USA > California > Santa Barbara County > Santa Barbara > The early days of Santa Barbara, California, from the first discoveries by Europeans to December, 1846 > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
From this fountain the water was formerly conducted into a large basin of masonry that is located immedi- ately in front of it. The stone head pieces, through which the water entered and issued from the basin, were designed to represent the heads of bears; but they have been so worn and broken that now they present but slight resemblance to those animals. The basin has a
65
THE MISSION
length of sixty-five feet and a breadth of twenty-three feet. Regularly once a week the women from the In- dian village gathered there to wash their soiled clothes, which they scrubbed on the sloping sides of the basin where they knelt.
A short distance to the east of the lower stone reser- voir, are the remains of a large building which was erected in the year 1808 for the manufacture of clay pipe and pottery. The former was used for conducting the water beneath the ground in places where an open aqueduct would be undesirable, and the latter was used for domestic purposes before the introduction of china ware. In the rooms of the Society of Natural History is a piece of pottery, made at the Mission and formerly owned by the writer, which bears much resemblance to the water pitchers used in the Orient. Very few pieces, however, of the Mission pottery now remain.
In the following year, an important improvement was begun in the Mission buildings, although it was not completed until 1811. Prior to 1809, the building ad- joining the present church and on the ocean side of the square, contained the dwelling rooms of the priests and consisted of a row of rooms but a single tier in depth, in front of which was a corridor. When, however, on account of the increasing number of padres, more rooms were required, the corridor was removed and another tier of rooms was added, adjoining and in front of the first constructed tier. The front of the building was then finished with the arched corridor that exists to-day, the arches and pillars being constructed of solid masonry and the flooring paved with square tiles. The entrances to the newly constructed tier of rooms on the front were from the corridor; and the entrances to the tier of rooms, to the rear, were from the inner court. The building was then covered with a flat cement roof, but later, when the growing needs of the Mission re-
66
EARLY DAYS OF SANTA BARBARA
quired still more rooms, a second story was constructed above the present cloister.
A picture of the Mission taken in 1865, shows that previous to that time a second story had been added to only one-half of this part of the quadrangle; but subse- quently the roof was raised along the whole length of this front, and more rooms were added.
At this period, traveling through Alta California was over trails, some of which were broad and well worn, but few of which attained to the dignity of roads, even after the introduction of the cumbersome ox-carts. Ex- tending, however, along the coast from Mission to Mis- sion was one well-traveled highway known as the Camino Real, or Royal Highway, which connected at San Diego with the system of Mission highways of Baja California, known as the Gulfo Camino, Sierra Camino, and Pacifico Camino. All of these highways were constructed by the padres as a means of communi- cation between the Missions, and over them a mounted mail carrier bore the dispatches from the City of Mexico. The Camino Real was the road over which Junipero Serra regularly traveled when he visited the Missions which he had established in Alta California; and in later years it became the principal highway along the coast.
It would be impossible now to locate with absolute accuracy the course followed by the Camino Real throughout all its length. In fact, for short stretches, the route traveled must have varied slightly with the seasons. It was not concerned with government section lines nor neighbors' fences, but followed the course most convenient to travel from Mission to Mission. In the immediate vicinity of Santa Barbara, it is not prob- able that it followed the beach westward from the east- ern limits of the city; as in those day, there would have been much difficulty, during many months of the year, in reaching either Mission or presidio from that di-
FORMER ARCH IN MISSION WALL From an Etching by Henry Chapman Ford
67
THE MISSION OF SANTA BARBARA IN 1865
٠٠ ٠/٠٧
<
-
014 : Atomea
-
-
-
-
.
-
-
-
THE MISSION
-
.
-
68
EARLY DAYS OF SANTA BARBARA
rection. The plat which accompanies the patent of the Pueblo of Santa Barbara, from the United States, in 1860, represents Mission creek emptying into the estero, which was then part of the lagoon. During heavy rains the creek forced its way to the ocean, and was difficult to cross; but after the heavy rains were over, the drift- ing beach sands barred the passage of the creek to the ocean, and the waters filled the estero. Later in the year when the creek ceased to flow in its lower stretches, the flowing springs of the De la Guerra Gardens fed the lake. Further eastward the old racetrack, recently bought by the city, was under water during winter, and the overflow from it, as well as the waters from Syca- more canyon, forced channels across the beach, where the yielding sands would make crossing dangerous.
The most direct route from Montecito to the Mission would have been to the north of the old racetrack and skirting the foothills; and during part of the year it would have been the only practical route. From a point near where Canon Perdido street reaches the base of the foothills, a branch road probably passed around the head of the lagoon to the presidio.
Westward from the Mission, the Camino Real un- doubtedly followed the general direction of Hollister Avenue; yet for the first three or four miles it prob- ably turned a little more to the south, and passed along the low rolling hills, so as to avoid the little lagoons and lands which in winter are heavy and soggy. The ran- cheria of Hope ranch as well as the chapel, which were south of Hollister Avenue, would also have diverted the road in that direction.
It was never a paved highway like some of the Caminos Reales of Mexico. It was little more than a broad trail, often leading between thickets of shrubs and under branches of oaks, or on the high banks bor- dering the ocean; yet it is of greater historic interest, to- day, than any other road in California.
69
THE MISSION
The severe earthquakes which cccurred at Santa Bar- bara in December, 1812, and during the following three months, did great damage to many of the Mission build- ings' and the walls of the adobe church were injured to such an extent, that it was decided to remove the church and build a new one. A couple of years were required to repair the buildings which had been injured and to remove the ruins of the old church; but in the year 1815, the foundation of the present one was laid. All of the other buildings of the Mission were of adobe; but in order to construct a building that would resist the force of future earthquakes, the walls were built of cubes of sandstone, firmly cemented with mortar. They had a thickness of six feet, and were supported by heavy but- tresses, so that the church is the most strongly built of any Mission in California. On account of the length of the rafters, it was found impractical to bring them from the San Rafael Mountains, where the Indians had cut most of the timbers previously used in the Mission buildings; and a vessel was accordingly sent to Santa Cruz Island to obtain them. The roof was covered with tiles; and the crude bitumen was melted and laid for a flooring.
Exclusive of the buttress but including the walls, the extreme length of the church is one hundred and sev- enty-eight feet and the width is thirty-nine feet. The length of the nave exclusive of the choir is one hundred and thirty-eight feet and the breadth between the walls is twenty-seven feet. Of the six chapels, the two near- est the entrance are built in the solid walls that are of double thickness at these points. Within a recess in the pediment above the entrance is a carved figure of paint- ed stone representing Santa Barbara; and resting above the cornice at each end are two other statues of stone, which with a third, that has been removed, represented the cardinal virtues, Faith, Hope, and Charity.
70
EARLY DAYS OF SANTA BARBARA
-
o
CEMETERY
a
o
0
0
o
GARDEN
O
O
C
O
0
F
/
ـممـ
GROUND PLAN OF THE MISSION CHURCH IN 1890
71
THE MISSION
The tower, on the left, that is approached by winding stone steps from the corridor has always been the princi- pal belfry, and at one time contained six bells, all of which were of brass. The two largest bells weigh eight hundred and twenty-five and five hundred and seventy pounds, respectively, and were cast in the year 1808, by Manuel Vargas. They are silent now, but their ragged edges speak eloquently of the past. Some of the smaller bells are older, and on one that bears the inscription "AVE, MARIA, PURISSIMA, SANTA BAR- BARA," is the date, 1804, and on another is the date 1797.
At the right of the high altar is a tomb where are buried the remains of the first bishop of California, Fr. Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno. In the basement beneath the nave of the church are the remains of Gov- ernor Figueroa, who died in 1833, and here also are buried the remains of Don Jose De la Guerra and his son, Don Pablo De la Guerra. In the Mission church- yard are buried a number of persons prominent in the early life of Santa Barbara; while in trenches, between parallel rows of masonry, the tops of which appear at the surface of the ground, are the remains of some five thousand Indians who belonged to the Mission settle- ment.
In the early days, the Indians were required to regu- larly attend the services held in the Mission church. There was an Indian choir and also an Indian orchestra of thirty musicians who played violins, flutes, drums, and trumpets. This orchestra was instructed by Father Duran, who was an enthusiastic conductor' and, not in- frequently, the services were enlivened by strains of dance music, interpolated with the more solemn an- thems.
In the Mission life, few exciting or unusual events oc- curred, but in 1824, a concerted outbreak among the Indians of several of the Missions of the Coast caused
.
72
EARLY DAYS OF SANTA BARBARA
great excitement among the Indians resident at Santa Barbara. The conspiracy originated among the In- dians of the Missions of La Purissima and Santa Ynez, and word was conveyed from them to the Indians of the Missions of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, San Buenaventura, and San Fernando, to prepare for an up- rising on the 22nd of February. The plans were pre- pared with such secrecy that the padres had no intima- tion of the approaching danger; and Jose De la Guerra seems to have been the only one of the class called gente de razon, or people of enlightenment, who had any sus- picion of the uprising. An Indian woman, employed in his family, intimated to him that she had heard of the threatened attack, but for so many years had the Indians submitted unresistingly that he placed little confidence in her story.
On the evening of the 21st, the Indians of the Santa Ynez Mission made an attack on the padres residing there, and on the following day several of the leaders of the Santa Barbara Indians excited the others, by re- hearsing grievances of the past. Watching their oppor- tunity, they seized some guns, and with these and with their bows and arrows wounded two of the soldiers who were stationed as a guard at the Mission. Captain De la Guerra was summoned, and he at once marched from the presidio with a force of soldiers. In the fight which occurred the Indians had the advantage of being pro- tected by the walls of the buildings and wounded four of the soldiers; but two of their own number were killed and three wounded. The Indians then retreated, with such property as they could carry, to the foothills of the mountains, and after a few days crossed to the lower part of the San Joaquin Valley. They were pursued thither by the soldiers; and one or two engagements oc- curred, in which several were killed or wounded, on each side; finally, however, a full pardon being prom-
73
THE MISSION
ised the Indians, they returned peacefully to the Mis- sion.
The Mission church of Santa Barbara is, to-day, the best preserved and handsomest of all the Missions of California. In the presence of the colossal cathedrals of the world, the crowning works of master hands, the beholder stands in awestriken admiration. But there is nothing in either the external or internal structure of the Mission to evoke such feelings of wondering ad- miration; yet as the eye of the visitor passes over the church, unpretentious in its simplicity; looks out into the church yard and over the hills with their crumbling ruins; and the mind recalls the many vicissitudes of the first years of the Mission life; there is awakened a feel- ing of warm attachment to this old church and to all that has been associated with it, such as few of the more costly temples can inspire.
THE SECULARIZATION
THE secularization of the Missions presents one of the saddest pictures in the history of the state of Cali- fornia. For half a century, the padres had toiled with unremitting zeal to Christianize the Indians and teach them the arts of civilization. Under their influence the hills had been made to teem with cattle, the valleys to produce harvests, and the vineyards and orchards to bear their fruits. In every large valley of the southern coast rose the tower of a Mission church, and near at hand were the Indian dwellings, the shops of native artisans, and the storehouses. Trade had become estab- lished between these Mission outposts and the cities of the east. Settlers came to dwell among them, and the birth of a new nation on the shores of the Pacific was made known to the world. Yet their system, under which the Indians were reduced to a condition of de- pendance and large areas of land were controlled by the church, was unfavorable to the political and commer- cial progress of the country and was consequently over- thrown. The transition from the glory of the Missions to their ruin was sudden and complete. The Mission bells ceased to toll; the walls crumbled to decay; and the Indians, half-clothed and half-fed, returned again to their native state and soon disappeared. Yet the work of the padres should not be undervalued as they were the pioneer settlers of the coast.
Nearly a century before the founding af the first Mis- sion in Alta California, Father Juan Maria Salvatierra undertook to found the Missions of Baja California. To accomplish this purpose, those piously inclined of Spain and Mexico were induced to grant or bequeath sums of money to be used for the conversion of the benighted
75
THE SECULARIZATION
natives of the two Californias. Some of those gifts and bequests amounted to many thousand pesos, and in the course of a few years the aggregate became very large and was known as the Fundo Piedoso de California or the Pious Fund. This fund was carefully invested by the Jesuits and rapidly increased in value. When the Jesuits were expelled from the Missions and the Fran- ciscans given control, the latter enjoyed every privilege exercised by the former, in using the income derived from the Pious Fund. With this income the Missions of Alta California were built; and from the cattle furn- ished by the Missions of Baja California the vast herds belonging to the Missions of Alta California sprung. It would, therefore, appear that the padres had not only a prescriptive right to the lands they had occupied and cultivated, but also a legal right to the herds of cattle and the buildings.
But the Mexican government regarded the Mission rights very differently and claimed that the best inter- ests of the Indians demanded that they be allowed full liberty and given land on which to support themselves. Accordingly, in 1833, the Mexican Congress decreed that the Missions should be converted into parishes and the padres should be superceded by secular curates. It was also decreed that all expenses connected with the secularization of the Missions should be paid for out of the Pious Fund. The territorial deputation was in harmony with the ideas of the Mexican Congress, and on July 31, 1834, they adopted the plan which, when carried out, resulted in complete secularization of the Missions, although several years elapsed before their ruin was accomplished.
The salient features of the plan were that the mission- aries, until replaced by the new curates, should be lim- ited in their duties to administrating to the spiritual needs of the Indians, while the secular possessions should be under the care of the government; that the
76
EARLY DAYS OF SANTA BARBARA
missionary property should be limited to the church and a building for the residence of the curate; and that the other buildings and property should be converted to such ends as the government might desire. Part of the lands were set aside as districts which were divided into sections to be allotted among the Indians. The lands, however, were not mortgageable, nor could perfect title be obtained, until after several years of oc- cupation. One-half of the grain, cattle, and imple- ments, belonging to the Missions, was to be divided among the Indians.
Major-domos were chosen to take charge of the Mis- sion property, and commissioners were appointed to make inventories. To a large extent, the plan was car- ried out as it had been projected, but in most instances it proved an utter failure. As soon as at liberty, most of the Indians refused to work and many of them took to the mountains; others who attempted to cultivate the ground were so harassed by the whites that their lot be- came unendurable. The restraint to which they had been subjected for a couple of generations had ener- vated as well as elevated, and in a few years they almost entirely disappeared. At last, realizing their mistake, the government made several ineffectual efforts to re- gain the confidence of the Indians, but it was too late. Not only was the plan a failure in its design of eleva- ting them by emancipation, but it resulted in the most wanton waste and fraud. The duties of the Commis- sioners, Major-domos, and other officers, connected with the secularization, admitted of numerous oppor- tunities for peculations. Nearly all of the Missions were soon desolate and in ruins; but as the large ma- jority of the people of influence in California were in- terested in the change, there was no one to interfere but the missionaries, whose voices were raised in vain.
Owing to the many disturbances of this period, regu- lar statistics were not kept at the Santa Barbara Mission
77
THE SECULARIZATION
later than 1834, and many interesting events doubtless passed unrecorded. The Mission of Santa Barbara probably suffered less than any other; for while it lost most of its secular possessions, and many of its buildings were allowed to fall to decay, yet the church and the cloisters were well preserved. One reason for this was the fact that the padres were natives of Mexico and not Spaniards; and, consequently one of the principal grounds of hostility was removed. But still another reason existed. In 1839, a new diocese was created of Alta California, and Father Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno was appointed bishop. He chose Santa Bar- bara as his episcopal see, and as he made his home at the Mission he undoubtedly had great influence in its being well preserved.
It had been decreed by the Mexican Congress of 1836 that the Pious Fund, which at that time amounted to about two million of dollars, and had practically been confiscated by the government, should be entrusted to the bishop, when appointed. Relying upon this re- source, the bishop at once planned to found a theologi- cal school and monastery at Santa Barbara, and also to build a cathedral. Work had already progressed to the extent of collecting rock for the foundations of the dif- ferent buildings, when news was received that Santa Ana, who was then in power, had declined to recognize the bishop's right to the fund, and that most of it had been converted into money and paid into the public treasury. The work was accordingly abandoned, and Santa Barbara lost a Catholic cathedral.
An effort was finally made, in 1843, for the restora- tion of the old Mission system, but the change came too late. The conditions, under which the Mission system could exist, had been swept away, and nothing could re- store it. Nearly all the Mission properties were in debt, and their incomes had ceased to be sufficient for the maintenance of both public worship and the care of
78
EARLY DAYS OF SANTA BARBARA
the Indians. The latter were in a most deplorable con- dition and, in many cases, were actually suffering the pangs of hunger. Finally on October 28, 1845, a pro- clamation was made for the sale of nine of the Missions; and others, including Santa Barbara, were leased for a term of years. The property of the Santa Barbara Mis- sion was leased to Nicholas A. Den and Daniel Hill for the yearly rental of $1200.00, the part leased consisting of all the storerooms and other buildings of the Mission, with the exception of the church and the cloister. The San Marcos rancho and some fifteen hundred head of horses and cattle and seventeen hundred head of sheep, belonging to the Mission property, were leased also, The bishop, at last, realized the impossibility of check- ing the work of ruin that was taking place about him; and his death was probably hastened by his disappoint- ment. In 1846, he died, and was buried in the Mission church at Santa Barbara.
The Missions of California played a most important part in the early development of the state, as each formed a nucleus, about which in time sprang up towns and cities. But the Mexican independence which re- sulted at the end of the war with Spain, in 1821, and the liberty of action and freedom of thought which fol- lowed, sounded the death knell to their existence. It was impossible that their system of land tenure could obtain with the growth of population under a republi- can government. Although it may be said of the secu- larization that it was necessary that it should be done, yet it was not done wisely. There were undoubtedly some abuses and some mistreatment of the Indians, as charged; nevertheless, abuses have been incidental to all governments, and no one will question the fact that among the padres of the California Missions were some of the most ingenious, self-sacrificing men California has known. With no thought of personal gain, but de- voted to a sacred cause, they endured every hardship,
79
THE SECULARIZATION
braved every danger. Though the names of most of them are forgotten, yet the name of one, now sleeping beneath the Mission at Monterey, should be remem- bered for centuries to come' for ecclesiastical history presents the names of few men who can be regarded as more useful, more noble, than Junipero Serra.
Though the bells of the Mission towers be silent; though the walls crack and crumble; all that remains should be held sacred; for the Missions are the oldest antiquities of California; they represent the efforts of manly character and noble purposes; and are dedicated to the Christian religion.
THE PUEBLO
THE settlement of the Spaniards on this coast resulted in four distinct lines of growth-the presidio, the Mis- sion, the pueblo, and the rancho.
The pueblo was the outgrowth of the presidio, and virtually began to exist soon after the latter was estab- lished; although the first town council was not elected until December, 1826. The soldiers who married and wished to remain at Santa Barbara, after their terms of service had expired, were allotted lands without the presidio walls for homes. Their descendants also built homes in the pueblo; and as years passed, others from Mexico, Spain, and France settled here. To the names of the comandantes might be added those of Cota, Gu- tierrez, Ruiz, Arrellanes, Lataillade, Jansens, Aguirre ; as the names of a few who were well known in the early days of Santa Barbara. There were also a number of Anglo-Saxons, who came during the early part of the last century, and who subsequently became prominent in the life of the pueblo and the County of Santa Bar- bara. One of the earliest of these arrivals was Daniel Hill, a native of Massachusetts, who came to the coast in the year 1822, as captain of a trading vessel en route to the Hawaiian Islands. In the following year he set- tled at Santa Barbara, and six years later he was natur- alized. After being engaged as a merchant for several years, and occasionally acting as carpenter and mason, he turned his atention to ranching and acquired exten- sive lands about Goleta.
Alpheus B. Thompson, who was interested in a fleet of ships engaged in collecting and transporting hides to Boston, also settled at Santa Barbara, about the same time; and marrying the daughter of Comandante Car-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.