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Show 116 Ex. Doc. No. 41. The plan of the camp bein~ approved, I was directed ~o make it ih habitual order of cncamptn~ whcrev r the configuratlon of the ground woultl adrn.il. The plan was ihc natural ~n to prolert elvc~ from lh n tcrht attacks of the ncmy, who wet e all moun led. Touhre mod. e in which thh ey des1. gncd to m.a 1c c l1l e.u m. g1 1 t attac] c s was to drive into our camp a mana(h~ of' dd mares, ~ncllhcn lake advantage of the confu ·ion they mtghl creal' to.dehver a charge. Dece-mber 30.-W e encamp d al the ra nchena of Alv6ar .. Dccembe1• 31.-W t·n<·ampcd at the an J3arnardo, havmg gone in three days on 1 y 30 m i I cs . The ground pa~sed ov?r wa · the ~a me that des ·ribed in the last two days of our march wto an Dtcgo. as January 1.-To-(lay w' obtained :ome fre ·h oxen and~ few fr~sh l 0 ·ses which enabled u to do better and to m akc 17 m t1 es before sl unI s. ·'t.) Our road to-day diverged f:om th~t hereto f or (1 e scn'b e<l , and laid over a rolling country, dest.ttute of wa~cr ·~nd tr ('~. c.att]e were ecn, in mall numb r , ·ovenng the _pl .atn m ~11 dtrecllons, provmg to us that the enemy had found 1t unpracllcable to fulfil their boast, that we hould not get a hoof from the day we left an Di go. . . We pitched our cnmp at the lndtan settlcm nt of Buena Vtsta, passing by the way a deserted ranch ria, where there was a puddle of stagnant wale~, the only wa.tcr. on the rout ,. January 2.- LX an(l a half mtles mar ·h bro:1ght. u~ lo the desert( tl mi. sion of an Luis Rcy. The keys of lht mt. 10n were m charge of the alcal~lc of ~he In~li~n village, a m~lc di ·tanl. Ile was at the door to rece1ve u · and deltver up posse ston. There we halted for the day to let the sailors, who suffered dreadfully from sor feet, .recruit a littl.e. . Thi ·building is one wh1ch, for magntlude, convenience, and durability of architecture, would do honor to any country. The walls are of adobe, and the roofs of well made tile. It was built about sixty years since by the lntl i ans o [ th c country, un dcr the guidance of a zealous priest. At that lime the Indians were very numerou , .and under. the ~bsol~te sway _of. th~ mis iona~ies. The e rois ionancs at one t tmc btd fatr to chnstwmze the lnchans of California. Under grants from the Mexican governm nt, they collected them into mi sion , , built immense hous s, and commenced successfully to till the soil by the hands of the Indians for the benefit o[ the Indians. The habits of the pri sts, and the avarice of the military rulers of the territory , however, soon converted th se mi sions into instru men ls of opp res ion and la. very of th c Indian race. The revolution of 1836 aw the downfall of the priests, and most of thes mi ·ions pas ·cd by fraud into the hands of private individuals, and with them the Indians were tran~crred as serfs of the land. This race, which, in our country, has never been redu ·ed to slavery, i in that degraded ~ondition throughout California, and do the on I y 1 abor performed in the country. Nothing can exceed their pres •nt degraded condition. For negligence or refusal to work, the lash is freely applied, and Ex. Doc. No. 11. 117 in many in ·tnnrcs life Las been lak('11 by the alifornians without being held acrol.!.ntablc by th r Jaws of the lan d. This mission of an Luis Hey was, nntil the invn:ion of 1alifornia hy the Americans, in 1 16, consiclercd as public property. Ju. l bcfor' that cYenl took place, a sale was made of it for a small consideration, by tlle Mt.'xican authorities to some of their own people, who fell .their power passing away, and wi ·h •d to 1ur n an hon est 7J enny w}ul!)l then' w as pown lefl; but this sit!. was undoubt. c(lly fraudulent, and will, l trust,.n<~l be acknowledgc•d hy the Amf'ra:an government. Many oth •r llll ssto ns have been trausf<'rrccl in the same way; and lh<' 1H'W govcrnm •nt of California mu:t be very pure in its administration to avoid th' temptations w .i('h these ficttt10us s.alcs, made by th retiring Mexican aulhorili<·s, ofl'•r for accumulattng large fortunes at llL ' c .. p cnsc of the crovcrnmcnl. The lands belonging to this mi. sion ar<' cxten. iv~ Wt'll watered and v ry fertile. 1.t i said,.antl I belicv it probabl'c from app ar~ a.ncrs, that wheat wtll grow 1n the vall ·ys adjacent, without irrigation. Jan?ta?'Y 3.-Aflcr marching a few miles 1hc wide P acific. opened to our VIew. We pa:sed the l. Margu rita ran ch ria, on('c a dcpenc. len y of 'an Luis R 'y, now in the posses. ion of 11H• l)ico !amdy. We· encamped ncar F'J ores, a cles<>rlctl mi:.;sion. Ju. t bclo'v It, and ncar the ocean, i an Indian villag . Cattle W<'r' sc·c•n in g~eat numbers to-day, and sev ral well brok n pair. of oxen were }Htk.<'d up on the way. • Dt tance 10.5 miles. .Januwry ~.-After l c.aving Ij )orcs a few mil s, the high hrokcn gLround JHOje cts closr 111 .upon the S<'a, leaving but a narrow, u ne' n banquette, along winch the roatl wends through a growth of ch a pparal. 11 c. r c we m t t h r c e persons, b ca. ring a Il :t g of t r u r · one an Englt~~lma.n, 11amed Workman, another Fluge, a German 'the third a C a 1 do rn Ul n . ' Th .. Y b~ought a Iclt<:r fr om Flores, who signed him sel f governor and c.lptaJn ~~n_eral. o[ th.e dCJ?arlm ent or California, proposing to suspend hostiltttl'S In Cal1fornJa, and leave thr balll to be fourrht cls wher between the Unit •d ~ .. Late and M 'x ico upon which ~as to clep c~d the fate of California. Th re wa a gr~at d 'al of oth' r m~tlcr m th 1 ll r, useless to rep eat. Th ) commission return d Wtlh ~peremptory rcfu al of the propo ·ition of the governor and captatn general J•Iorcs. 1 Aft r going nine miles from Flores, the hicrh l a.ncl impinges so ~a~~c on t~c s 'a. that the roacl lies a loner the b·ca beach Cor a disha e 0,f ct~.hl mtl · ·. FortuFlatcly for us the tide wa, out, and we 0 ~h~ ad~.lntagc of a hard, mooth road. Notwithstanding this ~ur c~ umn trctchccl out a great di. lanee, and we were compcJlctl o m~ e frequent halt. for the rear to come up. h Tl 1 us P 1 .a pr 'sc nts a formidable military ou tac1c, ancl, in the anc ' o an m· trepH· 1 anc1 kilful cn<'rny we could have been sleesvte rely ch 'ck 1 ·r t b b 1 . ·' 0 C<' 1 no eaten ac c l rom 1t; but we passed unmo-e ' and encamped late at night on an open plain at the mouth |
