All supposed he meant sleep, as he had slept none the night before; and they went out of the apartment so that he might not be disturbed. But soon afterwards, upon returning, Palou found him in exactly the same position, in which he had left him, and motionless. Junípero had indeed gone to rest; but it was the rest which knows no waking. He seemed to be in a calm slumber; but he had ceased to breathe. He had passed away peaceably, without a struggle, without a sign of agony. So died, on August 28, 1784, in the seventy-first year of his age and the thirty-fourth of his ministry as a missionary, this remarkable and in some respects great man. He was not a man of commanding intellect; he was not a man of liberal views; he was superstitious; but at the same time he was a sincere man; and probably none was ever more ready or anxious to perform his duty and his whole duty, according to his light. He possessed in an eminent degree all that the church teaches as the Christian virtues; and few or none can be found, even among the saints, who were more perfect in their faith and devotion. Few or none ever accomplished more under such untoward circumstances or labored with more assiduous and undivided zeal for so long a period. At the time of his death he had baptized in Alta California alone five thousand eight hundred persons, nearly all of whom he also confirmed, and left fifteen establishments, two of them pueblos, four presidios and nine missions. If any man were ever deserving canonization, it seems Junípero was. But his memory will live longer and be preserved greener as the Founder and First of Pioneers of Alta California than either as a missionary or a priest or even as a saint. As soon as it was ascertained beyond question that Junípero was dead, the mission bells were tolled and the whole population burst into tears. It was but a short time until the sad news passed over to the presidio; and the people from that place, including soldiers and sailors, soon increased the number of the mourners. These became so many and were so anxious to see and touch the remains that it was found necessary to close the door and exclude them, so as to give an opportunity for properly laying out the body and placing it in the coffin, which at Junípero's own request had already been prepared by the carpenter of the presidio. This, however, took but a short time. The devout sufferer, some days before his death, had expressed a desire to be buried in the habit of his order and had removed an under garment, which he sometimes wore, leaving only his long robe with its cowl and the cord about his waist. All that had to be done in fact was to remove his sandals, which were given to the captain and chaplain of the vessel, who were present as before stated. This being arranged and the body placed in the coffin, six lighted tapers were placed around it. The door of the cell being then again thrown open, the Indian neophytes crowded in and adorned the bier with flowers; while the Spaniards pressed around and reached out their rosaries and medals that they might be sanctified by contact with the hands of their now blessed father. At nightfall a procession was formed and the body conveyed to the church, where it was placed before the altar and soldiers stationed to protect it from the pious violence of those who sought memorials and relics. Nor was it possible, with all the watching of the guards, to prevent pieces of the robe and locks left by the tonsure from being cut off and carried away.' On Sunday, August 29, the burial took place. There were present the comandante and nearly all the soldiers of the presidio, the captain, chaplain, inferior officers and nearly all the sailors of the ship then in port, all the settlers of Monterey, four priests, and all the neophytes of San Carlos. The people having gathered, appropriate religious services were performed; and after every one had been afforded an opportunity to see and touch the body for the last time, a solemn procession was formed and the remains carried with cross and candles and deposited in their final resting place by the side of those of Father Crespi under the altar of the church. During the ceremonies the bells were tolled from time to time; and every half hour during the entire day the distant boom 1 Palou, Vida, 276-278. 29 VOL. I. of a cannon from the presidio was heard, answered by another from the vessel in the habor. Palou, evidently impressed with these military noises, boasted that Junípero was honored as if he had been some general,' apparently forgetting for the moment that he was much more honored by the tears of his neophytes, the love and devotion of his comrades, the crowding of the people to touch his body, and even by the fact that his remains had to be guarded to protect them from injury by those who wanted relics and memorials, than he would have been by all the guns that could have been fired and all the requiems that could have been rung. On the seventh day afterwards, Sunday, September 4, the ceremonies, with some variations suiting the difference of circumstances, were repeated.. The same soldiers, sailors and settlers and a few more missionaries, who had arrived in the meanwhile, were present. The same kind of vigils were kept and masses celebrated; and the bells were rung and the guns fired as before; nor were there wanting renewed tears from the neophytes as well as from the old companions of the dead leader. These honors, however, were but the earnest of others yet to come. His memory was cherished; and his name, especially among those who had known him, was never mentioned without awakening a feeling of veneration. But the greatest honor paid him was by his devoted admirer and disciple, Father Francisco Palou, who upon returning to San Francisco wrote his biography. This work, which forms a very interesting volume, was printed at Mexico in 1787 under the title of "Relacion Histórica de la Vida y Apostólicas Tarcas del Venerable Padre Fray Junípero, Serra, y de las misiones que fundó en la California Septentrional, y nuevos establecimientos de Monterey-Historical Narrative of the Life and Apostolic Labors of the Venerable Father Friar Junípero Serra and of the missions, which he founded in Northern California, and the new establishments of Monterey." With the exception of the "Noticias de la Nueva California," a compilation of historical notes, diaries and journals 1 "Como si fuera algun General."-Palou, Vida, 279. written or collected by the same author, covering most of the same ground and constituting the ground-work of the latter volume, it was the first book written in what is now California; but as has been well remarked, it is by no means the worst one. In speaking of it himself, Palou complained that he had to write among a barbarous people and without books or companions to consult; and he expressed a fear lest he had not done his subject justice; but when it is considered that he not only called Junípero "the servant of God," but showed by the narrative of his life and labors that he was well worthy of the appellation, no one will feel that he has fallen below his mark or that either neglect or oversight or want of skill can be imputed to him. He may have been too much of the priest, too ready to believe in miracles, too superstitious; but he was consciencious, indefatigable and often eloquent; and he produced a work which for literary merit is eminently fit to lead the long line of its successors. Palou, though he protested that no further credit was to be given his book than was due to purely human testimony, clearly considered Junípero a saint and believed him entitled to canonization. He seems to have had this idea in his mind, without venturing directly to say so. He represented Junípero as possessed of all the virtues, and compared him to an august temple, the foundation of which consisted of humility, the columns of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance, and the principal structure or sanctuary of faith, hope and charity.' But whatever may have been Palou's idea, it is certain that the church has hitherto taken no action in reference to Junípero's memory and that, so far as it is concerned, one of the best of its servants, and one of the purest in his great office, has been allowed to rust in obscurity. Nor has it been until now, when a new people have occupied the country he first planted, that his services as the Founder of Alta California rescue his name and commend it as one to be long remembered and greatly honored. 1 Palou, Vida, 287-327. CHAPTER XII. PRESIDENT LASUEN.—SANTA BARBARA, PURÍSIMA, SANTA CRUZ AND SOLEDAD. A MONG the missionaries in California at the end of Au gust, 1784, there was no one equal to Junípero; no one of his extraordinary energy, his unflagging zeal, his untiring patience; no one who could do what he had done; no one, who, like him, could conquer and add a new province not only to the church but to the crown. The only person who might, perhaps, have attempted something of the kind, was his bosom friend, Father Palou. For many years, as has been stated, he had been the sympathizing companion of his labors and his struggles. It was to him that Junipero had confided his last instructions. And it is possible that, having sat so long a disciple at the feet of such a master, he would have pursued to a much greater length than any other the path that had been entered upon and perhaps have extended the missions throughout the northwestern coast as far as the Spanish flag had been carried by the Spanish discoverers. But Palou, though he assumed and for a couple of years exercised the functions of the dead president,' was reserved for the less glorious but more prominent position of father guardian of the college of San Fernando in Mexico. Thither he proceeded in 1786, after he had written the Life of Junípero, and there, after eight or nine years of further labors, and most of them in the interests of California, he died in the year 1794. 3 1 Cal. Archives, P. R. I, 485. Cal. Archives, M. & C. I, 361. |