women. They had many dances and dance-houses, and indulged in.many and hideous midnight orgies. They were, too, shamelessly sensual. There were a few of a particularly depraved class among the tribes. These, however, were among the men, not the women. Down our valleys they were called Goyas, and were regarded as outcasts. They assumed the habits and appearance of women, and lent themselves to the lusts of both sexes. They were found all over the province, but are said to have been more numerous about Santa Barbara, where heathen morals were not even as good as here. Although not pos- sessed of large families, their numbers were great. The whole coun- try was covered with them, and the men of the leather armors did not have to penetrate far to fetch them to the missions. When attacked and forced to fight, they would sometimes make a pretty formidable resistance, but generally they were not well calculated to stand the shock of battle.
Having had no religion or code of morals of their own, it is not to be greatly wondered that the Fathers found them prepared to fall readily under their influence. Hence, the large number of their con- versions. They were unacquainted with intoxicating drinks, and consequently led sober lives. The exercises of the chase and the dance gave them considerable physical strength. They were remark. able athletes. As swimmers and runners they were unexcelled. Their young would float and gyrate in the water like so many fish.
To catch, subdue and educate a race like this, to whom freedom was everything, it will be seen at a glance, was no easy task. To accomplish it, even remotely, demanded all the elements of success. Force and persuasion must be commingled. The soldier of the pre- sidio represented the one, the padre at the mission the other. Good treatment must have been used, to keep them from running away, and their employments congenial. The novelty of a semi-civilized
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
situation, with the attractiveness of new objects and strange ways, with good diet and kind conduct, could alone have kept them, even for a time, together. On no other theory can we understand how the missions were universally so successful, not only in Upper Cali- fornia, but in the other portions of the Spanish dominions.
CHAPTER VI.
LIFE AT THE MISSIONS, AND HOW THE MISSION OF SAN JOSE PROGRESSED.
The mission buildings generally consisted of a quadrilateral, two stories high ; there was usually a court yard with fountain and trees. The various apartments consisted of a chapel, Fathers' apartments, store-houses, workshops and barracks. The whole were built of adobe blocks, of unburnt clay.
The mode of life observed at the missions was as follows: The entire management of each establishment was under the care of two " Religious," or Friars. In spiritual matters they were altogether directed by the head of the Franciscan order. In temporal matters they accounted to the Governor; and in the Spanish archives of San Francisco will be found many reports from them of the condition and increase of the respective missions, of which they made statements regularly at the end of each year. The elder of the Fathers attended to the interior and the younger to the exterior administration. One portion of the building, which was called the monastery, was inhab- ited by the young Indian girls. There, under the care of approved matrons of their own race, they were instructed in the branches neces- sary for their condition in life ; they were not permitted to leave | until of an age fitting them for marriage. In the schools, those who exhibited more talents than their companions were taught vocal and instrumental music-the latter consisting of the flute, horn and vio- lin. In the mechanical departments, too, the most apt were promoted to the positions of foremen. The better to preserve the morals of all, none of the whites, except those absolutely necessary, were employed at the missions.
At sunrise all arose and proceeded to the chapel, where, after morn- ing prayer, they assisted at the mass. Breakfast next followed, after
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which they proceeded to their respective employments. Toward noon they returned to the mission and spent the time from then till two o'clock between dinner and rest; after which, they again repaired to their work and remained engaged till the sound of the evening bell, about an hour before sundown. All then betook themselves to the church for evening devotions, which consisted of the ordinary prayers and the rosary, except on special occasions, when other devotional exercises were added. After supper, which immediately followed, they amused themselves with divers sports, games and dancing, till the hour for sleep. Their diet consisted of beef and mutton, with vegetables in the season. Wheaten cakes and puddings, or porridges called "atole" and "pinole" also formed a portion of their food. The clothing supplied to the males was a linen shirt, pants, and a blanket coat; the females received each, annually, two under garments, a gown and a blanket. It cannot be said that these constituted extravagant wardrobes, but fashion was not the queen of this primitive realm. In years of plenty, after the missions became rich, it is said the Fathers distributed all the surplus moneys among them in clothing and trin- kets; but what constituted the surplus or how much its quantity, we are not informed.
Apart from the main building, the Indians lived in little thatched huts grouped around it, a couple of hundred yards distant. These huts were usually made of adobe, but at first they were made of poles as heretofore described. Here the married Indians resided with their families. The unmarried of both sexes were kept apart in large rooms in the main building. A walled enclosure was made around some of the establishments, but others were devoid of such protection.
The Mission of San José gained rapidly, and waxed wealthy. Its parent, San Francisco, it soon outstripped ; and its sister, Santa Clara, it left behind before the close. We have shown that at the end of the second year of its existence (the first being fractional), it had 154 Indians under instructions, and 357 live animals. Its exhibit of cereals produced, all told, at this time, consisted only of 48 fanegas, which nearly correspond with two and a half of our bushels. There were sown, however, 434 fanegas of wheat, 2 of beans, 2 of corn, and 1 of barley. The succeeding crop, it is to be presumed, was a most abundant one. In 1802 there were 327 male and 295 female in- mates of the mission ; in all, 622. Santa Clara had then 1,291, and San Francisco 814. From this date to 1822, there were baptized altogether, in San José Mission, 4,573 Indians ; married, 1,376 ;
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
died, 2,933, and existing at the latter date, 1,620. During the same period there were baptized in Santa Clara 7,324; married, 2,056 ; while the large number of 6,565 had died, leaving that mission with only 1,394 neophytes at the date mentioned, being 226 less than ours. San Francisco made an even less favorable presentation for this period. During the twenty years there were there 6,804 bap- tisms, 2,050 marriages, and the large number of 5,202 deaths, leav- ing 958 alive. This shows that those two missions suffered disas- trously from epidemics, which the Mission of San José escaped or received mildly, proving the superiority of the air and climate of that place. Syphilis, measles, small-pox, made sad havoc with the converts generally ; and in two generations they were reduced from 74,621 to 20,958 all over the Province of Upper California. The change evidently did not tend to the longevity of the lives of the natives ; but if the main object of their conversion was to send their souls to heaven, it is to be presumed the result was sufficiently satis- factory to those who had instituted the new order of things. There are individual instances, however, of long life among these poor peo- ple. In 1875, a mission Indian, named Justinia Roxas, died in San José at the advanced age of 122 years ; and there is now in the alms- house in San Francisco a man named Bruno, whose likeness is printed elsewhere, who claims that he remembers the building of the first mission-house of San José.
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