San Luis Obispo County CA Archives History - Books .....Chapter VI The Missionaries 1883 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com August 8, 2006, 12:11 am Book Title: History Of San Luis Obispo County California CHAPTER VI. THE MISSIONARIES. The Wealth of the New World—The Primitive Races—An Omen —The Tribes of California—Their Food and Customs—A Great Cemetery— Indian Boats— Early Missionaries—The California Missions—A Mission Described—Mission Government—Daily Customs—The Rich Missions—The Secularization—Eras of Progress—The Work of the Century—The Dark Ages—The Ideal Elements—The Good Work of the Monks—California Explorers—Tribute to the Pioneers-Apostrophe to the Missionaries. THE Establishment of the Missions in California and a Review of the Missionary Fathers, was the subject of an address delivered by the Hon. Charles H. Johnson, before the San Luis Obispo Library Association, September 1, 1872, on the occasion of the centennial of the mission:— The settlement of California by the Franciscan Fathers and the results flowing from this great event, which happened about a century ago, are surrounded by the memories of what may be termed the patriarchal age of California, and over which hovers the glow of poetic feeling, inspired by the sight of ruins which speak to us in the inaudible language of the dead past, breathing symphonies which float down the stream of time, recounting in musical tones the unrecorded deeds of the heroes of the romantic period in California's history. THE WEALTH OF THE NEW WORLD. The part of North America which formerly acknowledged the authority of Spain, was the richest and most highly prized of all the dependencies of that vast Empire, which at one period of its existence controlled the destiny of one-half of Europe, and held within its grasp the most valuable parts of North and South America, and rich possessions in both the Indies. Every variety of soil and climate, inexhaustible deposits of mineral wealth, together with the peculiar civilization of the ancient inhabitants of Mexico, or New Spain, made it one of the most interesting portions of the globe. THE PRIMITIVE RACES. Of the primitive races which inhabited this country, the most notable were the Tpltecs, who advanced from the north and northwest, and entered the valley of Mexico about the middle of the seventh century. They are known to us only through the legends of the races that followed them. These legends inform us that the Toltecs were acquainted with agriculture and many of the arts, and invented the system of marking the progress of time, used by the Aztecs who supplanted them. The ruins of their edifices may still be seen in various parts of Mexico, and the shadowy architectural remains recently discovered near the banks of the Colorado have likewise been attributed to them. After the lapse of three or four centuries the Toltecs disappeared, and were succeeded by the Chichemers, a barbarous tribe that also came from the northwest. They in their turn were speedily supplanted by the more civilized tribes of Aztecs, or Mexicans, and the Acolhuans, who entered Mexico from the remote regions of the north, and, settling in the valley of Mexico, erected their cities on the borders of the lake. AN OMEN. The Mexicans selected a place which they called Tenochitlans from a singular omen, which indicated to them the spot whereon to build their capital. On one occasion during their wanderings, they halted on the south side of the principal lake, about the year 1325. They there saw an eagle with a serpent in its talons, perched upon the stem of a prickly pear, which grew from the crevice of a rock. The broad wings of the eagle, which was of great size, were spread out to the morning sun. They hailed this as an auspicious omen, and proceeded to lay the foundation of the city. The device of the eagle and the cactus still forms the national arms of Mexico. The Acolhuans were known later by the name of Tezcucans, from their capital, erected on the eastern borders of the same lake. Whether California was a part of the far north, from whence issued these different races which we have had under review, will always remain an open question. We find a few indistinct architectural remains near the Gila and Colorado Rivers, but nothing north of these to indicate that this portion of the country was ever occupied, by even semi-barbarous races. THE TRIBES OF CALIFORNIA. The Indians that roamed •over the great coast valleys, from Santa Clara to San Diego, were divided into numerous tribes or nations, speaking different languages or dialects. Grammars were compiled by the missionaries in the languages of some of the tribes south of the mission of San Juan, which served as a key to the more northern languages. The Olchones and Mutseer languages, spoken by tribes of the same names, occupying the country between San Francisco and the mission of San Juan, were studied and understood by the missionaries. Beechy visited this coast in 1826, and observes of the Indians, "That the Olchones worship the sun and believe in the existence of a beneficent and an evil spirit, whom they occasionally attempt to propitiate. Their ideas of a future state are very confined. When a person dies they adorn the corpse with feathers, flowers, and beads, and place with it a bow and arrows; they then extend it upon a pile of wood and burn it amid the shouts of the spectators, who wish the soul a pleasant journey in the direction of the setting sun." It is a remarkable coincidence that the religious belief of this rude tribe corresponded so nearly with that of the enlightened ancient Persian, who adored the sun, and believed in the existence of Ormunzd and Ahriman, representing the good and evil principles of the universe. THEIR FOOD AND CUSTOMS. The Indians of California fared well. As food was abundant in every part of the country, they feasted on deer, antelope, hare, rabbit, quail, and many varieties of fish, together with grasshoppers, acorns, and a variety of seeds and roots. The interior tribes made yearly excursions to the sea-shore, bringing with them vast stores of acorns and other seeds, with which they made bread, by pounding them first in stone mortars. They would remain for months, perched on some high bluff near the sea, feasting on fish. The abalone, a large shell-fish, and mussels, were highly prized by them. Their universal remedy for all diseases was their peculiar sweating process in the temescal, a large oven of sticks and earth, erected on the banks of a stream. Several persons at a time would enter this oven, quite naked, and build a fire at the entrance; they would remain inside, humming a monotonous chant, as long as they could bear the heat. After perspiring profusely they would scrape their bodies with bones, and then plunge suddenly into the water of the stream. A GREAT CEMETERY. The tribes of California, with the exception of the Olchones, buried their dead. In excavating for a road some years since, on a bluff overlooking the San Luis Obispo landing, an ancient Indian burying-place was unearthed, showing skeletons packed closely together in a squatting position, indicating that the dead had been brought from some distance in large numbers, and their remains were discovered situated from twenty to thirty feet apart. INDIAN BOATS. Vancouver, speaking of the Indians, says that many visited his ships in canoes of the country, which he describes as being made of rushes—probably tule—and dried grass, of a broad leaf, made into rolls of the entire length of the canoe, and tapering to a point at each end. They were lashed firmly together, and propelled by double-bladed paddles, like those used by the Esquimaux. The men went naked, but the women wore petticoats made of rabbit and hare skins. EARLY MISSIONARIES. In the earliest ages of Christianity, it was usual for Christians to go into distant lands to preach the gospel. Gregory the Great sent St. Augustine with forty associates to preach the gospel to the Saxons of Britain. The principal missions of the Catholic Church in later times were those to China, Japan, the East Indies, North and South America, and some minor ones in Africa. In 1812 a Catholic mission was sent to Thibet. A princess, whom an Italian had converted to Christianity, appointed him her first minister, and requested of the propaganda eighty missionaries for the conversion of her subjects; several were accordingly sent. But the most singular in its effects was the Jesuit mission to Paraguay. Whatever poets and philosophers have fabled of the golden age and the world of innocence, the Jesuits, as Ravnal says, realized in a distant zone. The people of Paraguay had no civil nor criminal laws. Their only laws were the precepts of the gospel, There was no distinction of station, and it was the only society on earth where men enjoyed perfect equality, and where poverty, taxes, and lawsuits, those terrible scourges which everywhere else afflict civilized man, were unknown. THE CALIFORNIA MISSIONS Were started on principles somewhat similar to those adopted by the Jesuits in Paraguay; but they did not meet with the same success, from a variety of causes not necessary here to enumerate particularly. Governmental interference and the measurable intelligence of the California Indians, were great impediments. Some of the California missions were more extensive than others, but in design they were similar, and built of the same material, the adobe, or mud-brick. In all were apartments for store-houses, granaries, and for blacksmiths, carpenters, soapmakers, and weavers. The churches were all contiguous to the mission buildings. The Indians resided some distance from the mission edifices, in long rows of adobe huts, which were termed rancherias. A small garrison of five soldiers and a Corporal was kept at each mission, which served the double purpose of keeping the refractory neophytes in subjection, and of adding to the numerical strength of the mission, by making occasional raids with the Christianos viejos, old mission Indians, to the Tulares, to induce the gentiles, or heathen Indians, to come within the fold. A MISSION DESCRIBED. Duflot de Mofras, an attache of the French Legation to Mexico, was directed in 1840 by Marshal Soult, then French Minister of War, to make a reconnoisance of California. He thus describes the mission of San Luis Rey, near San Diego, in its full working order: "The building is a quadrilateral; the church occupies one of its wings; the facade is ornamented with a gallery. The interior is formed by a court; upon the gallery which runs around it open dormitories of the monks, of the major-domos, and of travelers; small workshops, school-rooms, and store-rooms. The hospitals are situated in the most quiet parts of the mission, where the schools are also kept. The young Indian girls are kept in the halls called the monastery, and they themselves are called nuns; they are obliged to be secluded to be secured from outrage by the Indians, placed under the care of Indian matrons, who are worthy of confidence. They learn to make cloths of wool, cotton, and flax, and do not leave the monastery until they are old enough to be married. A certain number are chosen among the pupils who display the most intelligence, to learn music, chanting, the violin, the flute, the horn, the violincello, and other instruments. Those who distinguished themselves in the carpenter shop, at the forge, or in agricultural labors, are appointed alcaldes, or overseers, and charged with the direction of a squad of workmen. MISSION GOVERNMENT. "Before the civil power was substituted for the paternal government of the missionaries, the administrative body of each mission consisted of two monks, of whom the elder had charge of the interior and of the religious instruction, and the younger of the agricultural works. To maintain order in the missions they employed only so many whites as were necessary, for they well knew that their influence was wholly pernicious, and that an association with them only developed among the Indians the habits of gambling and drunkenness, to which they are unfortunately too much inclined. DAILY CUSTOMS. "The Indians were divided into squads of laborers. At sunrise the bell sounded the angelus, and every one set out for church; after mass they breakfasted, and then went to work. At eleven they dined, and this period of repose extended to two o'clock, when they returned to labor until the evening angelus, one hour before sunset. After prayers and the rosary the Indians had supper, and then amused themselves with dancing and other sports. Their diet consisted of fresh beef and mutton, as much as they chose, of wheat and corn cakes and boiled puddings. They also had peas, large or small beans, in all an almud, or the twelfth part of a fanega, a week. For dress they wore a linen shirt, pantaloons, and a woolen blanket, but the overseers and best workmen had habits of cloth like the Spaniards. The women received every year two chemises, a gown, and a blanket. When the hides, tallow, grain, wine, and oil were sold at good prices to ships from abroad, the monks distributed handkerchiefs, wearing apparel, tobacco, chaplets, and trinkets among the Indians, and devoted the surplus to the embellishment of the church, the purchase of musical instruments, pictures, sacerdotal ornaments, etc. Still they were careful to keep a part of their harvests in the granaries, to provide for years of scarcity." THE RICH MISSIONS. Such was De Mofras' description of the discipline and regulations of one of the richest of the California missions. The others were conducted on similar principles. Santa Clara, San Luis Obispo, and San Luis Rey were among the most prosperous. They possessed vast herds of cattle, sheep, and horses, and large areas of land were kept under cultivation; orchards comprising all the fruits of the temperate zone, together with olive, lemon, and orange groves, were found at the missions where the climate was propitious to the growth of these different varieties of fruits. THE SECULARIZATION. The Mexican Congress passed an Act as early as 1833 to provide for the secularization of the missions of Upper and Lower California. Hence, Governor Figueroa published provisional regulations on the 19th of August, 1834, for the secularization in Upper California, in conformity with the aforesaid Act. The secularization was not, however, fully carried out until as late as 1845, when the Departmental Assembly at Monterey, on the 28th of May of that year, declared that, agreeably to the provisions of the Act of the Mexican Congress, passed in 1833, some of the missions should be rented, and others converted into pueblos. ERAS OF PROGRESS. A century has now elapsed since the founding of the missions in California. A century, however, is but a short period in the history of our country. In the world's history it is comparatively but a watch in the night. There are, nevertheless, certain periods, not even embracing so many years as a century, that are remarkable for the extraordinary events and changes which have happened in them, and which have made them ever memorable, standing out in bold relief against ages of apathetic dullness. Such was the period of Athenian greatness, which was almost as short as the life of an individual, but of such dazzling brilliancy as to have eclipsed, probably, all others that preceded it. THE WORK OF THE CENTURY. The mission of San Luis Obispo was formally founded on the 1st of September, 1772. From the church records it appears that the mission was built under the care and protection of the Catholic King, Charles III. The administrators of the Apostolic College of San Fernando, Mexico, for the propagation of the Catholic faith, were commissioned for this purpose. They were His Highness, Don Carlos Francisco de Croix, Viceroy and Governor of New Spain; and Don Jose Galvez of the Royal Council and Supreme Government of the Indies. Then follows a certificate signed by Father Junipero Serra, President. "Wherefore, the undersigned certifies, that he arrived here on the 19th of August, 1772, and on the 1st of September following, assisted by Father Joseph Caballar, blessed and put in its place the holy cross, and the first mass was sung amidst a vast number of Indians." Thus was inaugurated this Christian town. Great events and mighty changes have taken place in the last one hundred years, but nature presents the same features to-day that she did upon the day of the arrival here, one hundred years ago, of those earliest pioneers of civilization on this coast, who, doubtless, admired the violet summits of the surrounding hills as we admire them, and the Santa Margarita Range, with its deeply furrowed sides, and the mantle of silvery mist which at times it throws around its brow, when the bleak winds from the ocean rush along the valleys, and scream through its narrow gorges and wooded defiles. THE DARK AGES. It has ever been, and is even yet, a custom with the thoughtless to attempt to undervalue the inestimable services rendered to the world by the missionaries of Christ. The migration of successive hordes of barbarians, issuing from northern and central Asia, and spreading over northern and western Europe, culminated in the fifth century, in the destruction of the Western Roman Empire; which great event marked the commencement of what is known as the Dark Ages, and overwhelmed western Europe with a flood of ignorance and savagery unexampled in the history of mankind. Cities which had withstood the storms of a thousand years, inclosing within their walls the richest products of the civilization and refinement of ages, were involved in the general ruin. So terrible was the visitation, so incalculable the amount of human suffering which ensued, that it was proclaimed, and confidently believed, that the end of the world was near at hand. But they were false prophets, those who prophesied. All efforts of mere brute force are short-lived, and at best produce but temporary anarchy and confusion. It has been said, and it is an impregnable truth, that the meek, silent light can mould, create, and purify all nature; but the loud whirlwind, the products of disunion, of weakness, passes and is forgotten. No! it is not the rush of devastating armies, clothed with all the vulgar pomp and circumstance of war, sweeping over the face of the earth with sword and firebrand, like fiends fresh from hell, that produce permanent effects in human affairs. They are but physical appliances, and of necessity, and in accordance with unvarying laws, can leave no lasting impression upon the fortunes of the human race. THE IDEAL ELEMENTS Alone are indestructible in their effects. The creative energy of mind, faith, genius, truth—they shape the outward man, and direct his course onward, and ever onward, far into the realm of thought, where may be found the grand intellectual powers that will give us the golden key to knowledge, and with which we may even unlock the portals of the depths of space, from whence we may discover and understand the immutable laws which govern the universe, and hold systems of worlds within their iron grasp. In the dark night which followed the overthrow of the Western Roman Empire, could be discovered the light of the gospel of Christ shining through deep gloom, which hung like a pall over the ruins of ancient civilization and refinement. It was upheld by fearless, intrepid men who braved all dangers in the interest of Him whose purpose it was that wars should cease, and that peace should reign on earth. THE GOOD WORK OF THE MONKS. Indeed, it were difficult to estimate the value of the services rendered to mankind, during this period, by the missionaries of the Christian Church. They threw themselves fearlessly in the midst of the most appalling dangers, armed only with the fervor of religious zeal; and with spiritual weapons alone achieved triumphs, compared with which the mightiest efforts of the genius of war pale into utter insignificance. Modern civilization and refinement may be traced directly to their efforts in behalf of humanity. They went forth boldly to barbarian Kings on the banks of the Rhine, the Danube, the Elbe, and the more distant shores of the Baltic Sea; and succeeded in Christianizing and civilizing barbaric hordes, whose fierceness was seldom equalled, never surpassed. And during the same period they preserved the inestimable remains of Athenian and Roman genius—all that was left of the past eras of human civilization and refinement. After laying deep the foundation of modern European civilization, we see them still pushing outward to the farthest extremities of the known world, despising all dangers, enduring the most terrible privations, suffering hunger, thirst and martyrdom, aggravated by the most exquisite torture that savage cruelty could inflict. But the places of those who fall are soon filled by others, who lift again the banner of the cross and march on; now piercing the frozen regions of the North, and crossing mountain chains, where the fierce and wintry blasts start the avalanche, hurling it headlong down the steep declivities; now braving the deadly miasmas in the wilds of fiery climes; ministering unto those ,who, stricken down by pestilential disease, recline "beneath I the spreading tamarind, which shakes, fanned by the breeze, its fever-cooling fruit." Crossing the Indian Sea they came to the Moluccas, thence to Japan, to China, in the heart of Asia, in the Indies, in Ethiopia, in South Africa, among the warlike Kaffirs; then, crossing the stormy Atlantic, they pierce the heart of this continent; now in Canada among the Hurons, now on the banks of the Mississippi, in Brazil, in Paraguay, in the country of the Montezumas; and ioo years ago, as the sun was slowly sinking behind the Islay hills, throwing lingering rays of light across the valleys, like farewell smiles, tinging the rugged slopes of the Santa Margarita with a purple hue, they arrived here, weary, worn, and travel-stained, and rested beside the limpid waters of the stream which flows past us, I almost at our feet. Looking back through the dim vista of 300 years, we find nothing in the history of the race that can compare in true grandeur and sublimity, and in enduring effects, with the achievements of these servants of Christ, who went forth to preach his word to all nations, provided with neither gold, nor silver, nor scrip, for their journey. The Sesostrises, the Alexanders, the Hannibals, the Scipios, the Caesars, the Napoleons, supported by veteran armies, and backed by the resources of powerful States, and encouraged by the applause of multitudes, astonished mankind by the brilliancy of their deeds; but, meteor-like, they followed each other rapidly, leaving tracks of dazzling radiance, producing only temporary effects, which were soon swept away, and disappeared forever in the dark mists of time. But the deeds of those intrepid soldiers of the cross are as indestructible as time itself, for they are not based upon the spirit of murder and wholesale slaughter, nor upon the tears of the widow and the cries of the fatherless, but upon the noblest principles, faith, hope, charity, brotherly love, and appeal only to the immortal part of our nature, pointing ever heavenward, and teaching us the value of that most wonderful of all the known works of the Almighty—the human soul. CALIFORNIA EXPLORERS. In the year 1542 Cabrillo discovered California. The coast was afterwards visited by Sir Francis Drake, and, some years later, by Vizcayno. But it was not until the year 1769 that the work of laying the foundation of the Pacific Empire was fairly commenced by Father Junipero Serra. TRIBUTE TO THE PIONEERS. And about the middle of this century the American pioneers, starting from the far East, some spreading their white sails upon the blue expanse of the ocean, others fighting step by step their way through savage tribes, across trackless plains and mountain ranges, and all animated with the undying vigor and terrible energy of the Anglo-American race, came to build the superstructure upon the foundation already prepared for them. It is not yet completed, but in its still unfinished state, its beauty, its symmetry, the exquisite harmony of its vast proportions, strike mankind with mingled feelings of surprise and awe. The choice spirits, the picked men of all the nations of the earth, are flocking in upon us to help in the great work of rearing an empire based upon the indestructible elements of religion, courage, self-denial, genius, moral freedom, and dauntless resolution and enterprise. The mind is fairly bewildered when it even attempts to picture the future glory, power, and influence of a political fabric based upon such elements as these, placed in a position so commanding, and with surroundings so magnificent, situated where there is no beyond; on the shores of the grandest ocean facing the oldest, richest, and most populous countries of the world, which contains the hoarded treasures of the primeval dynasties, and backed and supported on the east by the untiring, restless energy of the master races of the earth, and containing within itself resources so varied and illimitable as to challenge the admiration and the wonder of nations. Let us, then, rise to noble conceptions of our splendid destiny; let us feel that our work is not yet finished; that, having aided in carrying freedom, knowledge, religion, and a higher civilization across arid plains and deserts, and over stormy seas, to the utmost verge of the continent; here in California, overlooking the white-crested waves of the Pacific, and fronting the effete barbaric despotisms of Asia, we are now erecting an empire which in time may eclipse all the others of the earth. Still we must remember that the great work will admit of no pause; to stop, to wait, would be but to recede, to perish. Let us keep our fire burning; let us feed its breath, until it flashes afar over the broad Pacific, that other nations besides the Japanese shall cry out: A gleam! a gleam! not from Ida's but from California's heights. And farther and farther it will spread, from shore to shore, from cliff to cliff, across Siberian wilds and China's fruitful vales, to where the Tartar wheels his steed, till Himalaya's snowy peaks herald the giant flame o'er tents of turbaned hordes, to where the crescent shines and " Arab camels kneel," and lo! westward the Star of Empire has flashed its rays. APOSTROPHE TO THE MISSIONARIES. Then all hail, noblest pioneers of the Prince of Peace! harbingers of civilization, whose mission it was to teach mankind the sacredness of human nature; to save that which was lost; to lift up the fallen; to succor the miserable; to comfort and console those who "ache for the dark house and the long sleep;" and to point out the path which leads beyond the grave to a nobler existence, where the weary will find rest and where sorrow is unknown. Again, all hail to that gallant band of American pioneers who, following closely upon the footsteps of the scattered few who preceded them, came to rear the superstructure of the grandest moral empire the world had yet seen. When finished it will defy the attacks of time, and its dazzling light is destined to dispel the darkness of Asiatic ignorance, and extend the blessings of civilization, freedom, and knowledge to the primeval nations of the earth. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY CALIFORNIA WITH Illustrations and Biographical Sketches OF ITS PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS. OAKLAND, CAL. THOMPSON & WEST 1883. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanluisobispo/history/1883/historyo/chapterv423nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/ File size: 28.1 Kb