File:Californian trails, intimate guide to the old missions; the story of the California missions (1920) (14802952553).jpg

Identifier: californiantrails00hall (find matches)
Title: Californian trails, intimate guide to the old missions; the story of the California missions
Year: 1920 (1920s)
Authors: Hall, Trowbridge
Subjects: Spanish mission buildings -- California California -- Description and travel
Publisher: New York : The Macmillan company
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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s departure, began toring of its own accord. Or was it only the bells inheaven which rang out a welcome to his pious soul uponits entrance into the company of angels? Mission San Gabriel, dedicated in 1771 to the Arch-angel who, in mediaeval romance was known as themessenger of God who carried to heaven the prayersof men, was built in the usual Franciscan style—Spanish,flavored generously with Moorish, to which was addedjust a dash of early French and Romanic. Grouped about a court or patio were the church,monastery, guardhouse and secular quarters, presentinga solid outer wall practically unscalable by the natives,and when the buildings were roofed with tile, safe evenagainst fire-arrows, the favorite fighting weapon of theIndians. In San Gabriel, for a very considerable time,there proved to be a far greater need for protectionagainst savage hordes than at most of the other mis-sions, not because the Indians were uncommonly bad,but because the soldiers were distinctly worse. During
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CALIFORNIAN TRAILS, INTIMATE GUIDE TO THE OLD MISSIONS 45 the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Spain, drivenby an overpowering lust for new and rich territory,always employed the church and her priests as the mostinexpensive and handy weapon. But her main reliancewas upon force, and the soldiery ever accompanied thePadre in his pioneer work. Usually these soldiers werethe off-scourings of the army. Many were convicts.Altogether they were an idle, Godless crowd, who shunnedwork, and, as far as possible, church; towards both theyhad to be encouraged rather forcibly, just as the Irish-man enticed the pig into the pen with a pitchfork—thePadres pitchfork being the religious superstitions of theage. Here in San Gabriel, with no obligatory militaryduties to perform, the soldiers took to hunting as apastime, an innocent enough amusement if their choiceof game had not been so unfortunate; for it happenedthat many of the Indian women had husbands, in whomwas aroused not only a pardonabl

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