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Show 278 PERSONAL ADVENTURES the ~itnplest possible construction. At the rear of these buildings lies a neglected orchard and garden, 'vbich had once been exceedincrly productive. In short, the general piau of this immense establishment bore evidence to jts having been at one time a 'veil organized and comfortable place, supplied in profusion with all the necessaries, and even luxuries, of life. It is no"v only a standing reproach to the lVIexican government, and the lazy successors of the Jesuits. The population of the mission consists of about three hundred persons, the n1ajority of whom are Indians, and no small proportion An1ericans, all of whom are evidently of the most depraved and abandoned habits. From the specimen which I sa'v of them standin<r half 0 drunk at the entrance of a <rro<r-store into c5 0 which part of the buildings had been con· verted, I took care to look at the priming of my pistols, and to keep a close watch on our hors~s. The Indians are almost black, and have the usual characteristics of long, neglected hair flowing in tangled locks about their shoul- IN CALIFORNIA. 279 ders, flat noses, thick lips, low foreheads, and busby eyebrows, an appearance in perfect keeping with their mental characteristics, which do not elevate them above the condition of the brute. The Americans whorn I saw 'vere a hard-looking set of customers, who seen1ed to have been long out of the pale of civilization ; and I In ust confess that they inspired rnyself and my companion with some degree of apprehension. We had no tnoney with us of any consequence; but our horses, saddles, arms, and a few other articles in our possession, were sufficient ten1ptations for an attack upon us, every kind of property having risen enorrr1ously in value, in consequence of the immense influx of foreigners that had taken place since the discovery of the gold rnines. Horses that could formerly have been purchased for three or four dollars now readily brought from one hundred and fifty to two hundred, and weapons of defence could with difficulty be procured for rnoney. As to blankets and serapas, which served the double purpose of beds by |