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diff --git a/41561.txt b/41561.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6560d72..0000000 --- a/41561.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2933 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Picturesque Pala, by George Wharton James - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: Picturesque Pala - The Story of the Mission Chapel of San Antonio de Padua Connected with Mission San Luis Rey - - -Author: George Wharton James - - - -Release Date: December 5, 2012 [eBook #41561] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PICTURESQUE PALA*** - - -E-text prepared by Greg Bergquist, Melissa McDaniel, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images -generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries -(http://archive.org/details/americana) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 41561-h.htm or 41561-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41561/41561-h/41561-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41561/41561-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive/American Libraries. See - http://archive.org/details/picturesquepala00jamerich - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original - document have been preserved. Obvious typographical errors - have been corrected. - - - - - - [Illustration: George Wharton James] - - [Illustration: Rev. G. D. Doyle] - - -PICTURESQUE PALA - -The Story of the Mission Chapel of San Antonio de Padua -Connected with Mission San Luis Rey - -Fully Illustrated - -by - -GEORGE WHARTON JAMES - -Author of -In and Out of the Old Missions of California; The Franciscan -Missions of California; Indian Basketry; Indian Blankets and -Their Makers; The Indian's Secret of Health; Etc., Etc. - - - - - - - -1916 -The Radiant Life Press -Pasadena, California - - - - -List of Chapters - - Page - - Foreword 5 - - I. San Luis Rey Mission and Its Founder 7 - - II. The Founding of Pala 14 - - III. Who Were the Ancestors of the Palas 18 - - IV. The Pala Campanile 23 - - V. The Decline of San Luis Rey and Pala 31 - - VI. The Author of Ramona at Pala 34 - - VII. Further Desolation 37 - - VIII. The Restoration of the Pala Chapel 41 - - IX. The Palatingua Exiles 44 - - X. The Old and New Acqueducts 55 - - XI. The Palas As Farmers 60 - - XII. With the Pala Basket Makers 63 - - XIII. Lace and Pottery Makers 68 - - XIV. The Religious and Social Life of - the Palas 72 - - XV. The Collapse and Rebuilding of - The Campanile 81 - - - - -Copyright, 1916 -by -Edith E. Farnsworth - - - - -FOREWORD - - -There were twenty-one _Missions_ established by the Franciscan Fathers -in California, during the Spanish rule. In connection with these -Missions, certain _Asistencias_, or chapels, were also founded. - -The difference between a mission and a chapel is oftentimes not -understood, even by writers well informed upon other subjects. A -_Mission_ was what might be termed the parent church, while the -_Chapel_ was an auxiliary or branch establishment. - -The little mission chapel, or _asistencia_, of San Antonio de Padua de -Pala, has been an increasing object of interest ever since the -Palatingua, or Warner's Ranch, Indians, came and settled here, when -they were removed from their time-immemorial home, by order of the -Supreme Court of California, affirmed by the Supreme Court of the -United States. A century ago the beautiful and picturesque Pala Valley -was inhabited by Indians. To give them the privileges of the Catholic -Church and of the arts and crafts of civilization, the padres of San -Luis Rey Mission, twenty miles to the west, established this -_asistencia_, and caused the little chapel to be built. The quaint and -individualistic bell-tower always was an object of interest to -Californians and tourists alike, and thousands visited it. But -additional interest was aroused and keenly directed towards Pala, when -it was known that the severe storm of January, 1916, which caused -considerable damage throughout the whole state--had undermined the -Pala Campanile and it had tumbled over, breaking into fragments, but, -fortunately, doing no injury to the bells. - -With characteristic energy and determination Father George D. Doyle, -the pastor, set to work to clear away the ruins, secure the bells from -possible injury, and interest the friends of the Chapel to secure -funds enough for its re-erection. Citizens of Los Angeles, Pasadena, -San Diego, etc., readily and cheerfully responded. The tower was -rebuilt, in exactly the same location, and as absolutely a replica of -the original as was possible, except that the base was made of -reinforced and solid concrete, covered with adobe, and the -well-remembered cobble-stones of the original tower-base, with the -original building materials, bells, timbers, and rawhide. Even the -cactus was replaced. So perfectly was this rebuilding done that I -question whether Padre Peyri, its original builder, would realize that -it was not his own tower. - -Sunday, June 4, 1916, was selected for the dedication ceremony of the -new Campanile, and to give friends of the mission chapel a reasonably -full and accurate account of its appearance and history this brochure -has been prepared, with the full approbation and assistance of Father -Doyle, to whom my sincere thanks are hereby earnestly tendered for his -cordial co-operation. - - George Wharton James. - - Pasadena, California, - May, 1916. - - [Illustration: Padre Antonio Peyri, Founder of San Luis Rey and Pala] - - - - -Picturesque Pala - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -San Luis Rey Mission and its Founder. - - -What a wonderful movement was that wave of religious zeal, of -proselyting fervor, that accompanied the great colonizing efforts of -Spain in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. -_Conquistadores and friars_--one as earnest as the other--swept over -the New World. Cortes was no more bent upon his conquests than Ugarte, -Kino and Escalante were upon theirs; Coronado had his counterpart in -Marcos de Nizza, and Cabrillo in Junipero Serra. The one class sought -material conquest, the other spiritual; the one, to amass countries -for their sovereign, fame and power for themselves, wealth for their -followers; the other, to amass souls, to gain virtue in the sight of -God, to build churches and crowd them with aborigines they had "caught -in the gospel net." Both were full of indomitable energy and -unquenchable zeal, and few epochs in history stand out more -wonderfully than this for their great achievements in their respective -domains. - -Mexico and practically the whole of North and South America were -brought under Spanish rule, and the various Catholic orders--Jesuits, -Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites--dotted the countries over with -churches, monasteries and convents that are today the marvel and joy -of the architect, antiquarian and historian. - -Alta California felt the power of these movements in three distinct -waves. The two first were somewhat feeble,--the discovery by Cabrillo, -and rediscovery sixty years later by Vizcaino,--the third powerful and -convincing. During this epoch was started and carried on the -colonization of California by the bringing in of families from Mexico, -and its Christianization by the baptizing of the aborigines of the new -land into the Church, the making of them real or nominal Christians, -and the teaching of them the arts and crafts of civilization. - -Twenty-one missions were established, reaching from San Diego on the -south, to Sonoma on the north, and great mission churches and -establishments rose up in the land, of which the padres, in the main, -were the architects and the Indians the builders. - -Second in this chain--the next mission establishment north of the -parent mission of San Diego--was San Luis Rey, dedicated to St. Louis -IX, the king of France, who reigned from 1226 to 1270, renowned for -his piety at home and abroad, and who was especially active in the -Crusades. He was canonized by Pope Boniface VIII, in 1297, in the -reign of his grandson, Phillip the Fair, and his _day_ is observed on -the 25th of August. - -The Mission of San Luis Rey was the eighteenth to be founded and -Junipero Serra, the venerable leader of the zealous band of -Franciscans, had passed to his reward fourteen years before, his -mantle descending in turn to Francisco Palou, and then to Fermin -Francisco de Lasuen, under whose regime as _Padre Presidente_ it was -established. The friar put in charge of the work was one of the most -energetic, capable, competent and lovable geniuses the remarkable -system of the Franciscan Order ever produced in California. He was -zealous but practical, dominating but kindly, a wonderful organizer -yet great in attending to detail, gifted with tremendous energy, a -master as an architect, and withal so lovable in his nature as to win -all with whom he came in contact, Indians as well as Spaniards and -Mexicans. The Mission was founded on the 13th of June, 1798, and yet -so willingly did the Indians work for him, that on the 18th of July -six thousand adobes were already made for the new church. It was -completed in 1802. For over a century it has stood, the wonder, -amazement and delight of all who have seen it. - -Alfred Robinson, the Boston merchant, who came to California in 1828 -and settled here, engaging in business for many years, visited San -Luis Rey in 1829, and has left us a graphic picture of the buildings -of San Luis Rey and the life of its Indians. Riding over the barren -and hilly back country from San Diego he discants upon the weariness -of the forty-mile journey until the Mission is perceived from the top -of an eminence in the center of a rich and cultivated valley. He -continues: - - It was yet early in the afternoon when we rode up to the - establishment, at the entrance of which many Indians had - congregated to behold us, and as we dismounted, some stood - ready to take off our spurs, whilst others unsaddled the - horses. The Reverend Father was at prayers, and some time - elapsed ere he came, giving us a most cordial reception. - Chocolate and refreshments were at once ordered for us, and - rooms where we might arrange our dress, which had become - somewhat soiled by the dust. - - This Mission was founded in the year 1798, by its present - minister, Father Antonio Peyri, who had been for many years a - reformer and director among the Indians. At this time (1829) - its population was about three thousand Indians, who were all - employed in various occupations. Some were engaged in - agriculture, while others attended to the management of over - sixty thousand head of cattle. Many were carpenters, masons, - coopers, saddlers, shoemakers, weavers, etc., while the - females were employed in spinning and preparing wool for - their looms, which produced a sufficiency of blankets for - their yearly consumption. Thus every one had his particular - vocation, and each department its official superintendent, or - alcalde; these were subject to the supervision of one or more - Spanish _mayordomos_, who were appointed by the missionary - father, and consequently under his immediate direction. - - The building occupies a large square, of at least eighty or - ninety yards each side; forming an extensive area, in the - center of which a fountain constantly supplies the - establishment with pure water. - - The front is protected by a long corridor, supported by - thirty-two arches, ornamented with latticed railings, which, - together with the fine appearance of the church on the right, - presents an attractive view to the traveller; the interior is - divided into apartments for the missionary and mayordomos, - store-rooms, workshops, hospitals, rooms for unmarried males - and females, while near at hand is a range of buildings - tenanted by the families of the superintendents. There is - also a guard-house, where were stationed some ten or a dozen - soldiers, and in the rear spacious granaries stored with an - abundance of wheat, corn, beans, peas, etc., also large - enclosures for wagons, carts, and the implements of - agriculture. In the interior of the square might be seen the - various trades at work, presenting a scene not dissimilar to - some of the working departments of our state prisons. - Adjoining are two large gardens, which supply the table with - fruit and vegetables, and two or three large "_ranchos_" or - farms are situated from five to eight leagues distant, - where the Indians are employed in cultivating and - domesticating cattle. - - The church is a large, stone edifice, whose exterior is not - without some considerable ornament and tasteful finish; but - the interior is richer, and the walls are adorned with a - variety of pictures of saints and Scripture subjects, - glaringly colored, and attractive to the eye. Around the - altar are many images of the saints, and the tall and massive - candelabra, lighted during mass, throw an imposing light upon - the whole. - - Mass is offered daily, and the greater portion of the Indians - attend; but it is not unusual to see numbers of them driven - along by alcaldes, and under the whip's lash forced to the - very doors of the sanctuary. The men are placed generally - upon the left, and the females occupy the right of the - church, so that a passage way or aisle is formed between them - from the principal entrance to the altar, where zealous - officials are stationed to enforce silence and attention. At - evening again, "_El Rosario_" is prayed, and a second time - all assemble to participate in supplication to the Virgin. - - [Illustration: The Pala Campanile, Showing the Cactus Growing by - the Side of the Cross.] - - [Illustration: The Pala Chapel and Campanile Before the Restoration.] - -In this earlier account he adds comment upon the treatment some of the -Indians received at the hands of their superiors which would lead one -to infer that the rule of the padres was one of harsh severity rather -than of affection and wise discipline. Later, however, he writes more -moderately, as follows: - - On the inside of the main building it formed a large square, - where he found at least one or two hundred young Indian girls - busily employed spinning, each one with her spinning wheel, - and the different apartments around were occupied with the - different trades, such as carpenters, blacksmiths, - shoemakers, tailors, most useful for the establishment. There - were also weavers, busily at work weaving blankets, all - apparently contented and happy in their vocation. Passing out - of the square, he strolled towards the garden, where he - entered and found, much to his surprise, a great variety of - fruit trees--pears, apples, peaches, plums, figs, oranges and - lemons, besides a large vineyard, bearing the choicest - grapes. - -While it is very possible the Mission of San Juan Capistrano--the next -one further north--was the most imposing, architecturally, of all the -California Missions in its prime, it was not allowed to stand long -enough for us to know its glory, the earthquake of 1812 destroying its -tower, after which time it remained in ruins. San Luis Rey suffered -materially from the hands of the spoilers during the sad epoch of -_Secularization_ and when I first saw it, some thirty years ago, -nearly all its outbuildings were destroyed. Yet even in its ruined -condition it exercised great fascination over all who viewed it, and -careful study revealed that, architecturally, it was the most perfect -Mission of the whole chain. While not as solidly built as either Santa -Barbara, San Carlos at Monterey or San Carlos in the Carmelo Valley, -it was architecturally more perfect. Indeed it was the only Mission -that combined within itself all the elements of the so-called Mission -Style of architecture. - -To those unfamiliar with the history of California and the Missions -the question naturally arises, when they find the buildings in ruins, -the Indians scattered, and all traces of the establishments' former -glory gone, "Whence and Why this ruin?" [A] - -To answer fully would require more space than this brochure affords, -and for further information those interested are referred to my larger -work.[A] In brief it may be stated that the decline of the Missions -came about through the cupidity of Mexican politicians, who deprived -the padres of their temporal control, released the Indians from their -parental care, committed the property of the Missions into the -latter's hands and then deliberately and ruthlessly robbed them on -every hand. The work of demoralizing the Indians was followed by the -Americans who took possession of California soon after the Mexican act -of _secularization_ of the Missions was passed, and the days of the -gold excitement which came soon after pretty nearly completed the sad -work. - -Hence it is only since the later growth of population in California -that a desire to preserve these old Missions has arisen. Under the -energetic direction of Dr. Charles F. Lummis, the Landmarks Club has -done much needed work in preserving them from further ruin, and at San -Luis Rey the Franciscans themselves have systematically carried on the -work of restoration until, save that the Indians are gone and the -outbuildings are less extensive, one might deem himself at the Mission -soon after its original erection. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[A] _In and Out of the Old Missions_, Little, Brown & Co., Boston. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -The Founding of Pala. - - -Many a time when I have been journeying between Pala and San Luis Rey, -pictures have arisen in my mind of the energetic Peyri. I imagined him -at his multifarious duties as architect, master builder, director, -priest officiating at the mass, preacher, teacher of Indians, settler -of disputes between them, administrator of justice, etc., etc. But no -picture has been more persistent and pleasing than when I imagined him -reaching out after more heathen souls to be garnered for God and -Mother Church. I have pictured him inquiring of his faithful Indians -as to the whereabouts and number of other and _heathen_ Indians, in -outlying districts. He soon learned of Pala, but his great organizing -and building work at San Luis Rey prevented for some time his going to -see for himself. Then I pictured him walking down the quiet valley of -the San Luis Rey River, talking to himself of his plans, listening to -the singing of the birds which ever cheerily caroled in that -picturesque vale, sometimes questioning the Indian who accompanied him -as guide and interpreter. - -Then I saw him on his arrival at Pala. His meeting with the chiefs, -his forceful, pleasing and dominating personality at once taking hold -of the aboriginal mind. Then I heard--in imagination--the herald give -notice of the meeting to be held next day, perhaps, and the rapid -gathering of the interested Indians. Then I felt the urge of this -devoted man's soul as he spoke, through his interpreter, to the dusky -crowd of men, women, and children as he bade them sit upon the ground, -while he unfolded his plan to them. He had come from the God of the -white men, the God who loved all men and wished to save them from the -inevitable consequences of their natural wickedness. With deep fervor -he expounded the merciless theology of his Church and the time, -tempered, however, with the redeeming love of the Christ, and the fact -that through and by his ministrations they could be eternally saved. - -Then, possibly, with the touch of the practical politician, he showed -how, under the hands of the Spaniards, they would be trained in many -ways and become superior to their hereditary enemies, the Cahuillas, -and the Indians of the desert and of the far-away river that flowed -from the heart of the Great Canyon down to the wonderful Great Sea -(the Gulf of California). After this he expounded his plan of building -a mission chapel and then-- - -And here I have often wondered. Did he ask for co-operation, gladly, -willingly, freely accorded, or did he authoritatively announce that, -on such a day work would begin in which they were expected, and would -absolutely be required, to take a part? Diplomacy, persuasion, zealous -love that was so urgent and insistent as to be irresistible, or -manifested power, command and rude control? - -Testimonies differ, some saying one thing, some another. Personally I -believe the former was the chief and prevailing spirit. I hope it -was. I freely confess I desire to believe it was. - -Anyhow, whichever way the influence or power was exercised, the end -was gained, and in 1816, the Indians were set to work, bricks and -tiles were made, lime burned, cement and plaster prepared, bands of -stalwarts sent to the Palomar mountains to cut down logs for beams, -which patient oxen slowly dragged down the mountain sides, through the -canyons and valleys to the spot, and maidens and women, doubtless, -were sent to pick up boulders out of the rocky stream bed for the -covering of the base of the Campanile. In the meantime a _ramada_ was -erected (a shelter made of poles and boughs) in which morning mass was -regularly held. Trained Christian Indians came over from San Luis Rey -to assist in the work, and also to guide the Palas in the Christian -life and the ceremonies of the Church. - -What an active bustling little valley it suddenly became. Like magic -the chapel was built, then the bell-tower sprang into existence, and -finally, one bright morning, possibly with a thousand or more gathered -from San Luis Rey to add to the thousand of Palas already assembled, -the dedication of the chapel took place, named after Peyri's beloved -Saint, Anthony, the miracle worker of Padua. - -It was a populous valley, and the Indians were soon absorbed in the -life taught them by the brown and long-gowned Franciscans. Mass every -morning. Then, after breakfast, dispersion, each to his allotted toil. -Year after year this continued until the Mexican _diputacion_, or -house of legislature, passed the infamous decree of _Secularization_, -which spelled speedy ruin to every Mission of California. - -Some writers, with more imagination than desire for ascertaining the -facts, have asserted that the name Pala, comes from _pala_, Spanish -for shovel, owing to the shovel or spade-like shape of the valley. The -explanation is purely fanciful. It has no foundation in fact. _Pala_ -is Indian of this region for _water_. These were the _water_ Indians, -to differentiate them from the Indians who lived on the other side of -the mountains in the desert. The Indians of Warner's Ranch, speaking -practically the same language, and, therefore, evidently the same -people, called themselves Palatinguas,--the _hot-water Indians_,--from -the fact that their home was closely contiguous to some of the most -remarkable hot springs of Southern California. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -Who Were the Ancestors of the Palas? - - -The study of the ancestors of our present-day Amerind has occupied the -time and attention of many scholars with small results. Only when the -ethnologist and antiquarian began to take due cognizance of language, -tradition, and the physical configuration of skull and body did he -begin to make due progress. - -Dr. A. L. Kroeber, of the University of California, affirms that the -Palas belong to what is now generally called the Uto-Aztecan stock. -Distant relatives of theirs are the Shoshones, of Idaho and Wyoming; -so the general name "Shoshonean" was long since applied to them. But -more recent investigations have shown that the great group of -Shoshonean tribes are only a part of a still larger family, all -related among each other, as shown by their speech. In this grand -assemblage belong the Utes of Utah, the famous snake-dancing Hopi, and -the pastoral Pimas, of Arizona, the Yaki of Sonora, and, most -important of all, the Aztecs of Mexico. The name Uto-Aztecan, -therefore, is rapidly coming into use as the most appropriate for this -family, which was and still is numerically the largest and -historically the most important on the American continent. Whether the -Aztecs are an offshoot from the less civilized tribes in the United -States, or the reverse, is not yet determined. - - [Illustration: Interior of Pala Chapel Before the Restoration, Showing - the Old Indian Mural Decorations.] - - [Illustration: An Old San Luis Rey Mission Indian.] - - [Illustration: Statue of San Luis Rey Which Stands at the Right of the - Altar in Pala Chapel.] - -The most conspicuous of the Uto-Aztecan tribes in San Diego County are -the Indians formerly connected with the Mission of San Luis Rey, and -who are called, therefore _Luisenos_. They know nothing of their -kinship with the Aztecs but believe that they originated in Southern -California. They tell a migration legend, however, of how their -ancestors, led by the Eagle and their great hero, Uuyot, sometimes -spelled Wiyot, journeyed by slow stages from near Mt. San Bernardino -to their present homes. Uuyot was subsequently poisoned by the -witchcraft of his enemies and passed away, but not until he had -ordained the law and customs which the older Indians used to follow. - -Old Pedro Lucero, at Saboba, years before his death told me of the -earlier history of his people, and of their coming to this land. I -transcribe it here exactly as I wrote it at his dictation: - - Before my people came here they lived far, far away in the - land that is in the heart of the setting sun. But Siwash, our - great god, told Uuyot, the warrior captain of my people, that - we must come away from this land and sail away and away in a - direction that he would give us. Under Uuyot's orders my - people built big boats and then, with Siwash himself leading - them, and with Uuyot as captain, they launched them into the - ocean and rowed away from the shore. There was no light on - the ocean. Everything was covered with a dark fog and it was - only by singing, as they rowed, that the boats were enabled - to keep together. - - It was still dark and foggy when the boats landed on the - shores of this land, and my ancestors groped about in the - darkness, wondering why they had been brought hither. Then, - suddenly, the heavens opened, and lightnings flashed and - thunders roared and the rains fell, and a great earthquake - shook all the earth. Indeed, all the elements of earth, ocean - and heaven seemed to be mixed up together, and with terror - in their hearts, and silence on their tongues my people stood - still awaiting what would happen further. Though no one had - spoken they knew something was going to happen, and they were - breathless in their anxiety to know what it was. Then they - turned to Uuyot and asked him what the raging of the elements - meant. Gently he calmed their fear and bade them be silent - and wait. As they waited, a terrible clap of thunder rent the - very heavens and the vivid lightning revealed the frightened - people huddling together as a pack of sheep. But Uuyot stood - alone, brave and fearless, and daring the anger of 'Those - Above.' With a loud voice he cried out: 'Wit-i-a-ko!' which - signified 'Who's there;' 'What do you want?' There was no - response. The heavens were silent! The earth was silent! The - ocean was silent! All nature was silent! Then with a voice - full of tremulous sadness and loving yearning for his people - Uuyot said: 'My children, my own sons and daughters, - something is wanted of us by Those Above. What it is I do not - know. Let us gather together and bring pivat, and with it - make the big smoke and then dance and dance until we are told - what is required of us.' - - So the people brought pivat--a native tobacco that grows in - Southern California--and Uuyot brought the big ceremonial - pipe which he had made out of rock, and he soon made the big - smoke and blew the smoke up into the heavens while he urged - the people to dance. They danced hour after hour, until they - grew tired, and Uuyot smoked all the time, but still he urged - them to dance. - - Then he called out again to 'Those Above:' 'Witiako!' but - could obtain no response. This made him sad and disconsolate, - and when the people saw Uuyot sad and disconsolate they - became panic-stricken, ceased to dance and clung around him - for comfort and protection. But poor Uuyot had none to give. - He himself was the saddest and most forsaken of all, and he - got up and bade the people leave him alone, as he wished to - walk to and fro by himself. Then he made the people smoke and - dance, and when they rested they knelt in a circle and - prayed. But he walked away by himself, feeling keenly the - refusal of 'Those Above' to speak to him. His heart was - deeply wounded. - - But, as the people prayed and danced and sang, a gentle light - came stealing into the sky from the far, far east. Little by - little the darkness was driven away. First the light was - grey, then yellow, then white, and at last the glittering - brilliancy of the sun filled all the land and covered the sky - with glory. The sun had arisen for the first time, and in its - light and warmth my people knew they had the favor of 'Those - Above,' and they were contented and happy. - - But when Siwash, the god of earth, looked around and saw - everything revealed by the sun, he was discontented, for the - earth was bare and level and monotonous and there was nothing - to cheer the sight. So he took some of the people and of them - he made high mountains, and of some smaller mountains. Of - some he made rivers and creeks and lakes and waterfalls, and - of others, coyotes, foxes, deer, antelope, bear, squirrel, - porcupines and all the other animals. Then he made out of - other people all the different kinds of snakes and reptiles - and insects and birds and fishes. Then he wanted trees and - plants and flowers, and he turned some of the people into - these things. Of every man or woman that he seized he made - something according to its value. When he had done he had - used up so many people he was scared. So he set to work and - made a new lot of people, some to live here and some to live - everywhere. And he gave to each family its own language and - tongue and its own place to live, and he told them where to - live and the sad distress that would come upon them if they - mixed up their tongues by intermarriage. Each family was to - live in its own place and while all the different families - were to be friends and live as brothers, tied together by - kinship, amity and concord, there was to be no mixing of - bloods. - - Thus were settled the original inhabitants on the coast of - Southern California by Siwash, the god of the earth, and - under the captaincy of Uuyot. - -The language of the Palas is simple, easy to pronounce, regular in its -grammar, and much richer in the number of its words than is usually -believed of Indian idioms. It comprises nearly 5,000 different words, -or more than the ordinary vocabulary of the average educated white man -or newspaper writer. The gathering of these words was done by the late -P. S. Spariman, for years Indian trader and storekeeper, at Rincon, -who was an indefatigable student of both words and grammar. His -manuscript is now in the keeping of Professor Kroeber, and will -shortly be published by the University of California. Dr. Kroeber -claims that it is one of the most important records ever compiled of -the thought and mental life of the native races of California. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -The Pala Campanile - - -Every lover of the artistic and the picturesque on first seeing the -bell-tower of Pala stands enraptured before its unique personality. -And this word "personality" does not seem at all misapplied in this -connection. Just as in human beings we find a peculiar charm in -certain personalities that it is impossible to explain, so is it with -buildings. They possess an individuality, quality, all their own, -which, sometimes, eludes the most subtle analysis. Pala is of this -character. One feels its charm, longs to stand or sit in contemplation -of it. There is a joy in being near to it. Its very proximity speaks -peace, contentment, repose, while it breathes out the air of the -romance of the past, the devoted love of its great founder, Peyri, the -pathos of the struggles it has seen, the loss of its original Indians, -its long desertion, and now, its rehabilitation and reuse in the -service of Almighty God by a band of Indians, ruthlessly driven from -their own home by the stern hand of a wicked and cruel law to find a -new home in this gentle and secluded vale. - -As far as I know or can learn, the Pala Campanile, from the -architectural standpoint, is unique. Not only does it, in itself, -stand alone, but in all architecture it stands alone. It is a free -building, unattached to any other. The more one studies the Missions -from the professional standpoint of the architect the more wonderful -they become. They were designed by laymen--using the word as a -professed architect would use it. For the padres were the architects -of the Missions, and when and where and how could they have been -trained technically in the great art, and the practical craftsmanship -of architecture? Laymen, indeed, they were, but masters all the same. -In harmonious arrangement, in bold daring, in originality, in power, -in pleasing variety, in that general gratification of the senses that -we feel when a building attracts and satisfies, the priestly -architects rank high. And, as I look at the Pala Campanile, my mind -seeks to penetrate the mind of its originator. Whence conceived he the -idea of this unique construction? Was it a deliberate conception, -viewed by a poetic imagination, projected into mental cognizance -before erection, and seen in its distinctive beauty as an original and -artistic creation before it was actually visualized? Or was it mere -accident, mere utilitarianism, without any thought of artistic effect? -We must remember that, to the missionary padres, a bell-tower was not -a luxury of architecture, but an essential. The bells must be hung up -high, in order that their calling tones could penetrate to the -farthest recesses of the valley, the canyons, the ravines, the -foothills, wherever an Indian ear could hear, an Indian soul be -reached. Indians were their one thought--to convert them and bring -them into the fold of Mother Church their sole occupation. Hence with -the chapel erected, the bell-tower was a necessary accompaniment, to -warn the Indian of services, to attract, allure and draw the -stranger, the outsider, as well as to remind those who had already -entered the fold. In addition its elevation was required for the -uplifting of the cross--the Emblem of Salvation. - -It is evident, from the nature of the case, that here was no great and -studious architectural planning, as at San Luis Rey. This was merely -an _asistencia_, an offshoot of the parent Mission, for the benefit of -the Indians of this secluded valley, hence not demanding a building of -the size and dignity required at San Luis. But though _less_ -important, can we conceive of it as being _un_important to such a -devoted adherent to his calling as Padre Peyri? Is it not possible he -gave as much thought to the appearance of this little chapel as he did -to the massive and kingly structure his genius created at the Mission -proper? I see no reason to question it. Hence, though it does -sometimes occur to me that perhaps there was no such planning, no -deliberate intent, and, therefore, no creative genius of artistic -intuition involved in its erection, I have come to the conclusion -otherwise. So I regard Pala and its free-standing Campanile as another -evidence of devoted genius; another revelation of what the complete -absorption of a man's nature to a lofty ideal--such, for instance, as -the salvation of the souls of a race of Indians--can enable him to -accomplish. One part of his nature uplifted and inspired by his -passionate longings to accomplish great things for God and humanity, -_all_ parts of his nature necessarily become uplifted. And I can -imagine that the good Peyri awoke one morning, or during the quiet -hours of the night, perhaps after a wearisome day with his somewhat -wayward charges, or after a sleep induced by the hot walk from San -Luis Rey, with the picture of this completed chapel and campanile in -his mind. With joy it was committed to paper--perhaps--and then, -hastily was constructed, to give joy to the generations of a later and -alien race who were ultimately to possess the land. - -On the other hand may it not be possible that the Pala Campanile was -the result of no great mental effort, merely the doing of the most -natural and simple thing? - -Many a man builds, constructs, better than he knows. It has long been -a favorite axiom of my own life that the simple and natural are more -beautiful than the complex and artificial. Just as a beautiful -woman, clothed in dignified simplicity, in the plainest and most -unpretentious dress, will far outshine her sisters upon whose costumes -hours of thought in design and labor, and vast sums for gorgeous -material and ornamentation have been expended, so will the simply -natural in furniture, in pottery, in architecture make its appeal to -the keenly critical, the really discerning. - -Was Peyri, here, the inspired genius, fired with the sublime audacity -that creates new and startling revelations of beauty for the delight -and elevation of the world, or was he but the humble, though -discerning, man of simple naturalness who did not know enough to -realize he was doing what had never been done before, and thus, -through his very simplicity and naturalness, stumbling upon the -daring, the unique, the individualistic and at the same time, the -beautiful, the artistic, the competent? - - [Illustration: The Store and Ranch-House at Pala.] - - [Illustration: A Suquin, or Acorn Granary, Used by the Pala Indians.] - - [Illustration: The Old Altar at Pala Chapel, Before the Restoration.] - -In either case the effect is the same, and, whether built by accident -or design, the result of mere utilitarianism or creative genius, the -world of the discerning, the critical, and the lovers of the -beautifully unique, the daringly original, or the simply natural, owe -Padre Peyri a debt of gratitude for the Pala Campanile. - -The height of the tower above the base was about 35 feet, the whole -height being 50 feet. The wall of the tower was three feet thick. - -A flight of steps from the rear built into the base, led up to the -bells. They swung one above another, and when I first saw them were -undoubtedly as their original hangers had placed them. Suspended from -worm-eaten, roughly-hewn beams set into the adobe walls, with thongs -of rawhide, one learned to have a keener appreciation of leather than -ever before. Exposed to the weather for a century sustaining the heavy -weight of the bells, these thongs still do service. - -One side of the larger bell bears an inscription in Latin, very much -abbreviated, as follows: - - Stus Ds Stus Ftis Stus Immortlis Micerere Nobis. An. De 1816 - I. R. - -which being interpreted means, "Holy Lord, Holy Most Mighty One, Holy -Immortal One, Pity us. Year of 1816. Jesus Redemptor." - -The other side contains these names in Spanish: "Our Seraphic Father, -Francis of Asissi. Saint Louis, King. Saint Clare, Saint Eulalia. Our -Light. Cervantes fecit nos--Cervantes made us." - -The smaller bell, in the upper embrasure, bears the inscription: -"Sancta Maria ora pro nobis"--Holy Mary, pray for us. - -The Campanile stands just within the cemetery wall. Originally it -appeared to rest upon a base of well-worn granite boulders, brought up -from the river bed, and cemented together. The revealing and -destroying storm of 1916 showed that these boulders were but a -covering for a mere adobe base, which--as evidenced by its standing -for practically a whole century--its builders deemed secure enough -against all storms and strong enough to sustain the weight of the -superstructure. Resting upon this base which was 15 feet high, was the -two-storied tower, the upper story terraced, as it were, upon the -lower, and smaller in size, as are or were the domes of the Campaniles -of Santa Barbara, San Luis Rey, San Buenaventura and Santa Cruz. But -at Pala there were no domes. The wall was pierced and each story -arched, and below each arch hung a bell. The apex of the tower was in -the curved pediment style so familiar to all students of Mission -architecture, and was crowned with a cross. By the side of this cross -there grew a cactus, or prickly pear. Though suspended in mid-air -where it could receive no care, it has flourished ever since the -American visitor has known it, and my ancient Indian friends tell me -it has been there ever since the tower was built. This assertion may -be the only authority for the statement made by one writer that: - - One morning just about a century ago, a monk fastened a cross - in the still soft adobe on the top of the bell tower and at - the foot of the cross he planted a cactus as a token that the - cross would conquer the wilderness. From that day to this - this cactus has rested its spiny side against that cross, and - together--the one the hope and the inspiration of the ages, - and the other a savage among the scant bloom of the - desert--they have calmly surveyed the labor, the opulence, - the decline, and the ruin of a hundred years. - -One writer sweetly says of it: - - It is rooted in a crack of the adobe tower, close to the spot - where the Christian symbol is fixed, and seemed, I thought, - to typify how little of material substance is needed by the - soul that dwells always at the foot of the cross. - -Another story has it that when Padre Peyri ordered the cross placed, -it was of green oak from the Palomar mountains. Naturally, the birds -came and perched on it, and probably nested at its foot, using mud for -that purpose. In this soft mud a chance seed took lodgment and grew. - -Be this as it may the birds have always frequented it since I have -known it, some of them even nesting in the thorny cactus slabs. On one -visit I found a tiny cactus wren bringing up its brood there, while on -another occasion I could have sworn it was a mocking-bird, for it -poured out such a flood of melody as only a mocking-bird could, but -whether the nest there belonged to the glorious songster, or to some -other feathered creature, I could not watch long enough to tell. - -Other birds too, have utilized this tower from which to launch forth -their symphonies and concertos. In the early mornings of several of my -visits, I have gone out and sat, perfectly entranced, at the rich -torrents of exquisite and independent melody each bird poured forth in -prodigal exuberance, and yet which all combined in one chorus of -sweetness and joy as must have thrilled the priestly builder, if, -today, from his heavenly home he be able to look down upon the work of -his hands. - -It must not be forgotten, in our admiration for the separate-standing -Campanile of Pala, and the general belief that it is the only example -in the world, that others of the Franciscan Missions of California -practically have the same architectural feature. While the well-known -campanile of the Mission San Gabriel is not, in strict fact, a -separate standing one, the bell-tower itself is merely an extension of -the mission wall and practically stands alone. The same method of -construction is followed at Mission Santa Ines. The fachada of the -church is extended, to the right, as a wall, which is simply a -detached belfry. And, as is well known, the campanile of San Juan -Capistrano, erected after the fall of the bell-tower of the grand -church in the earthquake of 1812, is a mere wall, closing up a passage -between two buildings, with pierced apertures in which the bells are -hung. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -The Decline of San Luis Rey and Pala. - - -The original purpose of the Spanish Council, as well as of the Church, -in founding the Missions of California, was to train the Indians in -the ways of Christianity and civilization, and, ultimately, to make -citizens of them when it was deemed they had progressed far enough and -were stable enough in character to justify such a step. - -How long this training period would require none ventured to assert, -but whether fifty years, a hundred, or five hundred, the Church -undertook the task and was prepared to carry it out. - -When, however, the republic of Mexico fell upon evil days and such -self-seekers as Santa Anna became president, the greedy politicians of -Mexico and the province of California saw an opportunity to feather -their own nests at the expense of the Indians. Let the reader for a -few moments picture the general situation. Here, in California, there -were twenty-one Missions and quite a number of branches, or -_asistencias_. In each Mission from one to three thousand Indians were -assembled, under competent direction and business management. It can -readily be seen that fields grew fertile, flocks and herds increased, -and possessions of a variety of kinds multiplied under such -conditions. All these accumulations, however, it must not be -forgotten, were not regarded by the padres as their own property, or -that of the Church. They were merely held in trust for the benefit of -the Indians, and, when the time eventually arrived, were to be -distributed as the sole and individual property of the Indians. - -Had that time arrived? There is but one opinion in the minds of the -authorities, even those who do not in all things approve of the -missionaries and their work. For instance, Hittell says: - - In other cases it has required hundreds of years to educate - savages up to the point of making citizens, and many hundreds - to make good citizens. The idea of at once transforming the - idle, improvident and brutish natives of California into - industrious, law-abiding and self-governing town people was - preposterous. - -Yet this--the making of citizens of the Indians--was the plea under -which the Missions were secularized. The plea was a paltry falsehood. -The Missions were the plum for which the politicians strove. Here is -what Clinch writes of San Luis Rey: - - Under Peyri's administration, despite its disadvantages of - soil, San Luis Rey grew steadily in population and material - prosperity. In 1800 cattle and horses were six hundred and - sheep sixteen hundred. The wheat harvest gave two thousand - bushels, but corn and beans were failures and barley only - gave a hundred and twenty fanegas. Ten years later 11,000 - fanegas of all kinds of grain were gathered as a crop. Cattle - had grown to ten thousand five hundred and sheep and hogs - nearly ten thousand. The Indians had increased to fifteen - hundred. Fourteen hundred and fifty had been baptized while - there had been only four hundred deaths recorded. By 1826 the - parent mission counted nearly three thousand Christian - Indians and nearly a thousand gathered at Pala, six leagues - from the central establishment. A church was built there and - a priest usually resided at it. At its best time San Luis Rey - counted nearly thirty thousand cattle, as many sheep and over - two thousand horses as the property of its three thousand - Indians. Its average grain crop was about thirteen thousand - bushels. San Gabriel surpassed it in farming prosperity with - a crop which reached thirty thousand bushels in a year, but - in population, in live stock, in the low death rate among its - Indians and in the character of its church and buildings, San - Luis Rey continued to the end first among the Franciscan - missions. - -It can well be imagined, therefore, that when the Mexican politicians -decided that the time had arrived to secularize the Missions, San Luis -Rey would be one of the first to be laid hold of. Pablo de la Portilla -and later, Pio Pico, were appointed the commissioners, and it seems to -be the general opinion that they were no better than those who -operated at the other Missions, and of whom Hittell writes: - - The great mass of the commissioners and their officials, - whose duty it became to administer the properties of the - missions, and especially their great numbers of horses, - cattle, sheep and other animals, thought of little else and - accomplished little else than enriching themselves. It cannot - be said that the spoliation was immediate; but it was - certainly very rapid. A few years sufficed to strip the - establishments of everything of value and leave the Indians, - who were in contemplation of law the beneficiaries of - secularization, a shivering crowd of naked, and, so to speak, - homeless wanderers upon the face of the earth. - -It is almost impossible for one who has not given the matter due study -to realize the demoralizing effect upon the Indians and the Mission -buildings of this infamous course of procedure. The Indians speedily -became the prey of the vicious, the abandoned, the hyenas and vultures -of so-called civilization. Deprived of the parental care of the -fathers, and led astray on every hand, their corruption spelt speedy -extinction, and two or three generations saw this largely -accomplished. Only those Indians who were too far away to be easily -reached escaped, or partially escaped, the general destruction. The -processes were swift, the results lamentably certain. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -The Author of Ramona at Pala. - - -When Helen Hunt Jackson, the gifted author of the romance -_Ramona_--over which hundreds of thousands of Americans have shed -bitter tears in deep sympathy with the wrongs perpetrated upon the -Indians--was visiting the Mission Indians of California, in 1883, she -wrote the following sketch of Pala. This is copied from her -_California and the Missions_, by kind permission of the publishers, -Little, Brown & Co., of Boston: - - One of the most beautiful appanages of the San Luis Rey - Mission, in the time of its prosperity, was the Pala Valley. - It lies about twenty-five miles east (twenty miles, Ed.) of - San Luis, among broken spurs of the Coast Range, watered by - the San Luis River, and also by its own little stream, the - Pala Creek. It was always a favorite home of the Indians; and - at the time of the secularization, over a thousand of them - used to gather at the weekly mass in its chapel. Now, on the - occasional visits of the San Juan Capistrano priest, to hold - service there, the dilapidated little church is not half - filled, and the numbers are growing smaller each year. The - buildings are all in decay; the stone steps leading to the - belfry have crumbled; the walls of the little graveyard are - broken in many places, the paling and the graves are thrown - down. On the day we were there, a memorial service for the - dead was going on in the chapel; a great square altar was - draped with black, decorated with silver lace and ghostly - funereal emblems; candles were burning; a row of kneeling - black-shawled women were holding lighted candles in their - hands; two old Indians were chanting a Latin hymn from a - tattered missal bound in rawhide; the whole place was full of - chilly gloom, in sharp contrast to the bright valley - outside, with its sunlight and silence. This mass was for the - soul of an old Indian woman named Margarita, sister of - Manuelito, a somewhat famous chief of several bands of the - San Luisenos. Her home was at the Potrero,--a mountain - meadow, or pasture, as the word signifies,--about ten miles - from Pala, high up the mountainside, and reached by an almost - impassable road. This farm--or "saeter" it would be called in - Norway--was given to Margarita by the friars; and by some - exceptional good fortune she had a title which, it is said, - can be maintained by her heirs. In 1871, in a revolt of some - of Manuelito's bands, Margarita was hung up by her wrists - till she was near dying, but was cut down at the last minute - and saved. - - One of her daughters speaks a little English; and finding - that we had visited Pala solely on account of our interest in - the Indians, she asked us to come up to the Potrero and pass - the night. She said timidly that they had plenty of beds, and - would do all that they knew how to do to make us comfortable. - One might be in many a dear-priced hotel less comfortably - lodged and served than we were by these hospitable Indians in - their mud house, floored with earth. In my bedroom were three - beds, all neatly made, with lace-trimmed sheets and - pillow-cases and patchwork coverlids. One small square window - with a wooden shutter was the only aperture for air, and - there was no furniture except one chair and a half-dozen - trunks. The Indians, like the Norwegian peasants, keep their - clothes and various properties all neatly packed away in - boxes or trunks. As I fell asleep, I wondered if in the - morning I should see Indian heads on the pillows opposite me; - the whole place was swarming with men, women, and babies, and - it seemed impossible for them to spare so many beds; but, no, - when I waked, there were the beds still undisturbed; a - soft-eyed Indian girl was on her knees rummaging in one of - the trunks; seeing me awake, she murmured a few words in - Indian, which conveyed her apology as well as if I had - understood them. From the very bottom of the trunk she drew - out a gilt-edged china mug, darted out of the room, and came - back bringing it filled with fresh water. As she set it in - the chair, in which she had already put a tin pan of water - and a clean coarse towel, she smiled, and made a sign that it - was for my teeth. There was a thoughtfulness and delicacy in - the attention which lifted it far beyond the level of its - literal value. The gilt-edged mug was her most precious - possession; and, in remembering water for the teeth, she had - provided me with the last superfluity in the way of white - man's comfort of which she could think. - - The food which they gave us was a surprise; it was far better - than we had found the night before in the house of an - Austrian colonel's son, at Pala. Chicken, deliciously cooked, - with rice and chile; soda-biscuits delicately made; good milk - and butter, all laid in orderly fashion, with a clean - tablecloth, and clean, white stone china. When I said to our - hostess that I regretted very much that they had given up - their beds in my room, that they ought not to have done it, - she answered me with a wave of her hand that "It was nothing; - they hoped I had slept well; that they had plenty of other - beds." The hospitable lie did not deceive me, for by - examination I had convinced myself that the greater part of - the family must have slept on the bare earth in the kitchen. - They would not have taken pay for our lodging, except that - they had had heavy expenses connected with Margarita's - funeral.... We left at six o'clock in the morning; - Margarita's husband, the "captain," riding off with us to see - us safe on our way. When we had passed the worst gullies and - boulders, he whirled his horse, lifted his ragged old - sombrero with the grace of a cavalier, smiled, wished us - good-day and good luck, and was out of sight in a second, his - little wild pony galloping up the rough trail as if it were - as smooth as a race-course. - - Between the Potrero and Pala are two Indian villages, the - Rincon and Pauma. The Rincon is at the head of the valley, - snugged up against the mountains, as its name signifies, in a - "corner." Here were fences, irrigating ditches, fields of - barley, wheat, hay and peas; a little herd of horses and cows - grazing, and several flocks of sheep. The men were all away - sheep-shearing; the women were at work in the fields, some - hoeing, some clearing out the irrigating ditches, and all the - old women plaiting baskets. These Rincon Indians, we were - told, had refused a school offered them by the Government; - they said they would accept nothing at the hands of the - Government until it gave them a title to their lands. - - [Illustration: An Old San Luis Rey Mission Indian.] - - [Illustration: The Pala Campanile from the Graveyard.] - - [Illustration: Just Entering Pala Valley on the Road from Oceanside.] - - [Illustration: An Ancient Pala Indian.] - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -Further Desolation - - -Cursed by the common fate of the Missions Pala suffered severely. In -thirty years all its glory had departed as Mrs. Jackson graphically -pictures in the preceding chapter. But Pala was destined to receive -another blow. This is explained by Professor Frank J. Polley, formerly -President of the Southern California Historical Society. In the early -'nineties he visited Pala and from an article published by him in 1893 -the following accompanying extracts are quoted: - - Mr. Viele, the present owner of most of the old Mission - property, is the only white man residing nearby. His store - and dwelling is a long, low adobe, opposite the church. - Nearby is his blacksmith shop, and in the open space between - the church ruins and the river are the remains of the brush - booths used by the people at the yearly festival, and these, - with the remnants of the mission buildings, corral walls, and - the quaint Indian church with its beautiful bell tower, - constitute the Pala of today. - -The question naturally arises: How did Mr. Viele gain possession and -ownership of the Mission property? In the course of his narrative -Professor Polley gives the answer: - - Trading with the Indians is a slow but simple process. An - uncouth Indian figure in strange garb will silently enter the - store, and, with hat in hand, stand motionless in the center - of the room until Mrs. Viele chooses to recognize him. Then - follow rapid sentences in the guttural tone, she executes - her judgment in supplying his wants and hands out the parcel, - but the figure stands silently and motionless as before. Time - passes, and soon the Indian is leaning against the center - post. A little later the position is swiftly changed, and - next when one thinks of him the figure has vanished and - rejoined the group who are smoking their cigarettes by the - fence. Money is seldom paid until after their crops are sold. - With the squaw the transaction is different in this respect. - Like her European sister, every piece of cloth has to be - unrolled before purchasing; otherwise it is much the same as - with the men. Both men and women are very coarse, education - and morality are on a very low plane, the marital vow seems - to be but little regarded, and it is no uncommon thing to - see, within the shadow of the mission walls, five or six - couples living in common in one room. The race is fast dying - out from disease, for which the white people are largely - responsible. Unable to cope with these new ills, suspicious - of the government doctor, and treated like common property by - the lower white element in the mountain regions, the Indians - are jealous and distrustful of all; even the sick, instead of - being brought to the settlement for treatment, are secreted - in the hills. One old squaw of uncertain age came each day in - a clumsy shuffle to the gate, and there sank her fat body - into an almost indistinguishable heap of rags and flesh. The - gift of a cigarette would temporarily arouse her to - animation; otherwise she would sit there for hours, - apparently oblivious to all that was passing, and certainly - ignored by all in the house except myself. The education of - the Indian here is a serious problem. They do not attend the - county school, nor are they encouraged to come, as their - morals are demoralizing to the rest of the class. The chief, - or captain, is elected by the tribe, and, though only about - 30 years of age, the present one has had his position a long - time. His duties are light, and he is careful in executing - his authority. He is a reasonably bright fellow, speaks - English fairly well and often succeeds in securing justice - for his tribe in the way of government supplies. The balance - of his time he cultivates a little patch of garden, and seems - to enjoy life after the Indian fashion. - - Procuring the church keys was not so simple a matter, as the - building is now closed and services are held at very rare - intervals. This is the result of litigation. The law has - invaded this sheltered haven. Years ago, when times were - different and the mission was making some pretense to be a - living church, in the course of their duties a party of - government surveyors came here. As a result of their surveys - one of them told Mr. Viele in confidence that the entire - mission holdings, olive orchards and lands were all on - government property. Mr. Viele at once took steps to claim - all, and did so. The secret leaked out, and others came in - and attempted to settle on parts of the property under - various claims of title, and soon the Catholic church and the - claimants were engaged in a long lawsuit, which proved the - death struggle of the church's interests. Mr. Viele emerged - victorious, sole owner of the church, the orchard, the bells, - and even the graveyard. Afterward, by deed of gift, he gave - the church authorities the tumble-down ruin of the church, - the dark adobe robing room, the bells and the graveyard, but, - because Mr. Viele still withheld the valuable lands from the - church, no services are held there, and the quarrel has gone - on year by year. Mr. Viele clings to what he terms his legal - rights, and the church is locked up and the Indian left - largely to his own devices. Once in possession of the keys, - we found them immense pieces of iron, and it took some time - to unlock the door. The services of one of the Indian pupils - materially assisted us in our investigations. The church is a - veritable curiosity, narrow, long, low and dark, with adobe - walls and heavy beams roughly set in the sides to furnish - support for the roof. Canes and tules constitute this part of - the structure. The earthen walls are covered with rude - paintings of Indian design and of strange coloring that have - preserved their tone very well indeed. Great square bricks - badly worn pave the floor, and, set in deep niches along the - walls at intervals, are various utensils of battered copper - and brass that would arouse the cupidity of a collector of - bric-a-brac. The door is strongly barred and has iron plates - set with large rivets. The strange light that comes through - the narrow windows and broken roof sheds an unnatural glow on - the paintings upon the walls and puts into strange relief the - ruined altar far distant in the church. Three wooden images - yet remain upon the altar, but they are sadly broken and - their vestments are gone. One is a statue of St. Louis, and - is held in great veneration by the Indians. They say it was - secretly brought from the San Luis Rey Mission and placed - here for safe keeping. When the annual reunion of the Indians - takes place this image is decorated in cheap trappings and - occupies the post of honor in the procession. The robing - room is a small, dark apartment behind the altar, where not a - ray of light could enter. We dragged a trunkful of altar - trappings and saints' vestments out into the light. The dust - lay thickly upon the garments in these old chests, and it is - to be hoped that no one with a shade less of morality than we - had will ever explore their treasures, or the church may be - robbed and the images suffer much loss of their decorative - attire. Undoubtedly everything of value has long since been - removed, but what remains is very quaint and odd, being - largely of Indian workmanship. Everything about this simple - structure spoke of slow and patient work by the native - workmen, and it needed but little imaginative power to - conjure up the scene when men were hauling trees from the - mountains, making the shallow, square bricks, preparing the - adobe, and later painting these walls as earnestly perhaps as - did some of the greater artists in the gorgeous chapels of - cultivated Rome. The hinges creaked loudly and the great key - grated harshly in the rusty lock as we spent some time in - securing the fastenings at our departure. The beauty of the - valley and the bright sunlight were in great contrast to the - cool shadows of the dimly-lighted church. Once outside, we - again made the circuit of the outlying walls, where birds - sing and grasses grow from the ruined walls of the adobes. - Through gaps in them we passed from one enclosure to another, - this one roofless, that one nearly so, and a third so patched - up as to hold a few Indians who make it their home, and in - tiny gardens cultivate a few flowers or vegetables and - prepare their food in basins sunken in the firm earth. A few - baskets are yet left in this community, but of poor quality, - the more valuable ones having been long since gathered by - collectors, or sold and gambled by the Indians themselves. - Many curious relics still exist, however, for those who are - willing to pay several times the value of each article. - -Pala remained in much the same condition described above, its Indians -slowly decreasing in numbers, until the events occurred described in -the following chapters. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -The Restoration of the Pala Chapel. - - -In the restoration of Pala chapel the Landmarks Club of Los Angeles, -incorporated "to conserve the Missions and other historic landmarks of -Southern California," under the energetic presidency of Charles F. -Lummis, did excellent work. November 20 to 21, 1901, the supervising -committee, consisting of architects Hunt and Benton and the president, -visited Pala to arrange for its immediate repair. The following is a -report of its condition at the time: - - The old chapel was found in much better condition for salvage - than had been feared. The earthquake of two years ago--which - was particularly severe at this point--ruined the roof and - cracked the characteristic belfry, which stands apart. But - thanks to repairs to the roof made five or six years ago by - the unassisted people, the adobe walls of the chapel are in - excellent preservation. Even the quaint old Indian - decorations have suffered almost nothing. The tile floor is - in better condition than at any of the other Missions, but - hardly a vestige of the adobe-pillared cloister remains. - Tiles are falling into the chapel through yawning gaps, and - it is really dangerous to enter. It will be necessary to - re-roof the entire structure. The sound tiles will be - carefully stacked on the ground, the timbers removed, and a - solid roof-structure built, upon which the original tiles - will be replaced. The original construction will be followed; - and round pine logs will be procured from Mt. Palomar to - replace those no longer dependable. The cloisters will be - rebuilt precisely as they were, and invisible iron bands will - be used to strengthen the campanile against possible later - earthquakes. - -Then follows an interesting account of a small gathering, after the -committee had formulated its plans, which took place in the little -store. Here is Mr. Lummis's account of it: - - The immediate valley contains about a dozen "American" - families, and about as many more Mexicans and Indians, and - about 15 heads of these families were present. After a brief - statement of the situation, the Palenos were asked if they - would help. "I will give 10 days' work," said John A. - Giddens, the first to respond. "Another ten," said Luis - Carillo. And so it went. There was not a man present who did - not promise assistance. The following additional - subscriptions were taken in ten minutes: Ami V. Golsh, 25 - days' work; Luis Soberano, 15 days; Isidoro Garcia, 10 days; - Teofilo Peters and Louis Salmons, 5 days each with team - (equivalent to 10 days for a man); Dolores Salazar, Eustaquio - Lugo, Tomas Salazar, Ignacio Valenzuela, 6 days each; Geo. - Steiger and Francisco Ardillo, 5 days each. These - subscriptions amount to at least $1.75 a day each, so the - Pala contribution in work is full $217. Besides this Mr. - Frank A. Salmons subscribed $10; and other contributions are - expected. It is also fitting that the Club acknowledge - gratefully the courtesies which gave two days of Mr. Golsh's - time to bringing the committee from and back to Fallbrook, - and the charming entertainment provided by Mr. and Mrs. - Salmons. The entire trip was heart-warming; and the liberal - spirit of this little settlement of American ranchers and - Indians and Mexicans surpasses all records in the Club's - history. For that matter, while Mr. Carnegie is better known, - he has never yet done anything so large in proportion. - -In July, 1903, _Out West_, an account was given of the repairs -accomplished. The chapel, a building 144x27 feet, and rooms to its -right, 47x27 feet, were reroofed with brick tiles; the broken walls of -the entire front built up solidly and substantially to the roof level, -the ugly posts from the center of the chapel taken out and the trusses -strengthened by the addition of the tension members which the -original builders had failed to supply. This greatly improved the -appearance of the chapel. - - [Illustration: A Pala Pottery Maker.] - - [Illustration: Two Palatingua Exiles, Father and Son.] - - [Illustration: The Lower Bell in the Pala Campanile.] - -Another beneficial service rendered was the securing of a deed from -the squatter, whose story is told in another chapter, to the -picturesque ruins and thus transfering them back to their rightful -owners--the Catholic church, in trust for the Indians. - -Unfortunately, soon after the Palatinguas came here, the resident -priest, whom Bishop Conaty appointed to minister to them, did not -understand Indians, their childlike devotion to the things hallowed by -association with the past, and their desire to be consulted about -everything that concerned their interests. Therefore, being -suspicious, too, on account of their recent eviction, they were -outraged to find the chapel interior freshly whitewashed so that all -its ancient decorations were covered. This was another white man's -affront which caused irritation and bitterness that it required months -to assuage. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -The Palatingua Exiles. - - -States and nations, even as individuals, are often tempted in diverse -ways to forsake the path of rectitude, and, for material gain, -territorial acquisition, or other supposed good, to do dishonorable -things. To my mind one of the chief blots on the escutcheon of the -United States is its treatment of the Indians, and California, as a -sovereign state, cannot escape its individual responsibility for its -utterly reprehensible treatment of its dusky "original inhabitants." - -When the Spaniards seized the land their laws were clean-cut and clear -in regard to the confiscation of the lands of the Indians. It was made -the duty of certain officials, under direct penalties, to see that -they were never, under any excuse, pretense, or even legal process, -deprived of the lands they had held from time immemorial. The -Mexicans, in the main, effectually carried out the same just and -equitable laws. But when the United States took possession of -California and the new state government was formally organized, a new -idea was interjected. The California law proclaimed its intention to -protect the rights of the Indians, but it made it the duty of the -Indians, within a certain specified time, to come before a duly -authorized officer and declare what lands were theirs and that they -intended to claim and use. Now while on the face of it this law seems -reasonable and just, in actual practice it is as cruel, wicked, and -surely confiscating as is the "stand and deliver!" of the highwayman. -How were the Indians to know what was required of them? What did they -know of the white man and his laws? As well pass a law that all the -birds who do not declare their intention of using the branches of -certain trees will be shot if they appear there, as pass laws -requiring Indians, ignorant of our language, our methods of procedure, -to appear and declare that they intend to continue to use lands they -had had uninterrupted possession of for unknown centuries. In other -words, the law fiction was a deliberate and definite scheme of -dishonest men to make legal the dispossession of the Indians, whenever -it was found desirable. Such a case in due time arose at Warner's -Ranch. Other cases innumerable might be cited, but this is the one -that particularly concerns Pala. - -Warner's Ranch was named after Jonathan Trumbull Warner, popularly -known to the Mexicans as Juan Jose Warner, who came from Lyme, Conn., -by way of St. Louis, Santa Fe and the Gila River, to California, in -1831. In 1834 he settled down in Los Angeles, marrying, in 1837, at -San Luis Rey Mission, Anita Gale, the daughter of Capt. W. A. Gale, of -Boston. The maiden, however, had been in California ever since she was -five years old, her father having placed her in the home of Dona -Eustaquia Pico, the widowed mother of Pio Pico, the last Mexican -Governor of California. In due time he (Warner) was naturalized as a -Mexican citizen and received from the Mexican Governor in 1844 the -grant of an immense tract of land in San Diego County, long known as -El Valle de San Jose. It was fine pasture land, but it was especially -noted for its hot springs--Agua Caliente--near which the Indians had -had their village from time immemorial. According to Spanish and -Mexican law, it must be remembered, their right to their homes and -adjacent pasture lands was inalienable _without their own consent_. -Hence under Warner's regime they lived content and happy, uninterfered -with, and never worried that a grant--of which they knew nothing--had -been made of their lands without any clause of exemption preserving to -them their time-honored rights. - -Then came Fremont, Sloat and Kearny. California became a state of the -United States and among other laws passed the one referring to the -lands of the Indians noted above. As he passed by Palatingua, Genl. -Kearny, according to the oldest man of the village, Owlinguwush, who -acted as his guide, solemnly pledged his government not to remove the -Indians from their lands, provided they would be friends of the new -people. - -This the Indians were. The white people soon learned the value of the -hot springs, and flocked thither in great numbers to drink and bathe -in the waters. The Indians charged them a small fee for the use of the -bath-houses and tubs they had prepared. This added to their modest -income, gained from their industries as cattle-men, hunters, farmers, -basket and pottery-makers. They were happy, healthy, fairly prosperous -and contented. - -But in time Warner died. His grant was duly confirmed by the United -States Land Courts, _but no one cared enough to see that the rights of -the Indians were guarded_, hence the confirmation and deed of grant -contained no exemption of the Indians' lands. - -The ownership changed until it came into the hands of a well-known -California capitalist. He was not interested in Indians, had no -particular sympathy with or for them, and did not see why they should -remain on _his_ land. Several times he vigorously intimated that he -wanted them to "clear off," he needed the land, and especially he -needed the hot springs. There was a strongly expressed desire that a -health and pleasure resort be established at this charming place, but, -of course, it was impossible so long as the Indians were there. Each -time removal was intimated to the Indians they laughed--as children -laugh if you tell them you are going to buy them from their parents. -Had they not lived here long before a white man had ever set foot on -the continent? Were they not born here, raised, married, had their -children, died and were buried here for centuries? Had not Spaniards, -Mexicans, and even General Kearny assured them they were secure in -their possession? Of course they laughed! Who wouldn't? - -But the _owner_ of the land grew tired of their smiles. He wanted the -place, so his lawyers ordered the Indians to vacate, and the papers -were served in such manner that even the childlike aborigines were -compelled to realize that something serious was going to happen. But -that they should be compelled to leave! Ah, impossible! No one -possibly could be so cruel and wicked as that. - -The courts were appealed to, and finally the State Supreme Court -decided against the Indians, by a vote of four to three--a decision so -contrary to the spirit of honor and justice that it aids in making -anarchists and revolutionists of good and law-abiding men. Confident -in the right of the Indians' cause their faithful friends took the -case up to the United States Supreme Court, and again, this time -purely on the plea of precedent--that it was contrary to rule for the -United States Supreme Court to interfere in any case that was purely -domestic to one State--the judgment ousting the Indians was confirmed. - -Things now began to look serious. Some of the Indians were crushed by -the decision, others were ugly and wanted to fight. Various people of -various temperaments interfered, and each one denounced the others as -trouble-makers and brewers of mischief. Council after council was -held, and at each one the Indians stedfastly refused to leave their -homes. - -In the meantime, realizing that the suit for eviction most probably -would go against the Indians, certain societies and individuals, -prompted by their interest in them and by their inherent sense of -justice, appealed to Congress to find a new home for these people if -they were dispossessed. - -For the first time in its history, Congress voted $100,000 to give to -these Indians a better home than the one they were to be evicted from. -A special inspector was sent out to determine where this new home -should be. He reported favorably upon a site, which, however, better -informed people in the state, considered altogether unsuitable. -Protests immediately were lodged with the Indian Department and as the -result a Commission was appointed to investigate conditions, and find -the most suitable place to which the Palatinguas could be transferred. -This Commission was composed of Charles F. Lummis, Russell C. Allen, -and Chas. L. Partridge. - -After weeks of careful and patient investigation, criticized on every -hand by those who were anxious to sell any kind of an acreage to the -Indians, it was finally decided to recommend the purchase of the Pala -Valley. Few seemed to see the irony of this decision. The land once -had belonged to the Pala Indians. Less than a century before a -thousand of them were regular attendants at the little Mission Chapel -and devoted friends of Padre Antonio Peyri. Whence had these and their -descendants gone? How had they been deprived of their lands? In -another chapter I have quoted from Frank J. Polley, how our California -laws aided and abetted the spoliators and how Pala unjustly came into -the possession of a white man. - -Now it must be bought back again. There were 3,500 acres, with a large -amount of hilly government land that would be of use for pasturage and -that could be added to the full purchased land as a reservation. The -Commission claimed, and doubtless believed, there was plenty of water, -but it was not long before the supply was found to be so inadequate -that something had to be done to add to it. This has been done, as is -elsewhere related. - -Congress passed the appropriation bill, made the purchase, May 27, -1902, setting the land aside as a permanent reservation. The Indian -Department, therefore, ordered the immediate transfer of the Indians -from Palatingua, as well as small bands from Puerta de la Cruz, Puerta -Chiquita, San Jose, San Felipe and Mataguaya--tiny settlements on the -fringe of Warner's Ranch and who were made parties to the ejectment -suit--to Pala. - -Serious trouble was feared. Mr. Lummis wired for troops to aid in the -removal, although his duties as head of the Commission to choose a -home for the Indians gave him no authority to act in the matter. He -was thereupon ordered from the ranch, and the work of removal -committed to the care of a special agent, as Dr. L. A. Wright, the -regular Indian Agent, confessed his inability to cope with the -situation. Mrs. Babbitt, for many years the teacher at Warner's Ranch, -and other friends of the Indians counselled acquiescence to the law's -demand. I was invited both by the Indians and the Indian Commissioner -to be present at the removal, but I knew that it would be too much for -my equanimity, so I kept away. My friend Grant Wallace, however, was -present, and in _Out West_ magazine, for July, 1903, gave the -following pathetic account: - - Night after night, sounds of wailing came from the adobe - homes of the Indians. When Tuesday (May 12) came, many of - them went to the little adobe chapel to pray, and then - gathered for the last time among the unpainted wooden crosses - within the rude stockade of their ancient burying ground, a - pathetic and forlorn group, to wail out their grief over the - graves of their fathers. Then hastily loading a little food - and a few valuables into such light wagons and surreys as - they owned, about twenty-five families drove away for Pala, - ahead of the wagon-train. The great four and six-horse wagons - were quickly loaded with the home-made furniture, bedding and - clothing, spotlessly clean from recent washing in the boiling - springs; stoves, ollas, stone mortars, window sashes, boxes, - baskets, bags of dried fruit and acorns, and coops of - chickens and ducks. - - While I helped Lay-reader Ambrosio's mother to round up and - encoop a wary brood of chickens, I observed the wife of her - other son, Jesus, throwing an armful of books--spellers, - arithmetics, poems--into the bonfire, along with bows and - arrows, and superannuated aboriginal bric-a-brac. In reply to - a surprised query, she explained that now they hated the - white people and their religion and their books. Dogged and - dejected, Captain Cibemoat, with his wife Ramona, and little - girl, was the last to go. While I helped him hitch a bony - mustang to his top buggy, a tear or two coursed down his - knife-scarred face; and as the teamsters tore down his little - board cabin wherein he had kept a restaurant, he muttered, - "May they eat sand!"... - - At their first stop for dinner they lingered long on the last - acre of Warner's Ranch, as though loath to go through the - gates. At night, at Oak Grove, they drew the first rations - ever issued to the Cupenos by the government--some at first - refused to accept them, saying they were not objects of - charity.... - - Although devout church members--scarcely a name among them - being unwashed by baptism--they refused the first Sunday to - hold services in the restored Pala Mission, or anywhere else, - asking surlily of the visiting priest, "What kind of a God is - this you ask us to worship, who deserts us when we need him - most?" Instead, thirty of them joined some swart friends from - Pauma in a "sooish amokat" or rabbit hunt, killing their game - with peeled clubs thrown unerringly while galloping at full - speed. - - Monday, however, the principal men, better pleased after an - inspection of the fertile and beautiful valley of Pala, had a - flag-raising at the little school-house--the only building - now on the site of the projected village. An Indian girl - played the organ, and a score of dusky children--who will - compare favorably in intelligence with average white - youngsters--joined in singing the praises of "America--sweet - land of liberty." School was opened, and later a - policeman--young Antonio Chaves--was elected by popular vote. - - [Illustration: The Pala Chapel and Campanile After Restoration by - the Landmarks Club.] - - [Illustration: The Interior of Pala Chapel as it Appears Today.] - - [Illustration: The Pala Bell Tower After Rebuilding.] - -Thus came about the transfer of the Palatinguas to Pala. Though they -often longed for their old home it could not be denied, even by them, -that the location of Pala is ideal. It is literally surrounded by -mountains that seem to rise in huge overlapping rings, each circling -the diminutive valley. The Pala River flows through the settlement. -Almost every available foot of space is now under cultivation in that -part of the valley near by, and further down, along the river, where -the fields broaden out, many acres are yielding their rich and -valuable crops. - -To the south may be seen the hospitable ranch-house--Agua Tibia--of -Lewis Utt, an attorney of San Diego, who divides his time between his -city office and his farm. Five thousand feet above cluster the pine -trees, the live oaks and other rich arboreal growths of Palomar, the -Mountain of the Dove. Nearby the rich olive orchards of John Fry -stretch out like silken flags of green. To the north, on the top of -the Pala grade, the Happy Valley ranch of A. M. Lobaugh is a -stopping-place for camper and tourist. To the west is the extensive -ranch of Monserrate. - -There are few more beautiful inland locations in the world, and -climatically it is as perfect as it is scenically. For from the one -side come the breezes of the warm South Pacific ocean, laden with the -ozone and bromine of kelp-beds and with the refreshing tang of the -salt air, while from the other come the aseptic breezes of the desert, -God's great purifying laboratory, where, after being completely -purified, they are sent over the mountains, there to gather their -unseen but never-the-less beneficent and healthful burden of sweet -balsams and odors from the trees, shrubs and blossoms that glorify -their slopes and summits. - -For awhile after their arrival at Pala they dwelt in tents, and then -occurred one of those inexplainable and inexcusable pieces of folly -that fills the heart of an intelligent man with contempt and almost -with despair. Cold weather was coming on. The Indians must be housed -erelong. One would have thought the sensible and obvious thing to do -would have been to engage the unoccupied Indians--for, of course, none -of them as yet had a thing to do--either to make adobe brick and build -their houses of them, or to buy lumber for the purpose from the -nearest place of supply. Instead of that what was done by the -dunder-headed officials at Washington? Even as I write it seems so -incredible that I can scarce believe it. These incompetent men -purchased, in New York, fifty flimsy, rickety, insecure, wretched -"portable" houses, sent them by freight, and ordered them put up as -the permanent homes of these unfortunate exiles. The amount of money -expended in these contemptible pretences for houses, and the freight -paid on them from the East, would have erected permanent buildings and -at the same time have provided paying occupation for the Indians -during their erection. Official stupidity seldom manifested itself -more clearly than in this instance. - -Commenting upon the matter the government's own special agent -reported: - - It was nearly six months before the Indians got into the - houses. The expense was double what wooden cabins built on - the spot would have been, and about four times the cost of - adobes.... The houses are neither dust-proof, wind-proof, nor - water-proof, and are far inferior to the despised adobes. - -But the Indians made the best of them, and have gradually improved, or -replaced them with something better. Then the water question arose. -There was not enough for their needs. Eighteen thousand dollars was -first expended, and then more was called for. At last, in May, 1913, -the new irrigation system was completed, and a grand fiesta was held -to celebrate the opening. - -The first teacher of the Palatinguas when they were removed to Pala -was Mrs. Josephine H. Babbitt, who for many years had been their -trusted friend at Warner's Ranch. But in those trying early days when -nerves were frayed, dispositions frazzled, and passions easily -aroused, her earnest and determined efforts to secure for her wards as -great a meed of justice as possible rendered her _persona non grata_ -to some whose influence was powerful enough to secure her removal. - -But it was not long before even this misfortune was made to work out -for the good of the Indians. Miss Ora Salmons, who was a teacher of -one of the near-by Indian schools, was appointed, and this year of our -Lord, sees her close her twenty-eighth year of faithful and happy -service among her dusky wards, many of which have been spent here at -Pala. With heart, mind and body attuned to her work she has truthfully -and poetically been termed "the little mother of the Indians." -Radiating brightness, sunshine, sympathy and love for her pupils, old -and young, she is strengthened in her daily task by the assurance that -she is making their life easier and happier, removing some of the -obstacles to their progress, and adding factors of strength and -self-reliance to their characters. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -The Old and New Acqueducts. - - -In Southern California water is an essential element in nearly all -agricultural and horticultural development. In their own primitive -fashion the Indians irrigated the lands long prior to the coming of -the Spaniards. When Padre Peyri, however, came to Pala, his far-seeing -eye at once noted its possibilities, and he set about bringing water -from the headwaters of the river. He laid a line for a ditch from the -mountains to the mission lands so accurately and with such consummate -skill that it is as much the marvel of modern irrigation engineers as -is the architecture of the Missions of the modern architect. - -Where necessary a ditch was built, and on the other hand where the -natural course was in the proper line this was followed, to be -replaced again with ditches when necessary. So long as Peyri remained -the ditch was in constant use, but after he left in 1832 it began to -decline, and when his successor, Zalvidea, died, in 1846, it fell into -disuse and soon became choked up, ruined, and useless. - -When the Palatinguas came, some work in the bringing of water was done -on their behalf, but it was not adequate. While it supplied the -necessary water for their lands on the south side of the river, they -also needed it on the north side. So the Indian Department was again -appealed to, the appropriation made, and, in due time, the work begun. -The government engineers found that the line of old ditch could not be -improved upon, so the Indians were engaged to do the major part of the -work, as they had been in the days of Peyri, and on the occasion of -its completion the event was deemed of such importance that the -Indians decided to hold a great fiesta. - -After the decline of the Mission establishments the annual fiestas of -the Indians became mere pretexts for debauchery, gambling, and the -performance of their ancient dances. But of late years strenuous -efforts have been made to prohibit the sale of liquor to the Indians, -and the government also has abolished gambling. The influence of -Father Doyle and Agent Runke have been great in changing the character -of the fiesta, and on this occasion the event was one of decorum, -dignity, and reverent worship, as well as dancing, playing of games, -and pleasure. - -Not only was the securing of a permanent supply of water a cause of -rejoicing. The Indians were made happy by the announcement that, at -last, the government had recognized their claims to the land which -they had been tilling the past ten years and granted them their -patent. The announcement was made by Walter Runke, superintendent of -the reservation, just after the water was turned into the new ditch. - -Granting them their patent means that each Indian, whether babe, -child, man or woman is given title to one and three-quarters acres of -irrigated land and six acres of dry land. Much of this dry land has -been put under irrigation since the first allotment. In addition, the -head of each family is given two lots, one for his house and one for -his stable. There is, however, a stipulation in the grant which -forbids an Indian's deeding his newly acquired property away for the -next twenty-five years. - -I have explained already how bitter the Palatinguas were when removed -from Warner's Ranch. They felt that, as they had had no security in -the possession of their homes and lands at Warner's Ranch, so would it -be at Pala. They could be moved about, they said, at the whim of -Washington, without a guarantee of a final competency for themselves -or their children. But now they have been rewarded for their labor and -patience with land in one of the most fertile and beautiful valleys of -Southern California and under the shadow of the cross their beloved -padre raised one hundred years ago. - -The fiesta was held in due time. Eight members of the Franciscan Order -from San Luis Rey were invited to take an important part in the -ceremonies. - -A writer in the _San Diego Union_ shows how tenaciously the Indians -cling to the ceremonies of the past. He says: - - The opening of the government's new irrigation ditch was - preceded the night before by the same ceremony of praise and - thanksgiving that the Indians used to hold before ever a - padre raised a cross among them. In a rectangular enclosure - made of green willows they assembled about a log fire. They - seated themselves in a circle just beyond the line of fading - light, their swarthy faces being discernible only as a dim - streak in the dark; but before the fire, his rough and seamed - face illuminated by the unsteady flames which leaped, as now - and then he picked at a brand, and revealed his audience as - motionless as though chiseled out of lava, stood the aged - Cecelio Chuprosa. His hands were clasped behind his back and - his head bowed. At long intervals, he spoke briefly in his - native tongue, his soft gutterals coming so slowly that one - could count the vowels. A drawn-out low, weird monotone was - the only response from that rock-like circle just beyond the - light. Now and then some old woman emerged from the darkness - and danced beside the burning logs while she chanted some - wild incantation and was lost again in that stoic, stolid, - silent circle. - - Finally two padres appeared on the scene. They said nothing, - but the Indians soon slunk away. The padres do not approve of - the rites of pagan days, and they love their padres. - - Still amid the weird savagery of that scene, there were many - evidences of civilization. The old men and women wore cowhide - boots and shoes which covered their feet with corns. Instead - of the peace-pipe, the glow of the cigarette dawned and died - everywhere through the stoic night. Oil-filled lanterns took - the place of the starlight the Indians formerly used to find - their way home by, and one old wabbling woman wheeled her - grand-papoose to the meeting in the latest style of - perambulator. - - Chuprosa is 96 years old and has not a gray hair on his head. - He has worn his war paint, been on the warpath, and fought in - all the tribe's battles from his youth up. He is particularly - proud of the valor he displayed in the battle of Alamitos, - which occurred sixty-six years ago. - - Now Chuprosa is a baseball fan. He roots at all the games - between the teams of his and neighboring reservations. - Recently he rode forty miles on horseback to Warner's Ranch - to see a game and when he returned he was so stiff that he - had to be lifted out of the saddle, but he rubbed his aching - legs a little and laughed, for he had rooted his favorite - team to victory. - - Among the Franciscan monks who came from San Luis Rey to - attend the Pala fiesta was another old battler who had fought - through two wars and won two medals for valor from his - country. One of them is the far-famed and much coveted - iron-cross which German royalty and the Kaiser himself salute - whenever it is seen on the breast of a veteran. But Father - Damian,--and that is his only name in the cloister where he - has lived now for thirty-eight years,--threw these honors - into the sea and with head bowed he appeared one day at the - door of a monastery and asked that he might henceforth follow - only the standard of the cross. - - He was given a brown robe with a cowl and a pair of sandals - for his feet, and the hero of wars which Germany waged - against Austria and France, lost even his name and, becoming - a carpenter, gave his life in building schools and churches. - - Father Damian and Chuprosa met for the first time at the Pala - fiesta. The monk could speak no Spanish and the Indian no - German, but they soon became interested in each other when, - through an interpreter, each told of the battles the other - had fought. Although seventy-two years old, the father is - still rugged except that he feels the effect of cholera which - attacked his regiment in the war with Austria. "One morning," - he said, "one hundred in my regiment alone remained on the - ground when the bugle called us. They had died overnight of - cholera." - - [Illustration: A Pala Indian Washing Clothes in the Creek.] - - [Illustration: Bell Tower and Entrance to the Garden at Pala.] - - [Illustration: In the Pala Graveyard.] - - [Illustration: Pala Basket Makers at Work.] - -The morning of the fiesta dawned bright and clear. Every member of the -tribe was there in his or her best. The ceremonies opened by a solemn -high mass conducted by Father Doyle, and assisted by the Franciscan -Fathers from San Luis Rey. - -Then a grand parade was held, everyone marching happily to the head of -the ditch. There Father Peter Wallischeck, Superior of the San Luis -Rey house, blessed the water which poured itself for the first time -over the Indians' lands since the old ditch crumbled away, and as he -did so he stood on the very spot where Padre Peyri stood when, with -his Indians, they said a prayer of thanksgiving over the successful -completion of their labors, a century previously. - -The rest of the day was then spent in the pleasures of the table -mainly provided by an old-fashioned barbecue, a baseball game and the -inevitable game of peon. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -The Palas as Farmers. - - -To many white people an Indian is always what they conceive all -Indians ever have been--wild, uncultivated, useless savages. Never was -idea more mistaken and cruelly ignorant. At Pala there is not an -Indian on the free ration list. The putting of water upon their lands -has transformed them from the crushed, disheartened, half-starved and -almost despondent people they were thirteen years ago, after their -removal from their beloved Palatingua, into an industrious, energetic, -independent, self-supporting and self-respecting tribe. - -The olive trees planted by Padre Peyri are tenderly cared for and are -again in full bearing. As one now approaches Pala from either -Oceanside or Agua Tibia he gazes upon a valley smiling in its dress of -living green. Fields of alfalfa, corn, wheat, barley, beans, and -chilis stretch out on every hand, relieved by fine orchards of -apricots, peaches and olives. - -For years the Indians did not take kindly to government farmers. Most -of these men were too theoretical. For the past two years, however, -Mr. A. T. Hammock, government farmer at Pala, has shown by example and -sympathetic work the benefits of intensive farming. His practical -lessons have brought many dollars into the pockets not only of the -Palatinguas, but also of the other Mission Indians close to the border -of the Pala reservation. - -Recently the raising of late tomatoes for the Eastern market was tried -with much success. - -Added production enables the Indians to build better homes. Some of -them have done this, as is shown in one of the illustrations, and by -the time the drainage system contemplated by the government is in -place many of the forlorn gift houses, erected when they first came to -Pala, will be replaced by small but neat cottages. - -The Palas are also successful stock raisers and have many head of -cattle grazing on the wild lands of their reservation. They are also -proud of their horses. - -As a further evidence of progress they have now substituted for their -old fiesta a modern agricultural fair. - -In October, of 1915, they held their annual gathering and, after they -had erected their square of ramadas, or houses of tree branches, they -built one of finished lumber to contain an agricultural exhibit which -consisted not only of farm products, but also preserved fruit, pastry, -basketry, art lace and pottery. - -Over a thousand dollars' worth of baskets and nearly a thousand -dollars' worth of fine hand lace were on exhibition. Farmers from a -distant county were chosen as judges and with pleased astonishment -remarked that the exhibition as a whole would have taken a prize at -any county fair. - -Thus living with congenial administrators in a climate softer even -than the city of San Diego, for the breezes of the Palomar mountains -mingle with those of the Pacific in the trees which shade their -humble homes; having at the end of the principal street of the village -a hedged plaza, filled with blooming flowers all the year, making a -frame for the old Mission chapel, which stands restored as the best -preserved of the Mission chapels, a picture place of San Diego county -and their place of worship; not wealthy, but having sufficient for the -necessities and some of the comforts of life; it is little wonder that -the Indian of Pala pursues the even tenor of his way, happy and -without a care for the future. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -With the Pala Basket Makers. - - -The art instincts of primitive people naturally were exceedingly -limited in expression. Their ignorance of tools not only restricted -their opportunities for the development of handicraft ability, but -also deprived them of many materials they otherwise might have used. -Hence whenever an outlet was discovered for their artistic tendencies -they were impelled to focus upon it in a remarkable degree. With few -tools, limited scope of materials, and next to no incitement to higher -endeavor as the result of contact with other peoples, they yet -developed several arts to a higher degree than has ever yet been -attained by the white race. One of the chief of these artistic -industries was the making of baskets. - -Look at one of these exquisite pieces of aboriginal workmanship and -you will be astonished at the perfection of its form, its marvelous -symmetry, the evenness of its weave, the suitability of the material -of which it is made, its remarkable adaptability to the use for which -it is intended, the rare and delicate harmoniousness of its colors, -and the artistic conception of its design. These qualities all -presuppose pure aboriginal work, for directly the Indian begins to -yield to the dictation of the superior (!) race, she proceeds to make -baskets of hideous and inartistic shape, abominable combinations of -color, and generally senseless designs. - -Let us watch these basket-makers at work, as we find them at Pala -today. The weaver must first secure the materials. For the filling of -the inner coil she gathers a quantity of a wild grass, or broom corn, -the stems of which perfectly fulfil the purpose. The wrapping splints -are made of three or four products of the vegetable kingdom. The white -splints are secured from willows which are peeled and then split and -torn apart so as to make the desired size. The thinness and pliability -of the splint is determined by scraping off as much as is needed of -the inside. A black splint is found in the cuticle of the martynia, or -cat's claw, which grows profusely on the hill-sides. Sometimes, -however, the white willow splints are soaked in hot sulphur water for -several days, and this blackens them. This water is secured from one -of the hot springs which are found all over Southern California. The -rare and delicate shades of brown in the splints used by the Pala -Indians are gained from the root of the tule. These roots are dug out -of the mud of marshy places and vary in shade, from the most delicate -creamy-brown to the deepest chestnut. Carefully introduced into a -basket they make harmonies in color that fairly thrill the senses with -delight. Now and again an added note of color is found in the red of -the red-bud, which, when gathered at the proper time, gives a sturdy -red, not too vivid or brilliant, but that harmonizes perfectly with -the white, black and brown. As a rule these are the only colors used -by the older and more artistic of the Pala weavers. Now and again, a -smart youngster, trained at the white man's school, will come back -with corrupted ideas of color value, and will flippantly make -gorgeously colored splints with a few packages of the aniline dyes -that, to the older weavers, are simply accursed. But even the most -foolish and least discerning of the white purchasers of baskets made -of these degraded colors cannot fail, in time, to learn how hideous -they are when compared with the natural, normal and artistic work of -the more conservative of the weavers. - -With her materials duly prepared the weaver is now ready to go to -work. What drawing has she to represent the shape of her basket; what -complicated plan of the design she intends to incorporate in it? How -much thought has she given to these two important details? Where does -she get them from? What art books does she consult? She cannot go down -to the art or department store and purchase Design No. 48b, or 219f, -and her religion, if she be a _good_ woman (that is, good from the -Indian, not the white man or Christian standpoint), will not allow her -to copy either one of her own or another weaver's form or design. She, -therefore, is left to the one resort of the true artist. She must -create her work from Nature, out of her own observations and -reflections. Thus patterning after Nature the shapes of her baskets -are always perfect, always uncriticizable. There is nothing fantastic, -wild, or crazy about them, as we often find in the _original -creations_ of the white race. They are patterned after the Master -Artist's work, and therefore are beyond criticism. - -But who can tell the hours of patient and careful observation, the -thought, the reflection, put upon these shapes and designs. The busy -little brain behind those dark-brown eyes; the creative imagination -that sees, that vizualizes _in the mind_ and can judge of its -appearance when objectified, must be developed to a high degree to -permit the use of such intricate, complicated and complex designs as -are often found. There are no drawings made, no pencil and paper used, -not even a sketch in the sand as some guessers would have the -credulous believe. Everything is seen and worked out _mentally_, and -with nothing but the mental image before her, the artist goes to work. - -Seated in as easy a posture as she can find out-of-doors or in, her -splints around her in vessels of water (the water for keeping them -pliant), and an adequate supply of the broom-corn, or grass-stem, -filling at hand, she rapidly makes the coiled button that is the -center, the starting point of her basket. Her awl is the thigh-bone of -a rabbit, unless she has yielded so far to the pressure of -civilization as to use a steel awl secured at the trader's store for -the purpose. Stitch by stitch the coil grows, each one sewed, by -making a hole with the awl through the coil already made, to that -coil. When the time comes for the introduction of the colored splint, -she works on as certainly, surely and deftly as before. There is no -hesitation. All is mapped out, the stitches counted, long before, and -though to the outsider there is no possible resemblance discernible -between what she is doing with anything known in the heavens above, -the earth beneath, or the waters under the earth, the aboriginal -weaver goes on with perfect confidence, seeing clearly the completed -and artistic product of her brain and fingers. - - [Illustration: One of the Portable Houses bought by the U. S. Indian - Department. The rear house was erected by the Indians themselves, - and is the home of Senora Salvadora Valenzuela and her daughters.] - - [Illustration: Two Pala Indian Maidens.] - - [Illustration: Pala Boys at Work on the Farm.] - -And how wonderfully those fingers handle the splints. No white woman -has ever surpassed, in digital dexterity, these native Indians. Do you -wonder? Watch this weaver day after day as her basket grows. A week, -two, three, a month, two, three months pass by, and the basket is not -yet finished. Time as well as creative skill and digital dexterity are -required to make a basket, and it is no uncommon thing to find three, -four and even five or six months consumed before the basket is done, -and the weaver's heart is secretly rejoiced by the beauty of the work. - -Is it surprising that the Indian often refuses to show, even when she -knows she can make a sale, the latest product of her skill? The work -is the joy of her heart; she has met the true test of the artist--she -loves her work and, therefore, joys in it--how can she sell it? So -when you ask her if she has a basket to sell she shakes her head, and -when, days or weeks later, pressed by a real or fancied necessity, she -brings it out and offers it for sale, you inwardly comment--perhaps -openly--upon the untruthfulness of the Indian, when, in reality, she -meant to the full her negative as to whether she had a basket to -_sell_. - -There are many skilful and accomplished basket weavers at Pala, who -genuinely love their work. They are preserving for a prejudiced -portion of the white race, proofs of an artistic skill possessed for -centuries by this despised aboriginal race, and, at the same time, -give delight, pleasure, joy and kindlier feelings to those of the -white race who feel there is a fundamental truth enunciated in the -doctrines of the universal Fatherhood of God, and the Brotherhood of -Man. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -Lace and Pottery Makers. - - -In the preceding chapter I have presented, in a broad and casual -manner, the work of the Pala basket-makers. They are not confined, -however, to this as their only artistic industry. They engage in other -work that is both beautiful and useful. For centuries they have been -pottery makers, though, as far as I can learn, they have never learned -to decorate their ware with the artistic, quaint, and symbolic designs -used by the Zunis, Acomese, Hopis and other Pueblo Indians of Arizona -and New Mexico, or that might have been suggested by the designs on -their own basketry. - -The shapes of their pottery in the main are simple and few, but, when -made by skilful hands, are beautiful and pleasing. They make saucers, -bowls, jars and ollas. Clay is handled practically in the same way as -the materials of basketry. After the clay is well washed, _puddled_, -and softened, it is rolled into a rope-like length. After the center -is moulded by the thumbs and fingers of the potter, on a small basket -base which she holds in her lap, the clay rope is coiled so as to -build up the pot to the desired size. As each coil is added, it is -smoothed down with the fingers and a small _spatula_ of bone, pottery -or dried gourd skin, the shape being made and maintained by constant -manipulation. When completed it is either dried in the sun, or baked -over a fire made of dried cow or burro dung, which does not get so hot -as to crack the ware, or give out a smoke to blacken it. - -In the dressing of skins, and making of rabbit-skin blankets, the -older Indians used to be great adepts, but modern materials have taken -away the necessity for these things. - -Before the Palatinguas were removed from Warner's Ranch to Pala, one -of them, gifted with the white man's business sense, and with the -creative or inventive faculty, started an industry which he soon made -very profitable. Every traveler over the uncultivated and desert area -of Southern California has been struck with the immense number of -yuccas, Spanish daggers, that seemed to spring up spontaneously on -every hand. This keen-brained Indian, Jose Juan Owlinguwush, saw -these, and wiser than some of his smart white brothers, determined to -put them to practical and profitable use. He had the bayonets gathered -by the hundreds, the thousands. Then he had them beaten, flailed, -until the fibres were all separated one from another. The outer skins -were thrown away, but the inner fibres were taken and cured. Then, on -one of the most primitive spinning-wheels ever designed, and worked by -a smiling school-girl, who passed a strap over a square portion of a -spindle, at the end of which was a hook, so as to make it revolve at a -high degree of speed, the fiber was spun into rope. To the hook the -yucca fibre was attached, and as the spindle revolved the hook twisted -the fibre into cord. The spinner, with an apron full of the fibre, -walked backwards, away from the revolving hook, feeding out the fibre -as required and seeing it was of the needed thickness. Some of the -rope or cord thus made was dyed a pleasing brown color, and then was -woven on a loom, as primitive as was the spinning-wheel, into -doormats, which I used, with great satisfaction, for several years. - -Soon after the Palatinguas were settled at Pala, the Sybil Carter -Association of New York introduced to them, with the full consent of -the government officials, the art of Spanish lace-making. In a recent -newspaper article it is thus lauded: "Ancient craft [Basket-making] of -Pala Indians Gives Place to More Artistic Handiwork." This is a very -absurd statement, for wherein is the work of lace-making more -_artistic_ than basket-making. In the article that follows our -newspaper friend tells us candidly that the creative spirit is still -alive in the manufacture of basketry: - - They use the natural grasses and no artificial coloring. _No - two baskets are alike_, though the mountain, lightning flash, - star, tree, oak-leaf, and snake designs are most common. - -The italics are mine. Our writer then goes on to say of the -lace-making: - - The little ten-year old school-child and the grandmother now - sit side by side weaving the intricate figures with deft - hands and each receives fair compensation for the finished - product. It takes sharp eyes and supple fingers to produce - this lace, _but no originality_, for the Venetian point, - Honiton, Torchon, Brussels, Cluny, Milano, Roman Cut-Work and - Fillet patterns are supplied by the government teacher, Mrs. - Edla Osterberg. - - [Illustration: The Fiesta Procession, Leaving the Chapel for the - Headgate of the Irrigation Ditch.] - - [Illustration: Pala Indian Women Dancing at the Fiesta.] - -Again the italics are mine. There is no comparison in the art work of -basketry and that of lace-making, yet it is a good thing the latter -has been introduced. It brings these poor people money easier and -quicker than basket-making, and, as they must earn to live, it aids -them in the struggle for existence. - -In the lace work-room, the last time I was there, thirty-nine weavers -in all, varying from bright-eyed children of seven years, to aged -grandmothers, were intently engaged upon the delicate work. The -bobbins were being twisted and whirled with incredible rapidity and -sureness, in the cases of the most expert, and all were as interested -as could possibly be. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -The Religious and Social Life of the Palas. - - -It would require many pages of this little book even to suggest the -various rites, ceremonies and ideas connected with the ancient -religion of the Palas. It was a strange mixture of Nature worship, -superstition, and apparently meaningless rites, all of which, however, -clearly revealed the childlike worship of their minds. In the earliest -days their religious leaders gained their power by fasting and -solitude. Away in the desert, or on the mountain heights, resolutely -abstaining from all food, they awaited the coming of their spirit -guides, and then, armed with the assurance of direct supernatural -control, they assumed the healing of the sick and the general -direction of the affairs of the tribe. - -Then, later, this simple method was changed. The neophytes sought -visions by drinking a decoction made from the jimpson weed--_toloache_ ---and though the older and purer-minded men condemned this method it -was gaining great hold upon them when the Franciscan Missionaries came -a century or so ago. - -Even now some of their ceremonies at the period of adolescence, -especially of girls, are still carried on. One of these consists of -digging a pit, making it hot with burning wood coals, and then -"roasting" the maiden therein, supposedly for her physical good. - -I have also been present at some of their ancient dances which are -still performed by the older men and women. These are petitions to the -Powers that control nature to make the wild berries, seeds and roots -grow that they may have an abundance of food, and many white men have -seen portions of the eagle and other dances, the significance of which -they had no conception of. Yet all of these dances had their origin in -some simple, childlike idea such as that the eagle, flying upwards -into the very eye of the sun, must dwell in or near the abode of the -gods, and could therefore convey messages to them from the dwellers -upon Earth. This is the secret of all the whisperings and tender words -addressed to the eagle before it is either sent on its flight or -slain--for in either case it soars to the empyrean. These words are -messages to be delivered to the gods above, and are petitions for -favors desired, blessings they long for, or punishments they wish to -see bestowed upon their enemies. - -But when the padres came the major part of the ancestors of the -present-day Palas came under their influence. They were soon baptized -into the fold of the Catholic Church. The fathers were wise in their -tolerance of the old dances. Wherein there was nothing that savored of -bestiality, sensuality, or direct demoralization, they raised no -objection, hence the survival of these ceremonies to the present day. -But, otherwise, the Indians became, as far as they were mentally and -spiritually able, good sons and daughters of the church. - -Of the good influence these good men had over their Indian wards there -can be no question. - -A true shepherd of his heathen flock was Padre Peyri. When the order -of secularization reached San Luis Rey and every priest was compelled -to take the oath of allegiance to the republic of Mexico, Peyri -refused to obey. He was ordered out of the country. At first he paid -no attention to the command, but when, finally, his superiors in -Mexico authorized his obedience, he stole away during the dead of -night in January, 1832, in order to save himself and his beloved -though dusky wards the pain of parting. It is said that when the -Indians discovered that he had left them and was on his way to San -Diego in order to take ship for Spain, five hundred of them followed -him with the avowed intention of trying to persuade him to return. But -they reached the bay at La Playa just as his ship was spreading sail -and putting out to sea. A plaintive cry rose heavenward while they -stood, their arms outstretched in agonized pleading, as their beloved -padre gave them a farewell blessing and his vessel faded away in the -blue haze off Point Loma. - -The last resident missionary at San Luis Rey was Padre Zalvidea, who -died early in 1846. - -From this date the decline of the Mission was very rapid. In 1826, the -Indian population was 2,869 and in 1846 it scarcely numbered 400. -After the death of Padre Zalvidea the poor Indians were like a flock -of sheep without a shepherd. They dispersed in every direction, a prey -of poverty, disease, and death. - - [Illustration: The Pala Campanile After Rebuilding in 1916.] - - [Illustration: A Pala Basket-Maker at Work.] - - [Illustration: The Interior of Pala Chapel After the Restoration.] - - [Illustration: The Ruins of the Pala Campanile, After Its Fall in - January, 1916.] - -The Pala outpost shared the fate of the mother mission, San Luis Rey. -It became a prey to the elements and to vandalism. It was soon a -ruin, uninhabited and unhabitable. Even the water ditch, not being -kept in repair, soon became useless. Thus matters stood until the -United States decided to remove the Indians living on Warner's Ranch -to Pala. - -Longevity used to be quite common among the Pala and other Indians. To -attain the age of a hundred years was nothing uncommon, and some lived -to be a hundred and fifty and even more years old. A short time ago -Leona Ardilla died at Temecula, which, like Pala, used to be a part of -the Mission of San Luis Rey. Leona was computed to be fully 113 years -old. She well remembered Padre Peyri,--_el buena padre_, she called -him,--and could tell definitely of his going away, of the Indians -following him to San Diego, and their grief that they could not bring -him back. Often have I heard her tell the story of the eviction of the -Indians from San Pasqual, as described in _Ramona_, and the struggle -her people had for the necessities of life after that disastrous -event. - -Of gentle disposition, uncomplaining regarding the many and great -wrongs done her people by the white man, she lived a simple Indian -life, eating her porridge of _weewish_, the _bellota_ of the Spanish, -that is, acorn. This was for years her staple food. She ate it as she -worked on her baskets, with the prayers on her lips which were taught -her by Padre Peyri. - -Though deaf and nearly blind for over 20 years, Leona sat daily in the -open with some boughs at her back, the primitive, unroofed break-wind -described as the only habitation of many of the Indians at the advent -of the spiritual _conquistadores_ of California. There, in the shade -of her kish, she sat and wove baskets. A few days before she died she -tried to finish a basket which had been begun over a month before, but -her death intervened and it remains unfinished. - -A year hence, when the Indians hold their memorial dance of the dead, -this basket will be burned, together with whatever articles of -clothing she may have left. - -The old basket maker's only living child was Michaela. She is 80 years -of age, and was at her mother's death-bed. - -After their removal to Pala the Indians were too stunned to pay much -attention to anything except their own troubles, and the priest that -was sent to them neither knew or understood them. But a few years ago -the Reverend George D. Doyle was appointed as their pastor. He entered -into the work with zeal, sympathy and love, and in a short time he had -won their fullest confidence by his tender care of their best -interests. He deems no sacrifice too great where his services are -needed. He says, however, that beneficial service would have been -rendered impossible save for the justice, tolerance and helpfulness on -the part of the Indian service both at Washington and in the field. - -In their school life Miss Salmons has their confidence equally with -their pastor. The growing generation is bright and learns things just -as quickly as white children of the same age. - -The older Indians never seem to be able to count. Their difficulty in -understanding figures is shown when they make purchases at the -reservation store. An old Indian will buy a pound of sugar, for -instance, and lay down a dollar. After he is given his change he may -buy a pound of bacon and again wait for his change before he makes the -next purchase. He simply cannot understand that 100 minus 5 minus 18 -leaves 77. - -But the younger generation will have no such trouble. They are fairly -quick at figures, and a class in mental arithmetic under Miss Salmons' -direction would not appear poorly in competition with any white class -in any other California school. - -The women spend much time in their gardens and in basket- and -lace-making. Their houses, gates, and fences are covered with a wealth -of roses and other flowers and vines and their little gardens are laid -out and cultivated with great skill. The men have a club-house, in -which is a billiard-table, where they play pool and other games. There -is also a piano, and several of the Indians are able to play -creditably at their community dances. - -The games most popular among the Palas, in fact among all the Mission -Indians, are Gome, Pelota, Peon and Monte. _Gome_ is a test of speed, -endurance, and accuracy. As many contestants as wish enter, each -barefooted and holding a small wooden ball. A course from one to five -miles is designated. When the signal is given each player places his -ball upon the toes of his right foot and casts it. The ball must not -be touched by the hand again but scooped up by the toes and cast -forward. The runner whose ball first passes the line at the end of the -course is the winner. The good gome player is expert at scooping the -ball whilst running at full speed and casting the same without losing -his stride. Casts of 40 to 50 yards are not unusual. - -_Pelota_ is a mixture of old time shinny or hocky, la-crosse and -foot-ball. It is played by two teams generally twelve on a side, on a -field about twice the size of the regulation football gridiron, with -two goal posts at each end. Each player is armed with an oak stick -about three feet in length. The teams, facing each other, stand in -mid-field. The referee holds a wooden ball two inches in diameter -which he places in a hole in the ground between the players. He then -fills the hole with sand, signals, by a call, and immediately the -sticks of the players dig the ball from the sand and endeavor to force -it towards and through their opponents' goal. There are no regulations -as to interference. Any player may hold, throw or block his opponent. -He may snap his opponent's stick from him and hurl it yards away. He -may hide the ball momentarily, to pass it to one of his team-mates, -always striving for a clean smash at the ball. He may not run with the -ball but is allowed three steps in any direction for batting -clearance--if he can get it. When one team succeeds in placing the -ball between its opponents' goal-posts one point is scored. The first -team to score two points wins the contest. - - [Illustration: The Opening of the Fiesta. Father G. D. Doyle Reciting - the Mass.] - - [Illustration: On the Morning of the Fiesta at Pala.] - - [Illustration: The Women in the Ramada at the Pala Fiesta.] - -_Peon_, without doubt, is the favorite diversion of the Southern -California Indian. It is played at night. A small fire is lighted and -four players squat on one side of it and four on the other. The -players of one set hold in their hand two sticks or bones, one black, -the other white, connected by a thong about fourteen inches long. Two -blankets, dirty or clean, it matters little, are spread, one in -front of each set. Back of the players are grouped the Indian women, -and when the players holding the peon sticks bend forward to grasp the -blanket between their teeth the women begin a chant or song. The -players, with hands hidden beneath the blanket, suddenly rise to their -knees drop the blanket from their teeth and are seen to have their -arms folded so closely that it is impossible to tell which hand holds -the black stick and which the white one. Their bodies move from side -to side, or up and down, keeping perfect time with the song, whilst -one of the opponents tries to tell, by false motions or by watching -the eyes across the fire, which hands hold the white stick. By a -movement of the hand he calls his guess and silence follows the -opening of the hand which reveals whether he has been successful in -his guess. The players who have been guessed throw their peon sticks -across to their opponents. For the ones not guessed a chip or short -stick is laid in front of the player. The opponent must continue until -he guesses all the hands, when his side goes through the same -performance. There are fourteen chips and one set or side must be in -possession of all of them before the game is concluded; so it may be -seen that it can last many hours. Sometimes the early morning finds -the singers and players weary but undaunted, as the game is -unfinished, and each side is reluctant to give up without scoring. - -As poker is called the American's gambling game so peon might be named -the Indian's gambling game. Large sums are said to have been wagered -on this game prior to February of 1915, when the Commissioner of -Indian Affairs placed the ban upon gambling of any description on the -reservations. The game is now played only for a prize or small purse -which is offered by the Fiesta Committee. - -_Monte_ is a card game played by the older people and is much like -faro excepting that Mexican cards are used. - -Taking their lives all in all they are today very much like those of -their white neighbors. The warriors of the passing generation and -their squaws have thrown aside buckskin for gingham and shawls of -cotton and wool. The thick-soled shoe has taken the place of the -sandal or soft moccassin, but the springy tread of the foot is the -same as it was when it traversed a pathless wilderness. The stoicism -and the majestic mien, the indifference to results, and the absolute -fearlessness which are expressed in every movement, are still -essential influences in the life and government of the little band. - -The younger men and women, while they tolerate with filial respect the -superstitions of their fathers, are eager to adjust themselves to the -ways and to be taught the arts and wisdom of their pale-faced -conquerors. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -The Collapse and Rebuilding of the Campanile. - - -In January of 1916 a storm swept over the whole of the Coast Country -of California from north to south, doing considerable damage on every -hand. In the Pala Valley the rain fell in volumes. For twenty-four -hours it never ceased, it being estimated that twelve inches fell -during that time. The pouring floods swept over the valley, and soon -began to undermine the adobe foundations of the tower. The base was -simply a piled-up mass of adobe, covered with cobble-stones, which, -however, had withstood the storms and the earthquakes of a hundred -years. As soon as a few of these cobble-stones were removed by the -flood, the clay beneath began to wash away with startling rapidity. -Nothing, however, could be done to prevent the rushing torrent that -eagerly ate away the ever-softening clay, and at three o'clock in the -afternoon of January 27th, those who watched with bated breath, -anxious hearts, and prayerful longings, were saddened by seeing the -more solid part of the base drop apart, thus removing all support to -the tower. The next moment it toppled forward and fell with a splash -into the muddy water surging at its feet. As it fell it broke into -several pieces, but, fortunately, the bells sank into soft mud, and -were afterwards found uninjured, to the delight of pastor, Indians, -and all the inhabitants of the country around about. - -What now should be done? Had the Indians been alone there is little -doubt but that their love for the interesting and historic tower would -have led them, unaided and alone, to reconstruct it. But in their -pastor, the Rev. George D. Doyle, they had one upon whom they have -long learned to rely as a real leader, in all things pertaining to -their welfare. Father Doyle at once put himself in communication with -friends throughout the country. In San Diego he appealed to Mr. George -W. Marston and Mr. Thomas Getz, the former one of the most public -spirited benefactors of that city, the latter being well known for his -interest in the Missions, from his exhibit at the Panama-California -Exposition and his lectures on the same subject at "Ramona's -Marriage-Place," at Old San Diego. These gentlemen immediately -undertook to raise at least one-fifth of the amount estimated for the -Campanile's repair. Other friends responded nobly, and the work of -rebuilding was immediately begun. - -It was the substantial gift, however, of Mrs. George I. Kyte, of Santa -Monica, Calif., that made it possible to complete the work in so short -a time. - -A solid and substantial concrete base twelve feet long, twelve feet -deep, and five feet wide, was first erected, so that no storm of the -future could undermine it. Then carefully following the plan of the -old tower, using the old material as far as possible, and not -neglecting a single detail, the new tower slowly arose to its -completion. The old cross-timbers for the bells, were again given -their sweet burden, the original cactus saved from the ruins was -planted again at the foot of the cross, the cobble-stones of the base, -also, were put back into place and neatly white-washed. Hence, except -that it looks so new, Padre Peyri himself would not know it from the -tower of his own erection. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PICTURESQUE PALA*** - - -******* This file should be named 41561.txt or 41561.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/1/5/6/41561 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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