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missions at this period. Nor can the honor of its discovery be awarded to Friar Juan Crispi, who accompanied Portala. Portala named the harbor, after the founder of his monastic order, (Saint Francis,) San Francisco.

In about six months after Portala's discovery of the Bay of San Francisco, he and his party returned to San Diego. A mission was not founded at San Francisco for more than six years after. Father Portala having returned to Mexico, Father Junipero Serra was commissioned president of all the missions in Upper California. Under his directions, the missions at San Francisco were founded by Friars Francisco Palou and Bonito Cambou on the 9th day of October, 1776. Father Junipero Serra did not, as some have written, found the missions at San Francisco. Once only during his stay in California did he visit San Francisco; the period of his stay was short, extending from the Ist to the 10th of October, 1777.

Two years previous to this, in so far as is positively known, no keel of a vessel had ever ruffled the waters of the Golden Gate. This honor was reserved for the San Carlos. This ship, in June, 1775, entered the spacious harbor and explored the bay in all directions. She had been despatched from the lower country for the purpose of exploring the Bay of San Francisco, which had been discovered by land, and also for the purpose of seeing if it could be entered by the mouth or channel which Portala declared he had discovered on his visit in 1769.

The party which had founded the missions at San Francisco left Monterey (where a mission had been founded on the 3d of June, 1770) for that purpose

on the 17th of June, 1776; and, travelling overland, reached the Bay of San Francisco on the 27th of the same month, and founded the missions as already stated.

With increasing supplies of provisions, seeds, cattle, horses, and sheep, the missionary fathers entered upon the holy work of the red man's conversion. This was the sixth mission, up to this period, founded in California. From this time until the year 1800-a period of twenty-four years the fathers labored with great zeal and industry, and were able to report eighteen missions established and 647 savages converted to the cause of Christianity: how far, is not stated. With a stock on hand of 7,080 neat cattle, 6,238 sheep, 1,000 horses, and more than 5,000 bushels of grain raised per annum, matters seemed prosperous.

In the year 1802, the eighteen missions had an aggregate population of 15,562-7,945 males and 7,617 females. This of course included (besides the priests, soldiers, and Spanish) the Indians attendant at the churches, and supposed to be civilized. These missions were at the following places, and founded at the subjoined dates, and in the order following: San Diego, July 16, 1769; San Carlos de Monterey, June 3, 1770; San Antonia de Padua, July 14, 1771; San Gabriel, September 8, 1771; San Louis Obispo, September 1, 1772; San Francisco, October 9, 1776; San Juan Capistrano, November 1, 1776; Santa Clara, January 18, 1777; San Buenaventura, March 31, 1782; Santa Barbara, December 4, 1786; La Purisima Concepcion, December 8, 1787; Santa Cruz, August 28, 1791; Soledad, October 9, 1791; San José, June 11, 1797; San Juan Bautista, June 24, 1797; San Miguel, July

25, 1797; San Fernando Rey, September 8, 1797; San Louis Rey de Francia, June 13, 1798; San Inez, September 17, 1804; San Rafael, December 14, 1819; and San Francisco de Solano, August 25, 1823: making in all twenty-one, up to the year 1823.

For the protection of the missions, military posts or presidios were established: one at each of the following places: San Diego, Monterey, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco. These enclosures were surrounded by adobe walls, nearly twelve feet in height, with chapel, officers' quarters, barracks, store-houses, &c. Little encouragement was given to colonization, and the priests watched officers and soldiers, none of whom were allowed to marry without a license from the King of Spain, which the fathers took good care was not too often granted. With the fathers the Indians seemed to be the great centre of attraction: they were a race who submitted unreservedly to their spiritual and temporal domination. They were good blacksmiths, farmers, tanners, weavers, soap-makers, herders of flocks, and tillers of the soil; and, under the leadership of their masters, had raised the missions to positions of importance, and the fathers themselves to opulence and power.

Whilst the fathers discouraged by all means the immigration of white settlers into California, and prohibited those under their control from marrying, they most anxiously desired to cultivate amicable and even conjugal relations between the Spaniards and Indians. As evidence of this we find that the first grant of land made in California was to Manuel Burton, a Spanish soldier, on November 27, 1775, for leading to the altar as his wife a native convert woman.

But all the precautions and teachings of the fathers were unavailing to raise the native Californian above the docile, half-idiotic wretch, who, destitute of ambition, hoped or thought of nothing beyond a supply of food to fill his ever-craving stomach; and so soon as the influence, care, and protection of his master were withdrawn, he relapsed into his native bestiality, forsook the cornfield and the loom, and returned to scour the shores for dead whales on which to gorge himself, or to roam upon arid plains to fatten upon acorns and grasshopper pie.

Conflicts and jealousies between the fathers and the military commanders of the presidios caused the Viceroy of Mexico to define their powers in 1773. The fates, however, seemed to have decreed the downfall of the missions, which occupied the fairest portion of the world, and whose rulers, having relapsed from their pristine energy and zeal, were leading a lazy, semibarbarous life in superstition and apathy to earthly and heavenly things.

Spain already possessed by discovery and occupation the vast region of the American continent from Magellan's straits to the Columbia. The king became jealous of the power and influence of the missions, and determined on their suppression.

A long calm seemed now to hang over California, during which the Franciscan friars were complete sovereigns of the land. With the increase of flocks and luscious wines they grew lusty of body, easy of gait, docile in temper, mechanical in prayer, and moderate in zeal; and in their case, as in that of most other mortals, good dinners, well washed down with red wine, tended to abate the fervor of their devotion, and led

their thoughts and actions toward the precious metals and gross things of earth. Accordingly we find that they, in 1835, shortly before their abandonment of the country, raised large crops of wheat, maize, barley, beans, grapes, and other products, amounting to more than one hundred thousand dollars per annum; this, too, at the very low prices of those times. We find them also in the possession of 216,727 horned cattle, 32,201 horses, 2,844 mules, 177 asses, 153,455 sheep, 1,873 goats, and 839 swine. Indeed, one of the fathers, Louis Martinez, is said to have taken to Spain with him when he left the country more than one hundred thousand dollars in treasure. Even all this wealth is supposed to be less than half of what the fathers possessed about the year 1822, before the Mexican authorities attempted to confiscate their property. The fostering care of the Spanish government and the Viceroy of Mexico, together with the contributions of the friends of religion, had lent character and power to the missions of California and had swelled "the pious fund of California" to respectable proportions.

But all this power, splendor, and missionary labor were dashed to the ground by the fall of Spanish rule in Mexico; for, on the achievement of the independence of Mexico, in 1822, radical changes were wrought, both in the civil and ecclesiastical affairs of the country. The new empire not only laid claim to that vast territory then known as Mexico, but also to that limitless and undefined country so long claimed and partly settled by Spanish adventure--California. When Mexico became a republic, in 1824, this whole country was erected into a Mexican Territory, with a representative in

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