Prom the Books of 
 CDary J. . CDcDonald 
 
 
 s ?- T ^ .^ <u ?j J^K y^* **t33* AL^&b 
 

 Mary J. L. McDonald 
 
 
 
CALIFORNIA 
 
 THKEE HtJNDEED AKD FIFTY 
 
 YEARS AGO 
 
 MANUELO S NARRATIVE 
 
 from tlu 
 
 BY A PIONEER 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 C^LRSO^T & CO 
 PUBLISHERS AND BOOKSELLERS 
 
 NEW YORK: C. T. DILLINGHAM 
 
 1888 
 
" Nemo infelicius eo, cut nihil unquam euenit 
 adversi, non ii^iUt eiiifrk : j/,U e exper-iri." 
 
 COPYRIGHTED 1887 IJY SAMUEL CARSON & Co. 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 
 
 IN MEMOR1AM 
 
 V^^Ov 
 
LIEU OF PREFACE. 
 
 THE preface to a book is usually nothing more 
 nor less than an apology for its production, and 
 is intended in some way to disarm criticism: an 
 end, however, seldom attained, since the critics, as 
 a rule, read no further than the preface, taking it 
 for granted that a work which needs an apology 
 is not worth the perusal. If no preface is fur 
 nished, then these censors will have no alternative 
 but to read the book through before pronounc 
 ing judgment upon it. 
 
 ESCRITOR. 
 
 98O9SO 
 
CALIFORNIA 350 YEARS AGO. 
 
 I. 
 
 THE BEGINNING. 
 
 NOT very many years ago, but prior to 1847, an event, 
 most important to the world, occurred in the city of Evora, 
 in the little kingdom of Portugal. It was nothing less 
 than the discovery there of an old, musty manuscript relating 
 to Alta-California,* a country until then, and for some time 
 afterwards, only known in Europe as an obscure Spanish pos 
 session on the far-distant Pacific Coast of North America. 
 
 The manuscript was written in a sort of mixture of the 
 Spanish and Portuguese languages, liberally interspersed with 
 Indian expressions, and owing, undoubtedly, to that cause,. as 
 much as to its extreme age, it attracted considerable attention, 
 when first brought to light, although it was not regarded with 
 very great interest till some time afterwards. 
 
 * It was called Alta-California alta meaning higher or upper because 
 it was supposed to lay well up towards the North Pole, and not for the 
 reason that it was originally more elevated, in any sense of the word, than 
 Lower, or Baja California, as the peninsula was called; or possibly it 
 may have taken that lofty appellation from the faot of its being approached 
 by a voyage on the high seas, while Lower California could be reached by 
 merely crossing the gulf. 
 
6 CALIFORNIA 
 
 While the precise date of the discovery cannot now be ascer 
 tained, it is known with certainty to have occurred before the 
 breaking out of the great gold excitement in the United States, 
 in 1848 and 1849, for had it been subsequent to that important 
 event, the notoriety of California, on that account, would have 
 riveted attention to it at once, and fixed the date with cer 
 tainty. 
 
 The scroll being observed, as stated, to relate to a country 
 scarcely known in Portugal, what wonder that it should have 
 been regarded at the time as of little value. As often re- 
 ,marked by Thucydides, " it is desirable to be accurate in all 
 things/ bat k sometimes happens, as in this instance, that 
 the exact facts cannot be obtained. 
 
 /It was only afterwards, when the name of California became 
 blazoned forth throughout the world as the depository of 
 nature s choicest mineral treasures, that the attention of the 
 finder of the manuscript was turned towards it again. Then, 
 and not till then, a knowledge of the discovery spread abroad 
 through the ancient city of Evora, and became the subject of 
 much discussion among the priesthood. 
 
 It is well known that the early history of that particular part 
 of the New World to which the scroll related had always been 
 shrouded in the deepest mystery, and every attempt thereto 
 fore made to throw any considerable light upon it had failed. 
 
 The visit of Sir Francis Drake to that region in the year of 
 grace 1579, was supposed by some to have been the first by 
 any European; but all the accounts of that celebrated visit 
 are quite unsatisfactory, so far, at least, as relates to the in 
 habitants of the country. That distinguished navigator, it is 
 presumed, was deterred, by apprehensions of danger, from ex 
 ploring the interior of the land to any considerable extent, and 
 his observations, so far as known, were all made from the 
 quarter-deck. 
 
 There is nothing authentic to show even into wnat waters 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 7 
 
 his ships penetrated; in short, everything that has come down 
 to us concerning his discoveries is uncertain even to the verge 
 of perplexity. "Some writers have attempted to prove that he 
 actually entered and anchored his vessels in the harbor of 
 San Francisco instead of Sir Francis Drake s Bay, as it is now 
 called. But that, I think, will appear in the sequel to be erro 
 neous ; and it is equally an error to suppose, as some writer^ 
 have, that Viscaino, or Cavendish, or Rogers, or any other one 
 of the bold and venturesome voyagers of that and the follow 
 ing century, either penetrated into, or knew anything at all 
 about, the great harbor of the North Pacific. 
 
 A few Franciscan friars, it is true, came lumbering along 
 some two hundred years later, and, after that, gave to the church, 
 but not to the world, some little insight into the original con 
 dition of the country and its people; but these monks were, 
 to all appearances, as chary of imparting information concern 
 ing their observations as if they had been in mortal dread lest 
 their new dominions should be encroached upon by somebody ; 
 as, indeed, they actually were in the next generation or two by 
 the advent among them of Rocky Mountain trappers, and, 
 later still, by traders in hides and tallow along the coast. 
 
 But the old manuscript already mentioned has unexpectedly, 
 and we must think most fortunately, opened up to the world 
 a chapter in the remote history of that part of America, which 
 antedates them all by many years, and which is far more in 
 structive than anything heretofore disclosed concerning that 
 region, a region which, it may be remarked, had been to all 
 the rest of the world for unnumbered generations a terra in 
 cognita. 
 
 Evoia, within whose sacred precincts the scroll was discov 
 ered, is the capital of the well-known province of Alemtejo, 
 and was once a more populous city than it is at the present 
 time, though it continues to be the seat of numerous convents 
 and other religious establishments. 
 
8 CALIFORNIA 
 
 A university founded there about the year of our Lord 1550 
 was suppressed by the authority of the Government of Portu 
 gal in 1767, at the time of the -expulsion from that kingdom 
 of the order of Jesuits, by whom that same institution had 
 been successfully conducted for more than two hundred years. 
 
 Among the many monuments of antiquity pointed out to 
 the traveler in Evora is a ruined temple of Diana, older than 
 the Christian era, and also an aqueduct of Roman construc 
 tion which still supplies the city with water ; but the object of 
 greatest interest, in the opinion of the people, though by no 
 means so ancient as some of the others, is the splendid old 
 cathedral in which the manuscript alluded to was discovered. 
 Designed, as this building was, for the accommodation of a 
 numerous priesthood, there were in it, above and below 
 ground, not a few but many apartments, in one of which, long 
 neglected, this literary treasure lay hidden away. It was found 
 in a secret closet, closely wrapped in an envelope of untanned 
 skins and covered with the accumulated dust of many ages. 
 No one at the time it was brought to light or afterwards could 
 tell exactly whence the manuscript came or give any very in 
 telligent account of its origin, and its discovery, which was en 
 tirely accidental, excited less curiosity at first than might have 
 been expected, but subsequently and not long after, the Do 
 minican Brotherhood, in charge of the place, for reasons 
 already hinted at, set themselves about the business of inves 
 tigating it with commendable zeal. 
 
 The wrapping about the bundle indicated unmistakably its 
 origin to have been some frontier town in America, and a single 
 expression observed on one of its pages pointed towards Aca- 
 pulco as the place whence it might have been brought, and 
 where it may have been written. But, strange to say, no date 
 was discovered in the entire roll, a fact which, perhaps, will be 
 satisfactorily accounted for hereafter. 
 
 A thorough search of all the records of the establishment 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 9 
 
 threw but little light upon the subject, and was in the main 
 unsatisfactory, but not entirely so, since it disclosed the circum 
 stance that an old member of the Dominican order, Justino 
 by name, a native of Evora, had returned from Mexico about 
 three hundred years before, broken in health, and that he soon 
 afterwards died. It was conjectured that the manuscript 
 might have been brought into the monastery by him, and its 
 age, as evidenced by its dilapidated condition, went some ways 
 towards confirming that conclusion. A careful examination of 
 all the archives and old papers of the church was made by the 
 priests, to find, if possible, some of the handwriting of Friar 
 Justino with which to compare the writing of the manuscript ; 
 but the search proved in vain. The records likewise failed to 
 show what particular apartment in the monastery had been 
 occupied by him on his return, and even his burial-place was 
 forgotten. Neither was it known in what part of Mexico be 
 had wandered ; but this is not so much to be wondered at, 
 since the members of the Dominican brotherhood were migra 
 tory in their habits, and seldom remained more than a single 
 year in the same locality. In fact they were, in the true sense 
 of the word, missionaries by occupation. Armed with no 
 better weapons than scrip and staff, they were always traveling 
 from place to place. Father Justine s one aim in life had 
 doubtless been to instruct the rude natives of the New World 
 in the sublime doctrines of the Christian religion, and his home 
 at any time was likely to have been wherever he could accom 
 plish most for the welfare of that class of his fellow-beings. 
 It was, evidently, after a life thus spent that he had returned to 
 the scenes of his childhood, there to render up, in peace, his 
 weary soul to its divine Master. 
 
 It is no slight evidence of the self-sacrificing devotion of 
 Justino, that the manuscript contained almost no account of 
 his own career, which is therefore left largely to conjecture; 
 but it gave much information concerning what was then, or 
 
10 CALIFORNIA 
 
 not long afterwards, known as California, and its early inhab 
 itants, derived mainly from the evidence of a Spanish sailor 
 who had spent many years in that mysterious country. 
 
 The writing may have been, and probably was, intended as 
 the basis of a missionary movement in the direction of Alta- 
 California, and for that reason the character of its people, 
 their habits of life, their capacity for civilization, and, above all, 
 their fitness for conversion to Christianity, were largely dwelt 
 upon. If, indeed, the manuscript had been known with cer 
 tainty to have been prepared by pious hands for the specific 
 purpose of inciting the Dominicans to undertake such an 
 enterprise, it could hardly have been more complete in detail; 
 and we may well believe that, if Father Justino was really its 
 author, of which there is less doubt the more the subject is 
 considered, and if his life had been spared but a few years 
 longer, it is altogether likely that the renowned Franciscan 
 friar, Junipero Serra, would have been anticipated in his labors 
 of love, in that uncultivated field, by at least a couple of cent 
 uries. 
 
 There is this drawback, however, about the whole matter, 
 which ought in fairness to be laid before the candid reader. 
 The ink of the writing in the scroll had become so far obliter 
 ated by age as to render its deciphering extremely difficult; 
 and what was still more discouraging to the young priests, the 
 vermin had attacked one end of the bundle, actually destroy 
 ing a portion of the text, and probably that very portion on 
 which the date should have appeared. But these misfortunes 
 only added to the interest taken in the subject by the persons 
 in whose hands the manuscript had fallen, and, naturally 
 enough, their pious enthusiasm was kindled by such untoward 
 circumstances to work out to an intelligent conclusion the 
 contents of the whole document. Had it been simple, easy 
 reading, as most of the literature of the church is known to be, 
 it is altogether probable that this remarkable production might 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 11 
 
 have been, like much of such literature, passed over lightly 
 and been forgotten; but somehow it is so ordained by Provi 
 dence, that in matters of history as well as of science, and even 
 of religion, difficulties thrown in the way of their development 
 only add to their value in the estimation of mankind. The 
 more ancient and obscure the record of events, and the more 
 uncertainty surrounding them, the higher the appreciation of 
 them, as a general rule. " If gold could be easily procured," 
 as remarked by one of the monks, " it would be of little value ;" 
 and on the same principle, as reverently declared by another, 
 "He who bears the heaviest cross shall wear the brightest 
 crown." The worth of any commodity depends largely upon 
 the amount of labor expended in its production ; and so the 
 very great work necessarily bestowed in digging out, as it were, 
 from a mutilated mass, the hidden meaning of this musty old 
 manuscript, has invested it with most unusual interest. 
 
 It is probably owing to this circumstance, more than to any 
 other, that it possesses at this time any considerable impor 
 tance, for it is, after all, when dispassionately considered, only 
 the story of an obscure sailor man, and as likely, for aught we 
 can see, to be as untrustworthy as other stories of a similar 
 origin. 
 
 Should the reader be inclined to this view of the case, he 
 might as well now discontinue the task of perusing it, and 
 permit the narrative to pass, either as the doubtful yarn of a 
 seaman, or else, if he prefers it, as the idle tale of a Dominican 
 friar one or the other of which it certainly is, but which 
 makes little difference, since either is liable to be discredited. 
 But the next chapter may possibly disclose something of 
 greater interest, and the perusal of that much more is there 
 fore recommended before dropping the subject entirely. 
 
12 CALIFORNIA 
 
 II. 
 THE NEXT CHAPTER. 
 
 THE story runs that very many years ago a large man-of- 
 war large for those times doubtless, though of only about five 
 hundred tons burden was cruising along the northwestern 
 coast of the newly-found continent of America, but upon 
 what particular errand she was bound is not stated, nor is that 
 of any consequence so far as at present appears, though it is 
 presumed she was on a voyage of discovery, seeking for the 
 Northwest Passage. But what is important to know is that 
 she bore the Spanish colors at her mast-head, a flag in those 
 days emblematic of by far the most powerful maritime nation 
 in the world. She was a full-rigged frigate and was thoroughly 
 equipped and provisioned for a long voyage, and therefore 
 presumably the more venturesome. It being well understood 
 that she was now in waters that had never before been dis 
 turbed by the vessels of civilized men, she was handled from 
 day to day by her officers with all the caution that prudence 
 required under the circumstances. She had been abroad on 
 her lonesome cruise for many weeks and had penetrated far 
 into the Northern Indian Ocean," as that part of the Pacific 
 was then called, feeling her way, as it were, along the coast 
 and among islands, when, as it happened, on a clear afternoon 
 a narrow opening into the land was observed by her com 
 mander, and her prow was at once turned thitherward. After 
 several ineffectual attempts to reach the channel, rendered 
 abortive by adverse tides and currents, she succeeded at last 
 in making an entrance into a wide and beautiful harbor, 
 noticed in the report as being completely landlocked.* This 
 harbor was bordered on every side by uneven, if not rugged, 
 woodlands, and in some directions mountains were plainly 
 visible. According to the description given in the manuscript, 
 the harbor was much larger from north to south than from 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 13 
 
 east to west, although it was represented to be some leagues 
 in width. 
 
 These casual observations touching the geographical forma 
 tion of the harbor and country about, give us a very satisfac 
 tory clue to its identity, and though its waters remained un 
 named for generations afterwards, unquestionably the good 
 ship was then riding securely in what is now known, the world 
 over, as the Bay of San Francisco. In a little while soundings 
 were taken, sails furled, and anchor dropped. 
 
 The extreme newness of the country, like many other parts 
 of America when first visited by Europeans, was fairly bewil 
 dering. The all-pervading silence was spoken of as oppressive, 
 but the locality was none the less interesting, on that account, 
 to men who were eagerly searching in an unexplored field 
 for the wonders of nature and of Providence. This was. 
 really a far more inviting region than they had expected to 
 find, promising, as it did, to the leaders of the expedition great 
 renown in case of a safe return to their native country. They 
 could confidently expect decorations from their king for 
 bringing to light a" land of such varied promise. And as 
 to the men, each and every one of them, from common sailor 
 to cabin-boy, could hopefully look forward to a supply of shin 
 ing silver from the plethoric Spanish treasury as a reward for 
 his participation in the discovery. 
 
 The good ship had been inside the harbor only a day or 
 two when, in want of fresh water, as ships usually are, a boat s 
 crew, well armed and equipped, was sent ashore to reconnoiter 
 the land in search of the needed beverage. The country bor 
 dering on the Bay, though extremely wild in appearance, was 
 obviously inhabited by human beings of some sort, since fires 
 were observed to blaze on certain of the hills by night, and 
 smoke to ascend therefrom by day. 
 
 There must have been, at that remote period, vastly more 
 timber in that region than was found in later times, for the 
 
14 CALIFORNIA 
 
 shores were represented as thickly covered with trees of large 
 growth, almost down to the water s edge; and even the islands 
 in the Bay were said to lie studded with oaks and evergreens. 
 The country was described as marvelously picturesque and 
 beautiful when viewed from the deck of the ship, or from aloft, 
 and it is to be inferred that even then it possessed in pro 
 fusion those fascinations for which it has since become famous. 
 
 But the evident shyness of the natives, not one of whom 
 could anywhere be seen, created a suspicion that they might 
 be hostile, as, indeed, the Indians in many parts of the New 
 World had proved to be, and on that account as favorable a 
 location as possible was selected for the landing. It was on a 
 low, sandy spit extending into the Bay, and so situated as to be 
 covered by the guns of the ship as she lay in the offing. 
 
 The shore was reached by the boat s crew without interrup 
 tion, and, so far as could be determined from appearances, not 
 one of the inhabitants was within leagues of the place. 
 
 The Spaniards, full of good spirits, and growing bolder by 
 degrees, proceeded inland, lured on, not more by what they were 
 in pursuit of, than by the attractiveness of the surroundings. 
 Delighted with being once more on terra firma, and in such 
 a pleasing locality, they had pushed far into the heart of the 
 forest, when the foremost of the men espied skulking in the 
 undergrowth, not a hundred varas away, what at first appeared 
 to him, and which he supposed really was, some new species 
 of wild animal, but which, on closer inspection, proved to be 
 a human being clad in the skins of wild beasts. 
 
 This sudden development created no little commotion among 
 the Spaniards, and all, with one accord, rushed forward to ob 
 tain a better view for himself. The Indian, not disposed, as it 
 seemed, to quit his ground without some reluctance, one of 
 the sailors, with a recklessness wholly unaccountable, consider 
 ing their situation at that moment, cast a weapon of some sort 
 at him, severely wounding him in the leg. A cry of pain was 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 15 
 
 immediately raised by the native, and in less time than it takes 
 to relate the fact, a hundred or more stalwart warriors, all armed 
 in their way and ready for battle, sprang from cover and ad 
 vanced upon the Spaniards, who, perceiving themselves out 
 numbered, at least ten to one, beat a hasty retreat. The en 
 emy followed, with a fearful clamor, but for the best of reasons 
 soon learned to maintain a respectful distance. After several 
 halts on the -way, merely to show that they were not wholly demor 
 alized, but losing no time unnecessarily, the boat s crew, nearly 
 exhausted by the race, at last reached the landing and all safely 
 embarked save one, a young man, who was left prone upon the 
 ground, not far from the water s edge, where he had been 
 stricken down by the enemy s weapons. The boat s crew hov 
 ered near the shore for some time to ascertain the fate of their 
 comrade, and then put off to the ship. The young man mak 
 ing no movement that was observed, was believed to have been 
 killed outright, and his shipmates abandoned him to his fate. 
 This young* fellow, who was, in fact, only wounded, and who, in 
 duo time, recovered his senses, is the one from whom was ob 
 tained the facts which go to make up the narrative contained in 
 the manuscript of Father Justino, as we assume it to be, and of 
 which we are now giving a somewhat liberal translation. 
 
 In the series of little conflicts occurring on the retreat of the 
 ooat s crew, a number of other natives, besides the one already 
 mentioned, were wounded, more or less seriously, which caused 
 great commotion among them, and a most frightful war dance 
 was presently inaugurated over the prostrate body of the sailor. 
 
 The captain of the man-of-war, in doubt as to the nature and 
 numbers of the natives, weighed anchor and hastily pulled out 
 into the stream, awaiting only for the crew to come on board 
 before departing for some place of greater safety. 
 
 The wounded man, abandoned as he was, expected no better 
 treatment from his enraged captors than to be dispatched 
 at once, and, crossing himself, with a spirit of resignation, as a 
 
16 CALIFORNIA 
 
 good Christian should, he calmly awaited his fate. In after 
 wards describing his sensations at that particular time, he was 
 exceedingly animated, and indulged in more levity than Friar 
 Justino thought was warranted under such serious circumstances? 
 and accordingly the good priest, as is stated in the manuscript, 
 administered to him a fitting rebuke. But the sailor s excuse, 
 and a sufficient one it would seem to be, was his marvelous good- 
 fortune in escaping death, which to him just then appeared in 
 evitable, and it may well be conceded that his feelings at the 
 time of relating the joyful events were not altogether his own. 
 
 To his surprise and unutterable gratification the enemy, when 
 the dance was ended, began more coolly to contemplate his 
 person, as he lay stretched upon the ground, and on their ap 
 proaching him more closely he was enabled to perceive in their 
 faces expressions of great curiosity, and this inspired new hope 
 within him. It was the first time the Indians had ever beheld 
 a human being of a race different from their own a circum 
 stance to which the sailor certainly owed his life; and to this 
 same fortunate circumstance the world is now indebted for this 
 extremely interesting narrative. The anger of the savages rap 
 idly yielded to their astonishment, and the wounded white man 
 was not after that seriously molested. 
 
 Not long subsequent to the occurrences just described, he 
 was visited, where he lay on the shore, by a number of the 
 women of the country, whose countenances, more than those 
 of the men, beamed with compassion towards him, and he 
 found far less difficulty in gaining their good-will than could 
 have been expected, considering, as we must, that they were 
 only barbarians, and he an utter stranger among them. But 
 for the kindly offices of these gentle creatures, he always in 
 sisted he must have perished miserably where he lay, for such 
 was the character of his wounds that he was not at all in a 
 condition to care for himself. In this time of sorest need 
 assistance was thus rendered him by the more sympathizing 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 17 
 
 sex. His experience under these most trying circumstances it 
 was that incited in his breast that respect and partiality for 
 women which ever afterwards graced his character, as will 
 appear in the subsequent pages of this history. He certainly 
 had abundant reason to be grateful to them, and it is to his 
 everlasting credit that he never afterwards neglected an oppor 
 tunity to show his gratitude. A flint-headed arrow had pene 
 trated one of his legs, going quite through the fleshy part, 
 flint, shaft, feathers, and all; but the most serious wound was 
 inflicted on the back of his head, with a stone hatchet, fixed 
 in a wooden handle a native weapon quite common, as he 
 afterwards observed. It was this blow that rendered him, for 
 the time, insensible, and came so very near costing him his 
 life. 
 
 III. 
 
 MANUELO. 
 
 WE almost forgot to mention the name of the individual 
 through whose kindness we are enabled to continue this most 
 eventful narrative. It was Manuelo, and nothing more. If, 
 perchance, at any time another name belonged to him, the 
 fact was nowhere disclosed in the manuscript, and his 
 possession of one is therefore thrown in doubt. A single name 
 for a person of obscure origin was no uncommon thing in 
 those days, and even the ownership of one good name was 
 more than some people could boast. If peradventure 
 Manuelo possessed, by right of inheritance, a family appella 
 tion, it being nowhere disclosed in the writing, it is now wholly 
 lost to history, and the responsibility for that public calamity 
 rests upon the author of the manuscript. It is possible, 
 however, that his patronymic may have been eaten away by 
 the rodents, and if so, the responsibility would be removed 
 entirely from the shoulders of Justino. It must be considered 
 a misfortune, nevertheless, that the first white man whose feet 
 
18 CALIFORNIA 
 
 ever pressed the sacred soil of California, is compelled to go 
 down to posterity under the simple appellation of Manuelo ; 
 but it is none the less a duty to perpetuate what is certainly 
 known concerning him, and we proceed accordingly to relate, 
 or, rather, to permit him to relate, the further occurrences of 
 that time, how the native women, prompted by their natural 
 goodness of heart, hastened to bring him water and food; and 
 how they tenderly bound up his wounds, applying to them the 
 wilted leaves of medicinal plants, held in place by thongs of 
 buckskin ; and how they treated him with more than sisterly 
 kindness, during all the years he remained among them. 
 
 IV. 
 
 SOMETHING ELSE. 
 
 THE precise location of the village to which Manuelo was 
 removed, after the lapse of some days, can never be known 
 with certainty, since the fact is disclosed that at least a dozen 
 large villages, and many smaller ones, were scattered around 
 the great Bay at intervals. One town, however, much larger 
 than the others, was situated " over against the entrance to the 
 harbor," and this was, so to speak, the capital of the whole 
 country. Here resided the head chief, or king, who main 
 tained a sort of court, surrounding himself with all the par 
 aphernalia consistent with the degree of civilization enjoyed 
 by his people. This capital was on the opposite side of the 
 broad harbor, and quite away from where the white men had 
 landed. Becoming acquainted with all these facts, as he grew 
 better of his wounds, and, true to his sailorly instincts to seek 
 the largest centers of population, Manuelo early resolved, 
 when sufficiently recovered, to pay a visit to that city, which 
 purpose he afterwards carried out, but under difficulties, as 
 will appear. 
 
 His recovery was more rapid than could have been antici- 
 
350 YEARS AGO 19 
 
 pated, in view of the serious character of his injuries, and 
 much more speedy than it would have been but for the unre- 
 mitted attentions of the Indian women. Indeed, their manner 
 towards him was so considerate and thoughtful of all his wants, 
 that he could with difficulty persuade himself that his wounds 
 had been inflicted by people of the same race with them, and 
 it is but just to say that his heart overflowed with gratitude in 
 contemplation of their kindness. Such magnanimous conduct 
 on the part of those unlettered barbarians towards an unfortu 
 nate and perishing Christian should convince us all, as it did 
 Manuelo, and Justino as well, that the better qualities of 
 human nature are confined to no particular race, and belong 
 exclusively to no condition in life. It teaches, also, as plainly 
 as anything can, that we should always brace up against adver 
 sity, and under no circumstances give way to despair, since 
 none are gifted with foresight to know what the end of appar 
 ent calamity may be ; nor is anyone able to control, in all 
 things, his own destiny. 
 
 Pious Justino took occasion here to remind his informant of 
 the great religious truth that the winds were always tempered 
 to the shorn lamb, and that there was certainly a providence 
 in his escape, which lesson Manuelo, sailor-like, but not irrev 
 erently, accepted, with the proviso that the lamb should be 
 shorn only at the proper season of the year, in which case he 
 maintained there could be no doubt about the truth of the 
 saying. 
 
 V. 
 
 NATIVE HABITS AND RELIGION. 
 
 SATISFACTORY though the progress of Manuelo s re 
 covery was, nevertheless weeks elapsed before he was able to 
 stir forth from the wigwam in which he had been laid. The 
 arrow in going through the fleshy portion of his limb had 
 grazed the bone, and for a time he greatly feared it might 
 
20 CALIFORNIA 
 
 result in permanent lameness. The wound on the head was 
 of a nature to dislodge the scalp for a space, and* the process 
 of healing was necessarily slow; but being frequently admon 
 ished by his attendants to remain quiet, he was as often 
 assured that the end would be well. He was able the more 
 readily to conquer his impatience since his confinement, with its 
 agreeable companionship, afforded him an opportunity to make 
 progress in mastering the language of the people, and at the 
 same time to learn something about their habits and general 
 disposition an opportunity of which he availed himself to the 
 very best advantage. 
 
 Their language he found to be simple, but expressive, and 
 by no means harsh in sound. It was not difficult for him to 
 acquire a sufficiency of it to make known his wants, while his 
 native tongue was freely used in expressions of thankfulness, 
 which his attendants as he insisted understood full well. 
 Their habits were in many respects entirely primitive, but in 
 others they were marked by a degree of civility quite unac 
 countable in a people who had never enjoyed the blessings of 
 Christianity. 
 
 Extreme delicacy of manners and modesty of demeanor, it 
 was observed, characterized the conduct of the women, young 
 and old; and even the men, on all occasions, were sufficiently 
 polite, evincing thereby a liberal endowment of native good 
 ness. He could plainly see that the most warlike amongst 
 them had come to regard him with sympathy and favor, and 
 all apprehension of ill treatment in the future gradually wore 
 away. With the children of the village, possibly because he 
 was a sailor man and a stranger amongst them, he became a 
 great favorite. This fact must be taken as demonstrating the 
 excellent natural disposition of Manuelo himself, for we learn 
 that the partiality of the children for him was abundantly man 
 ifest, long before his proficiency in the language enabled him 
 to entertain them with stories of his own adventures. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 21 
 
 Owing to the uncertainly, or perhaps it would, be more 
 proper to say the certainty, of his stay among them, it was 
 clearly his duty, as well as his interest, to observe with care 
 whatever might be peculiar, or otherwise, in the customs and 
 mode of life of this people; and he was not long in learning 
 that the young men and women were addicted to many inno 
 cent pleasures, and that mirthfulness was a leading characteris 
 tic of the race. Their lives were taken up with a round of 
 domestic duties, interspersed with a variety of games, each in 
 its season. It is worth relating that these sports were seldom 
 interrupted, even by the occurrence of a death in the tribe, for 
 these people looked not upon death as a calamity, unless it 
 might be the result of accident or violence. They were firm 
 believers in the future existence, and through their seers, 
 prophets, and priests, assumed to hold communication with 
 the spirits of the departed. This fact Justino regarded as of the 
 highest importance, and he made it the basis of a lengthy dis 
 quisition in the manuscript, upon their susceptibility to the 
 influence of gospel truths, which, though it might have been 
 interesting enough to the Dominican brotherhood centuries ago, 
 can hardly be worth recording here, and is therefore omitted. 
 He described with great particularity their incantations and 
 ceremonies over the dead, whose bodies, by invariable custom, 
 were consumed on a funeral pyre. He told how their prepara 
 tions for this last rite were made. On every such occasion, in 
 a beautiful wooded valley, hemmed in on either hand by a 
 dense forest of evergreen trees, the body, on the day following 
 the death, would be borne on the shoulders of four stalwart 
 men. The hour chosen for the funeral ceremony was always 
 near the setting of the sun, when the litter would be preceded 
 by the eldest prophet of the village, arrayed in a long robe of 
 the skins of black animals, and bearing aloft a lighted torch. 
 Following the bier would come the family friends of tb<~ de 
 ceased, in single file, and each with a bundle of fagots, to be 
 
22 CALIFORNIA 
 
 added to the pile, after the body was placed thereon. Next in 
 order after the immediate friends of the deceased followed a 
 band of female singers, all arrayed in picturesque costume. 
 The dirge-like music of these, interrupted only by the incanta 
 tions of the priest, was kept up, with brief intervals, till late at 
 night, and until the body was consumed. The most impressive 
 part of the ceremony occurred just at the time of setting fire 
 to the pile, when the solemn voice of the priest, mingled with 
 the loud lamentations of the mourners, could be heard afar, 
 and was re-echoecl back from the neighboring hills. Only a 
 select number of the men, and barely enough to perform well 
 these last sad obligations to the dead, ever attended on these 
 occasions, and the children never. As a general thing, all the 
 people of the village, of every age and sex, would follow the 
 procession to the outskirts of the town, when, with demon 
 strations of friendly regard, they would bid adieu to the de 
 parted and with measured tread return to their homes. 
 
 The sorrow of these simple people over their dead was un 
 doubtedly softened by their faith in the future existence, and 
 by their confidence in the power of their prophets to commu 
 nicate with the spirits of the deceased, which was unbounded. 
 Justino argued from this fact, and very properly, that they were 
 most fit subjects for missionary labors, and the good man 
 longed to be the one to impart to them the sublime mysteries 
 of the true religion. In this ambition he was doubtless greatly 
 encouraged by the genial Manuelo, who, though a sailor, was 
 nevertheless a good Christian, and never forgot entirely his 
 obligations, either to the church or to these miserable barba 
 rians. 
 
 [From the Napa Register, December 20, 1886.] 
 
 Desiring to obtain some fine loam for the Insane Asylum grounds a 
 short time ago, the gardener resorted to the site of an old Indian ranche- 
 ria at a short distance in the rear of the Asylum. It was found upon 
 reaching the depth of three or four feet that the locality was an Indian grave 
 yard, and several skeletons of the aborigines were found. These were 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 23 
 
 covered with only a few feet of earth, and from the position in which they 
 were found, and from their surroundings, much interesting information was 
 obtained in regard to the manner in which the Indians of Napa Valley 
 buried their dead. 
 
 As a general thing, the bodies were doubled up, the chin resting on 
 the knees and the hands clasped about them. Then the bodies were bound 
 with bark, pieces of which were found on the skeletons in a fair state of 
 preservation. Bright-hued stones, beads, and other trinkets were also 
 found. The bodies were buried, not in a sitting position, but upon their 
 sides. Continuing the excavations there were found at the depth of six 
 feet indications that the Indians practiced cremation, as the ashes of 
 human bones were discovered, and also large numbers of beads united by 
 the action of fire. 
 
 Little thought is given by the busy, driving whites of to-day, to the 
 countless numbers who once roamed over every part of this valley. They 
 lived their day and passed off the stage of life, leaving behind them but 
 few traces of their existence, swept away by " the flood of years." 
 
 VI. 
 
 THEIR SPORTS. 
 
 A FAVORITE sport of the children, and indeed of the 
 youth of both sexes, was hiding and seeking, the facilities for 
 which, in so wild a country, were practically unlimited. In 
 following this diversion, frequently they would wander off to 
 great distances alone, and thus incur risk of destruction by 
 wild beasts. Nevertheless they pursued this sport without re 
 straint and with a zeal and daring quite surprising. Instances 
 were related to Manuelo where children had been lost or de 
 stroyed in their efforts to escape detection; but the diversion 
 was none the less applauded, and, as Manuelo believed, because 
 it encouraged adventure, and at the same time increased their 
 expertness in forest tracking and trailing. 
 
 The women had an amusement, practiced by them exclu 
 sively, which consisted in the throwing and catching of forked 
 sticks, prepared for the purpose; but exactly how it was con 
 ducted i:, not so dcbcn ued as to render the account intclli- 
 
24 CALIFORNIA 
 
 gible, although it was a game, he said, in which they freely in 
 dulged and became exceedingly expert. 
 
 The men of the tribe, old and young, had a variety of sports, 
 such as foot-racing, wrestling, and ball-playing. Instead of a 
 ball, a round stone, or, more commonly, a piece of wood, worn 
 down to the proper shape, somewhat oblong, with the ends 
 smoothed to avoid the infliction of wounds, was used. Not 
 unfrequently the men were so swift of foot as to elude wild 
 beasts when pursued by them, or to overtake in the chase the 
 fleet animals of the country. They were expert hunters, and 
 were little in fear of the most ferocious tenants of the forest. 
 Two or three of them could at any time conquer a huge bear 
 or a full-grown panther, of which large numbers were in the 
 forests about. Some of their exploits in this line exhibited a 
 daring and hardihood unexampled in story. Their weapons 
 were few in variety, and simple in construction, consisting of 
 the bow and arrow, flint-pointed, the javelin, with point of bone, 
 the stone hatchel, and the war-club, in the use of all of 
 which they became exceedingly expert. Like the Spanish bull 
 fighter they were accustomed to study with care the vulnerable 
 points in their four-footed adversaries, and seldom failed in a 
 contest to gain a victory. 
 
 Manuelo, in the exuberance of his admiration for their skill, 
 was wont to say that no matadore of the old country, in the 
 arena, ever displayed greater coolness in danger than these peo 
 ple were in the habit of showing in their contests with wild 
 beasts. In other respects, no less than in those mentioned, 
 these denizens of the forest exhibited a peculiar nobility of 
 character, which they probably acquired from the nature of 
 their surroundings. Their self-sacrificing magnanimity was 
 always equal to their bravery. They never failed to render assist 
 ance to a companion in distress, however great the peril or 
 severe the sacrifice ; and this it was that called forth from Jus- 
 tino the philosophic reflection that cowardice and cruelty go 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 25 
 
 hand in hand, while bravery and generosity are inseparable 
 companions. 
 
 It was a leading tenet of their religion, if they may be said 
 to have had a religion, never to shrink from responsibility, and 
 they understood their obligations to each other as well as any 
 people under the sun. The most enlightened nations of that 
 century, it was thought, might have learned much from these 
 half-naked savages, touching the duty of man to his fellow, and 
 it was regretted by the good friar that others, more m need of 
 it, could not have enjoyed the benefit of their example. 
 
 While he remained among them Manuelo could not but 
 frequently reflect that if his Christian companions, meaning 
 those of the ship s crew, had possessed only half the chivalry 
 of these barbarians, they would never have left him to an un 
 known fate. This never-failing unselfishness of his captors 
 was exultingly adduced by Manuelo as evidence that they 
 really enjoyed a civilization of the very highest order compat 
 ible with entire ignorance of the Christian religion. But 
 Manuelo s glowing account of the magnanimity of the men 
 was even more than surpassed by the exuberance of his opin 
 ions touching the virtue and excellence of the women. Indeed, 
 he had far greater reason to regard the gentler sex with favor, 
 inasmuch as to them he was indebted for the preservation of 
 his life. But, independent of that obligation, and even if it 
 had never existed, he must have pronounced them among the 
 very best specimens of womankind, and a higher compliment 
 no man could pay the gentler sex. 
 
 VII. 
 
 CHAPTER SEVEN. 
 
 THESE children of nature having few wants they were 
 easily satisfied. In truth, they knew nothing whatever about 
 the outside world, and were troubled with no cares beyond 
 those incident to their simple mode of life. 
 
26 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Until the advent, in this great unknown harbor, of the Don 
 Carlos La Grande, for such was the name of the man-of-war in 
 which Manuelo had come, they were oblivious of any other race 
 than their own, and happy for them had they been permitted 
 to remain forever in that state of blissful ignorance. Free 
 from a desire for change or improvement they were content 
 with their present condition, and with what they possessed, as 
 indeed, had been their ancestors for, possibly, thousands of 
 years before them. 
 
 There were evidences among them in abundance., observable 
 mainly in the formation of their villages, and particularly in 
 the wonderful size and growth of their mounds, of a remote an 
 tiquity, and who shall say that, as a people, they were not con 
 temporaneous with the oldest of which history gives any 
 account? But there is in this, perhaps, too much of specula 
 tion to be incorporated in a record of actual events. 
 
 So rarely has it happened that the historian has been able 
 to transmit to posterity accurate information, even concerning 
 transactions of his own time and country, to say nothing about 
 those of other times and other lands, gathered, as they must 
 needs be, from many sources, and often untrustworthy, that 
 the public is to be congratulated upon the specific and evi 
 dently reliable character of the intelligence furnished by Man 
 uelo concerning a people and country hitherto unknown, and 
 after a lapse of hundreds of years. It has been remarked that 
 fiction predominates in history, and likewise that much truth 
 is to be found in works of fiction; whether that be so or not, 
 it is certain that the remark cannot apply with any fitness to 
 the present narrative, since the only point in it upon which 
 there is any considerable doubt is as to the time of the visit 
 of the Don Carlos to the Bay of San Francisco, end even 
 that can be fixed with a tolerable degree of certainty, since it is 
 known that the king after whom the good ship was named the 
 great Charles the Fifth of Spain, became famous in the early 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 27 
 
 part of the sixteenth century, subsequent to which event the 
 vessel must have received its christening. The period of her 
 cruise is therefore set down, with much confidence, after, but 
 not long after, the year of our Lord 1525. 
 
 There is no account anywhere found in all the Spanish ar 
 chives of her return, and the presumption is raised that she was 
 lost, with all on board, on her way home, somewhere in the 
 Pacific Ocean an occurrence by no means uncommon in those 
 times. If such was unfortunately the case, Manuelo, after all, 
 though alone stricken down, was the only lucky man of the 
 crew. 
 
 It is not even known to this day where the Don Carlos Le 
 Grande was fitted out, nor by whom, nor yet who was her mas 
 ter;* but that she was an armed vessel, and on a voyage of 
 exploration, is clear enough, both from the account of Manuelo 
 himself, and from the testimony of the Dominican friar, as 
 transmitted through this old Evora manuscript. 
 
 Had the Don Carlos been a piratical cruiser, Manuelo might 
 not have disclosed that fact to Confessor Justino; but his ex 
 cellence of character, as everywhere developed, is of itself a 
 sufficient refutation of any such uncharitable assumption. His 
 uniform kindness of heart repels the idea at once that he 
 could ever have been engaged in the wicked pursuit of a buc 
 caneer, and the bare suggestion of such a thing calls for an 
 apology to his memory, which we freely render. 
 
 Whatever his companions, who so basely deserted him on 
 the beach, may have been, it is certain enough that Manuelo 
 himself could never have been a pirate at heart, and we hasten 
 to exonerate him from any such wicked suspicion. 
 
 * Since the completion of the translation, it has been suggested that 
 the ship was commanded by either Cortez, Ulloa, or Cabrillo, each of 
 whom was in that part of the Pacific between 1535 and 1541; but a mere 
 translator is at liberty to indulge in no opinions of his own, and therefore 
 I express none. 
 
28 CALIFORNIA 
 
 VIII. 
 THE SUBJECT RESUMED. 
 
 THE place where Manuelo and his shipmates landed was 
 to the north of the entrance of the great harbor, probably sev 
 eral leagues away, and on the westerly side. A sailor never 
 fails to note and seldom forgets the points of compass, and to 
 this circumstance must be attributed our own good fortune in 
 being able to designate with reasonable certainty the quarter 
 of the Bay where the debarkation took place. Without doubt 
 it was not far from the site of some one of those charming 
 villages which adorn the great interior waters of California; 
 but whether near where the lovely village of San Rafael now 
 nestles among the wood-clad hills of Marin; or where Peta- 
 luma reposes, intoxicated with the sweet fragrance of a per 
 petual summer; or where the village of Napa luxuriates 
 amidst her soul-Inspiring vines, may never be known, for there 
 is nothing in the manuscript to guide the translator to the 
 exact locality, and the matter must ever remain enveloped in 
 some uncertainty. 
 
 But after all it is less essential to ascertain the precise spot 
 first approached than it is to know that a landing was actually 
 effected by Christian white men upon the shores of San Fran 
 cisco Bay, more than three hundred and fifty years ago. Our 
 own opinion is that it occurred not far from where the flourish 
 ing town of Petaluma now stands, and that the early inhabit 
 ants of Sonoma Valley first enjoyed the advantage of a sojourn 
 among them of Manuelo; though it must be confessed that if 
 Napa had been more accessible to the sea, her residents might 
 well dispute the honor, for it is related that during his stay in that 
 vicinity, frequent excursions were made with hunting parties 
 to the interior, and through a most delightful region, the de 
 scription of which, as given, would apply as well to the one as 
 to the* other. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 29 
 
 The valley visited is represented as one in which all nature 
 sported in primitive loveliness. It was covered entirely over 
 with a carpet of green, and was embellished in the spring of 
 the year with a profusion of flowers of every color, giving it, when 
 viewed from a distance, as Manuelo aptly expressed it, the ap 
 pearance of a piece of the costliest tapestry. To add to its 
 magnificence, the plain was studded, at convenient intervals, 
 with groups of wide-spreading evergreen oaks, the whole dif 
 fering not essentially from an extended park in the countries 
 of Europe. 
 
 . The mountains on either hand though high were not pre 
 cipitous, and were covered with a growth of graceful pine and 
 fir trees, which, whenever approached, were found to be vocal 
 with the songs of birds. The valley itself was enlivened by 
 the presence of whole herds of deer and antelope, remarkable 
 for their tameness, and countless numbers of skurrying rabbits 
 were darting hither and thither in the exuberance of their 
 playfulness. The place seemed to the romantic Manuelo a 
 veritable paradise, ever exhibiting its attractiveness in entranc 
 ing profusion. But if captivating to him, it was even more so 
 to the simple children of nature, in whose company he was in 
 the habit of resorting to its peaceful shades, not less for pleas 
 ure than in the pursuit of game. 
 
 IX. 
 
 THE ABANDONMENT. 
 
 THE Don Carlos Le Grande remained in the Bay some 
 days after the loss of Manuelo, but was constantly cruising 
 about in pursuance, it may have been, of her first purpose of 
 obtaining a supply of fresh water, of which, as we know, she 
 was in need. But whether she obtained it, or exactly what 
 course she afterwards pursued, Manuelo could never ascertain 
 from the natives. He was made aware at the time of her 
 
30 CALIFORNIA 
 
 delay, and hoped it might be continued until he should be 
 sufficiently recovered of his wounds to enable him to reach 
 her deck once more, but in this, alas ! he was doomed to 
 disappointment. Not recuperating sufficiently while she re 
 mained in those waters to hold communication with her, he 
 saw the ship no more. Her little experience, resulting, as we 
 know, in the loss of one man and probably in the wounding 
 of others, admonished her captain to give the place where 
 Manuelo was left a wide berth, as the sailors phrase it. 
 
 The survival of their companion, whom they had left for 
 dead, must have been entirely foreign to the thoughts of his 
 shipmates, but Manuelo himself was not equally disposed to 
 forgetfulness. He continued anxiously to look for her white 
 sails long after his restoration to health, and when in all prob 
 ability the ship was hundreds of leagues away on the ocean. 
 
 With her departure, had he known it, would have vanished 
 all hope of ever again seeing his native country, and it was well 
 for his happiness that he remained in ignorance of the event, 
 at least until he might learn to appreciate, as he finally did, the 
 kindness of the people in whose hands he had fallen. But 
 contentment, like confidence, is a plant of slow growth, and 
 the soil in which it was now struggling for existence was, to say 
 the least, not wholly congenial. Homesickness is induced by 
 no definable circumstances, nor does it pertain to any particu 
 lar race. It is a malady to which all mankind alike are sub 
 ject. A savage in the palace of a king would surfer from it as 
 poignantly as an exile in the bleak forests of Siberia, and Man 
 uelo, though, for the best of reasons, as much pleased at times 
 where he was as thousands have since been in the same local 
 ity, could never entirely obliterate from his memory the scenes 
 of his childhood. It was not therefore on account of dissatis 
 faction with the country, nor yet for ingratitude towards his 
 benefactors, as Justino is careful to inform us, that he was led 
 to hope that the time would arrive when he could make his 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 31 
 
 escape from a land even then as beautiful as Eden, and which 
 was destined in the far-distant future to become extremely at 
 tractive to all the rest of mankind. 
 
 X. 
 
 PROVIDENTIAL. 
 
 WHAT with good nursing and care, as already hinted, 
 Manuelo, in a couple of months, was sufficiently healed of his 
 wounds to move forth in the world; and in the meantime he 
 was not neglectful in acquiring information concerning this 
 singular people. His estimation of their character underwent 
 a complete change. In fact, he found them, when properly 
 approached, so far from being blood-thirsty savages, as at first 
 regarded, to be extremely gentle, and possessed of hearts over 
 flowing with the milk of human kindness. It became appar 
 ent to him that their attack upon the boat s crew was the result 
 of misapprehension, and merely the outburst of just indignation 
 for the injury wantonly inflicted on one of their number. It 
 is an improbable supposition, but the theory nevertheless was 
 indulged in by the Portuguese priests, that the sailor who threw 
 the first weapon may have remained under the delusion that 
 the skulking Indian was really a wild animal of some sort, a. 
 belief rendered barely possible by the fact of his having been 
 clad in skins. Be that as it may, the conduct of the sailor 
 appeared in its results to be disastrous to the last degree, nearly 
 costing, as it did, Manuelo his life. But however it may have 
 appeared at the time, it can hardly be denied now that good 
 eventually resulted from the affair. 
 
 It is written, as Justino remarked, that "man shall do no evil 
 that good may follow," but it is always safe to leave the 
 result of one s actions to an overruling Providence. In this 
 instance an apparant disaster certainly opened .up to mankind 
 the remote history of an extremely interesting country, which 
 history otherwise must have remained in obscurity forever. 
 
32 CALIFORNIA 
 
 XL 
 
 THE PEOPLE DESCRIBED. 
 
 THOLTGH not particularly tall, the natives were well 
 formed, athletic, and agile. P or an Indian race their complex 
 ion was unusually light and their features regular. They were, 
 upon the whole, a comely people. Their hair, as black as the 
 raven s wing, grew to great length, and was closely coiled on 
 the top of the head by the women, and by the men braided in 
 a queue, much after the manner of the Chinese. The gay 
 plumage of birds, curiously wrought, constituted the principal 
 head ornamentation of both" sexes; but it was the custom of 
 the women and girls to indulge in wild flowers also, in their 
 season, for the purposes of adornment. The appearance of 
 the people on festive occasions, when gathered together in 
 large numbers, and particularly when engaged in a lively dance, 
 was extremely picturesque. 
 
 Always proud of their embellishments, these children of the 
 forest were, probably, the only people in all the world who did 
 not regard some others as more fortunate than themselves. 
 Being entirely satisfied with their condition, and limited posses 
 sions, the passion of envy was a stranger to their bosoms. 
 Even the young women were moved with sincere delight by 
 the more brilliant appearance of their companions, and were 
 unremitting in their exertions to add to the attractions of each 
 other. Tne dark-eyed maidens of the Spanish race of that 
 day not unfrequently essayed exhibitions of equal generosity; 
 but their real sentiments were too often betrayed by the illy- 
 concealed manifestations of malignity. Nothing of the kind, 
 however, was ever observed by Manuelo in the expressions of 
 these more tender-hearted and better-bred women of early 
 California. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 33 
 
 XII. 
 
 MATRIMONIAL AFFAIRS. 
 
 IN pursuance of an old established custom of these Indians, 
 all matrimonial alliances among them were contracted in ac 
 cordance with the united judgment of the leading people of 
 the village, and nothing, in that regard, was left to blind passion, 
 or the foolish indiscretion of youth. It was observed by Man- 
 uelo that alliances thus publicly formed were maintained with 
 the utmost fidelity, and any violation of them was visited with 
 the severest penalties. 
 
 Their children, though few in numbers, were remarkably 
 robust, sickness being almost unknown among them. Pater 
 nal no less than filial affection was a distinguishing feature of 
 their peculiar civilization, and manifestations of love, of both 
 kinds, were most common among them. A want of care for 
 their young by the mothers was never observed, and the dom 
 ination of the fathers, though sufficiently absolute, was always 
 marked with tenderness. 
 
 The chief of the tribe, alone of them all, indulged in a 
 plurality of wives; and to him were allotted two, and no more. 
 The selection of these was not accorded to that high function 
 ary any more than in other cases of matrimony in the village; 
 but the wives of the chief were chosen for him at a council of 
 the people, in which the high priest acted a most conspicuous 
 part. On these interesting occasions of the selection of wives 
 for the young men, which occurred at the season of the year 
 when the flowers were in bloom, the prophet would assume, as 
 a general rule, to be advised and directed in the choice by the 
 spirits of the departed friends of the parties; but whether he 
 was really and truly so influenced or not, Manuelo was unable 
 to say, and Justino ever remained in doubt upon the point; 
 nevertheless, we have the assurance of the keen-eyed stranger, 
 that the selections thus made were uniformly marked with 
 
34 CALIFORNIA 
 
 wisdom, and, moreover, that marriages so contracted were 
 sometimes highly spiritual in their results, as instanced in his 
 own particular case, as will appear in the sequel. 
 
 After betrothals effected in this manner, months, and even 
 years, would often elapse, precisely the same as in- Christian 
 countries, before a final consummation of the unions, during 
 all of which time the parties engaged would remain irrevoca 
 bly bound to each other, in this respect differing somewhat 
 from the practice prevailing in many of the more enlightened 
 nations of the world, where engagements of marriage are only 
 voluntary. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 THEIR HABITATIONS. 
 
 THE houses of the chief for as he was furnished with two 
 wives so two houses must needs be provided for him or 
 lodges, perhaps, more properly to be called and the lodge of 
 the prophet, were centrally located in reference to the others 
 of the village and were placed upon the highest part of a huge 
 mound, which seemed, to the observing Manuelo, artificial in its 
 formation; but how or when constructed, or by whom, or for 
 what purpose, he could come to no satisfactory conclusion, 
 and so the matter is left to the determination of archeological 
 societies. 
 
 The dwellings of these functionaries were surrounded by 
 hundreds of other domiciles, but all erected with care and 
 arranged with a fair degree of regularity and taste. Each of 
 these lodges was tenanted by a single family, and each 
 possessed many of the characteristics, if not the conveniences, 
 of a European home. 
 
 The site of the village was originally selected in reference- 
 to a stream of pure water, and no pains were wanting on the 
 part of the people to keep good its supply. To avoid the 
 danger of a possible diminution of the stream by drought, 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 35 
 
 pits were ink and dams erected at convenient intervals along 
 the channel of the rivulet. Nothing was permitted to impede 
 the water s pure flow, and access to the same was never 
 obstructed. Their only means of handling the water was in 
 baskets closely woven and lined with pitch. In these it was 
 borne with safety and kept indefinitely. These vessels, made 
 of reeds and grass, were of all sizes, of many shapes, and ex 
 tremely useful. Even cooking was accomplished he said by 
 casting a succession of heated stones in them, when partly 
 filled with water, by which means the fluid was kept boiling as 
 long as desired and until the contents of the basket, whether 
 vegetables or flesh, were fitted for food. 
 
 As with most nations, the domestic duties were performed 
 by the women, but unlike the practice with many other people, 
 both savage and civilized, the men were in the habit of ap 
 plauding their wives exertions, and alleviating their labors 
 by words and acts of kindness. Their politeness was not of 
 that hollow sort made up of pretensions; it partook largely of 
 genuine, self-sacrificing benevolence, leading Justino to the 
 conclusion that by proper exertions they could be converted 
 into most excellent Christians, a work he had at heart, but 
 which, unfortunately, he was never permitted to accomplish. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 THEIR NAMES. 
 
 THIS particular tribe about which the story has thus far 
 been running was called the Yonos, which is the Indian 
 name in that country for deer. It was, doubtless, bestowed 
 upon them, or assumed, by reason of their swiftness of foot; 
 and there was equal significance in the names of the individual 
 members of the tribe, whether male or female. As to the 
 children, they were allowed to go without any certain appella 
 tion, except that each was known by a name sounding not un- 
 
36 CALIFORNIA 
 
 like that of its father or motherj according to the sex, until, in 
 advancing years, some particular characteristic was developed, 
 when a fitting appellation was given, by which the individual 
 ever afterwards would be known. 
 
 The name of the maiden selected at a grand council of the 
 village for the wife of Manuelo was Nona, applied to her be 
 cause of some resemblance to the quail, she being of an ex 
 ceedingly shy and untamable disposition. But it ought to be 
 mentioned in this connection, inasmuch as Manuelo himself 
 was emphatic upon the point, that he never considered it worth 
 while to try to capture the girl, since, as he affirmed, even be 
 fore her selection, he had perfected his plans, and, so far as he 
 was able, made arrangements to abandon the village of the 
 Yonos for a more congenial residence. 
 
 From the descriptions of the city over the Bay he concluded 
 it would be more agreeable to his tastes to reside there. This 
 he protested to the Father Confessor was the only reason for 
 his coolness, or, more correctly to speak, for his want of ardor 
 towards his betrothed, and he asseverated repeatedly, and with 
 earnestness, that his conduct towards Nona was not to be 
 attributed to the fact of her being the choice of others only 
 for his wife. Had the privilege been left to him to make a 
 selection from all the damsels of the village, he acknowledged 
 it would have fallen on another, for there were in IT is eyes 
 more comely persons, and those who, at the same time, were 
 less disposed to avoid his company. One in particular who 
 had been most attentive during his confinement, but whose 
 name is not given, so won upon his regard that the recollection 
 of her ever afterwards remained fresh in his memory, as he 
 confessed. This person scrupled not, on all fitting occasions. 
 to exhibit towards him her good temper; and the difference in 
 the demeanor of the two extorted from Manuelo the reflection 
 that kindness grudgingly bestowed is seldom grateful, while a 
 spirit of generosity increases the reward many fold. Bounties 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 37 
 
 conferred with an unwilling hand are shorn of half their value, 
 while the smallest favor proceeding from a full heart assumes 
 the amplest proportions. 
 
 From the manner of Manuelo in detailing this part of his 
 experience, the confidence of Friar Justino in his magnanimity 
 was somewhat impaired, and it can easily be imagined that 
 this interposition of the Yono people in a matter and manner 
 adverse to his tastes, tended not a little to increase his desire 
 to leave them. While his gallantry might have stood in the 
 way of his admitting the facts, it is fair to conclude that this 
 action of the tribe had much influence in hastening his de 
 parture. But justice compels the acknowledgment that he 
 would in all probability have left the Yonos had he never even 
 heard of the maiden. But more upon this subject in the next 
 chapter. 
 
 XV. 
 
 A DOUBTFUL TRICK. 
 
 THE assignment of a wife by the village council being equiv 
 alent, under the strange customs of that country, to actual mar 
 riage, and being looked upon as a most sacred obligation, it 
 was not surprising to find, on the part of the leading people of 
 the tribe, the strongest opposition to his departure. As soon 
 as his purpose became known, and it was in vain for him to 
 attempt to conceal it, obstacles were thrown in his way, and 
 the persistency of the people in thwarting his purpose led to 
 much embarrassment. 
 
 The large town on which his heart was set lay leagues away, 
 and the only means of reaching it, so far as could be perceived, 
 was by water. As time rolled by he became convinced that 
 the longer the delay the greater would be the difficulty in his 
 escape. The matter was the subject of discussion everywhere, 
 and he could plainly see that complications were increasing. 
 He had often heard, in his youthful days, that delays were 
 
38 CALIFORNIA 
 
 dangerous, but he never till now realized the full meaning of 
 the saying. To tear himself abruptly away he felt would be 
 to sorely offend the Yonos, and to attempt flight surreptitiously 
 by seizing one of the canoes, of which a number were always 
 moored by the shore, might prove fatal to his plans, for, in that 
 event, he would surely be pursued, and, if overtaken, which was 
 but too likely, would be punished. 
 
 Reconnoiteringthe great Bay, as opportunity offered, in either 
 direction far up and down its borders, and thus satisfying him 
 self beyond pervadenture that to pass around it by land to 
 the north or south was quite impossible, he was compelled, as 
 it were, by the force of circumstances, to resort to a species of 
 strategy, justifiable, it may be, but which the pious Justino was 
 convinced would have been highly reprehensible had it been 
 practiced upon a more enlightened and Christian community. 
 Instead of appealing directly to their reason, as possibly he 
 might have done with success, he cunningly wrought upon their 
 heathenish credulity in a manner we are about to relate. 
 
 Well knowing the belief of this people in all manner of su 
 pernatural interpositions, and their faith as well in admonitions 
 from heavenly quarters, the crafty Manuelo falsely pretended 
 to hold communications with the spirits of his deceased 
 friends and to be directed by them. In order to make this 
 imposition the more complete he accustomed himself to imi 
 tate, as nearly as he was able, the incantations of the high priest 
 himself, going through a variety of ceremonies which seemed 
 to be understood by the natives themselves ; but to these he 
 added certain maneuvers entirely his own, and by such con 
 duct imposed upon the credulity of those simple-minded vil 
 lagers. 
 
 Fortunately for him, when stricken down upon the beach, 
 he had retained upon his person, besides a cutlas of Moorish 
 pattern more than a vara in length, a pair of large Spanish 
 pistols, and likewise a few rounds of ammunition. Of the 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 39 
 
 latter he had been exceedingly careful, knowing full well that 
 when it was gone there would be no possibility of renewing his 
 stock. From the first he had concealed from the natives the 
 use of these arms, apprehensive lest, should they become 
 instructed in handling them, he would be deprived of their 
 use altogether, or at least be compelled by their childish curi 
 osity to exhaust his last grain of powder, in which case the 
 pistols would have lost all their value to him. Impelled by such 
 motives he had already taught the natives, both young and old, 
 to look upon the weapons as something sacred, little dream 
 ing at the time how important and peculiar an end was to be sub 
 served by the lesson. Prudent man tr^at he was, he never forgot 
 how indispensable these firelocks might be to his safety in some 
 conflict, it might be with man, it might be with fourfooted 
 beast. Had Manuelo been as vainglorious as many another 
 sailor would have shown himself to be under similar circum 
 stances, he would have taken delight in surprising the Indians 
 by experimenting with his pistols in their presence long before 
 there was any occasion for his doing so. But, thanks to his 
 good sense, his few rounds of powder were preserved, and 
 proved useful in a direction little anticipated by him, as we 
 shall presently see. 
 
 In addition to the impressive ceremonies usually adopted 
 by the natives for the citation of spirits, Manuelo made full 
 preparation for firing off one of his pistols at a certain stage 
 of the proceedings, and for kindling a fixe at the same time 
 with the burning powder. And though he warned the people 
 beforehand, as well as he was able, of what he intended to do, 
 and, after the manner of jugglers, required them to join at a 
 particular time in the performance of his trick, yet it seems 
 they could have formed no adequate conception of his pur 
 pose, for when the explosion took place the spectators, more 
 than -astonished, fell prostrate upon the ground, hiding their 
 faces in their hands. To say that they were, one and all, 
 
40 CALIFORNIA 
 
 completely dumfounded, would be to express what occurred 
 in the most moderate language. 
 
 Differing from the Spiritualists of later times, these held 
 their meetings in the open air, and under the spreading branches 
 of some ancient oak. Their mystical performances, though 
 in the night-time, were open and above-board. The priest, 
 who, in this particular instance, be it remembered, was the 
 irreverent Manuelo himself, occupied a mound constructed 
 partly of stones near the sacred oak. By his side stood a rude 
 altar, upon which, during the ceremony, a fire was usually 
 lighted; but by the direction of Manuelo this fire had now been 
 carefully extinguished. We have said there were no prepara 
 tions made for hiding anything from the assembled multitude, 
 and, indeed, on this occasion there was not the slightest neces 
 sity for concealment, since a far greater wonder to them than 
 visible spirits could have been was the terrible power of gun 
 powder. A heavy clap of thunder from the clear blue sky of 
 that summer evening would not have astonished them more. 
 In fact, the poor, ignorant barbarians believed from that 
 moment that their stranger friend could command, at will, the 
 artillery of heaven. Combustible material, laid by Manuelo 
 in advance upon the altar, was set on fire by the explosion, 
 and the amazement of the people at the report of the pistol 
 was a thousand times increased when they saw a fire blaze forth, 
 apparently created instantaneously from nothing. 
 
 The force of genius is irresistible, and Manuelo was no 
 longer a prisoner. He had conquered his liberty. From that 
 hour he was able to command and direct in whatsoever he 
 would. The Indians seemed to forget that he had once been 
 a helpless, wounded sailor; they now regarded him as little 
 less than divine. The women almost worshiped him, and 
 Nona herself ceased, in a measure, her foolish coquetry. From 
 that time all the prerogatives of the high priest and chief com 
 bined were accorded him. Without difficulty he caused his 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 41 
 
 admiring friends to believe that he was divinely inspired to 
 leave them, and all opposition to his departure subsided. It 
 was with reluctance, nevertheless, that they consented to the 
 loss of so renowned a person as he was regarded, and not until 
 a faithful promise had been extorted from him that at some 
 time he would return to them, a promise which truth compels 
 us to acknowledge he never intended to fulfill. He did 
 return, however, though long afterwards, with great gladness, 
 and under circumstances so strange as to leave on the mind of 
 the good Justino the impression ^that it was intended in some 
 sense by Providence as a punishment for his perfidy. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 HIS DEPARTURE. 
 
 IN pursuance of his plans, Manuelo at an early day bade 
 his Yono friends, not forgetting his betrothed, a gentle adios, 
 for a trip across the broad Bay. Clad in the best robes the 
 natives could furnish, and crowned with a tiara, woven of the 
 brightest of feathers, by the fairest of hands, he was placed in 
 the middle of a large canoe and paddled by stalwart men in 
 the direction of the greater village. Armed with his trusty 
 saber, which hung by his side, and with loaded pistols, Manuelo 
 felt like a veritable prince of the realm. But the result showed 
 that he presumed more than was warranted upon his newly- 
 achieved dignity, for his approach being observed from the 
 other side, he was menacingly repelled and not permitted to 
 come within rods of the land. Neither the head chief him 
 self nor his followers had ever so much as heard of the Span 
 iard, and from his curious appearance they feared he might be 
 some hostile prince, from a long way off, come upon some 
 mission they could not divine, and which they feared might 
 bode them evil. His Yono companions were not entirely 
 unknown in that country, for their tribe was really but a branch 
 
42 CALIFORNIA 
 
 of the same great nation, and acknowledged allegiance to this 
 king. To be compelled to remain hi the boat while his men 
 were permitted to land, was no less humiliating than unex 
 pected to Manuelo, and at first this treatment disposed him, 
 in true Spanish style, and with weapon in hand, to enforce a 
 landing. This purpose he would doubtless have carried into 
 execution, regardless of the cost to himself, but for the timely 
 remonstrance of a member of his crew, better known on the 
 shore than the rest, having been at this place before. This 
 cool-headed person at last succeeded in persuading his master 
 to possess his soul in patience for a time, and until himself and 
 another could proceed to the king s headquarters and thus 
 pave the way for an interview. Better counsels prevailing with 
 Manuelo, he contented himself on the wave while his t\vo 
 companions sought out the dignified chief in the city not dis 
 tant, and laid before him an account of the marvelous achieve 
 ments of the stranger; the result of which was that in a shjrt 
 time the king, attended by a large retinue of his subjects, him 
 self in the van, came down to the water s edge to welcome the 
 stranger ashore. Their approach was surveyed by Manuelo 
 at first with misgivings, but he was soon made at ease, where 
 he sat, by such demonstrations of good-will on the part of the 
 king as the grandeur of his character would allow. The visitor 
 was conducted at once to the great wigwam of the chief, on 
 the top of a high mound, in the center of the town. His 
 familiarity with the Indian dialect, already acquired, put Man 
 uelo upon terms at court without the usual delay, as he alleged. 
 It is possible the story told by the men who preceded him, 
 touching the wonderful powers of Manuelo to create thunder 
 and lightning, to kindle a. fire at will, and to invoke the spirits, 
 may have contributed not a little to his welcome by the king, 
 for it is hardly presumable that a mere stranger, unaided by 
 reputation, would be received, in so short a time, on terms of 
 familiarity at any court, savage or civilized. The treatment 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 43 
 
 Manuelo experienced was all that could have been desired. 
 Not only was he awarded an apartment by himself in the 
 chiefs groat lodge, but he was furnished with attendants to 
 observe his every want. In the manuscript occurred the 
 equivalent of the expression so often repeated since, that he was 
 the observed of all observers. The first white man that had ever 
 set foot in that considerable capital, he was, of course, the 
 special wonder of the inhabitants. It was the principal ambi 
 tion of the men to observe his actions, and of the women to 
 note his style of dress. The curiosity of the children fore 
 shadowed at first so much of annoyance to Manuelo that he 
 found it advisable to "assume much more reserve towards 
 them than naturally belonged to his character He was, how 
 ever, now no longer a seaman, but in truth, in this country, a 
 prince and a prophet. With pistols, and powder, and pru.lence, 
 he expected to maintain this character, but without these, or 
 deprived of either of them, he was in danger of losing his 
 standing. It was a subject of no little solicitude with him, 
 therefore, as with all countries in those days, to preserve both 
 his dignity and his weapons, not that he needed either for his 
 protection, for, in the event of a collision, this brave race, in 
 spite of his arms, would have overpowered him in a moment; 
 but they were required for show, his side arms on state occa 
 sions, it might be, and his pistols for a service not known to 
 other kings arid courts, but nevertheless well understood by 
 Manuelo. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 HIS MAJESTY. 
 
 THE Indian name of the king, for some unaccountable 
 reason, is not given by Father Justino, but the meaning of it, 
 according to the authority, was bear-slayer an appellation be 
 stowed upon him on account of his skill in hunting that fe 
 rocious beast. In stature he was among the largest of men, 
 and otherwise distinguished by the peculiarity of his adorn- 
 
44 CALIFORNIA 
 
 ments, and likewise by a deep scar on his face, the result 
 of a wound inflicted by some wild animal. He was a person 
 of much reserve of manner and quiet dignity when at home, 
 but, like his warriors, was greatly addicted to manly sports, to 
 hunting and fishing, to wrestling and racing, and with his 
 men he frequently indulged in such pastimes. 
 
 In athletic exercises the king was seldom surpassed, but if 
 it chanced that any, in such contests, were able to excel him, 
 courtesy and good breeding forbade their doing so ; in this re 
 spect imitating people of the highest known civilizations. 
 
 It was the custom of this na tion to choose their king at a 
 convocation of warriors from all the villages, -summoned to 
 gether for that purpose by heralds, sent out weeks in advance, 
 an-d long enough beforehand to allow of the preparation for a 
 great feast in commemoration of the event. The king was 
 selected for his strength, both of body and mind, due regard 
 being paid likewise to his manly virtues and moral worth. 
 His continuance in office would last while all these qualities 
 endured and no longer. In the event of his becoming infirm 
 by reason of age or other cause, or in case of the impairment 
 of his intellect or virtues, he was constrained by his people to 
 retire from his high position. When driven from power, even 
 if for lack of moral integrity, if not too flagrant, the deposed 
 chief would be permitted to take refuge in the priesthood, and 
 generally to assume high rank in that order. 
 
 The present king, who had been upon the throne many 
 years, was observed to incline to habits of ease. This was 
 remarked by Manuelo and others more distinctly than by 
 himself. As usual with mankind, he was slow to perceive and 
 still slower to acknowledge his waning strength, but, not entirely 
 oblivious of it, he sought to conceal his infirmity under the 
 cloak of reserve. His conduct, for this reason, on all public 
 occasions, was marked with a show of dignity, which Manuelo, 
 being a member of his household, could plainly perceive was 
 more apparent than real. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 45 
 
 XVIII. 
 THE HIGH PRIEST. 
 
 The chief priest at the time, a venerable man, as full of 
 excellence as of years, had formerly been king, but had been 
 deposed, it was said, by reason of some bodily infirmity and not 
 on account of his age. Be that as it may, he bore the change 
 patiently and appeared not in the least humiliated by his 
 deposition, for of him it is related that he retained in his new 
 sphere all the gravity that naturally belonged to both positions. 
 Had he really been endowed with all the wisdom indicated by 
 his manners, a dethronement for decadence of intellect would 
 have been out of the question. Such was the propriety of his 
 conduct that dereliction of duty was never suspected, and at 
 no time in his long life had he betrayed a lack of manly virtue. 
 Pokee, for such was his name, had been a good king, and he 
 was now no less worthy a priest. There were other seers and 
 prophets in the city, all venerable men, but none at all com 
 parable to him. It was observed that the priests in that 
 country were accustomed to provide their own living, after the 
 manner enjoined upon all men, "by the sweat of the brow," 
 so that the people were priest-ridden in no sense of the term. 
 There was no tithing nor taxation in all that country in those 
 halcyon days. The king and the high priest alone were pub 
 licly supported, and that was done by voluntary contributions, 
 which were more than sufficient for the purpose. Gifts of 
 delicacies, in their season, the best that the country afforded, 
 were liberally bestowed upon these functionaries, and, as re 
 marked at the time, the generosity of the people was greatly 
 augmented by the appearance of Manuelo among them. 
 
 The habits and customs on this side of the Bay differed not 
 essentially from those on the other, excepting, perhaps, that 
 here everything was on a much grander scale. The laws of 
 the whole country, it is true, were the same, and similar super- 
 
46 CALIFORNIA 
 
 stitions prevailed everywhere, but the religious rites, while, as 
 in other places, performed in the open air, were here more 
 impressive. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 EMBARRASSMENTS. 
 
 MANUELO soon saw 7 , and much too soon for his peace of 
 mind, as many a fledgling priest in other lands before him had 
 seen, that much was to be learned before he could be confi 
 dent of success in his new calling. He had shown himself a 
 good prophet for one occasion and when his liberty was at 
 stake, but it was another thing to keep up the delusion, in the 
 presence of this brighter and more critical people, and before 
 so grave and reverend a dignitary as the great Pokee. The 
 more this subject was weighed in his mind, the more oppres 
 sive it grew. He even thought, at times, his freedom had 
 been purchased at too high a price, when paid for in the 
 deubtful barter of falsehood and deceit. To be plain, it was 
 not his conscience that troubled him so much as the dilemma 
 of being compelled to keep alive indefinitely a delusion, or 
 suffer ignominious exposure, and much worse it might be at 
 the hands of an indignant people, some of whom, for aught 
 he knew, might be acquainted with the use of fire-arms. These 
 considerations determined his mind to seek a postponement 
 of the further exercise of his priestly functions as long as 
 possible, in the hope that some lucky turn in his fortune 
 might relieve him altogether from embarrassment, or, at all events, 
 until he could ascertain whether or not, in repeating his trick, 
 he would be treading on solid ground. To his relief at this 
 time, happily, came the remembrance of a Spanish proverb 
 learned in his childhood, which says, " When you are in doubt 
 do it not," and his purpose was strengthened. 
 
 But the advent of Manuelo having been heralded by his re 
 nown as a conjurer, and all the people believing in the power 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 47 
 
 of the priesthood to call up the shades of the dead on proper 
 occasions, he was. confidently expected, and particularly by the 
 old chief, to give some demonstration of his powers. In this, 
 as in other countries, the wish of the sovereign being equivalent 
 to a command, the heaviest draft ever made upon Manuelo s 
 artfulness was to avoid being compelled to put his powers into 
 practice before he was ready. But, as ever before, so in this 
 emergency his genius forsook him not. He was the guest of 
 the king, and his safety depended upon his obtaining such 
 influence at court as would enable him to control, instead of 
 being controlled by, his majesty; and this is not the first in 
 stance recorded in which a courtier has realized that necessity. 
 While Manuelo had come to this place in the guise of a 
 prophet, he had likewise assumed the airs of a prince, and the 
 better to carry out his purpose, he now pretended to belong 
 to a powerful empire far " to the southward, which was true 
 enough; but it was not true, as he further stated, that his father 
 was king of that country, and that himself was heir to the 
 throne. Knowing full well, however, there was no one to contra* 
 diet his assertions, he took on his new character with the greatest 
 confidence and maintained.it with far better success than could 
 have been expected of one who had never before seen king, 
 nor court, nor courtier been. 
 
 XX. 
 
 PRETENSIONS. 
 
 THOUGH as friendly to Manuelo as anyone else, the 
 translator is not so blinded by partiality as to claim lor him 
 more than is justly due. Unquestionably, Manuelo was dis 
 tinguished for the originality of his resources, while in other 
 respects he may have been in no manner superior to many 
 
 NOTE. To avoid a waste of time (unless, indeed, the indulgent reader 
 should be a person of leisure), it might be as well toskip over the next 
 chapter, it being the one of no particular interest. 
 
48 CALIFORNIA 
 
 another Spaniard of that generation. But no one is great in 
 all things, nor even in many, and it is most difficult, sometimes, 
 to tell who of a number is superior. It might be possible to 
 distinguish the grandest tree if the forest were all of pines, 
 but it is made up of many species. The largest oak may be 
 overtopped by the slender fir, while in strength the oak may 
 far excel. The oak and the pine may both be inferior in fiber 
 to the maple, and all again be eclipsed in usefulness by some 
 other species. As the trees of the forest are valued according 
 to their several qualities, so with men; some excel in one, and 
 some in another direction, but none in all. Qualities are 
 measured, and weighed, and gauged, and the standard of one 
 may be wholly inapplicable to another. Cloth is not measured 
 by the gallon, nor wine by the yard, nor is superiority deter 
 mined by any particular criterion. 
 
 Our new-fledged prince, for prince Manuelo must now be 
 considered, found little difficulty in retaining his arms, a thing 
 he greatly desired. They were, for greater security of posses 
 sion, always borne upon his person when awake, and kept by 
 his side when sleeping. His cutlas, which was most prized, as 
 of more lasting utility than the pistol^, attracted but little atten 
 tion from the natives for the reason that they were wholly unac 
 quainted with the uses of metals, with the single exception of 
 gold, which was valued for ornament only. He was at some 
 pains to keep his keen blade concealed in its scabbard to 
 avoid their prying curiosity, and perhaps also to escape an 
 occasion for proving the real purpose for which it was intended. 
 As to his pistols, they were looked upon by the natives as 
 curious ornaments, and were worn in a manner best calculated 
 to sustain that delusion. The difference, in reality, between 
 what is for actual use, and what for mere show, even in the 
 most enlightened of countries, is not so marked as to render 
 absurd this notion of these barbarians. 
 
 NOTE. There is evidently something lacking in this chapter, but 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 49 
 
 XXI. 
 
 NATIVE WEAPONS. 
 
 OF the various arms of these Indians it is difficult to say 
 which was most needful. Their javelins were pointed with bone 
 and were handled with skill, and often with fatal effect. A 
 small spear, like a dart, was thrown with a sling attached to 
 the end of a stick, and revolved in its course. This instrument 
 was sent with remarkable precision, and was useful in war, but 
 chiefly in hunting. Every man in the tribe and every lad of 
 sufficient age was armed with one or the other of these missiles; 
 but the javelin was more commonly the arm of the adult. 
 Bows and arrows were likewise in general use among them, the 
 latter always tipped with flint, or obsidian, and as sharp as a 
 knife. 
 
 The expertness of certain artificers in working out these 
 arrow-heads was the more astonishing since it was all done by 
 hand, and with remarkable facility. A skillful artisan could 
 easily turn off half a score in a day, perfect in shape and ready 
 for use. Of the same materials, and in a similar way, their 
 knives were produced, almost equal in keenness to knives of 
 steel, and hardly less useful for the cutting of skins, and food. 
 Their hatchets of stone were likewise quite sharp. Set in 
 handles of wood, these were formidable weapons, both in war 
 and in the chase, as Manuelo could testify from his own per 
 sonal experience. Like the javelin and arrow they were capable 
 of being thrown a great distance, and with an accuracy of aim 
 never equaled by Europeans unless, perchance, in the most 
 ancient and barbarous times- This last remark is an interpo 
 lation by the translator, for neither Manuelo would believe, 
 nor Justino admit, that the people of Europe, much less the 
 
 whether to charge the omission to Manuelo, or Justino, or to the 
 priests at Evora, the translator is in doubt. The character of the subject 
 
 discussed, however, points suspicion strongly towards the priests. 
 4 
 
50 CALIFORNIA 
 
 good people of Portugal, had ever been other than most 
 enlightened Christians. It is undeniable, nevertheless, that 
 in the far-distant past, and before histories were thought 
 of, every part of the world, in its time, was in a savage 
 condition; for have we not found, even in Spain, implements 
 of stone similar in construction to those here described by 
 Father Justino? 
 
 XXII. 
 
 THE KINGDOM. 
 
 THE country occupied by this considerable nation, who, by 
 the way, called themselves the Santos, had no definite and 
 fixed boundary, except so far as formed by the ocean on the 
 one side, but it included, altogether, a large number of villages 
 scattered throughout many valleys. It comprehended a wide 
 range of territory, but how wide Manuelo s conception is at 
 fault, or else Justino has unwittingly failed to transmit the facts 
 to us. All the people, however, who acknowledged the suprem 
 acy of Bear-Slayer were, figuratively speaking, under the 
 same flag. They possessed no banner, in fact, but their 
 national emblem, which served the same purpose, was a white 
 bird s wing which every warrior was accustomed to wear as a 
 part of his head-gear. 
 
 The name by which these people were known, when ren 
 dered in Spanish and then again in English, was " The Pines." 
 Whether this appellation was assumed by them because of their 
 resemblance in numbers to the pines of the forest, or whether 
 because they were tall and strong like the pine, is not kncrwn, 
 for the manuscript is silent upon this point. But as it is a sub 
 ject of speculation, we may repeat the suggestion that their 
 extreme fondness for the nut of the pine may have had some 
 thing to do in conferring upon them this peculiar cognomen. 
 
 A marked feature of the country as then described was its 
 well-rounded mountains and smooth sloping hills, covered with 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 51 
 
 timber of every sort. Another characteristic, hardly less con 
 spicuous, to which attention was especially called, was its many 
 beautiful valleys all studded with evergreen trees, and coated, 
 perennially, with a carpet of grass, interspersed in the spring 
 time with bright-colored and sweet-smelling flowers. Bar 
 ring from his description most of the trees, which, however, 
 may have become exterminated in these three hundred and 
 odd years by forest fires, and we have in Manuelo s account a 
 picture which will be recognized as nearly correct, even at the 
 present day. 
 
 Another circumstance mentioned by him, and one which 
 must go far toward identifying that part of California as the 
 scene of his trials and triumphs, was its liability to earthquakes. 
 These, he informs us, occurred almost every year of his stay in 
 that country, and as often caused great trepidation among the 
 women and children. One shock in particular he mentions, 
 because more severe than the rest, drove the waters of the Bay 
 quite into the town, but did no further damage than causing 
 great fright to the people, and washing away all the boats that 
 lay moored on the beach, many of which, however, were after 
 wards recovered. This earthquake was followed closely by a 
 dense cloud of smoke, which enveloped the land, but whence 
 it proceeded, or how it was produced, no one at the time could 
 tell. As soon as a moment was allowed for reflection, after the 
 shock, the sacred groves were sought by the populace, and from 
 there the loudest incantations were sent up by the priests, the 
 result of which was a quiet earth once more, and in due time 
 a clear sky, greatly to the gratification of the people, who were 
 by no means slow in manifesting their appreciation of this most 
 opportune service of the prophets. 
 
52 CALIFORNIA 
 
 XXIII. 
 THE CAPITAL. 
 
 IF Manuelo was not mistaken, which does not seem likely, 
 the chief settlement of the Santos was located on the opposite 
 side of the Bay from where the great commercial city of San 
 Francisco was afterwards built, but just at what point is not 
 known, nor can that now be of much consequence, since the 
 ruins of the same, after this long lapse of time, have in all 
 probability become totally obliterated. If known to have been 
 where the considerable city of Oakland now stands, it would 
 not add much to the interest, since the name of the first city 
 is now entirely lost, and any account of it would apply as well 
 to one locality as to another. What s in a name ? has often 
 been asked. The reply is, that whatever is famous in the 
 world s history is exclusively so from the preservation of names. 
 Had the name of Alexander the Great been suppressed, all his 
 mighty achievements, if known at all, would have inured as 
 much to the glory of any one of his million men as to him 
 self. 
 
 Without doubt, in the long series of ages unrepresented by 
 written history, hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of heroes 
 have existed, no less famous in their day and generation than 
 Alexander, or Caesar, but whose ashes now repose in unknown 
 sepulchers. The importance of perpetuating a name, whether 
 for good or evil, cannot be better shown than by the mention 
 of Bucephalus, most famous of horses, whose glory, like that 
 of his proud master, has been, most fortunately for him, trans 
 mitted to us. 
 
 It is an interesting fact, and one deemed worthy of mention 
 by Justino, that this horse and his rider are the only two 
 prominent characters, in all that vast multitude, whose history 
 is preserved to this day. 
 
 But the reflection arises, unbidden, that had the name of the 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 58 
 
 Santos capital been rescued from oblivion by Manuelo, even 
 that might not have aided in fixing its locality. 
 
 Babylon, the most magnificent of cities, was located some 
 where on the River Euphrates; but beyond that its site is un 
 known. And so of the city of the Santos; we only know that it 
 was on the Bay of San Francisco. If Babylon possesses an 
 advantage over this, it is only in name; for, thanks to the good 
 Justino, a description of the one is as well preserved as of the 
 other. The city of the Assyrians, it is known, v,-as rectangular 
 in construction, and occupied both sides of the river, while the 
 city of the Santos was circular in form, and was on but one side 
 of the Bay. 
 
 In the center of the latter city, as we have already seen, were 
 situated the dwellings of the king and of the principal prophet- 
 Surrounding these, and at regular intervals, in numerous rows, 
 were the tenements of the people. In rows did we say? and 
 that was correct, for the city was built from the interior out 
 wards, and the last of the rows was never completed. In the 
 first of the circles, near the center, dwelt the priests, and the 
 seers, and the principal men of the nation. Each one of the 
 lodges in the outer circles was a family dwelling, and these 
 were numbered by hundreds and thousands. Their houses, 
 not large, were ingeniously constructed of wood, and of wattle, 
 and reeds, and were plastered within and without. While not 
 remarkably imposing, they were well calculated to afford protec 
 tion against the winds and rains, and the heat of the summer 
 sun. Their carpets were matting, and their beds of the same 
 material, spread upon dried grass. Their household utensils 
 were such as have been described as in use by the Yonos, to 
 which, perhaps, may be added knives of flint and needles of 
 bone. 
 
 Their dwellings were always kept clean, and in person they 
 were seldom untidy. Their clothing, of which they had but a 
 limited supply, was made of the skins of wild beasts. The elk 
 
54 CALIFORNIA 
 
 alone of all animals was domesticated, and elk in large herds 
 were maintained in the neighboring valleys. Occasionally these 
 were used as beasts of burden, to bring home booty and game; 
 and, presumably for this reason, their flesh was seldom eaten 
 by the natives. The horns of this animal, though abundant, 
 were highly prized. They were used for the making of spear 
 heads and fish-hooks, and for other like purposes. The flesh 
 of the deer was the principal meat of the people, and was pre 
 pared for use by drying in the sun. A goodly supply was always 
 on hand in every household. 
 
 But of all the fourfooted animals found in this country, the 
 hare was the most abundant, and perhaps the most useful. In 
 parts of the land these nimble little creatures literally swarmed, 
 and their skins were in constant demand for the making of 
 garments. Owing to this fact, due care was observed in keep 
 ing good their supply. Being protected from wanton destruc 
 tion, they were killed only as their skins or their flesh might 
 be needed. The same regard, and for a similar reason, was 
 paid to the antelope, the pelts of which were even more highly 
 prized. It may be said of these wise Santos that they were 
 never improvident or wasteful of whatever was useful for cloth 
 ing or food; and in this it will be admitted they exhibited a 
 higher degree of civilization than is enjoyed by many of the 
 most enlightened Christian nations. 
 
 NOTE. The following extract from the Solano Republican of very re 
 cent date is so strikingly confirmatory of our history that we cannot forbear 
 to make a note of it: 
 
 "The primeval Caucasian commenced his existence in the garden of 
 Eden, and may not a beneficent Deity have placed the primeval inhab 
 itant of California in an Eden no less suited to his happiness and the sup 
 plying of his physical wants? The wide-branched oaks showered down 
 their annual fruitage of life-giving acorns to feed the dusky matron and 
 the tired huntsman and warrior, as the manna fell upon the Israelites in 
 the wilderness. The wild grassjss growing in grandeur upon the silvery 
 plains bowed over in thrifty bearing of nutritious seeds. The rippling 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 55 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 THEIR OCCUPATIONS. 
 
 BY observing these just relations towards the brute creation, 
 it was noticed that a sort of harmony sprung up between the 
 natives and the animal kingdom, at least so far as the inoffen 
 sive portion of it was concerned; but towards those more fero 
 cious beasts of the mountain, as the bear, the lion, and the 
 wolf, an unrelenting warfare was waged. Even the birds of the 
 air seemed to look upon these rude masters of the soil as their 
 friends. Quail, grouse, and other birds of that species fre 
 quented the hills in vast numbers, and water-fowl of every de 
 scription, from swan to swift-winged widgeon, swarmed on the 
 lakes, rivers, and bays, apparently unmolested by man. Never 
 frightened by the report of fire-arms, these birds were likewise 
 half tame. In taking so many of them as were needed for 
 food and for feathers, the people proceeded with such quiet 
 and skill as to create but little alarm, Whatever the fact may 
 be, Manuelo asserted it as his firm belief that many of the 
 water-fowl looked upon the noble Santos as their natural pro 
 tectors against the fox and the cunning coyote. Large num 
 bers of these ravenous creatures were destroyed by the natives, 
 and greatly to the relief of the feathered tribes; but the object 
 of their destruction was to obtain their pelts, rather than the 
 protection of the birds, and so it happens, remarked Justino, 
 that man often receives credit for his actions regardless of his 
 motives. The beaver, the otter, and other amphibious creat 
 ures, were sought for their furs, which were worn by the princi- 
 
 streams were filled to overflowing with toothsome trout, and the elk, the 
 deer, the antelope, and the hare fell at the demand of the swift- flying arrow, 
 and as the winter rains came on, so came the heavens aglow with myriad 
 numbers of wild fowl from the-far distant North to supply their portion to 
 the aboriginal necessities. It was an Indian s paradise in the long, long 
 ago." 
 
56 CALIFORNIA 
 
 pal chiefs and prophets. In the taking of fish, considering 
 their appliances, the Santos, both male and female, displayed 
 unexampled skill, and fish constituted largely their diet, being 
 freely indulged in every day of the week, and not on Fridays 
 alone. All kinds of fish were captured by them, except the 
 great whale, which sometimes came rolling and tumbling into 
 the Bay, but was never disturbed by the natives, being always 
 regarded with feelings of awe. 
 
 Though fishing and hunting supplied their principal wants, 
 they were not without berries, wild fruits, and nuts, in consid 
 erable variety. These were gathered in their season and when 
 dried were stored for future use. 
 
 As wise and as happy as these people were, they knew 
 nothing whatever about the cultivation of the ground. This 
 will excite less wonder when it is reflected that all their wants 
 were satisfied without a resort to any of the more slavish 
 methods t>f obtaining a living. Their means of subsistence 
 were ample in the lines marked out for themselves, and it may 
 well be doubted if their enjoyment would have been augmented 
 by adding any other. Bread they had not; bread they knew 
 not ; bread they wanted not. The curse pronounced against 
 Adam and his descendants, " In the sweat of thy face shalt 
 thou eat bread," had no application whatever to them, and 
 Father Justino was confronted with the apparent exemption of 
 a whole people from a malediction which he had been taught 
 to believe was universal in its application. The anxiety of the 
 friar to find an explanation for this remarkable fact led to a 
 diligent searching of the Scriptures, and there he discovered, 
 to his great joy, that the occupation of Abel had been the 
 keeping of flocks and herds, the same exactly as these people; 
 and the good friar reached the conclusion that this son of 
 Adam might have left progeny of his own, the descendants of 
 whom these people may have been. This opinion was 
 strengthened by the further observation, likewise recorded in 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 57 
 
 sacred history, that " unto Adam also and his wife did the 
 Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them," a custom 
 faithfully followed by these, their supposed descendants. As 
 with our first parents, so here also the garments in use were 
 better calculated to hide their nakedness than to protect their 
 persons from the cold and heat of the seasons. Coats, indeed, 
 like Adam and his wife, the Santos possessed, made of skins 
 like theirs, and long, but other garments had they none. This 
 robe-like vestment constituted the dress of the men, women, 
 and children, indiscriminately, and none were provided with 
 better, not even the king. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 SETTING THE FASHIONS. 
 
 MANUELO soon discovered the great necessity that ex 
 isted for a change in the form of clothing of this people, 
 and he wisely concluded it would detract nothing from his 
 dignity as prince or prophet to suggest some improvement in 
 the same. To this conclusion he was partially driven by his 
 own necessities. The scanty supply worn by himself ashore 
 from the ship, had already become the worse for usage, and he 
 was constrained to replace it with new. The only materials 
 for his purpose at hand were the skins of beasts, and with 
 these he must needs fashion his garments. His experience on 
 shipboard, and ample enough it had been, in patching and 
 mending his clothes, now stood him in excellent part. His 
 first great need was new pants, to replace the old ones, now 
 fairly reduced to tatters. The pelts of the deer and the wolf 
 were in plenty, and of fur-bearing animals not a few. There 
 was barely enough of his old garment left to serve him the 
 turn of a pattern, and he selected the soft yellow skin of the 
 deer as the best with which to replace them. It need not be 
 stated that while he was thus engaged in playing the part of a 
 tailor, he was constrained to adopt the scanty costume of the 
 
58 CALIFORNIA 
 
 natives. His trusty saber served the purpose of tailor s shears, 
 and for a needle he ground in the form of an awl, a bolt from 
 one of his pistols. Leathern thongs were used in the place of 
 thread, and so all his wants were supplied. The finished gar 
 ment was tasty enough for the time and the place, and 
 Manuelo was proud of his achievement. Every step in the 
 work, as he wished it might be, was closely observed by the 
 women, a goodly number of whom were all the while present, 
 
 With a fair stock of patience, and encouraged by his former 
 success, he presently fashioned also an excellent waistcoat out 
 of the skins of the fox ; and he then made a coat in the 
 form of a blouse, with sleeves of full length, from the 
 pelts of black bears, the hair being left on the outside. His 
 head-dress was wrought from the skin of the beaver, but not after 
 the modern style of hat from that same fur, and a good cover 
 ing for his feet he was able to make from the thick, tough hide 
 of the grizzly bear. Fully arrayed in these garments, Manuelo 
 was more than ever the admiration of the people, and certain 
 it is he had good right to exult, for the triumph of his genius 
 was never before so complete. His fame on account of these 
 successes soon spread throughout the city, and there was no 
 longer any limit to his influence. It was readily seen by all 
 that the style of his new habiliments was better calculated to 
 impart comfort than the old, and he found less difficulty in 
 setting the fashions than he had anticipated. 
 
 In imitation of his example, the whole population, so to 
 speak, set themselves about the business of making pantaloons, 
 vests, coats, caps, and shoes, and before many weeks had 
 elapsed, almost every man, woman, youth, maiden, and child in 
 the city was attired in one or another of these useful articles. 
 Seldom, if ever, had fashion spread more rapidly, even in the 
 most enlightened country. But a complete dress was rarely 
 indulged in by any one person, unless we except the king and 
 his courtiers, including Manuelo, of course. As a rule, only 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 59 
 
 one or two articles of apparel were worn by the same individ 
 ual, and on public occasions, it is related, the assemblages 
 presented a highly picturesque, if not a comical, appearance. 
 The pantaloons and the blouse became the favorite garments 
 of both sexes, and the wearing of neither by either sex created 
 no disturbance in that country. 
 
 Manuelo was wont to say that next to his achievement as a 
 priest and a conjurer among the Yonos, his success in establish 
 ing new styles at the capital was the grandest triumph of his 
 life, and he congratulated himself most of all that in this 
 latter case he had contributed very largely to the happiness of 
 a whole class of his fellow-beings. In this, again, is displayed 
 his never-failing goodness of heart, for though afterwards he 
 acquired distinction as a warrior, he counted not his successes 
 in that direction as superior to his attainments in a peaceful 
 way ; and so it should be, thought Justino, the man that pro 
 motes the welfare and adds to the happiness of his race, is 
 really entitled to more consideration than the one who, for his 
 own glory, annoys and destroys mankind. True civilization is 
 indicated by the prevalence of the former sentiment, and bar 
 barity by the latter. It was wondered by the priest if the 
 world would ever arise to an appreciation of its civic heroes, 
 such as Manuelo surely was. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 THEIR SUNDAYS. 
 
 BECAUSE the Santos were ignorant of the laws of Moses, 
 they paid little respect to the Sabbath day. Even in times of 
 peace, and notwithstanding the pious instructions of Manuelo, 
 they could never be brought to a comprehension of the dis 
 tinction between Sunday and another day of the week. They 
 were less to be condemned on this account, however, from the 
 fact that Manuelo himself, by reason of wounds, or for some 
 
60 CALIFORNIA 
 
 other cause, lost his reckoning, and was uncertain during all of 
 his stay among them whether Sunday was Saturday, or Mon 
 day, Sunday. But this was not a matter of so much impor 
 tance at the time, since there was no place of worship in that 
 country for him to attend , and no Christian priest to whom to 
 confess his sin of forgetful ness. But he made the best reckon 
 ing he was able to under the circumstances, and always observed 
 one day out of the seven for pious meditations, except in 
 deed when abroad on some warlike expedition, or other impor 
 tant business, exceptions recognized as proper by all Christian 
 nations. 
 
 But the Santos were not without their own Sundays, if such 
 they might be called, which occurred twice a month, or just at 
 the full and again at the new of the moon. These were days 
 of rest from secular pursuits, unless it might be the pursuit of 
 a bear or the like, and were observed with almost as much 
 show of piety as characterizes the Sabbath day in gospel lands. 
 These were called the Prophets days and were devoted to 
 religious observances. 
 
 The places of worship recognized by this people, as in the 
 case of the Yonos, were in the open air and under the spread 
 ing branches of trees. The pulpit or rostrum was a mound 
 overgrown with grass, and surmounted by an altar of stones, 
 upon which a fire was kept burning during the whole of the 
 Sabbath day. Their hours of meeting were at the rising and 
 setting of the sun, and their ceremonies consisted of chanting 
 and the invocation of spirits. The priests, as Manue.lo would 
 have it, pretended to be on familiar terms with the souls 
 of the dead, and at certain times would appear to converse as 
 freely with them as with their own flesh and blood. Their 
 gravity of manner and apparent sincerity were no less than 
 that of the Dominicans themselves, and Manuelo was so im 
 pressed thereby that he might have accepted their creed as his 
 own but for his success in the same direction, which he knew 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 61 
 
 but too well was attributable to his pistols alone. By this fortu 
 nate circumstance alone, Justino thought, Manuelo s conversion 
 to heathenism, and the loss of his soul, were prevented. 
 
 Such faith had these heathen in their own particular mode 
 of worship that no expedition was undertaken unless by direc 
 tion of the priests. Their esteem for their friends in the other 
 world was unbounded, and the good friar believed, from the 
 account that was given, that they were addicted to the pagan 
 practice of ancestral worship, and his pious desire to be the 
 bearer among them of the only true religion was depicted on 
 many pages of the voluminous manuscript. 
 
 In the main the Santos. were a peace-loving people, and 
 strifes were uncommon among them; but if war was proposed, 
 the oracles were consulted, and the same resort was had in the 
 case of deposing a king. From this it will be observed that the 
 priests were all powerful, and that the king himself held his 
 place subject to their will. But, unlike the practice in other 
 countries, where a similar rule prevailed at the time of that 
 writing, the king of the Santos could only be deposed for some 
 moral, intellectual, or physical infirmity, whereas in other and 
 more enlightened lands the reigning prince was sometimes set 
 aside by the pontiff for an offense against the church, and 
 without a formal invocation of supernatural aid. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 SUN WORSHIP. 
 
 SITUATED, as these people ever had been, beyond the reach 
 of interruption from the outside world, they enjoyed that inde 
 pendence in social life, as well as in religious belief, which immu 
 nity from intrusion would naturally confer. There was no ad 
 versary to their opinions, and no enemy to their institutions. 
 They were alike free from fear and free .from importunity. 
 The only disturbers of their peace were the prowling bear and 
 
62 CALIFORNIA 
 
 the insidious panther. In this primitive condition they might 
 have continued, we know not hew long, but for the greed of 
 the Spanish race, which eventually led to encroachments upon 
 them. In religion, as in other habits of life, they were peculiar. 
 From some unknown incentive, the Santos were in the habit 
 of paying reverence to the sun, which we are informed they re 
 garded as the source of all light and life. In pursuance of this 
 unchristian notion, the people assembled in the early morning 
 of each Prophets day, in their places of worship, and, with faces 
 all eastward turned, anxiously awaited the coming forth of that 
 great luminary. On his first appearance over the distant hills, 
 the sun was greeted with demonstrations of joy. After giving 
 expression to their feelings, with no less earnestness than if his 
 coming had been in answer to their prayers, they bowed down 
 before the full-orbed king of day, and covering their faces with 
 their hands, remained in silence for some time. In the evening, 
 again assembled in like manner, they awaited the slow sinking 
 of the setting sun into the western ocean, when, on a signal 
 from the priest, all broke forth into lamentations, which, con 
 tinuing until the curtain of night shut down upon the scene, 
 one and all would retire to their homes and to peaceful slum 
 bers. 
 
 The world they regarded as something within, and not upon 
 which they dwelt; in this belief differing not from the erudite 
 Urban VIII., the Atic Bee, so called, who about this time was 
 inflicting punishment upon the heretical Galileo for proclaim 
 ing a different theory.* 
 
 *It may be remembered that Galileo lived many years subsequent to 
 these adventures of Manuelo, and it is impossible, therefore, that Justino 
 could have introduced this illustration in his manuscript. The only way to 
 account for its appearance is to suppose that it may have been injected 
 into the narrative by some one of the meddlesome priests at Evora, an ex 
 planation somewhat fortified by the fact of the well-known jealousy existing 
 between the Dominican brotherhood and the order of Jesuits. The perse- 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 63 
 
 But with infinitely less knowledge of heavenly affairs than 
 was possessed by that learned pope, these Indians looked upon, 
 or rather up to, the sky above them as to the dome of a mighty 
 tabernacle, arching over their inheritance, which was regarded 
 by them as the yery center of creation. The stars were be 
 lieved to be within the dome, and set like gems to adorn the 
 ceiling of the great structure. The silent moon was an inter 
 esting object to them, so far only as it marked the recurrence 
 of their sabbaths. In other matters of astronomy they were 
 uninformed, but the phases of the moon seemed to be under 
 stood by them perfectly, it being the duty of the priests to 
 keep these things in mind, and errors in calculations seldom or 
 never occurred. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 FESTIVITIES. 
 
 THE regular festivals of the Santos were but two in the 
 year, one in the spring and. the other in the autumn ; the 
 one in the season of blossoms and the other at the time of 
 ripe fruits. These productions of nature were intended to 
 give character to the occasions, and were the distinguishing 
 features of these festivities, the one being called the Feast of 
 Flowers and the other of Fruits 
 
 These gatherings were subject to the call of the high priest 
 and were held with great regularity. They were believed to be 
 religious assemblages, as well as occasions for all manner of 
 games, each feast lasting three days and no longer. Large del 
 egations of people from other villages and tribes poured in 
 
 cutions of Galileo were instigated by the disciples of Loyola, and a Domin 
 ican never permitted an opportunity to slip of giving his rivals a rub. 
 This much is stated in order to vindicate the translator from the possible 
 charge of an error in dates. As the work came to him in Portuguese, so he 
 is bound torende-rit in English, leaving discrepancies to take care of them 
 selves. 
 
64 CALIFORNIA 
 
 at such times, coming by land and by water, each delegation 
 bringing a liberal supply of food to contribute to the general 
 festivity. In reference to the ages of the persons attending, 
 there was this wide difference between the two feasts: the Feast 
 of Flowers was more for the delectation of the young ; and 
 the Feast of Fruits for the older people of the nation so that 
 in reality it may be said there was only one feast in the year 
 for the same individual. 
 
 At the Feast of Flowers, and at no other time of the year, 
 marriages in the nation were celebrated. On these happy oc 
 casions all the young men and maidens appeared in their 
 gaudiest attire, wearing the best of their clothing of skins, and 
 each embellished with a profusion of the gayest ornaments, 
 fashioned of feathers and flowers and stiells, and some of the 
 finest of gold. As in other lands, more favored by civilization, 
 engagements of marriage were made in advance, but here, 
 as with the Yonos, such engagements were invariably effected 
 by the friends of the parties, with the advice and consent of 
 the prophet or priest, and nothing was left to the foolish 
 caprice of mere boys and girls. Though made in this way, 
 betrothals were kept in good faith, and at the Festival of 
 Flowers consummated with many demonstrations of joy. The 
 wisdom of the practice was fully vindicated by the happy re 
 sults of the unions. In nothing did the good Santos exhibit 
 better judgment than in making these matches, as shown in 
 the physical perfection of their offspring. Of sickly and de 
 formed there were none among them, and as a race they ex 
 celled in vigor of body. If weakness of mind there was any, 
 or lack of true virtue or moral integrity, it was not observed by 
 Manuelo, and certainly never reported by him. Marriage, 
 with them, was never solemnized except between persons of 
 mature age and perfect development, and only then when 
 the parties were congenial in temper and harmonious in 
 purpose, of which the parents and priests were regarded as the 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 65 
 
 best judges. But notwithstanding their extreme austerity in 
 some respects, the Santos, from oldest to youngest, were 
 addicted to sport, and no people on earth were more merry 
 than they. 
 
 At the Feast of Flowers every kind of amusement that 
 could be invented was indulged in by both sexes. But the 
 principal sports of the youth were the dance and the chase, 
 and hiding and seeking, and surprises of various kinds. The 
 young and vigorous men of the nation, the warriors and hunt 
 ers, including some priests and the princes, spent much of 
 their time on these festive days in leaping, and running foot 
 races, in shooting the arrow and dart, and in throwing the 
 javelin and hatchet. Shooting birds on the wing with the ar 
 row was a favorite sport, and in this alone were they cruel, un 
 less also we except their trials of strength in desperate wrest 
 ling matches. Stripped quite to the loins for these exhibitions, 
 most violent contests ensued; but the victor and vanquished 
 were both crowned alike, and never the former alone. The 
 applause of the crowd, so far as was seen, was bestowed x upon 
 each. To do all one could, though failure ensued, was with 
 them a virtue as great as success, and a failure from whatever 
 cause was ascribed to blind chance or ill luck, so the van 
 quished was never disheartened. In throwing the hatchet 
 and javelin they were hardly less certain of dropping their 
 game than had it been done with the rifle, and neither in war 
 nor in hunting would they seek a close contest, since, from a 
 great distance, their weapons were cast with deadly precision. 
 In a strife with the grizzly bear, or the panther, or lion, which 
 they never entirely declined, they thought themselves safest 
 when out of its reach. 
 
 In a race at the time of their feasts, it was never their habit 
 to take a straight course, but to double some object and back ; 
 and racing in boats as well as on foot was among the displays 
 at their games. 
 
66 CALIFORNIA 
 
 For amusement, the women and girls resorted to many de 
 vices, both pleasant and sportive, but never immodest or rude.* 
 From the advent of Manuelo among them, a leading diversion 
 became the making of garments from skins, after the fashions 
 already described, and this custom, as stated, spread rapidly 
 throughout the whole country. The expertness of the women 
 in this, if the story is worthy of credit, was hardly inferior to 
 that of the faithful housewives of Castile. But something in 
 such a remark must be set down to the bias of Manuelo, who 
 took to himself all the credit of imparting to them the in 
 structions by which they were guided, an honor to which he 
 was clearly entitled, but whether as great in degree as was 
 claimed, is a point upon which there is doubt. 
 
 The children that attended the feasts engaged in all manner 
 of games such as children are wont to enjoy when aided by 
 elderly women. Less absorbed in matters of fashion than 
 maidens and mothers, the grand dames of the tribe de 
 voted themselves, in the main, to the care and amusement of 
 the young. 
 
 On every day of the feast, if the sky was not overcast, the 
 sun, in the morning, at rising, was greeted with long and 
 continued acclaims, in which all the people, old and young ? 
 joined. And on the close of each festive occasion, at the end 
 of the third and last day, the sun was dismissed from the 
 heavens with a song so wild and so weird that once heard it 
 was never forgotten. 
 
 At the autumn festival, intended, as the name would indi 
 cate, to celebrate the ripening of fruits, berries, and nuts, the 
 
 *Here, again, Manuelo s recollection is at fault. He was asked how 
 the native mothers exercised restraint over their daughters, and could not 
 answer the question. He was sure, however, that they did it in some 
 way; for in the matter of dancing, he said the Indian girls were exceed 
 ingly circumspect, and even more so than the fine young ladies of old 
 Spain. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 67 
 
 usual diversions of the country were indulged in by the great 
 body of the people assembled, but it was also the occasion for 
 serious business consultations between the king and his chiefs, 
 priests, seers, and prophets. 
 
 At these times matters of the highest importance to the 
 whole nation were passed upon. It was the custom then to 
 discuss the relations of the Santos to neighboring nations, and 
 to determine questions of peace or war; but war was never 
 fully and finally decided upon without first seeking supernatural 
 instructions; a practice entirely similar, in all respects, to that 
 of the ancient Greeks, who, as history informs us, would never 
 commence hostilities without first consulting the Delphian 
 oracles. This is no mean proof that the real civilization of 
 the one people was equal to that of the other; though, by the 
 common consent of mankind, that of the Greeks is counted of 
 the very highest order, while the equally unanimous judgment 
 of inimical nations places the civilization of the Indians of 
 the New World much lower down in the scale. But it is 
 probably best to accept Justine s conclusion, that the one was 
 advanced in one direction, and the other in another, and that 
 the Santo was as much enlightened in his way as was the 
 Greek in his, and neither too much so since both were alike 
 miserable pagans, and both equally outside of the pale of the 
 church. 
 
 To the credit of the fates that presided over California three 
 hundred and fifty years ago, it ought to be remarked that their 
 decisions, unlike those of the Delphian oracles, were generally 
 in favor of peace, and not in the direction of inciting mortals 
 to the wholesale destruction of each other. 
 
 If at a council of this nation the question was raised con 
 cerning the king, and his fitness to reign, the chief priest pre 
 sided and ruled upon matters with fairness. The obligations 
 of the sovereign to his people were freely discussed, and his 
 duties prescribed. Aside from the maintenance of a fitting 
 
68 CALIFORNIA 
 
 amount of dignity, as in other kingdoms, the reigning prince 
 of the Santos was required to act the part of an arbiter between 
 disagreeing subjects, and to enforce his awards in all cases. 
 
 When, the oracles being adverse to peace, war unfortunately 
 arose, the king was expected to assume at once the command 
 of his forces; not to direct, from some safe retreat, his military 
 movements, as is uniformly the custom with generals in other 
 countries and in these later times, but to take an active part 
 and lead the fight in person, however dangerous or distasteful 
 it might be. If a similar rule were applied to all kings, fewer 
 wars would occur in the world. Between the post of his 
 majesty and the post of danger there is usually a very wide 
 distinction. But not so with the king of the Santos; if there 
 was peril in war, his duty was there, and no path of escape 
 from danger was open to him. In peace alone was his safety, 
 and peace with a throne was better, in his estimation, than war 
 and a home with the dead. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 ABOUT WAR 
 
 WAR, says Justino, though always destructive, is not in 
 every instance an unmitigated evil. Although to be avoided 
 when practicable, it is not always to be declined. The rela 
 tions of nations to each other are such that a passage at arms, 
 now and then, may be for the benefit of both parties, and by 
 no means prejudicial to the rest of the world. Periodical con 
 flicts among the elements are indispensable to the purification 
 of the atmosphere. Storms, however severe, result in replen 
 ishing the earth. Nature is full of contentions at times, and 
 her forces are equalized thereby. Man is but part of a great 
 system, whose diversified ends are worked out, under the direc 
 tion of the Almighty, in many mysterious ways. Even the 
 brute creation is incited by love and hatred, by fear and 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 69 
 
 jealousy, to mortal combat. Bickerings, argued the good friar, 
 have occurred even among the angels, and why should mortal 
 man hope to escape them ? The only being who ever taught 
 absolute peace on earth was the divine Master, and even he, 
 unmindful for the moment of his own teachings, overthrew, 
 with violence, the tables of the money-changers, driving them 
 forth from the temple with scourges. 
 
 On looking around, Justino could see that even the gospel 
 of truth had been propagated by wars, and those, too, of the 
 bloodiest sort, and he took occasion to justify all that had 
 been done by the brave Ferdinand, referring, doubtless, to the 
 great Hernando Cortez, in whose warlike wake the church had 
 traveled and triumphed. The good friar knew full well that 
 by war Christianity had been enabled to penetrate the benighted 
 regions of Mexico, and by that means alone its inhabitants had 
 been brought to a comprehension of the only true religion. 
 By this agency immortal souls without number had been 
 snatched like so many brands from the burning. Without 
 wars they must have perished by thousands, yea, millions; 
 and why should not wars, therefore, he exultingly asked, be 
 sometimes justified? Continuing, he remarked that "peace on 
 earth and good-will towards all men" may possibly become 
 the universal law, when the world is brought, as he hoped it 
 might eventually be, under the domination of the wholly 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 These reflections in justification of war, or similar ones by 
 other members of the Dominican brotherhood, may have had 
 some influence upon the Christian princes of that time, but 
 they could have had none whatever upon the mind of Bear- 
 Slayer, for there is no evidence that they were ever brought to 
 his attention by the only person entertaining them that could 
 have done so. But had Manuelo presented them in their most 
 attractive form, it is doubtful if a favorable impression would 
 have been produced, since it is recorded that in the councils 
 
70 CALIFORNIA 
 
 of his nation Bear-Slayer invariably voted for peace, regardless 
 of the extent or enormity of the provocation. Other rulers 
 of his time, and in all ages, might have followed his example 
 more frequently had they been under a similar necessity of 
 exposing their persons to the dangers likely to follow an oppo 
 site course. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 THE MODENS. 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING all that could be said or done in 
 opposition, wars would sometimes occur, forced on, as it were, 
 against the will and wish of the principal chief. The nation 
 with which the Santos were most apt to fall into collision was 
 the one lying to the north, called the Modens, or Oaks, a name 
 presumably bestowed upon them because of their strength, or, 
 mayhap, on account of their fondness for acorns. The 
 Modens were well known to be an exceedingly warlike people, 
 and between them and the Santos many bloody fights, in past 
 ages, had occurred, and often with doubtful results. These 
 two nations were hereditary enemies. Like the Greeks and 
 Trojans, or like the Carthaginians and Romans, they were im 
 placable foes, and hostilities were liable to break out between 
 them at any moment and upon the slightest provocation. 
 
 A wide space of territory lay spread out between the Santos 
 and the Modens, unoccupied, except now and then by hunting 
 parties, or in case of war by the armies of the respective 
 nations. Though untenanted, this region was far from being, in 
 any proper sense, neutral territory, for it was claimed by both 
 peoples, and had been the scene of many a desperate conflict. 
 A much more fitting appellation would have been " the dark 
 and bloody ground," for such it really was. 
 
 The undisputed country of the Modens stretched far to the 
 northward, and was watered throughout by a great river with 
 numerous tributaries. The river, the one afterwards named 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 71 
 
 the Sacramento, was then known as the river of the Modens. 
 In like manner their capital city, which rivaled in extent the 
 one on the Bay, was called the city of the Modens. Its exact 
 situation, from the facts that are transmitted, if properly 
 sought out, would be found to have been where a branch from 
 the mountains comes down on the plains and unites with the 
 principal arm of the river. In long after years a town was 
 there built on the site of the first, by the conquering whites, 
 and was called by them the city of Uba; but that, like the first 
 great city there built, has gone into lasting decay. 
 
 From the best information that now can be had concerning 
 the land in dispute, it is that which spreads out between the two 
 rivers, in after times known as the American and the Cosumnes, 
 and the most famous battle that ever took place between the 
 two belligerents was fought near the site of the capital of that 
 great commonwealth which now comprehends the land of 
 both nations. At that time the Santos, like the French after 
 wards at Austerlitz, were victorious and drove the enemy into 
 the river, where great numbers perished by drowning. For 
 ages following, the place was famous on account of this battle, 
 and it is a notable circumstance that the works from which the 
 Modens were then driven were long afterwards occupied as a 
 place of defense against the descendants of its constructors, 
 by a military chieftain of an entirely different race, and became 
 widely known as Sutter s Fort. The data, in the manuscript 
 from which this conclusion is drawn are not altogether dis 
 tinct and legible, and the inference itself may not be in strict 
 accordance with what is stated in the scroll, but it is none the 
 less reliable on that account, since all history, and especially 
 history of wars, is largely inferential, and seldom more authen 
 tic than this. 
 
72 CALIFORNIA 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 SOME REFLECTIONS. 
 
 BUT in order that we may follow with fidelity the thread of 
 this narrative, it will be necessary to return to the chief s home, 
 where some little time since we left Manuelo arrayed in his 
 new garments of skins, the admiration not more of the com 
 mon people than of the head chief himself. His influence in 
 his capacity of prophet and prince was all that he really 
 needed; but it was immensely augmented by his success as a 
 tailor and a leader of fashions. But it is well understood that 
 influence implies obligations, and Manuelo could not expect 
 to retain his power and standing at court without the per 
 formance of such duties as his reputation imposed upon him. 
 
 It is one of the consolations of poverty, says Justino, and at 
 the same time no slight compensation for humility in life, that 
 little is required of persons under such circumstances. In 
 stances are many, and as sad as numerous, where sudden 
 transitions from want to affluence, and from humiliation to 
 authority, have resulted in great embarrassment, and even in 
 misery. We are taught that happiness at best is but fleeting 
 and illusory. Some philosophers have maintained, on the 
 authority of personal experience it may be, that true enjoyment 
 consists in the pursuit of blessings, and not in their fruition, 
 in hope and nothing more. The consolations of religion are 
 all of that character. It is the hope of Heaven alone, says 
 the good friar, that makes us happy in this world; and without 
 that hope he thought all mankind must be miserable. That 
 happiness is more in the anticipation than in the enjoyment is 
 abundantly shown by the increased anxiety always entailed 
 upon those who are supposed to have actually attained it. The 
 most successful in the pursuit of wealth and honors are often 
 the least contented of mortals ; and the Dominicans in their 
 pious wisdom argued as follows: " To want is to be miserable; 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 73 
 
 who wants most is most miserable; who has most wants most; 
 therefore, who has most is most miserable." 
 
 Authority is sometimes useful no doubt to him who 
 possesses it, but in the hands of the upright it is more fre 
 quently wielded for the benefit of others. To some it is 
 an absolute burden, and so it proved to be in the case of 
 Manuelo; for though inclined to ease and comfort, he was not 
 permitted to enjoy those blessings. That otium cum dignitate 
 which often falls to the lot of hereditary princes, was never 
 accorded to him. The fates were adverse to such a consumma 
 tion; but this must be attributed largely to the natural benef 
 icence of his character. So far from wielding his power, ex 
 tensive as it now was, for purposes of oppression, he was 
 absolutely oppressed by it. Nor did there appear to be any 
 relief in his case. The future, so far as he could perceive, was 
 beset with darkness and despondency. Princes before him 
 have found themselves in a similar dilemma, and a conspicuous 
 example was the mighty Charles V., whose faithful subject 
 Manuelo had been before setting up the standard of royalty on 
 his own account. But that renowned monarch was able to 
 elude his troubles by taking shelter under cover of monastic 
 life. When political storms were howling loudest, he aban 
 doned his throne and retired to a friendly convent. But there 
 was no resort of that sort for Manuelo. In all that coun 
 try, afterwards so distinguished for its religious establishments, 
 there was not then a single one to which he could have 
 fled, and those -with whom his fortunes were cast expected of 
 him far more than was ever demanded, by his subjects, of 
 Charles, who was only king or emperor at most, while Manuelo 
 was at once prince, prophet, and tailor, and so conspicuous in 
 each of these lines that the people were ill-disposed to concede 
 any limit to his power he could not, without great danger to 
 himself, disabuse their crude minds of this notion. To have 
 done so might have proved fatal to him, and it certainly would 
 
74 CALIFORNIA 
 
 have been disastrous to his hopes of escaping from that coun 
 try; for be it remembered, if the fact has not already been 
 stated, that he ever entertained the idea that at some future 
 period he would be able to reach a Spanish settlement by trav 
 eling to the southward. 
 
 Sailors, as all are aware, are proverbially restless, and so was 
 Manuelo by nature. Even the character of prince, which he 
 now enjoyed, or rather, we should say, which he suffered, for 
 there was little enjoyment in it for him at this time, did not 
 enable him to entirely conquer that disposition. Indeed, it 
 was by maintaining that assumed character that he hoped 
 eventually to make good his escape from Bear-Slayer s domin 
 ions. For these reasons his embarrassment was greater than 
 that of King Charles, since the danger to the latter was only 
 in retaining authority, from which danger he was able to escape 
 by divesting himself of the same; while the danger to Man 
 uelo was in retaining his power and as well in laying it down, 
 and as much in the one as the other. 
 
 Manuelo s uncomfortable situation was cited by the good 
 friar as a timely warning against persons assuming to be what 
 they are not, and for the avoidance of undertakings which cannot 
 be performed. He thought the dilemma might well be 
 regarded as evidence of heavenly wrath towards Manuelo for 
 pretending to priestly functions, for which he was illy pre 
 pared by study and pious reflections. Nevertheless the sym 
 pathetic heart of Justino was moved towards him, because, as 
 has been argued, one s commiseration for others is measured, 
 not by the amount of their sufferings, but by their supposed 
 sensibility. Even beggars are sometimes moved to tears by 
 the misfortunes of the great, while their own are borne with 
 the utmost indifference. We are most apt to pity in others 
 those evils from which we think ourselves not exempt, since we 
 hope at some time to enjoy the like commiseration. It is not 
 in human nature to sympathize with persons happier than our- 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 75 
 
 selves, but only with those who are thought to be more 
 miserable. 
 
 These seasonable reflections of the good friar, or, possibly, 
 of the monks of Evora, must have been intended more for the 
 consolation of mankind in general than Manuelo, who could 
 see no alternative but to make the most of his situation. The 
 line of deception which he had been practicing for some time, 
 and which in fairness, it should be confessed, had been partly 
 forced upon him by circumstances, must needs be followed out 
 at all hazards. 
 
 The world in which we live is full of delusions, and so much 
 satisfaction do people in general derive from their contempla 
 tion, that it is often counted a crime to dispel them. By far 
 the larger share of the laws of all enlightened countries are 
 enacted for the protection of delusions, and why should Man 
 uelo be condemned for practicing what is so common. Princes 
 and priests alike pretend to" the possession of divine authority, 
 and the claims of Manuelo were surely no more to be doubted 
 than theirs. The difference between him and other princes 
 and priests was, that while he was greatly distressed by 
 such pretensions, they usually rest but too easily under them. 
 His claims to distinction ought to be counted even better than 
 theirs, for his were not founded upon supernatural authority at 
 all, but were the legitimate creation of his own genius. 
 
 But Manuelo s assumptions were not all delusions ; his pre 
 tensions were by no means all hollow. A veritable tailor he 
 had proved himself to be, and had succeeded so well in that 
 character that he very properly concluded it might be in place 
 for him to impart instructions to these rude people in other 
 branches of industry. For such duties he regarded himself as 
 eminently fitted by his superior knowledge and Christian edu 
 cation. But coming, as he did, with only his arms, and with 
 out industrial implements, he found himself wofully wanting, 
 in the means of carrying out his intentions, and it was im- 
 
76 CALIFORNIA 
 
 possible in that country to supply the deficiency. In the matter 
 of cooking, he sought to impart information, but did not succeed 
 as he hoped, for the want of the requisite implements. A still 
 greater obstacle that stood in his way as a cook was a lack of 
 the needed experience. A mere sailor-man had he been on 
 shipboard, and never at all a sea-cook, though from aught that 
 appears, as Justino most gravely suggested, in view of his under 
 taking, the descendant of such a person he might possibly 
 have been. But his efforts in this direction were largely a 
 failure, and were, therefore, from the necessities of the situation 
 abandoned. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 FISHING. 
 
 WHILE failing in some, Manuelo enjoyed the completest suc 
 cess in other pursuits. With a sort of harpoon made in form 
 of a spear, for that purpose, he boldly attacked a huge whale in 
 the harbor. In the earliest part of his life he had been on a 
 voyage or two in search of those monsters of the deep, and 
 understood full well just how to approach with safety and to 
 conquer that formidable creature. To the boundless astonish 
 ment of the natives he now put his knowledge and skill in suc 
 cessful practice. 
 
 W T ith the aid of a host of the men in their boats, he towed 
 the huge carcass ashore, and with his sharp sword hacked it 
 to pieces, in presence of the multitude. The blubber was 
 used for both fuel and light, lamps being constructed out of 
 sea-shells. From the fibrous bark of a tree wicks were pre 
 pared, and thus he taught the Santos to illuminate their dwell 
 ings. From the limber bone of the whale many curious articles 
 were made, but none of particular use. 
 
 In fishing Manuelo was expert, excelling, in that particular 
 sport, all others. He invented new methods of taking the 
 salmon, which abounded in the rivers and bays of that country, 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 77 
 
 and he instructed the people in the art of drying and pre 
 serving that fish. 
 
 The man-eating shark, of which all the natives were in horri 
 ble dread, he could handle with ease, and of these he destroyed 
 not a few, his feats in that line commanding unbounded ap 
 plause. 
 
 On the islands of the Bay, there were, at that time, swarms 
 of seals, and sea-lions, or lobos, wolves of the sea, as termed by 
 the Spaniards, between whom and the natives a mutual fear 
 existed; but Manuelo taught the men how to capture these brutes, 
 and of their skins to make couches and carpets, thus adding to 
 the comfort and pleasure of the people. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 A SHIPWRECK. 
 
 IN all that pertained to the water, Manuelo s skill, as re 
 marked, was complete; but, lacking the tools, he was baffled in 
 building a boat. This difficult task, however, was in a manner 
 overcome by placing two canoes side by side, and binding them 
 together, by lashing timbers athwart-ships, fore and aft, with 
 rawhide. In this manner he constructed a craft quite new to 
 the natives and very convenient withal. Sails were made for 
 this boat out of skins, and with these unfurled, the Bay was 
 navigated, hither and thither, by the force of the wind, to the 
 great delight of the people, and without the use of the paddle. 
 So marked was his success in this line, that he might have 
 added to his other distinctions, it was thought, the title of Great 
 Admiral. But this, adds the author, was only a little piece 
 of pleasantry of Manuelo s, and belongs not to the body of the 
 history. 
 
 But what does belong to it, as of much more serious import, 
 is the fact that he discovered, even at that early day, the dan 
 ger to small craft of being carried out to sea, on ebb-tide. 
 
78 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Through the narrow entrance to this harbor, widely known, 
 in after ages, as the Golden Gate, then as now rushed the cur 
 rents of the ocean to and fro at the rise and fall of the tide, 
 with great impetuosity. This phenomenon, so shrewdly ob 
 served by Manuelo, might not have been mentioned but for 
 the circumstance of his having been incautiously borne, to 
 gether with eight stalwart Santos who were with him in the 
 boat, out to sea on one of those fast-ebbing tides. 
 
 By education, if not by nature, he was fond of the sea; but 
 this particular voyage was nevertheless undertaken most un 
 willingly, though his reluctance to entering upon it proved of no 
 avail. The sails of his shallop, on that occasion, were of little 
 use, and night coming on with a fearful storm, he was carried 
 far away from the land. Without chart or compass, he must 
 have been lost on the watery expanse, but for the un remitted 
 exertions of his brave companions, who vigorously pulled all 
 the while for the shore.* 
 
 As it was, and in spite of their efforts, they drifted many 
 leagues down the coast, and only succeeded in landing at 
 great peril of their lives. The vessel itself was wrecked and 
 soon went to pieces on the rugged, rocky shore. 
 
 Owing to good management, it must have been, rather than 
 to the favors of fortune, the lives of the men were all saved, 
 and a landing effected. More dead than alive, from rolling in 
 the surf, the men crawled ashore, and eventually finding their 
 way to a neighboring settlement were kindly cared for. 
 
 On the following day the shipwrecked crew took up their 
 line of march, single file, but empty-handed, through forests 
 
 *It is a strange coincidence, and worthy of note, that the very day 
 this chapter was completed and ready for the printer, eight small boys 
 drifted far out to sea on the receding- tide, in a punt, a craft not unlike that 
 of Manuelo s, and were rescued from their exceedingly perilous situation by 
 one Antonio, presumably a countryman of our hero. For particulars 
 see San Francisco papers of September 27, 1887. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 79 
 
 and over mountains to their homes, but too glad to make their 
 escape in that way. 
 
 Hitherto good luck had attended Manuelo in all his voy 
 ages, this being the first disaster of the kind that. had ever be 
 fallen him. It was a sort of turning-point in his career, and 
 was followed by other calamities, which he attributed to this as 
 the beginning. It was true then as now that misfortunes come 
 not singly but like birds of evil omen, in flocks, and he was 
 consequently doomed by irresistible fate to undergo trials 
 which might have discouraged a person of less fortitude. 
 
 This little experience of Manuelo in the breakers not only 
 thoroughly wetted his garments but it likewise dampened his 
 ardor somewhat for maritime pursuits, for though he afterwards 
 constructed a new boat precisely after the form of the one lost, 
 he was much less venturesome in it than he had been in the 
 first, and only indulged in sailing it up and down the smooth 
 waters of the Bay, always keeping near the shore and closely 
 observing the tides. One calamity of this kind, he thought, 
 ought to suffice for a life-time, and he wisely determined that 
 his experience just narrated should have that distinction. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 A SEA FIGHT. 
 
 IN one of those ventures with his new craft in the interior 
 of the country, it being at the time of a flood, when the plains 
 were all covered with water far and wide like a lake, as since 
 they have frequently been, he mistook the true course of the 
 river, and was himself, with his men, somewhat bewildered. 
 Not knowing just whither he went, and encroaching upon the 
 enemy s territory, he was, as might have been expected, hotly 
 pursued by many hostile canoes. When overtaken, as he soon 
 was, a most desperate encounter ensued, which resulted in 
 wounds to himself and his men. Though a running conflict. 
 
80 CALIFORNIA 
 
 from beginning to end, it was fought with remarkable valor. 
 The Modens, for it was they who were then giving chase, out 
 numbered the Santos many times, which greatly inspired the 
 pursuit. Warmly waged was the battle, and it appeared nearly 
 lost when the new-fangled bark fortunately striking a current 
 in the river, and at the same time a friendly breeze filling her 
 sails, she made good her escape. 
 
 Manuelo fought bravely, as, inspired by his courage, did like 
 wise his men, and not one was seriously injured, while some of 
 the Modens were killed outright, and their bodies next day 
 floated out on the tide. This is thought to have been the only 
 engagement of the kind that ever took place on those interior 
 waters, and for cool daring and skill, from beginning to end, 
 may never be equaled again. 
 
 The reputation of Manuelo as a nautical man, which had 
 been seriously impaired by his shipwreck, was fully restored by 
 the tact displayed in this encounter, and again he would have 
 been happy but for the wounds he received, which after all 
 were not wounds, in the strictest sense of the word, but only 
 contusions. His thick bear-skin blouse proved a good coat of 
 mail, and shielded him from the enemy s darts; but it could 
 not protect him from a sound beating, from which he suffered 
 many days. 
 
 His trip out at sea had taught him a lesson of caution against 
 such adventures in future, and so, in like manner, his fight on 
 the river and narrow escape had the effect to make him more 
 prudent and to turn his attention towards peaceful pursuits on 
 the shore. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 SANTOS INDUSTRIES. 
 
 THE domestic duties of those early dwellers on the Bay of 
 San Francisco were divided between the sexes as with people 
 in some stages of advancement the world over. Upon the 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 81 
 
 men, as among the Yonos, devolved the duty of hunting and 
 fishing, and also, in part, of drying and preserving the fish, and 
 the flesh of their game, for subsequent use. It was in like 
 manner their duty to construct their weapons of war, their 
 traps, their hunting implements, and fishing tackle. Not 
 unfrequently, also, the obligation devolved on the men of pro 
 viding their own clothing and shelter. Their houses were 
 built by the males as a rule, though in getting together mate 
 rials for their construction, the women were expected to take 
 an active part. But the dwelling once completed and furnished, 
 it became the duty of the wife to keep it in order, a duty she 
 never neglected. The preparation of food and the cooking 
 thereof, when that was required, ever after Manuelo s unfortu 
 nate failure, devolved on the gentler sex. 
 
 A calling in which the women and girls were particularly 
 expert was the making of baskets. These were constructed of 
 various sizes and shapes, and tastefully ornamented. They were 
 fabricated of different materials carefully selected. Some of 
 the wild grasses used in their construction were as fragrant as 
 roses, and such were highly prized by the maidens for their 
 sweetness. 
 
 Gifts of berries and flowers were presented in these baskets, 
 a practice quite common among them, and one which Justino 
 thought extremely befitting in that land of perennial spring. 
 
 Wild cherries and plums, in profusion, were found on the 
 mountains, and grapes and nuts in abundance on the slopes of 
 the hills. Berries of various sorts were obtained in the valleys 
 and gulches and were picked by the women and children. 
 Far and near were they sought, but whenever they were 
 gathered in dangerous parts, an escort of young men, well armed 
 with arrows and spears, attended the party to protect the indus 
 trious women and children against the attacks of wild beast, or 
 perchance wilder men from some other nation, 
 
82 CALIFORNIA 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 SOME LEGENDS. 
 
 OF the bounteous products of nature, large store was laid up 
 by these people for use in the lengthening winter season, at 
 which time, while enjoying the same, thrilling stories of advent 
 ures were narrated. Tales of hair-breadth escapes occurring on 
 these expeditions formed largely the staple of entertainment 
 for children, if not of adults, during these long, peaceful eve 
 nings. By custom long established, their stories were told in 
 rythmical numbers, and were thus handed down, like the 
 works of old Homer, by word of mouth, from one generation 
 to another, and some from the remotest of times. It will be 
 deplored by the reader, as it is by the translator, that Manuelo, 
 when relating these occurrences, not being in a fanciful mood, 
 failed to preserve the rythm of the tales. Since, then, we must 
 needs disregard their harmony, we will greatly abridge the few 
 that are cited, and relate them in the plainest of prose. In the 
 fast it was told how an infant was left by its mother to rest in 
 the shade of a tree while she wandered some distance away; 
 but too long neglected, the babe awoke from its sleep, and, by 
 its cries, attracted the attention of a she-panther, and before 
 the distressed mother could come to its rescue, the babe was 
 borne away by the brute to its lair. The young of the panther, 
 like the babe, were crying with hunger when the old one 
 Returned, and the motherly heart of the dam, it is said, with 
 pity was moved, and she nursed the young child with her own 
 progeny. The babe and the whelps, in the same hollow tree, 
 were protected; but the Indian mother grieved over the loss of 
 her infant, and remained in despair till a fairy informed her, 
 while sleeping, as plainly as anything could, that her child was 
 still living and well. The fond, weeping mother, inspired by 
 this comforting dream, wandered forth from her home, and 
 sought for her little one by night and by day, regardless of 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 83 
 
 danger, all the while roaming through woods dark and dismal, 
 when at last, from afar, she espied, or, perchance, it was that 
 she heard the child cry, and approaching discovered it nestling 
 by the side of its captor. They told how she longed to go 
 near it, but could not with safety for fear of arousing the pan 
 ther, and she therefore waited and watched where she was a 
 night and a day, expecting in case she disturbed the fierce 
 brute it would quickly devour her poor child, and how she 
 continued in frightful suspense till the panther went forth seek 
 ing food, when the mother, with caution advancing, seized the 
 child and made good her return to the village. 
 
 It was also related, or rather was sung, how a beautiful 
 maiden was seized by a great grizzly bear, and was carried 
 away to the woods, and when this became known, how her 
 lover pursued in hot haste, and boldly attacked the huge beast. 
 A frightful encounter ensued, unequaled in strength, it is true, 
 but likewise unequaled in skill and in courage. Greater 
 strength was possessed by the bear, but more skill to the young 
 man belonged, and so, in the end, he recovered his sweetheart, 
 but not before he was himself severely wounded. The cries of 
 the maiden helped much in the fight, and it may be presumed 
 the young man was encouraged thereby, while the bear by the 
 same was rendered more shy. This lover, contending so 
 bravely for his sweetheart, became very great in his subsequent 
 life, and the same was Bear-Slayer the king. 
 
 It was likewise related how persons were lost and wan 
 dered away many leagues among mountains and valleys, 
 unknown, subsisting on berries for days and for moons; how 
 some of such perished of hunger and cold, as their ghosts on 
 returning would tell, while others, more lucky, would find their 
 way home after dangers and privations so great as to baffle 
 description. 
 
 Still others, in seeking wild grapes and in hunting for nuts 
 and for fruit, would venture too far to the east, or the north, 
 
84 CALIFORNIA 
 
 and be seized and enslaved by the men of some cruel, inimical 
 nation. 
 
 Such is the brief outline of a few of the stories the Santos 
 were accustomed to relate in their long winter nights in order 
 to while away time, which otherwise might have hung heavily 
 upon their hands. 
 
 XXXVII. 
 WINNING A SWEETHEART. 
 
 WITH less purpose to gather berries than to protect those 
 who gathered them, Manuelo sometimes accompanied parties 
 going forth for that purpose. On such occasions he had the 
 forethought to arm himself properly, and was therefore n.ver 
 without the means of defense. Owing to this precaution, he 
 was fortunate enough on one of these expeditions to have a 
 successful encounter with an animal of the feline species; but 
 whether panther, or tiger, or only a huge wild cat, Justino has 
 left us in doubt. Whichever it was, the creature had climbed a 
 large inclining tree, and crouching on one of its branches, 
 was pelted with stones by the natives, and pierced by some 
 of their darts. 
 
 Manuelo, who seldom knew fear, approached too near to the 
 tree, when the monster, quickly descending, t:ame with great 
 fury upon him. At first he thought to use in defense one of 
 his pistols, but time was too short to restore his lost priming, so 
 he drew his sharp sword, and with one fell stroke cleft the head 
 of the brute quite in twain. Writhing in agony for a few mo 
 ments on the ground where it lay, it expired. 
 
 From this sudden encounter, he came off without so much 
 as a scratch, but it was by a scratch, as he remarked, that he 
 escaped. When the creature was first observed to approach, 
 Manuelo, like the more prudent of the boys, was inclined, for 
 his safety, to run; but a moment s reflection dispelled that pur 
 pose. There were two considerations then pressing upon his 
 
350 YEARS AGO 85 
 
 mind, either of which was sufficient to deter him from such a 
 course. To escape by running he might not be able, and to 
 have done so, at that particular time, would have been, as it 
 plainly appeared to him, both cowardly and disgraceful, since it 
 must have exposed to the fury of the beast certain maidens 
 who were gathering berries close by, and among them one who 
 seemed to him the fairest and brightest in all the land a young 
 girl whose Indian name was Alola. Of this fair damsel Man- 
 uelo was then the particular friend and self-constituted guard 
 ian. Indeed, it is thought he would not have gone after berries 
 at all if Alola had not led the way, and it would have been 
 base for a Spaniard like him to have abandoned such a beauti 
 ful girl to be torn by a monster of any description. 
 
 On his killing the cat, or whatever it was, loud praises went 
 up from the crowd, but the loudest acclaims were less valued 
 by him than the blushes of the charming Alola. When she 
 saw the encounter, she cried with affright and almost fainted 
 with fear; but at the result she screamed with delight, and for 
 joy shed many a tear. 
 
 It can hardly be necessary to add in any plainer language 
 than has already expressed it, that Manuelo had conceived a 
 strong attachment for this girl, and the saddest thing that 
 could have happened, and worse a thousand times than any 
 calamity to himself, would have been the mutilation of her 
 prepossessing features by the claws of some wild animal. 
 
 NOTE. Here a very considerable space in the original, nearly a 
 whole chapter, in fact, has been omitted entirely by those meddlesome 
 gentry at Evora, for no other or better reason than that, in their judg 
 ment, it was too light reading for history, and might prove interesting to 
 young and giddy people only. 
 
86 CALIFORNIA 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 A BEAR FIGHT. 
 
 FEROCIOUS beasts of different species, and particularly 
 grizzly bears, were then quite common in that country, as indeed 
 they continued to be long years afterwards, and even down to 
 the time when California was finally overrun by other races of 
 men. These huge animals, many of which far exceeded in 
 weight the ox or the horse, were a source of great annoyance 
 to the Santos nation. They abounded in certain parts of the 
 country, but were migratory in the season of fruits and nuts, 
 foraging far and wide, and not unfrequently making serious in 
 roads upon the native settlements. Their natural home, no 
 doubt, was in the mountains, but they were by no means con 
 tent the year through with what could be obtained for food in 
 any one locality. Sometimes in gangs numbering from half a 
 score to half a hundred, they would descend into the valleys, 
 coming quite down to the borders of the rivers and bays with 
 great boldness, causing infinite trepidation among the women 
 and children, and even among the men. 
 
 Next to the vigorous Modens, the most dangerous enemy of 
 the swift-footed Santos was the grizzly bear, and it is hard to 
 say which of the two was at times the more dreaded. Of these 
 enemies the bear was certainly the more insidious, often mak 
 ing his appearance at dead of night, and on most unexpected 
 occasions. The half-domesticated animals of the natives were 
 frequently carried away by them, and now and then a child, 
 venturing too far from its home, shared the same fate, to the 
 immeasurable distress of its parents. 
 
 On occasions like these the alarm spread abroad, and the 
 men of the tribe, the fleetest and best, all armed to the teeth, 
 in great haste sallied forth to avenge the offense, which was all 
 that could be done, for the child was seldom recovered alive. 
 At the head of a crowd in pursuit of the bears, as in duty 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 87 
 
 bound, the chief always appeared, and whenever the alarm oc 
 curred in a large village, the head chief himself was found in 
 the lead. But whether chieftain or king, he was never de 
 serted in the fight, for his men would never abandon him, how 
 ever dangerous or desperate the conflict. 
 
 As a usual thing the bear or other animal pursued in such 
 manner was captured and slain, for these Indians as hunters 
 were extremely persistent. At the end of the chase a great 
 shout arose, and joy pervaded the whole camp, every heart ap 
 parently being filled with- gladness, save that of the bereaved 
 mother whose child had been borne away by the brute. 
 
 It is a notable fact, as Manuelo informs us, that if the child 
 was not devoured by the beast the hunters would feast on the 
 flesh of the bear; but if the bear devoured the child, they would 
 leave the huge carcass, hacked and torn, for the wolves to de 
 vour, or cast it headlong into the Bay for the sharks and sea- 
 lions to feed upon. It would seem from this statement that 
 these considerate men of the forest scrupled to partake of the 
 flesh of a beast that had fed on their kind, and thus it would 
 appear that, though heathen, they were sometimes inclined to 
 good taste. In this, it was the opinion of Father Justine, they 
 manifested a higher state of enlightenment than is shown by 
 many a more fastidious people, and that they were, in fact, as 
 far removed from cannibalism as it was possible for a people 
 to be. 
 
 In this same connection it was related by the author that 
 on a dark and stormy night, in the fall of the year, while the 
 people were all locked in the profoundest slumber, a monstrous 
 she-bear, with two cubs at her heels, impelled no doubt by 
 hunger, invaded the city, and actually demolished the lodge of 
 a native family near where Manuelo was sleeping. The tumult 
 caused by this unexpected incursion surpassed everything of 
 the kind, unless it might be the commotion arising from the 
 violent shock of an earthquake, a thing but too common in 
 
88 CALIFORNIA 
 
 that country. The women and children were frightened nearly 
 out of their wits. To say that the men, and the bravest of 
 them, were unmoved by fear, would be claiming too much for 
 their courage, unless we except the only white man in the place. 
 Before the native hunters could gather their strength, the old 
 bear had made good her escape, but not so with her young, or 
 at least one of them, for being seized by the ears by the doughty 
 Manuelo, a violent struggle ensued, but he did not loosen his 
 hold, though he would gladly have done so on account of the 
 scratching the cub persistently gave him. 
 
 This unlooked-for achievement of Manuelo added much to 
 his fame in the city, and more, as Justino assures us, than was 
 gained by another of a similar nature that followed soon after, 
 and to which he was emboldened by his former success. In 
 fact, it is shrewdly suspected, though not so recorded, that he 
 was deluded, by the capture of one little cub, into the belief 
 that he was an experienced bear-fighter, for he hesitated not to 
 join the very next hunting expedition organized under Bear- 
 Slayer. 
 
 An opportunity to display his prowess a second time was 
 not long in coming. That same autumn, as fortune would 
 have it, a whole troop of bears of large size, some thirty or 
 more in number, came down on the plain, one dull, cloudy day, 
 to forage. When their approach was discovered the people 
 became much excited, and the men with one accord, seizing 
 their weapons, prepared to resist the invasion. The force that 
 went out against this bristling foe was at least four hundred 
 strong, well armed for assault, or defense, each having his 
 javelin or hatchet of stone, and some with their bows and 
 arrows were armed. But Manuelo with his cutlas alone was 
 equipped, for his pistols, it will be remembered, were regarded 
 by the natives as ornaments only, an opinion he could not 
 afford to dispel, as his powder was scarce; so he left those 
 weapons behind. With himself, he is supposed to have argued 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 89 
 
 that if he could capture one bear, without arms, and with his 
 naked hands alone, he would surely be safe with his keen 
 saber, in any contest with another. 
 
 The strength of the attacking party was in a measure con 
 cealed by the clouds and mists of the morning, and the bears, 
 relying upon their numbers, were not easily frightened. Before 
 fairly scenting the danger, they were completely surrounded 
 by the swift-running Santos, who, fetching a large circle, ad 
 vanced towards the center in good order. The brutes, com 
 prehending the situation, and seeing the circle contracting 
 about them, pricked up their ears, looked wildly around, and 
 foamed with anger. But the men still advancing, the fight was 
 begun, and some of the monsters were wounded. The bears 
 huddled together for better resistance, while the men kept off 
 at a respectable distance, well aware of the ferocity of the 
 grizzly bear, like other wild beasts when held at bay. At 
 length a large masculine bruin, more bold than the rest, with 
 his white teeth exposed and fire in his eye, made a break for 
 that part of the line where the only white man happened to 
 be. The supple natives fell back, but did not retreat, while 
 the brave Manuelo stood firm, and with weapon in hand 
 awaited the attack of the beast, which, quickly as thought, arose 
 upon end, and with his huge paw fetched our hero a stroke on 
 the ribs, which sent him rolling away twenty varas or more, 
 upon the smooth, grassy plain. Manuelo, of course, was badly 
 disabled, but the bear was prevented from following up his vic 
 tory by the quick advance of the Santos, who plied him so 
 vigorously with spears and stone hatchets as to cause him to 
 withdraw. 
 
 The blow that was dealt with his sword, at the time Manuelo 
 was attacked, brought the blood in torrents from the head of 
 the daring old grizzly. This would have afforded some conso 
 lation to the one who caused it had he just then been in a 
 condition to enjoy anything, but, alas! he was not. The as- 
 
90 CALIFORNIA 
 
 sault upon Manuelo was the signal for attack along the whole 
 line, and the fight from that moment became general. It was 
 waged for some time, with changing results, when, at last, as 
 they say in speaking of wars, victory perched upon the ban 
 ners of the swift Santos. The rout of the bears was complete. 
 Leaving six of their number, including their leader, the one 
 that began the affray, dead and stark on the plain, they began 
 a hasty retreat. The pursuit was as quickly begun with terri 
 ble yells, and the bears were kept running till far in the hills. 
 
 On the part of the natives not a man was slain, and Man 
 uelo alone was seriously wounded. The conduct of the chief, 
 on this occasion, was observed to be most gallant, and worthy 
 of all praise. He was near at hand when the Spaniard fell, and 
 was the first to come to his rescue. But for him Manuelo 
 maintained he must have been killed on the spot, for the bear, 
 as he thought, had observed that his coat was made of the skins 
 of his kind, and his rage was increased by that fact. As it was, 
 Manuelo was severely contused, if indeed his ribs were not 
 broken, and many a long day passed slowly away before he was 
 fully recovered. 
 
 It is an ill wind, says the old proverb, that blows nobody 
 good. This was paraphrased by Justino, so far as to say it is 
 an ill blow that brings not good to somebody, and so Manuelo 
 thought in this case, for it was his good fortune, during his ill 
 ness, to have the attendance and care of the kind-hearted Alola. 
 This fair young creature, in the most touching manner, 
 bestowed her sympathy upon the wounded sailor, and was 
 unremitting in her exertions to soothe his sufferings. Strange 
 to say, her ministrations were more than gratified, for was not 
 his recovery even too rapid, since the pleasure she enjoyed in 
 attending upon him must needs come to an end when he was 
 once more restored to health ? 
 
350 YEARS AGO 91 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 TRIALS. 
 
 CAPITALS of all countries are especially attractive to peo 
 ple of an ambitious and overreaching turn of mind, and persons 
 distinguished for those qualities are found there, in greater 
 numbers than elsewhere. To these characteristics are usually 
 superadded an abundance of sycophancy, and more than a suf 
 ficiency of assumed dignity. 
 
 Commonly known as courtiers, these people swarm about 
 the gates of royalty, contributing, by their presence, to that 
 motley mass of mankind more frequently designated as "the 
 world at large." 
 
 The capital of the Santos was no exception to this rule. It 
 was visited from time to time by persons coming on missions 
 of pleasure or curiosity, and some upon errands of business. 
 Among these visitors now and then appeared representatives 
 of the Yonos, the faces of whom were familiar to Manuelo, as 
 was doubtless his to them, but his new character of prince, 
 upon the preservation of which depended his standing at court, 
 forbade his recognition of these old acquaintances except in 
 the most formal manner. 
 
 It stood him in hand to look well to the dignity of his posi 
 tion, and he neglected none of the means requisite to maintain 
 it; nevertheless, it was impossible for him to wholly ignore the 
 many courtesies received at their hands in the time of his 
 sorest need. His real feelings towards these visitors, therefore, 
 were but poorly portrayed in his manner towards them. 
 
 More cordiality would doubtless have been shown them, but 
 for a lingering, and perhaps too well-grounded apprehension, 
 that a return to his former intimacy might lead to a demand of 
 marriage on behalf of the timid Nona, which would now have 
 been more embarrassing than ever on account of his relations 
 with Alola. If he had ever entertained any feelings towards 
 
92 CALIFORNIA 
 
 the Yono maiden beyond those of pure friendship, they were 
 now entirely supplanted by his warmer and more tender attach 
 ment for the chief s daughter, for such the fair and confiding 
 Alola really was. Upon her his heart had become firmly fixed, 
 and she in turn as freely bestowed all the wealth of her affec 
 tions upon him. 
 
 A double purpose, therefore, it would seem, had Manuelo in 
 playing the part of a prince. First, he had hoped thereby to 
 avoid those complications growing out of his first matrimonial 
 engagement; and in the next place, by the same means, to pro 
 mote his suit with his new and more charming sweetheart. 
 For the latter purpose he needed, above all things, the favor of 
 her immediate friends, and how better could he expect to ob 
 tain it than by playing the part of a prince ? 
 
 While he believed that he was loved by Alola for himself 
 alone, he was confident that the attentions of a person of stand 
 ing would be far more acceptable to her relatives than of one 
 without rank. For reasons which will presently appear the 
 two lovers endeavored, as far as practicable, to conceal their 
 mutual regard from the men and women of the place, but they 
 were at no such pains to hide it from each other. As is usual 
 in cases of the kind, too fond of each other s society, they con 
 sorted more than was prudent, considering the feeling that 
 existed in that community regarding such matters. 
 
 It is true that all this time they were members of the same 
 household, and her attendance, therefore, upon him during his 
 infirmity was but natural; nevertheless, envy was engendered in 
 certain quarters, on their account, causing them, in the end, no 
 little inconvenience. 
 
 Manuelo himself was endowed by nature with a fair share of 
 sensibility, and it was with some reluctance that he permitted 
 matters to drift along as they did, even to the point of public 
 dissatisfaction, but there seemed to be no alternative for it. 
 The difficulty was that the Santos had but a meager apprecia- 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 93 
 
 tion of the feelings of these two young people. Saving and 
 excepting Alola alone they were far from possessing a senti 
 mental turn of mind; on the contrary, they were, in reference 
 to affairs of the heart, as in other matters, eminently practical. 
 In very truth it was this characteristic of the race that had 
 almost bound Manuelo, without the slightest regard to his own 
 wishes, to the shy Nona; and the same was now likely to inter 
 fere seriously with his honorable attachment for the fair young 
 daughter of the chief. 
 
 An old Spanish proverb likens love to a perturbed river, 
 which never runs smoothly, and Manuelo greatly feared lest 
 the stream of affection that flowed so gently between himself 
 and Alola, should be obstructed by the meddlesome matter-of- 
 fact friends of the latter. 
 
 The ex-king and high priest, the venerable Pokee, had a son 
 named Gosee, a most comely and valiant young man, to whom 
 this fair maid had already been promised in marriage, and an 
 engagement when made, as this was, by the highest authority in 
 the land, was almost as good, or, as Manuelo remarked in refer 
 ence to this case, almost as bad as a marriage. 
 
 This established custom of the country as now applied being 
 directly in opposition to the wishes and purposes of Manuelo 
 and Alola caused them many unhappy reflections. 
 
 Manuelo was aware, but kept it to himself, that from time 
 immemorial it had been the practice in Spain and in other 
 Christian and civilized countries, to effect matrimonial alliances 
 for members of royal families without regard to the tastes of 
 the parties to be joined, and often in direct opposition to the 
 inclination of those who, as he thought, might well be regarded 
 as most deeply interested in the event. Under wise State 
 policy in many countries, so slight a consideration as personal 
 affection had ever been made to yield to the welfare of the 
 whole nation. The good of the people at large has even re 
 quired in conspicuous instances the consummation of matri- 
 
94 CALIFORNIA 
 
 monial relations under the most repulsive circumstances. A 
 practice which could lead to such results Manuelo concluded 
 might possibly have been sanctioned by time, but he was sure 
 it could have been hallowed in no other way. But he was not 
 in a condition of mind just then to take an impartial view of 
 such matters, even though he had been a veritable prince of 
 the blood, for the custom was, as he expressed it, directly 
 athwart his purposes. Not being in reality of true royal de 
 scent, he was by no means, as Justino contended, a competent 
 critic of the practices of the genuine and pure-blooded heredi 
 tary princes of the earth. 
 
 Confined to royalty alone as was this custom in other king 
 doms, this custom of arranging connubial relations without 
 reference to the wishes of the parties, it had no such limited 
 application in the New World. Here it was common to all 
 classes alike, and it is believed affords some proof that even in 
 those early times, as subsequently, the good people of this 
 country possessed by nature certain of the more prominent 
 characteristics of sovereignty. 
 
 If, then, neither the people, nor the king, nor a prince of 
 the realm, nor yet the high priest, could select his own wife, 
 much less could Manuelo, who, while a prince, was yet a mere 
 stranger in that country, be expected to enjoy that high priv 
 ilege. 
 
 This reflection might have brought some consolation to the 
 mind of the man, and, possibly, also to the object of his 
 adoration, had his love been, or if love ever was, under the 
 control of reason. But, unfortunately for their peace of mind, 
 it is not. The more love is confronted with argument, no 
 matter how logical or convincing, the more perverse it becomes. 
 The tide may be resisted for a time, but it will rise higher 
 and higher, like an obstructed stream, and eventually break 
 over all opposition. 
 
 It was Justino s opinion that had Manuelo s success in this 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 95 
 
 love affair depended upon it, he would unhesitatingly have 
 renounced even his title to royalty. 
 
 After what has been said it need hardly be added that many 
 obstacles were thrown in the way of the lovers, but Manuelo, 
 in nowise discouraged, set himself to the task of overcoming 
 them in a true, manly way. He had the cordial co-operation 
 of some of the best matrons in his endeavors to obtain the 
 consent of the chief and the high priest to a recision, so 
 far as his case was concerned, of this arbitrary custom. 
 Though in the hands of the best of advocates, these efforts 
 were unavailing. The old ecclesiastic set his face like a flint 
 against it, as did also his son, the youthful Gosee, and of course 
 their objections were potential. The unimpassioned high priest 
 took such a view of the matter as might have been expected 
 from one of his advanced age and forgetfulness. The maiden, 
 he thought, by Manuelo s dress might have been captivated, or 
 else because of his being a mere stranger she was unduly influ 
 enced by him. It was against these considerations that the 
 artillery of his eloquence was directed. Little attention, how 
 ever, was paid by the lovers to the vaticination of this crusty 
 old functionary. The suggestion of such childish motives, in 
 an affair of so much gravity, tended rather to excite ridicule 
 than to produce conviction. All others plainly saw at the bot 
 tom of their attachment a vastly more powerful incentive than 
 the one proclaimed by the senile Pokee. 
 
 Finding it impossible, by argument, or honest persuasion, to 
 overcome the opposition to their desires, both Manuelo and 
 the young woman were on the brink of despair, and were ready 
 for almost any emergency that promised well to their hopes. 
 Manuelo, himself, was so incensed by the fruitless result of his 
 importunities that he could have taken vengeance on his rival, 
 and seriously contemplated that course ; but fortunately for all 
 parties, he was dissuaded therefrom by the cooler judgment of 
 his fair inamorata, who, with womanly tact, devised a way out 
 
96 CALIFORNIA 
 
 of the dilemma by proposing an elopement, not, however, to 
 be carried out immediately, but only as the pressure of circum 
 stances might require. 
 
 XL. 
 
 A CHANGE. 
 
 WINTER passing rapidly away, the lovers feared lest the 
 next Fiesta of Flowers, which would come in the spring, might 
 be concluded upon by the priest and the chief as the time for 
 solemnizing the proposed alliance between the son of the one 
 and the daughter of the other, and the contemplation of this 
 danger was a constant alloy to their happiness. It is true that 
 Gosee and Alola were both yet quite young, and the time for 
 their marriage, according to the considerate custom of this 
 country, would not have arrived, in due course, for a couple of 
 years; but it was apprehended that the growing attachment of 
 the intended bride for the mysterious stranger would induce 
 precipitation in this particular case. Her infatuation for Man- 
 uelo was becoming too conspicuous for concealment. The 
 fire of her love would burst forth, at times, with such ardor as 
 to baffle all attempts at suppression. In this matter she exhib 
 ited less prudence than belonged to her nature ; in truth, she 
 was more of a girl than a woman, while Manuelo, in the case, 
 was more of a man than could reasonably have been expected. 
 The affair grew into public prominence, to the no slight annoy 
 ance of Alola. It seems the Santos single dames were no less 
 addicted to meddling in matters of this sort than is a similar 
 class in any other nation. Their gossip very naturally annoyed 
 Manuelo, as well as Alola, since it tended to frustrate his plans. 
 For this reason alone he regretted the notoriety of the affair, 
 for would he not have esteemed the partiality of the princess 
 for himself a very great compliment but for the danger it 
 involved? 
 
 It is not stated in so many words in the manuscript, but the 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 97 
 
 inference is plain that had Manuelo never appeared at the cap 
 ital the union publicly planned for this fair maiden and the 
 high-born Gosee, would have been considered, eve n by herself, 
 as all others regarded it, highly advantageous. But the genius 
 and wisdom displayed by Manuelo as a leader of fashion, 
 and in other directions, rendered his suit irresistible, and ere 
 the girl was aware of the peril her heart was gone. There is 
 a power about love that has never been fully accounted for, 
 even by the wisest of philosophers, and that power, whatever 
 it is, seized upon the innocent Alola with irresistible force. 
 
 It is often asserted, and truly, that love is blind, and it was 
 quite impossible for the chief s young daughter to discover any 
 defects, if such there were, either in the person or character of 
 the winsome Manuelo. To her, at least, he was perfection, 
 and every attempt to turn aside the strong current of her par 
 tiality for him by pointing out his faults, whether imaginary or 
 real, only made it the stronger. But for this mysterious, this 
 unaccountable, this irresistible influence, which at times seizes 
 upon and possesses man and woman alike, Manuelo might 
 well have been censured for what Justino regarded as a gross 
 violation of the laws of hospitality in accepting and recipro 
 cating the love of the chiefs daughter against the protest of 
 her parents, while a guest in their house. 
 
 But in a case of this kind much must be set down to uncon 
 trollable fate, and the two lovers are entitled to a charitable 
 judgment upon their conduct, notwithstanding the opinion to 
 the contrary of Father Justino, who, it must be remembered, 
 was only a Dominican friar, and, therefore, by no means a 
 competent judge in x matters of secular love. 
 
 The devotion of Pericles to the noble Aspasia, a similar 
 case, was not more sincere than was that of Manuelo for the 
 royal object of his affections. The more he saw of her charms 
 the more irresistibly was he drawn towards her; and sho, in 
 like manner, overcome by the contemplation of his many virt- 
 
 7 
 
08 CALIFORNIA 
 
 lies, reached, at last, that point where life itself was counted 
 as naught in comparison to his love, and where she would will 
 ingly have sacrificed all other friendships for his. 
 
 XLI. 
 
 AVOIDING DANGER. 
 
 WHETHER well or ill grounded, the apprehensions of 
 Manuelo and his sweetheart touching the speedy marriage of 
 the latter with the priest s son made no difference, since those 
 apprehensions were sufficient to render them both thoroughly 
 unhappy when left to themselves and uncheered by each oth 
 er s society. This danger haunted them constantly, and would 
 not be dismissed until Manuelo, prompted by his usual, or 
 rather unusual, foresight, bethought himself of the necessity of 
 allaying suspicions regarding his purpose, which was, as he 
 confessed, to possess himself, at all hazards, of the pride of 
 his heart. In this firm determination he was met fully half 
 way by the courageous young creature who was to share with 
 him the risk of the venture, and likewise the spoils, so to speak, 
 if it succeeded. 
 
 Though careless at first, as young ladies too often are in 
 affairs of the heart, Alola had, by this time, become fully 
 aroused to the exigencies of the situation, and Manuelo came 
 to rely largely upon her discretion in the management of this 
 delicate business. It is said to be always the safest in affairs 
 of this kind to submit to the guidance of the gentler sex, since 
 they, in such matters, are controlled as much by instinct as 
 reason, while man, relying on his intellectual faculties alone, is 
 undoubtedly often quite stupid. 
 
 Manuelo and Alola, accordingly, putting their heads together, 
 concluded upon a line of policy the success or failure of 
 which will be discovered further on in this history. It was 
 agreed between them that Manuelo should leave the king s 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 99 
 
 dwelling and take up his lodgings in another part of the city, 
 and that he and Alola thereafter should be seen as little as 
 possible together. It was thought best there should be in their 
 outward demeanor some evidence of a growing alienation 
 between them, or, at all events, that it should be made to appear 
 to the public that they were not wholly dependent upon each 
 other for the air they were breathing, as was sarcastically 
 hinted in the current gossip of the day. 
 
 With Manuelo there was another motive for pursuing this 
 course, which he did not disclose, at the time, to his faithful 
 companion, but it doubtless aided in giving direction to his 
 conduct. When a youngster at school, in old Spain, his Master 
 had taught him this lesson, that " too much familiarity induces 
 contempt," and these words had been written so often by him 
 that their meaning was never forgotten. Mindful of their wis 
 dom, he dreaded the more to remain in the home of his true- 
 love, lest she should conceive in some way a dislike for his per 
 son. It had also been inculcated by the same schoolmaster 
 that " to one s body-servant no man is great," the meaning of 
 which, as explained at the time, was that all defects, whether 
 of the person, mind, or morals, of a notable character, must 
 needs become known to one in such close relations with him, 
 and Manuelo feared not a little lest Alola at length might dis 
 cover that he was not, in reality, either prophet or prince, but 
 only a tolerable tailor. He had no apprehension that the dis 
 covery would be made that he was a mere sailor, for his 
 achievements in that line during his stay with the Santos, 
 among which were his shipwreck and his sea-fight, had not 
 been of a character to inspire confidence in his ability as a 
 seafaring man. 
 
 By removing from the king s own dwelling, therefore, he 
 would not only relieve the mind of the maid, but at the same 
 time free himself from much apprehended embarrassment. 
 The natural inclination of the gentle Alola was, of course, to 
 
100 CALIFORNIA 
 
 , have her lover always near, and the poor creature consented 
 with the greatest reluctance to his going away. But discretion, 
 she realized in her cooler moments, was the better part to be 
 chosen, and especially since it was pregnant with promises of 
 future happiness, while a little want of discretion might dash 
 all their hopes. To use his own apt figure of speech, suggested 
 by his early experience, they were by this move taking in sup 
 plies and mending their sails for a long voyage, and a slight 
 miscalculation was liable to wreck their prospects. 
 
 This being the situation, the two submitted cheerfully, though 
 she reluctantly, as was said, to what Manuelo was constrained 
 to believe to be the will of Providence, but which the innocent 
 . Alola regarded as altogether too cruel for that. She had been 
 instructed by her lover to look up to the Almighty, as the em 
 bodiment of goodness alone, and she could not see how it was 
 possible for a being whose every impulse was fraught with be 
 nevolence, to impose upon her the cruel necessity of a separa 
 tion from her lover,. Hence she questioned the conclusion of 
 her Christian companion, that Providence had anything what 
 ever to do with the movement; and the utmost endeavors of 
 the good Manuelo to impress upon her crude intellect the 
 idea that divine Wisdom was at all responsible in the case, 
 were unavailing. 
 
 A person of Manuelo s popularity could easily find other 
 quarters, and straightway he removed to a house of his own, 
 partly built by himself, in another portion of the city. The 
 ruse was complete, suspicion was allayed, and slander ceased 
 wagging her tongue, and when afterwards the two met, it was 
 in a manner becoming their high positions. 
 
 The spring wore away, and the flower festival came in due 
 time, but no marriage between Gosee and the rosy-cheeked 
 damsel was suggested for that occasion, the two being consid 
 ered as yet quite too young for that event. This being deter 
 mined upon, Manuelo was greatly relieved, but not more so 
 than was his gentle sweetheart. 
 
350 YEARS AGO 10 1 
 
 XLII. 
 
 ANOTHER TACK. 
 
 THE gentle reader has already been informed that the 
 course of true love seldom runs smoothly; when least expected 
 the stream is liable, as is the case of rivers in that country, to 
 sink out of sight, beneath the surface, only to appear again 
 further down the channel of time; and such proved to be the 
 experience of Manuelo and his intended. 
 
 At the Feast of Flowers, mentioned in the last chapter, an in 
 cident occurred which came near putting a permanent period 
 to their engagement, for it nearly cost Manuelo his life. A 
 wrestling match in the camp was progressing, and all the young 
 men of the nation were trying their strength, while the maidens 
 were watching the game. Manuelo s success in the contest of 
 love wrought in him the foolish idea that in other contests he 
 might be equally strong. Impelled by this notion and not less 
 by the smiles of Alola, who was sitting among the spectators 
 with her brilliant dark eyes on her lover, he thoughtlessly 
 challenged the son of the priest, his unhappy rival, to a trial of 
 strength on the green. Manuelo well knew that in the matter 
 of swiftness he was not a match for the stalwart Goset; but he 
 thought that in strength, of which he could boast, he might be 
 his equal at least; for on the ship s deck, in his earlier days, he 
 enjoyed a high reputation for strength. But Manuelo reckoned 
 too much on the past, and in this was his judgment a failure, 
 as was likewise his strength, for the son of the priest at the very 
 first bout threw him heels over head, and he fell on the ground 
 with terrible force. So severe was the fall that he lay on the 
 plain for some time, nor could he arise, and so great was his 
 pain that he could not refrain from moaning aloud ; and his 
 cries pierced the heart of Alola, who rushed to his aid and 
 bathed his head with her tears. No bones being broken, he 
 soon recovered from his fearful mishap, the wiser for it. 
 
102 . . CALIFORNIA 
 
 Explaining his unexpected discomfiture to his sympathetic 
 mistress,* he attributed his fall to an unlucky slip of the foot 
 on the smooth, grassy plain, which he assured her would never 
 occur again, as it never did. But he was wont to say to others 
 that a fall from the yard-arm to the deck of a ship would have 
 been no more dreadful than this fall from the arm of Gosee. 
 
 The lesson thus received was of value to Manuelo, and 
 probably saved him from other disasters. He learned to rely 
 not on his physical strength, but to trust solely to his genius, 
 which had never failed him. He said to himself, " Let the 
 shoemaker stick to his last, to the last, and to his awl, after all," 
 and he applied these words to his own case in a manner that 
 need not be stated. 
 
 XLIII. 
 WAR P.REWING. 
 
 FROM an intimation or two already dropped, touching the 
 relations that existed between the Santos and the Modens, one 
 ought not to be surprised to learn that war broke out that 
 summer between these two powerful nations, and the account of 
 it as given by Manuelo himself may not be uninteresting to 
 the general reader of history. If to no other people, it will, in 
 all probability, be entertaining to those who now occupy the 
 territory which was the theater of the conflict, and future gen 
 erations likewise, upon the same ground, may possibly peruse 
 his dramatic account of it with profit, if not with pleasure. It 
 is for these reasons that the translator gives it with a great deal 
 of particularity, and to him, therefore, on that account, may be 
 due some little share of the credit which belongs, it is readily 
 conceded, in much larger part to Father Justino, of rescuing 
 from oblivi@n a considerable chapter of history which can no 
 where else be found, and which, but for the kindness of that 
 great and good man, must have been irretrievably lost. But 
 the impatience of the reader admonishes us to proceed with 
 the narrative without further delay. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 103 
 
 In point of military preparations and strength of numbers 
 the belligerents on either side were nearly equal, in this respect 
 bearing a striking resemblance to the Romans and Cartha 
 ginians; but here the parallel ends, for though there were 
 leaders not unlike Scipio and Hannibal among these early 
 Pacific Coasters, the nations themselves differed from those 
 more ancient ones in the general run of their operations. The 
 capital of neither of these was ever destroyed by the other, nor 
 indeed is it known that either was ever fairly beleaguered. In 
 vasions, it is true, occurred of each nation in turn, and the war, 
 so to speak, was on occasions carried into Africa; nevertheless, 
 for aught that appears in the manuscript, the cities of both 
 would have stood to this day but for the long subsequent incur 
 sion by an entirely different race. It only pertains to this 
 history, however, to say that neither was destroyed by the other, 
 and if either or both afterwards succumbed to inevitable fate, 
 and were driven from the face of the earth, some other histo 
 rian must beheld acountable for that information. It may have 
 been in accordance with the decrees of Providence that the first 
 races of people on the Pacific Coast of North America should 
 be subdued by Mexican invaders, and that they in turn should 
 be overrun by the inevitable American nation, but that con 
 cerns us not, nor does it belong to a story which, it must be 
 remembered, relates to an earlier time and to entirely different 
 events. Matters of modern date cannot be permitted to lum 
 ber up a history so old and authentic as this, and one which 
 has come down to us in such a mysterious manner. 
 
 XLIV. 
 A PREDICTION. 
 
 MAN possesses but little ability to look into the future, and 
 it is presumed, therefore, that Manuelo may have died in igno 
 rance of the happenings which were to transpire in after ages 
 on the very soil he was then familiar with, unless peradventure 
 
104 CALIFORNIA 
 
 such information may have been obtained from the prophets of 
 the Santos, of which there is some intimation. The future 
 magnificence of the Roman Empire was clearly foretold at a 
 period when there was no more reason for anticipating its great 
 ness than existed in the case of California. 
 
 In a similar manner, says Justino, the Indians of the Pacific 
 Coast were in the habit of listening to the oracular utterances of 
 their prophets, and we have the combined authority of that 
 good man and of Manuelo for the assertion that those seers 
 did, in fact, look far into the future, and by the aid of disem 
 bodied spirits predict whatever of good or evil was to befall 
 their people. In proof of this the author informs us that .in 
 a spirit of prophecy, a priest then foretold how in time there was 
 coming an age of gold. But a difference he said one surely 
 must draw between a golden age and the age that he saw; for 
 while a golden age might with happiness flow, an age of gold 
 would bring nothing but woe and distress to his people. He 
 plamly set forth that men would pour in from the South and 
 the North, from the East and the West, by land and by sea, all 
 as vile and as wicked as men could well be; that his people 
 would then to the mountains be driven, or so many at least as 
 were not sent to Heaven. But this prophecy fell on ears too 
 obtuse to comprehend what it meant, or foresee its use ; as did 
 also that other when the priest seemed to see that in time, in 
 his country, a race there would be who swifter than birds would 
 fly over the land, by a power that he said would be always at 
 hand, and so convenient withal that every day his people, 
 most happy, could ride without pay. But his ignorant hearers, 
 Manuelo included, by the language then used were completely 
 deluded; for they thought that the priest, by so strange a pre 
 diction, could not be sincere, but was dealing in fiction. The 
 more credulous of them suggested such things as men made 
 like angels and furnished with wings. But none could foresee 
 what would afterwards be the condition of men in that land by 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 105 
 
 the sea. Other things quite as strange were foretold by that 
 seer, and some even now and to us seem as queer as at the 
 time to his men they appeared; for the priest was much moved 
 when he said that he feared that in four hundred years from 
 that day a race from the ocean would enter the Bay, having 
 tails from their heads, a numberless throng, bringing only a 
 few of their women along, and would scatter about on every 
 hand, and in a few years overrun the whole land, in turn driv 
 ing out the people with wings. The prophet predicted so 
 many such things that the faith of Manuelo in his story was 
 shaken, and he thought that the priest must be surely mistaken. 
 The consequence was that some true and some not were 
 wholly ignored, and some were forgot. But the worst of them 
 all to believe was the one that the men possessed queues, while 
 the women had none. 
 
 The young priests of Evora found other similar prophecies 
 in the old manuscript, but deeming them impious suppressed 
 them. It is true they were of profane origin, and not in accord 
 ance with the ordinances of the church, but it is equally true 
 that many books relating to the future, now extant, were writ 
 ten without inspiration, and it would have been not a whit 
 more improper for the young Dominicans to have given a fair 
 account of these predictions than it was for Friar Justino to 
 record them. This much is said to the end that the blame 
 for their omission may fall where it belongs, and not upon one 
 who is only playing the part of an humble translator. If more 
 had been given, we promise you it would have been furnished 
 with fidelity; but the only thing left for us now is to share with 
 the reader in the general disappointment. 
 
 XLV. 
 
 THE CAUSE OF THE WAR. 
 
 THE immediate occasion of the renewal of hostilities be 
 tween these ancient enemies, the Santos and the Modens, may 
 never be known with certainty, but a remote cause was un- 
 
106 CALIFORNIA 
 
 doubtedly the naval engagement of the year previous, in whjch 
 Manuelo had received such a severe drubbing. His bruises 
 were long since healed, it is true, but not so his feelings, for 
 he ever cherished a mortal hatred towards the people by whom 
 he had been so severely castigated. Mentally he continued to 
 writhe under their blow?, long after all traces of them had 
 disappeared from his person; and cost what it would, he de 
 termined to have satisfaction sooner or later. To say that he 
 intrigued to bring about a collision, might be too harsh an 
 expression, but he himself could hardly object to the accusa 
 tion of resorting to strategy in order to precipitate hostilities. 
 The high priest had long since inferred from the oracles that 
 some event of the kind was likely to occur. A message had 
 been received by that functionary from the unknown in these 
 words: 
 
 The Pines and the Oaks, like all other folks, 
 Must needs crowd and encroach on each other; 
 
 But in the great strife, which must be one for life, 
 The Pines will the Oaks greatly bother. 
 
 This being somewhat indefinite and enigmatical withal would 
 have led to no trouble but for another message received by 
 Manuelo, as priest, from a similar source, not long afterwards, 
 in these words, as nearly as they can be translated: 
 
 When the Pines and the Oaks deal each other strokes, 
 
 All the plain with the slain will be strewn; 
 But the most that are slain, and stretched on the plain, 
 
 Not as Pines but as Oaks will be known. 
 
 This was alleged by the cunning Manuelo to be a message 
 from the very highest supernatural authority, and was con 
 strued by him to be in the nature of a positive injunction from 
 Heaven to the stalwart Santos to put on the war paint, a 
 custom even then of great antiquity in that country. Their 
 confidence in him as a prophet up to this time had not been 
 impaired, however much it may have been shaken in his 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 107 
 
 ability in other directions, and they immediately set about the 
 requisite preparations for a campaign. 
 
 This determination arrived at in a general council of the head 
 men was much against the will of the king, for obvious reasons, 
 and he sought in various ways to prevent the result. He hesi 
 tated not to question the correctness of the interpretation as 
 given to the message by Manuelo, nor scrupled he to express 
 emphatic distrust of the authenticity of the communica 
 tion, nor yet to impugn the right of Manuelo to apply for 
 oracular advice upon the subject of war, he being but a stranger 
 in the land and not interested like the rest of them in such 
 weighty matters. But the king was the only one in all the 
 assembly who had the assurance to interpose such objections, 
 and his opposition was prompted, as all believed, by his dread 
 of being compelled to take the lead of the forces to be 
 gathered. All the other priests, including the chief prophet, 
 concurred with Manuelo in the opinion that the message meant 
 nothing short of war, and preparations were begun with great 
 alacrity to carry it on. 
 
 XLVI. 
 A DILEMMA. 
 
 SMARTING still, as was said, under the flagellation suffered 
 not many months before, at the hands of the revengeful Mo- 
 dens, Manuelo could but exhibit an unusual amount of zeal in 
 pushing forward the conflict, and as a consequence he was left 
 without excuse for remaining behind, while the war should be 
 waged against the common enemy. His conduct very natu 
 rally led to the expectation that he would be not only ready 
 but extremely willing to take an active part in the campaign. 
 Strange to say, so blinded was he by a feeling of revenge that 
 this untoward result had never occurred to his mind, though 
 anyone else could have seen that it was the legitimate offspring 
 of his dalliance with the oracles. 
 
108 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Finding affairs were taking this turn, he was considerably 
 exercised, not to say distressed, over it, but not more so than 
 was the beautiful Alola, who feared most lest her lover should 
 never return from the war. In her vivid imagination she 
 pictured to heibelf the bones of Manuelo whitening some far- 
 off battle-field on the border, or what was a]most as bad, in her 
 distempered fancy she saw him a prisoner of war, languishing 
 in servitude, a slave it might be to some rival of hers among 
 the Modens, and she endeavored with great earnestness, and 
 in various ways, to dissuade him from his purpose. And most 
 gladly dissuaded would he have been, but no such happiness 
 was reserved for either of them, and as a consequence her 
 heart was nearly broken. 
 
 We have the authority of Manuelo for asserting, but the 
 fact would have been known just as well had he remained 
 silent upon the point, that Alola shed many tears over what she 
 regarded as their hard fate. But under the circumstances, her 
 weeping, like her protestations, was of no avail, since Manuelo 
 had drafted himself, so to speak, into the service, and, with the 
 rest of the men, must needs be in readiness for the expedition 
 and take his chances. The brevity of this chapter, it will be 
 observed, was unavoidable. Nothing more could be said- 
 The dilemma itself enforced silence. 
 
 XLVII. 
 
 PREPARATIONS. 
 
 IN an incredibly short time every preparation for the war 
 was perfected. A large army of brave and active young war 
 riors was gathered from all the villages of the nation, each 
 sending its quota. The whole command was ready to be put 
 in motion, in three separate divisions of near a thousand men 
 each. The faces of the soldiers were tastefully decorated with 
 pigments of one kind and another, which were applied by the 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 109 
 
 women, as more skillful in that branch of the arts, thus giving 
 to the army altogether a marvelously picturesque appearance. 
 But each division wore the paint after a style of its own, differ 
 ing from the others, so that each could be readily distinguished. 
 This was thought to be more appropriate, because of their 
 different armaments. The first corps for their arms bore the 
 javelin and the bow and quiver. The second, the bow and 
 arrow and hatchet of stone, but no javelin; while the third 
 division was armed with no bow, but with hatchet and javelin; 
 so that each was prepared for a separate duty, it might be, or, 
 if the emergency required it, for a general fight. 
 
 For food on the march they were supplied with fresh meat 
 for the first few days, and with venison dried for the rest of 
 the trip, and with nuts, in large store, in their leathern pouches. 
 Their adornments, aside from the paint, consisted of the 
 brushes of foxes and coons, and likewise of the tail of the deer, 
 each division having only one kind ; but feathers of the gayest 
 colors were indiscriminately worn by them all, and each man, 
 high up on the side of his head, wore the white wing of a bird, 
 the national emblem of the swift Santos. The bird s wing, as 
 the scholastic Justino remembered, was worn in the most 
 ancient of times by the heathen god Mercury, as an emblem 
 of speed; but by him it was placed on the heel, and not on the 
 head, as these people saw fit to display it. 
 
 XLVIII. 
 
 THE MARCH AND BATTLE. 
 
 FULLY armed and equipped and prepared for the fray, 
 They took up their march to the east the first day, 
 Passing over some mountains that lay off that way, 
 From which they looked down upon the broad Bay, 
 And as well on the city from which they had come, 
 And each had a last look it might be of his home, 
 For each saw the danger there was in the strife, 
 
110 CALIFORNIA 
 
 And that it might end in the loss of his life, 
 
 A thing quite too common in wars, as we know, 
 
 But men must expect it who will to wars go. 
 
 A soldier must needs take his life in his hands, 
 
 When to kill and destroy he invades others lands, 
 
 And if he should never his own again see, 
 
 A proper result of the war it would be. 
 
 This remark of Juslino is thrown in this story 
 
 To benefit those who are seeking for glory, 
 
 But who are more likely to find, as he said, 
 
 Themselves either wounded, or crippled, or dead. 
 
 But eager for fighting and cheerful of heart, 
 
 They strove with each other to lead at the start. 
 
 And this strife they kept up the day nearly through, 
 
 And as long as the leading men thought it would do. 
 
 In a beautiful grove of evergreen trees 
 
 They camped the first night, and there took their ease. 
 
 When supper was ended, to their beds they retired, 
 
 For, most of all things, it was rest they required. 
 
 They posted no guard, for they feared no alarms, 
 
 Yet each, for security, slept on his arms. 
 
 The day had been warm, and the march had been long, 
 
 And it tested their metal, though each man was strong 
 
 They were used to fatigues, and all had before 
 
 Been on marches as tiresome as this one, or more; 
 
 And no one complained, but all were content, 
 
 And happy their dreams when to sleep they all went. 
 
 Having slept the night through, in the morning each man 
 
 Was astir when the lark its sweet music began. 
 
 On the first day from home, of the women a throng 
 
 Followed close to the warriors to, cheer them along; 
 
 And among them Alola, bewitching and bland, 
 
 Was the first to encourage on every hand. 
 
 Her sweet, gentle voice was heard the day through, 
 
 Applauding the men, though she very well knew 
 
 How much danger there was to all in the move, 
 
 And that it might be the defeat of her love. 
 
 But brave girl that she was, she in God put her trust, 
 
 As the good Manuelo had told her she must. 
 
 The rules of their warfare at this time required 
 
350 YEARS AGO. Ill 
 
 That the women should stop, though Alola desired 
 
 To go further. But she, like the rest, was compelled 
 
 To submit to the law, which long had been held 
 
 To be absolute; and she wrought up her mind 
 
 To the point of being left by her lover behind. 
 
 Manuelo embraced her and implanted a kiss, 
 
 First upon that cheek, and then upon this, 
 
 Then on her sweet lips he gave her another, 
 
 And consigned the poor girl to the care of her mother. 
 
 The army already was moving apace 
 
 When the two tore themselves from each other s embrace; 
 
 The one pushing forward, to catch those who were 
 
 Gone before, while the other remained in despair. 
 
 The women, with Alola, returned to the city, 
 
 But Alola, from sorrow, was an object of pity. 
 
 Her companions, as best they were able, consoled her 
 
 By saying the army was strong, and some told her 
 
 That all would return in a moon or two more, 
 
 That at furthest they could not be gone more than four 
 
 But all that was said no comfort could bring, 
 
 Such fearful forebodings oppressed the poor thing. 
 
 On the second day out they came near the mouth 
 
 Of a very large river which flowed from the South. 
 
 This barrier gave them of trouble some warning, 
 
 So they camped on its bank, and rested till morning. 
 
 It required all next day this wide river to cross, 
 
 But they effected the passage without any loss. 
 
 The men could all swim, and in that way got through, 
 
 But for baggage and blankets that way would not do. 
 
 So they made them some rafts from the timber near by, 
 
 And got their things over in order and dry. 
 
 From their camp the third night their second was seen, 
 
 For, in truth, there was only the river between. 
 
 Their course from that point to the northward was bent, 
 
 Sending runners ahead as onward they went, 
 
 So that any surprises they might thus prevent. 
 
 Crossing stream after stream, the army advanced, 
 
 And on the sixth day, about noon, as it chanced, 
 
 They came unexpectedly flat on the foe; 
 
 And further, just then, therefore could not go. 
 
112 CALIFORNIA 
 
 The Modens, by what means no one can now say, 
 
 Were informed of the war, and the march, day by day, 
 
 And for fighting their soldiers were fully prepared, 
 
 Nor did they appear in the least degree scared. 
 
 In numbers the Modens were more than their equal, 
 
 And likewise in arms, as appears in the sequel, 
 
 They were fully a match for the Pines, 
 
 Who at once formed themselves in three lines, 
 
 And in a short time a warm fight 
 
 Was begun on the left and the right. 
 
 The center soon joined in the battle, 
 
 And then was heard a most terrible rattle 
 
 Of tomahawks, and arrows, and spears, 
 
 Attended with shouts and with cheers, 
 
 As one or the other side faltered, 
 
 Or ay the tide of the battle seemed altered. 
 
 The Oaks had the choice of the ground, 
 
 As the Pines to their sorrow soon found; 
 
 So back fell the Pines a short space, 
 
 And drew the Modens from their place 
 
 Of defense. The Modens coming out 
 
 Fully thought that a general rout 
 
 Of the Pines was about to take place, 
 
 And made ready to give them a chase. 
 
 But the movement was only a ruse, 
 
 As their king, had he not been deceived, 
 
 Might have seen. The two armies were then 
 
 On a footing nearly equal again, 
 
 And the battle, with desperate power, 
 
 Continued for more than an hour; 
 
 And the sky with the weapons was made 
 
 So dark that both fought in the shade, 
 
 As the Spartans had fought at Thermopylae Pass, 
 
 Under lead of their captain, great Leonidas, 
 
 When attacked by the Persians, a numberless host, 
 
 Who with Xerxes came over from the opposite coast. 
 
 At that time we are told the Persians let fly 
 
 Of arrows so many as to darken the sky. 
 
 But now no Persians were engaged in the fray, 
 
 It was Greek meeting Greek in fearful array. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 113 
 
 Bear-Slayer appeared in the front of the strife, 
 
 Contending, entirely regardless of life; 
 
 While Manuelo kept himself aloof from the foe, 
 
 For no weapons had he that were useful to throw. 
 
 His arms were only his pistols and sword, 
 
 And with these he concluded he could not afford 
 
 To expose and imperil his person too much 
 
 To the arrows and spears and to javelins and such 
 
 Weapons as were sent from afar by the Oaks, 
 
 Who if near would have felt his terrible strokes. 
 
 Standing back on a knoll by a tree, 
 
 Many plumes in the fight he could see 
 
 Waving high to and fro, as the men 
 
 To the charge rushed again and again. 
 
 At some points on the line a great yell 
 
 Would be raised, as whole ranks of men fell, 
 
 Cut down, not unlike as by reaping machine, 
 
 When driven through grain, as in later days seen. 
 
 The wounded, in numbers, were borne to the rear, 
 
 And their cries from the pain it was painful to hear. 
 
 But as bad luck would have it just then, 
 
 Of the Oaks more than five hundred men 
 
 Turned the flank of the Pines on the right, 
 
 Thus compelling Manuelo to fight. 
 
 The Modens before had not seen 
 
 Any maa of such dress and such mien, 
 
 And his weapons to them were quite new ; 
 
 As they viewed him, the larger he grew 
 
 To their sight. They were stricken with fear, 
 
 And kept aloof, for they durst not come near 
 
 Such a man. He advanced with sword out, 
 
 And in a moment he put them to rout. 
 
 How many he slew is not stated, 
 
 Though doubtless, had the fact been related 
 
 By another, we had heard that a score 
 
 Of the Oaks bit the dust, if not more. 
 
 The foe he pursued o er the plain, 
 
 But to camp he returned not again 
 
 That night ; for the day was far spent, 
 
 And he hardly knew whither he went; 
 
114 CALIFORNIA 
 
 But in the lines of the Oaks was betrayed 
 By pursuit, so the manuscript said. 
 But for him the whole fight had been lost, 
 And to the brave Santos at terrible cost. 
 Of this truth he was fully persuaded, 
 And the thought of it very much aided 
 His low spirits, and some courage inspired, 
 As with the Modens he slowly retired. 
 The friendly approach of the night 
 Put an end to that terrible fight ; 
 But his friends he saw not again, 
 Nor knew he how many were slain, 
 Nor what number got off with their lives, 
 And in safety returned to their wives. 
 He hardly believed in their flight, 
 But supposed in the darkness of night 
 Their march to the South they had taken, 
 And in this he was by no means mistaken. 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 CAPTIVITY. 
 
 THE fact being plainly stated and without disguise or pre 
 varication, the doughty Manuelo was a prisoner of war and 
 had fallen into the hands of the very enemy upon whom he 
 was seeking to wreak his vengeance. His case was a striking 
 illustration of the predicament of a man spoken of in Spanish 
 literature who went forth after wool and came back shorn, ex 
 cept that Manuelo could not get back, being kept in close 
 custody by the blood-thirsty Modens. Perhaps a better elu 
 cidation of his condition at this unfortunate moment would be 
 to say of him, in maritime phrase, with which he was himself 
 familiar, that the very Old Nick was to pay. In less time than 
 it takes to relate the circumstances, though not a moment were 
 wasted in detail, he was deprived of his arms and likewise 
 stripped of his bear-skin garments; for the enemy would be 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 115 
 
 sure that he was not half bear and half man, as at first they 
 feared. 
 
 Now, nearly naked and stricken with apprehension, he was 
 bound hand and foot with thongs of strong rawhide. Fortu 
 nately for Manuelo, curiosity "sometimes gets the better of 
 man s as well as woman s judgment. He, being of an entirely 
 different race from any they had ever known, was looked 
 upon as an object of great wonder, else he might have 
 been dispatched at once by his captors, as was their custom 
 of treating prisoners of war when taken with arms in their 
 hands. What struck them as most remarkable about his per 
 son was the peculiar style of his apparel, which, owing to his 
 superior skill as a tailor, was far more complete than had been 
 adopted by the rest of the Santos soldiers, and altogether dif 
 ferent from any the Modens had ever before had an opportu 
 nity to inspect. This fortuitous circumstance inured to his 
 advantage by causing sufficient delay in his punishment to 
 allow him to bring into play his marvelous talents and to in 
 augurate a system of tactics which was to end in his deliver 
 ance, at least from the danger of immediate execution. 
 
 As upon his breast and arms, while a sailor, had been im 
 printed with India ink figures of one sort or another, so was 
 impressed upon his memory indelibly a say ing " often heard at 
 sea, to the effect that "the gods help them who help them 
 selves. He was forcibly reminded of this now by the circum 
 stance of his being in great peril. Taking in the situation in 
 all its phases, he set himself, with great coolness, about the 
 task of extricating himself from his present difficulties. In this 
 Tie exhibited as much presence of mind as had ever been dis 
 played by him on shipboard. 
 
 With a degree of shrewdness that has seldom been surpassed, 
 he professed towards the Santos the bitterest animosity, and 
 was most profuse in his denunciations of that people. He 
 stigmatized them as base and cowardly beyond expression. 
 
116 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Could you have heard him you must have believed his late 
 friends to have been the worst class of people upon earth. He 
 represented truthfully enough that his coming amongst them 
 was the result of an accident, and that he had long sought to 
 leave the Santos, but had been prevented from doing so by 
 their jealousy of the Modens, whom, above all people in the 
 world, he had been desirous of visiting; that he had been com 
 pelled, much against his inclinations another truth to join 
 the late expedition; and cited his reluctance in coming to the 
 front of the fight as proof of his partiality towards the magnan 
 imous Modens, as he now purposely termed them. With ad 
 mirable tact he assured them his final assault was inspired by 
 fear of the treacherous javelins of their enemies. In fine, his 
 deprecations of the Santos were only equaled by his laudations 
 of the Oaks, and so loud and persistent was he in both that 
 on the following day the thongs were removed from his swollen 
 limbs, and he was permitted once more to lift up his head, as he 
 did at the same time his voice in his mother-tongue, in thank 
 fulness toward Heaven for so much of freedom again. But he 
 was yet a close prisoner, and was still looked upon with a 
 measure of suspicion; for not only had he fought with effect 
 in the late struggle upon the land, but his fight on the river 
 was remembered by some of the men. His bear-skin blouse, 
 which had served as a coat of mail on that memorable occa 
 sion, was the thing that betrayed him. He was pretty clearly 
 recognized as the one who had been so fatally active in that 
 encounter, and his conduct at that time was yet unexplained. 
 Fortunately for Manuelo assurance was a commodity in 
 which he had largely dealt as a seaman, in his intercourse with 
 other nations, and having a good stock of it always on hand, 
 he found no difficulty in putting it in use as occasion required. 
 With apparent cheerfulness he accompanied the Moden war 
 riors back to their principal village at the mouth of that river, 
 then, as afterwards, called the Uba. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 117 
 
 He was net many days in learning whatever was peculiar 
 about the laws and customs of the Modens, being aided in this 
 by an experience drawn from visits to many ports of the world. 
 He noted, in particular, such habits as did not accord with 
 those of their more tropical neighbors, the Santos. He found 
 that the government of the Modens was far more stringent 
 than the other, and that the power of their king was more ab 
 solute than was that of Bear-Slayer. The leading men likewise 
 were more austere, and the people at large less independent 
 than any natives he had hitherto seen. Infinitely less good 
 will and generosity were exhibited here than where he had 
 formerly been, and he found it difficult, if not impossible, to 
 ingratiate himself with the leading classes as he had in the city 
 by the Bay. His efforts in that direction being abortive he in 
 dulged in some reflections, which Justino has had the goodness 
 to transmit, and of which we give a very imperfect translation: 
 
 Manuelo was wise and he very well knew 
 
 As things were now drifting, what was left him to do. 
 
 They had made him a slave and were treating him roughly, 
 
 And the king most of all acted towards him quite gruffly. 
 
 This insolence Manuelo could hardly endure, 
 
 So he began to instruct and enlighten the poor. 
 
 He taught them their rights and advised a rebellion; 
 
 He told them their king was a regular hellion, 
 
 And oppressed and annoyed them in every way, 
 
 And made them unhappy by night and by day. 
 
 He said that the king was himself only human, 
 
 And, as they could see, was as weak as a woman; 
 
 He argued that men of all ranks were the same, 
 
 That the difference between them was only in name; 
 
 That the slave was as strong as the king was, in body, 
 
 And that royal pretensions were nothing but shoddy. 
 
 By the mind he declared a man s power should be known, 
 
 And speaking of mind, he referred to his own 
 
 For the proof that his point was taken correct, 
 
 And this proof was cited with the greatest effect. 
 
 He told them that morals in the life of a king 
 
118 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Were truly a most indispensable thing ; 
 
 That his whole private conduct should be without blame, 
 
 Else the men of his kingdom might do just the same. 
 
 The life of this king was exceedingly bad, 
 
 Indeed, it was said by his men that he had 
 
 On many occasions his duty o erstept, 
 
 And his promises made to them seldom were kept. 
 
 They knew that he fooled them whenever he could, 
 
 And, in short, that he would not, and could not, be good. 
 
 To Manuelo himself less respect was now shown 
 
 Than ever on land or at sea had he known. 
 
 His titles of Prince, and of Priest, and of Tailor, 
 
 To his boundless chagrin had departed together. 
 
 Base work of all sorts he was ordered to do, 
 
 To bear heavy burdens, or paddle canoe; 
 
 The skinning of beasts and the cleaning of salmon 
 
 Among other duties were far the most common. 
 
 To carry the game he was always required, 
 
 And to hurry along, though he might be so tired 
 
 That he hardly could walk, for the horrible Oaks 
 
 Would prod him along, but never would coax. 
 
 So severe were his trials and so hard was his lot 
 
 That he wished he might die, but die he could not. 
 
 Thus his life had become a sore burden to him, 
 
 Or, at least, very often a burden would seem. 
 
 No hope was in view, nor relief could he find, 
 
 When, at last, as was said, he made up his mind 
 
 To lead a rebellion against the old king, 
 
 Prepared as he was for some desperate thing. 
 
 His life was so wretched that little cared he 
 
 As to what, in the end, his own fate might be. 
 
 His plans were so good, and so well were they laid, 
 
 That two thousand men were prepared for his aid. 
 
 But for coming together a pretext was wanted. 
 
 And, as good luck would have it, such a pretext was granted. 
 
 Some huge grizzly bears now appeared in the valley, 
 
 And a signal it was for the people to rally, 
 
 To drive the beasts back; and while they were armed, 
 
 About Manuelo in forces they swarmed. 
 
 He exhorted them all to prepare for the fight, 
 
 Intending to lead them on the city that night. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 119 
 
 An address he then made, in these words, very near, 
 And the slaves were delighted such counsel to hear. 
 
 Throughout the whole world, and throughout all time, 
 
 The crime of oppression has prepared men for crime ; 
 
 Men treated like brutes like brutes will become ; 
 
 They will show it in public, and show it at home. 
 
 It is one of the laws of inevitable fate 
 
 That hatred towards others in others breeds hate. 
 
 If princes and kings this law would more heed, 
 
 There would be fewer jails, and of th gallows less need. 
 
 Both subject and ruler more happy would be 
 
 If the one were more kind and the others more free. 
 
 The scepter of power in the hands of the strong 
 
 Should be wielded for justice, and never for wrong. 
 
 That rule is successful which is based upon right, 
 
 And the same sort of rule possesses most might; 
 
 For the king or the prince that dares be unjust 
 
 Can never with safety or confidence trust 
 
 In his subjects, for as he is their foe 
 
 The same disposition towards him will they show; 
 
 And certain it is, should the chance ever rise, 
 
 They will prove to the tyrant how much they despise, 
 
 In their hearts, such a man; and if ever 
 
 They can, his head from his body will sever." 
 
 Here ended the speech, and the crowd standing there 
 
 Were by it excited beyond all compare; 
 
 Ad if good Justino is himself not mistaken, 
 
 The earth thereabouts with their plaudits was shaken. 
 
 But the king and his chiefs, and the king s only son, 
 
 Had already been told what was then going on, 
 
 And were fully prepared for a lively defense 
 
 Whenever the rebels the fight should commence. 
 
 The serfs with much glee set out for the city, 
 
 And Manuelo exultingly declared it a pity 
 
 That the king was so blind, so deaf, and so dumb; 
 
 That the best he could do would be to succumb. 
 
 In this sort of strain they marched over the plain, 
 
 And back with quick step to the city again. 
 
 But the cowardly slaves, when they saw the king s men, 
 
 Were stricken with fear, and all of them ran. 
 
120 CALIFORNIA 
 
 One poor little squad, with Manuelo in lead, 
 
 Betook to the mountains, at the top of their speed, 
 
 And did not stop running that night nor next day, 
 
 For the mountains they sought were quite far away. 
 
 They lay to the west, but were plainly in sight, 
 
 And the men hoped by running to reach them that night. 
 
 That night they came to them, but, tired and footsore, 
 
 They lay down to rest, for they could not run more. 
 
 Some slaves it is said from the Romans once fled, 
 
 And were far in the mountains by Spartacus led; 
 
 And the case we are giving was a parallel case, 
 
 And differed from that but in name and in place. 
 
 The Spartacus here was Manuelo the brave, 
 
 Who, like the great Roman, his forces to save, 
 
 Went off to the mountains to hide himself there 
 
 W T here he might live in peace and enjoy the free air. 
 
 But as Spartacus found his retreat was no fun, 
 
 So Manuelo s troubles were now just begun, 
 
 For, seeking his freedom, he found to his cost 
 
 That the further he went the more he was lost. 
 
 But he could not return, nor find his way out, 
 
 And all that was left was to wander about 
 
 In the mountains most wild, and through the dark wood, 
 
 And pick up a living in the best way he could. 
 
 L. 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 PUSHING far to the west, to the ocean he came, 
 
 An ocean of which he knew not the name, 
 
 The one called Pacific he judged it might be, 
 
 But on its broad face not a sail could he see, 
 
 And his heart sank within him, as he stood on the shore, 
 
 And he feared that his home he would see never more; 
 
 The slaves that were with him became discontent, 
 
 And as he then thought on mischief were bent. 
 
 But he cheered them all up as best he was able, 
 
 And to inspire them with courage related a fable; 
 
 How once on a time when a boat was upset, 
 
 And the crew cast ashore all hungry and wet, 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 121 
 
 An angel came up from the depths of the sea, 
 
 And made them as happy as men could well be, 
 
 By giving them food and by lighting a fire, 
 
 And setting before them all their hearts could desire. 
 
 And he said when the crew, fuli of food, went to sleep, 
 
 The angel, standing guard, did safely them keep. 
 
 And when they awoke on the following day, 
 
 The angel, still there, pointed out the right way. 
 
 When he finished his story the Modens believed him, 
 
 For up to that time he had never deceived them, 
 
 And though they were all in a terrible strait, 
 
 lie led them to hope that they need only wait 
 
 A little while longer, when an angel would come, 
 
 And not only feed them, but show the way home. 
 
 It was not what he meant, but it happened just then 
 
 That relief unexpected wa ; found for his men. 
 
 Close by on the rocks some shell-fish he saw, 
 
 And so hungry were all that they ate them down raw. 
 
 Supplied with this food the slaves were content, 
 
 And believed Manuelo these shell-fish had meant. 
 
 Manuelo himself was filled with delight, 
 
 For just before then he was in a sad plight, 
 
 With a whole squad of men in a lonely retreat, 
 
 All hungry and cold and with nothing to eat, 
 
 And he as their leader was expected to find, 
 
 If not the best food, at least foou of some kind. 
 
 The sun was now sinking, and as all had enough, 
 
 They concluded that night to sleep on the bluff; 
 
 But the next day thereafter, when breakfast was done, 
 
 They faced to the southward and marched one by one, 
 
 Keeping close by the sea as their base of supplies, 
 
 And to avoid any danger that might otherwise 
 
 Have arisen, a? a bear, or a wolf, or a tiger, 
 
 Or it might be a lion, or it might be a cougar. 
 
 Their march they kepc up for many a day, 
 
 But precisely how many we cannot now say, 
 
 For time was not made for those ignorant slaves. 
 
 Their object was always to keep near the waves, 
 
 Where clams they could find and their hunger appease, 
 
 And on the sea-beach in th^ sun take their ease. 
 
122 CALIFORNIA 
 
 But we think we may say they followed the shore, 
 
 Going south all the while, some three weeks or more ; 
 
 But how many leagues we are bound to confess, 
 
 If we were to state, it would be but a guess. 
 
 A hundred, we think, would not be too many, 
 
 And certain we are it was fifty, if any. 
 
 Here they came to a point where the shore ben s inland, 
 
 And the squad were at once forced to come to a stand. 
 
 Manuelo, the leader, knew not where to turn, 
 
 Nor was anyone present from whom he could learn ; 
 
 Yet he did not make known, at the time, to his men, 
 
 The true state of facts and the fix he was in ; 
 
 For all of the while he pretended to know 
 
 Just where he might be and where he would go, 
 
 And in this sort of way, as one may well see, 
 
 He kept discontent from his little army. 
 
 Taking in at this point of fresh clams a good store, 
 
 He boldly pushed inland, bearing off from the shore. 
 
 The Greeks under Xenophon were ten thousand men, 
 
 But the force on this march in all numbered ten. 
 
 The perils of both were the same very near; 
 
 In each case the soldiers were always in fear 
 
 Of surprise of some kind or a covert attack, 
 
 Which might stop their march and perhaps turn them back. 
 
 But the wisdom displayed on this expedition 
 
 Was greater because they subsisted by fishing, 
 
 And Xenophon s genius did by no means excel 
 
 That which was displayed by the great Manuel. 
 
 As the Greeks were compelled from their course to depart, 
 
 So these from the sea had to take a new start. 
 
 They marched over hills and through woods high an<l low; 
 
 Neither soldier nor leader knew whither to go ; 
 
 But they kept right along nor stopped they to rest, 
 
 Till the sun was fast sinking far down in the west, 
 
 When they came to a spring from which they would drink, 
 
 But the water within it was blacker than ink. 
 
 It smelt strongly of sulphur and likewise was hot, 
 
 And when they would taste it they found they could not. 
 
 But they camped near the spring and rested that night, 
 
 And Manuelo in dreaming thought he saw a strange sight. 
 
 In the far-distant future he beheld on that ground 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 123 
 
 Large buildings erected and men all around ; 
 And likewise of women and children a host, 
 But whether of boys or of girls there were most 
 He hardly could tell, and remained in some doubt 
 Till after a while their mothers came out, 
 When the girls all went in and the boys ran away. 
 The women he noticed were dressed very gay, 
 And he said they appeared all to him very pretty, 
 And in conversation were exceedingly witty. 
 The young men and maidens appeared to be flirting, 
 But which loved each other he was very uncertain. 
 He could not see why they had come to these springs, 
 But these things he saw arid some other things. 
 This curious dream he could never explain 
 But he thought of it over and over again, 
 And that is the reason it is now related 
 Just as it is in the manuscript stated. 
 Whether true or not true no one can now know, 
 But as for myself I believe it is so. 
 The man could have had no motive in view 
 To relate such a story if the same were not true, 
 And it would have been wicked in him to deceive, 
 And therefore I say that the dream I believe. 
 
 After dreaming that dream at the Hot Sulphur Springs, 
 Manuelo and his men gathered up all their thir.gs 
 And set out, refreshed, on their journey once more, 
 As uncertain where it led as they had been before. 
 But such was their strait that they could not delay 
 Nor afford then to lose but a single half clay. 
 So they climbed over mountains and threaded ravines, 
 Exhausting their strength and exhausting their means 
 Of subsistence. Through woods they meandered, 
 Over hill and through dale, still onward they wandered, 
 .Until the fifth day about noon they espied 
 Far off to the south on a steep mountain-side 
 A large column of smoke in that quarter ascending, 
 And it lay in the way the lost ones were tending. 
 They saw it with hope and likewise with fear, 
 Or would have so viewed it if it had been near. 
 In a country so strange there was no way to know 
 
124 CALIFORNIA 
 
 If the fire had been kindled by friend or by foe. 
 But hunger compelled them to keep on their way, 
 And they traveled on towards it the rest of that day. 
 
 In the darkness of night and while the men slept, 
 
 Their leader, more bold, still on his way kept, 
 
 Intending to find if he could as a spy, 
 
 Who the people might be, or at all events try, 
 
 But he did not succeed, and he sought to get back, 
 
 But the night being dark he missed his own track 
 
 And was himself lost, or rather his men 
 
 Were all to him lost, for he never again 
 
 In all his life long at any time heard 
 
 Either from them or of them, so much as a word. 
 
 But he hunted and called for them early and late, 
 
 And was greatly concerned as to what was their fate. 
 
 Despairing at last his attention he turned 
 
 To the side of the mountain where once the fire burned; 
 
 But alas for the leader, and as he had feared, 
 
 The fire had gone out and the smoke disappeared! 
 
 Manuelo was now in a very bad way, 
 
 For, the truth being told, he could not well say 
 
 Just what he should do, or where he should go, 
 
 Ex-slave as he was and fugitive too. 
 
 No longer like Spartacus a leader was he, 
 
 Nor Xenophon-like could he march by the sea, 
 
 But more like Fred Douglas,* who flew from his master 
 
 To find and encounter some greater disaster. 
 
 At night the north star Manuelo could see, 
 
 But towards that star he wished not to flee; 
 
 In the other direction he rather would run, 
 
 And he took for his guide the full noonday sun. 
 
 He sped to the south and kept going ahead; 
 
 As a slave from his master so with vigor he fled. 
 
 At last when he came to a place on his route 
 
 Where signs were abundant that men were about, 
 
 Like a slave as he was, at a distance he hovered, 
 
 *This name is substituted for the one in the MS., which could not be made out very 
 clearly, though it sounded something like this; but, being the name of a mere slave, it 
 can make no difference. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 125 
 
 And was in great fear lest he should be discovered. 
 While thus hiding and waiting and watching one morning, 
 A woman came on him without any warning. 
 His eyes, at the first, he could hardly believe, 
 And yet he was certain they could not deceive ; 
 But looking he doubted and was troubled with fears, 
 For his orbs, the fact was, were fast filling with tears, 
 For the lady that came, do you think it could be 
 The gentle Nona? Oh, yes, it was she ! 
 He was never so happy before in his life 
 As when he beheld his would-be young wife ; 
 He rushed out to meet her, and would her embrace, 
 But she hurried away, and then he gave chase. 
 Such changes had servitude in his looks wrought 
 That she knew him not then, but the poor creature thought 
 That he was a Moclen, as his dress indicated, 
 And how she was frightened after that she related. 
 He followed her closely, as close as he could, 
 And when at full speed they emerged from the wood, 
 " He saw by the smoke that so gracefully curled 
 
 Among the green trees, that a village was near, 
 And he said if there s peace to be found in the world, 
 
 The heart that is humble may hope for it here." * 
 
 LI. 
 
 SOME REHEARSALS. 
 
 IT is hard to descend from Pegasus, when once you are fairly 
 astride; much harder in fact to dismount than it is to continue 
 to ride. And so the young priests at Evora indulged pretty 
 freely in rhyme, in giving Justine s strange story of what was 
 told at the time he was living in old Acapulco, about a land to 
 the north, far away; how a vessel they called the Don Carlos 
 discovered and entered a Bay, and when from the length of her 
 cruise she needed fresh water the more, she manned a small 
 
 * The utterance of these same ideas by Goldsmith was at first a mystery, but it is ex 
 plained by assuming that the young priests of Evora were familiar with that English 
 author. 
 
126 CALIFORNIA 
 
 boat with armed men, and sent them to find it ashore; how the 
 crew of the boat were surprised as they ventured too far, and 
 then ran; and all of them made their escape excepting a single 
 young man, who was left by his friends on the ground, and was 
 believed at the time to be dead, but who by the natives was 
 bound and into captivity led. And since the young priests 
 have seen fit to render the story in verse, I must needs, in 
 translating, in like manner the story rehearse. Just as in their 
 language they told it, in English I am bound to unfold it. 
 Whatever in prose they narrated, in prose it is likewise trans 
 lated; whatever in measure they gave us, in measure the same 
 it is given, for I would not and could not, to save me, so faith 
 less and willful have proven as to indulge in a style of my own, 
 or in one which the priests had not shown to be suited to 
 works of this kind. So he who reads further will find a most 
 proper and truthful narration of all that Manuelo related con 
 cerning the Santos nation, and what likewise of others was 
 stated. 
 
 Manuelo was left at the time of this little diversion in full 
 pursuit of the Yono maid, but his utmost exertion to overtake 
 her proved in vain. It should be remembered that the men 
 of this tribe were swift as deer, and it is to be presumed that 
 the women were equally agile. But the village was near at hand 
 and there was an end of the race. The people, alarmed, hurried 
 forth to see what the matter might be, and why the maiden was 
 running. They supposed that a bear or some beast had caused 
 her the fright, but just then emerging from the wood Manuelo 
 himself hove in sight. So strange his appearance, and so un- 
 looked for his coming, that not a person in all the tribe recog 
 nized the poor man at first view. The alarm caused by the 
 event it would be hard to describe, if a single man could be said 
 to alarm a whole tribe. But finding him out, as they did, there 
 was quickly an end of their fears, and they greeted him again 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 127 
 
 and again with their cheers. They first thought, as was said, 
 that perhaps a bear it might be, a mistake not then great, for a 
 lion indeed now was he. 
 
 The Yono women who had been so kind to him in former 
 days did everything now in their power to make him as happy 
 again. The men gathered around and loudly importuned him 
 to tell, which he did, about his life with the Modens, and what 
 had befallen him while a prisoner of war in the hands of that 
 blood-thirsty nation; how they cruelly made him a slave, and 
 with what unheard of vexation they compelled him to do work 
 of every kind, bestowing upon him such treatment as slaves of 
 the baser sort find; how he stood it as long as he could, till 
 his life a burden became; how at last he was forced by his lot 
 the minds of the serfs to inflame against the old king and his 
 clique; and how he succeeded at last in exciting a rebellion. 
 He spoke of his march on the city, which he expected to capt 
 ure by night; of the slaves who, exultant at first, at the sight of 
 the danger took fright. He told how he fled to the mountains, 
 which lay far off to the west, a thing that he disliked to do, still 
 he thought it might be for the best to be done for their safety, 
 and as well for his own extrication from the burdens imposed 
 upon him by the king of that horrible nation. Ten men, and 
 no more, he informed them, were along on that perilous flight, 
 and all, by running right swiftly, came up to the mountains 
 next night. Seven days without food, he then stated, or just 
 about seven, were passed, when out of the mountains emerging, 
 they came to the ocean at last. He said they were dying of 
 hunger, and his men he was sure meant him harm, when he 
 told them a story of angels, and the story it worked like a 
 charm. Just then a few clams were discovered, and the men 
 ate them down without cooking. These were thought to be a 
 godsend, as they came when no one was looking. He then 
 went over the story about their long march by the strand, and 
 how they came up to a bay, which forced them to turn thence 
 
128 CALIFORNIA 
 
 inland, and keeping some time on that course, but how far and 
 how long he knew not, they suddenly came upon springs, 
 the waters of which were quite hot. And then he related his 
 dream; but that it was no use to mention, since the natives, 
 though listening throughout, had of it not the least comprehen 
 sion. He next gave a statement in detail of the fact of his 
 missing his men, and though he sought for them weary and 
 long was unable to find them again. 
 
 The only thing further worth naming about which to them 
 he then spoke was the fact of his seeing before him on the far 
 mountain-side a large smoke; that while he was seeking his 
 men the smoke disappeared from his view and all the rest of 
 the story he told them they very well knew. 
 
 LII. 
 AN APOLOGY. 
 
 IT may have been noticed, if not all the same, that Pegasus 
 was weary or getting quite lame. Whether spavin it was, or 
 the founder that ailed him, we cannot now say, but his wonted 
 speed failed him. And why should it not ? for far had he 
 traveled, and a maze of events had thus been unraveled 
 from the city of Pines to the city of Oaks, in war and in peace 
 and with all sorts of folks; from thence all around by the 
 shore of the ocean, he had somehow kept up his ambling 
 motion. Now, after all this, it was thought. to be best to pull 
 up a little and give him a rest. So from this time forward, 
 almost to the close, this curious history will stalk on in prose, 
 unless the poor beast should get over his lameness, and be able 
 to avoid that intolerable sameness which has lately appeared, 
 of unless he should take the bits in his teeth, and in that way 
 should make a desperate effort to galop along, in which case 
 by yielding we might not do wrong.* 
 
 *For some unexplained reason all the remainder of this chapter was 
 omitted. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 129 
 
 Lilt 
 
 WITH OLD FRIENDS AGAIN. 
 
 NOTHING had ever occurred to interfere seriously with the 
 confidence reposed in Manuelo by the Yonos. However 
 much such confidence may have been shaken in other quar 
 ters by events transpiring elsewhere, the causes of the same 
 had not spread to this side of the Bay, and he was never the 
 less an accepted guest among this simple people. His influence 
 with them, established by those achievements with his pistols 
 already described, remained unabated. It was, if possible, 
 somewhat augmented by the heroism displayed during his 
 captivity and flight. To them, at least, he was still prince and 
 prophet, though with the disadvantage now of being poorly 
 clad, the greedy Modens having, as he informed them, stripped 
 him of his stylish apparel. Much to his disgust he had been 
 invested with the homely costume of a serf, and even that, 
 owing to the menial service required of him, no less than to the 
 desperate emergencies of the flight, had become dilapidated. 
 It was his early aim, therefore, to provide himself with new 
 clothing, and in this task he had the willing assistance of the 
 women of the village, who had by this time become as expert 
 as himself in the use of the needle. Among the most active 
 of these was the woman for whom he had conceived some 
 regard on his former visit, and whose name, as already related, 
 was kept to himself. This person he informs us possessed 
 many accomplishments and not a few personal attractions. 
 During his absence she had been married, in pursuance of the 
 laws of the country, to the son of the first prophet of the village, 
 who, as it happened, had ever been among the warmest friends 
 and companions of Manuelo, and had shown him more kind 
 ness, if possible, than any other man of the tribe. He was be 
 lieved, however, to have been the identical person who had 
 inflicted the severest wound upon Manuelo at the time of his 
 9 
 
130 CALIFORNIA 
 
 attempted escape with the crew to the Don Carlos. If that 
 be so, the young man with great gallantry had since endeavored 
 with much assiduity to repair the injury then inflicted. The 
 warmest of friendships are sometimes sealed in this way; at all 
 events these two were on the most intimate terms, and, as 
 Justino thought, almost as inseparable as Damon and Pythias. 
 
 The partiality of this woman for Manuelo before .her mar 
 riage, and likewise his attachment for her at that time, had 
 been too conspicuous for concealment, and the fact was still re 
 membered by some of her companions. All these things being 
 considered, and also the fact of their now being thrown 
 together again in the preparation of his new habits, it will not 
 be very surprising that manifestations of her old partiality 
 should be in some sort renewed. As before his departure so 
 now her conduct grew to be the subject of remark in the vil 
 lage, and particularly among such women as are given to con 
 siderations of that nature. To the credit of Manuelo it should 
 be stated that he exhibited the more circumspection of the 
 two. As in duty bound he carefully avoided, as far as able, 
 the least thing that might revive the unwarranted predilection 
 of the woman for him. But notwithstanding his prudence, if 
 we may believe, his story, he was not a little annoyed by her 
 demeanor; for in the simplicity of her innocence she bestowed 
 upon him kindly gifts of wild flowers and beautiful ornaments 
 of feathers, Had Manuelo been other than a true friend, the 
 feelings of the husband might have been more speedily aroused 
 against him; and as it was, the man could hardly look upon the 
 conduct of his wife with absolute indifference. The husband 
 grew cold at first, and eventually it was observed that unmistak 
 able hostility on his part began to manifest itself towards the 
 unfortunate Manuelo. 
 
 By the time his new garments were completed, the bodily 
 strength of Manuelo was likewise restored, for be it known that 
 in consequence of his horrible servitude, followed immediately 
 by the hardships of his wearisome flight, his health had become 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 131 
 
 impaired equally with his apparel, and it required almost as 
 much exertion to restore the one as the other. 
 
 To increase the embarrassment that embarrassment which 
 seemed ever on the alert to overtake Manuelo the gentle Nona, 
 to whom, need I remind the reader, he had been unwillingly 
 betrothed, now divested herself of her former shyness, and 
 openly avowed that had she known or even suspected who it 
 was she would never have fled from him in the woods. Her 
 flight and her fright she insisted must be attributed solely to 
 his strange garb and changed aspect, and by no means to her 
 fear of the man. The poor creature having taken him for a 
 Moden, or a veritable wild barbarian, did not even recognize 
 his voice, though he called upon her again and again as loudly 
 as he was able; but no wonder he failed to make himself heard, 
 for was he not still hoarse from calling at the top of his voice, 
 but in vain, after his ten lost slave companions ? 
 
 LIV. 
 
 JEALOUSY. 
 
 INTERROGATED by the villagers upon the subject, Man 
 uelo was obliged to confess that he had never been married; that 
 neither when with the Santos, nor yet while a prisoner among the 
 Modens, had he been furnished with a wife, and the hopes of 
 Nona and of her friends were greatly stimulated by this infor 
 mation. The hopes of the prophet s son were in like manner 
 duly excited by the same intelligence, for he was extremely 
 anxious that his former friend should assume marital relations, 
 in order to counteract the growing attachment of his imprudent 
 wife, and he accordingly intrigued with his venerable father, 
 and the other dignitaries of the village, to bring about that 
 desirable end. In this conspiracy the young man had not cnly 
 the tacit approval of the fair Nona herself, but he was happy 
 also in the active co-operation of all the priesthood, and of 
 many of the elderly women of the place. 
 
132 CALIFORNIA 
 
 The combined opposition to the movement embraced the 
 unnamed woman, a few female friends, and of course the crafty 
 Manuelo himself; but these were more than a match for the 
 others, as the sequel will show. 
 
 Manuelo s aversion to marriage was based upon entirely 
 different grounds from those entertained by his associates, in 
 the work of resistance; but his real motives were carefully con 
 cealed from them, lest their zeal on his behalf should become 
 slackened, as it doubtless would have been had they learned 
 that his heart was fixed upon an object far away. He needed 
 their cordial co-operation, and he was too wise to risk losing it 
 by relating to them all that he knew about himself. 
 
 The simple-minded Yonos seemed never to have learned 
 that there was danger in delays, and therefore, not suspecting 
 his purpose, they listened with patience to one pretext and 
 another brought forward either by, or on behalf of, the witsome 
 Manuelo, for the postponement of his marriage with the timid 
 village maiden-. 
 
 In the contrivance of these excuses he had, of course, the 
 aid of the young wife and her female companions. For the 
 better accomplishment of his aims he would have consulted 
 the oracles, as on a former occasion, and seriously contemplated 
 doing so, until he chanced to learn that the priest had already 
 communicated with them, and that an answer adverse to his 
 views had been obtained. 
 
 This communication he could not expect now to overthrow, 
 as he had that of the Santos, in reference to war, inasmuch as 
 the loss of his fire-arms had deprived him of the means of cre 
 ating either thunder or lightning. This privation was sorely 
 felt, and he was put to his trumps, so to speak, to find a 
 reason for again deserting the Yonos. 
 
 If the truth must be confessed, he was highly flattered by 
 the attentions of the wife of his friend; but his heart was by no 
 means captivated. We have his own assertion for the fact that 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 133 
 
 his feelings towards this woman were those of commiseration 
 only, and not of affection. Never for a moment had he for 
 gotten, nor could he forget, the bright-eyed daughter of the 
 king, the tearful and charming Alola, with whom he had parted 
 with so much reluctance on going off to the war. Towards 
 her his heart waxed warmer than ever now that he was almost 
 as it were within the sound of her sweet voice, and his longing 
 to meet her again overrode every other sentiment of his nature. 
 
 The intelligent reader who has floated along on the current 
 of these events to this point, will hardly consider it reiteration 
 to be told that all the Yonos, from the chief down, excepting 
 the priest s son alone, but including particularly the females, 
 were extremely reluctant, and now more than ever, to part 
 with a person so distinguished in their eyes as Manuelo. 
 
 For reasons, some of which have already been disclosed and 
 some not, they determined at a solemn council to retain him 
 amongst them, and adopt him as one of their tribe. Numerous 
 decrees of their priests pointed in the direction of their wishes, 
 which Manuelo was unable to controvert without great danger 
 of giving offense and at the same time of forfeiting his standing 
 among them as a prophet. 
 
 The circumstances attending his early appearance in their 
 country, his wounding included, and not forgetting the nursing 
 received at their hands, were such as to justify this claim. 
 They knew, almost as well as himself, that the country from 
 which he had come in a great ship, must be reached again in 
 the same manner, if at all. They argued with a shrewdness 
 becoming a race of the highest intelligence, that his allegiance 
 to them was more binding than to any other community with 
 which they were acquainted. Moreover, the exceedingly dis 
 tressed condition, more than half naked, and starved, which 
 marked his second appearance among them, and the relief then 
 afforded, were regarded as increasing manifold his obligations 
 to them. 
 
134 CALIFORNIA 
 
 In all this, as Justino argued, they were right, for Manuelo 
 was really indebted to these good Yonos to the extent of a life 
 twice preserved, and for ten thousand acts of kindness besides. 
 But his biographer might have remembered that a man is not 
 always responsible for a roaming disposition. So far as born 
 in him, his parents are chargeable with it, as they were in Man- 
 uelo s case; and most likely also for his having been early 
 apprenticed to the sea, and acquiring thereby a bent, in addi 
 tion to his natural tastes, for fresh scenes and pastures new. 
 At all events it was utterly impossible just now to cast off 
 this disposition; and all the fascinations thrown about him by 
 the gentle Yonos could not overcome his predilection for the 
 larger city. 
 
 Perfect freedom is the natural inheritance of man, and a 
 child of nature as he was, he chafed under any restraint 
 Alluding to this disposition in the human family, Justino 
 philosophically suggested that a person confined to the Old 
 World would be likely, as in his own case, to pant for the New; 
 and the good friar exultingly remarked that neither the Old nor 
 the New could long retain him, since he would eventually 
 reach that other and better world, where both himself and 
 Manuelo had long since gone when the manuscript was dis 
 covered at Evora. 
 
 So intense had the dislike of the priest s son towards the un 
 offending Manuelo become on account of the strange infatua 
 tion of his young wife, that he would gladly have disposed of 
 him, if not by marriage with Nona, then in some other way. 
 
 This the shrewd Manuelo understood full well; and with 
 consummate wisdom resolved to avail himself of that hostil 
 ity to aid in effecting his escape. How, or in what particular 
 manner, he sought to make it available, will be disclosed to the 
 reader presently. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 135 
 
 On his leaving the Yono village the first time Manuelo had 
 clearly held forth to the people the hope that he would some 
 day return, and they had long continued to look for a fulfill 
 ment of his promise, wondering at his delay. Nona, whose 
 betrothal to him ever stood in the way of her engagement to 
 another, not only mourned his departure, but continued 
 secretly to pine over his prolonged absence. In her sadness 
 she was accustomed to seek consolation in solitude, and was 
 actually wandering about in the woods, stricken with sorrow, at 
 the very time she was so unceremoniously accosted by him. 
 She had been quietly communing with the spirits before her 
 surprise, and was afterwards convinced, as were also the priests 
 of the tribe, that his coming in the manner he did and at that 
 particular moment was providential, and it certainly bore that 
 appearance. The good Father Justino was inclined to look 
 upon it in the same light; and even the young friars of Evora, 
 three hundred years later, could not contemplate the event with 
 out a great deal of astonishment, wondering that a kind Provi 
 dence could show so much consideration for nothing but a poor 
 heathen maiden. After much discussion the matter was finally 
 left undetermined by the authorities of the church, and anyone 
 is therefore now at liberty to form an opinion thereon for him 
 self. 
 
 With the same degree of shrewdness that had marked the 
 conduct of Manuelo on other occasions, he now turned this 
 circumstance of his sudden appearance among the Yonos the 
 second time to good account, by reminding them himself of 
 his former promise, and assuring the people with utmost cool 
 ness that his parting words to them had never been forgotten. 
 He deceitfully told them that his coming now was in pursuance 
 of the promise made at the time of his departure before. 
 Owing undoubtedly to the great distress of mind under which 
 the poor man was laboring, in consequence of the unwarranta 
 ble restraint imposed upon him, he summoned courage to assure 
 
136 CALIFORNIA 
 
 the thoughtless Yonos, that, but for that promise, he would 
 never have abandoned the Modens as he did, nor undertaken 
 that long and perilous journey by the sea and Hot Sulphur 
 Springs to reach their village. He impressed upon these con 
 fiding people the idea that if he was ever compelled to leave 
 their midst again, his absence would-be but temporary, and 
 that any departure from them would be accompanied with the 
 utmost reluctance on his part. 
 
 By this sort of strategy, these people were so far deluded as 
 to yield in some degree their determination to prevent- his de 
 parture, and from that hour he was hopeful of being able to 
 extricate himself from the dilemma. 
 
 To the son of the high priest, who was all the more bitterly 
 hostile toward Manuelo from having once been his warmest 
 friend, he cautiously conveyed the impression that he was called 
 away from their village on pressing business which might de 
 tain him a long time. All that was thus hinted to the young 
 brave was strictly true except as to the matter of business, and 
 even that was not without a shadow of foundation if we only 
 consider an extremely serious case of love in that light. To 
 Manuelo certainly it appeared to be business of the gravest 
 concern; but it was at the same time of a nature not to be dis 
 closed to the Yonos, on account of his constrained relations 
 with one of their number. 
 
 LV. 
 
 STRATEGY! 
 
 THERE is a French proverb, also sometimes rendered in 
 Spanish, which declares that " the unexpected is what usually 
 happens," and the converse of this maxim, which would be, in 
 effect, that " what is expected rarely occurs," is equally true. 
 Both the proverb and its antithesis were amply verified in this 
 part of our history. 
 
 Manuelo felt confident, from the impression produced upon 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 137 
 
 the minds of the leading men of the village by his fabricated 
 account of the manner and object of his coming among them a 
 second time, that he could, by the exercise of a due amount of 
 prudence, easily effect his exit from their midst; but in this calcu 
 lation he was reckoning without his host; he was surely mistaken, 
 and in this was the converse of the proverb verified. The prov 
 erb itself was as well supported by the unexpected opposition 
 he met with, not from the timid Nona herself, directly, but from 
 her female relatives. 
 
 The anxiety of the poor girl, growing out of the suggested 
 departure of Manuelo for the rumor of his going had already 
 spread like wild- fire was, of course, greater than that of any 
 one else, and why not, since she was the party most deeply 
 concerned in the matter ? But her situation as an expectant 
 bride forbade her to make much ado about it ; not so, how 
 ever, with her friends ; they were under no such restraint, and 
 their tongues, in the case, were let loose. 
 
 Being entirely free to express their opinions about the busi 
 ness, they indulged in that liberty to the fullest extent. With 
 true feminine sagacity they had foreseen a determination on 
 the part of Manuelo to evade his supposed duty towards their 
 modest kinswoman, and they were duly indignant. This 
 impression regarding his purpose was inflamed by their memory 
 of his palpable evasiveness on a former occasion, and now 
 again by his unaccountable coldness towards his betrothed, as 
 was clearly manifested after the first few interviews on his 
 second arrival in the village. Their conclusion that he wished 
 to desert her, or, at least, to escape the performance of his 
 duty ,, was strengthened by the well-known fact of his being the 
 recipient of courtesies from the wife of his former friend. 
 
 Manuelo could not but notice the difference in sentiment 
 between the immediate friends of the two women, and it puz 
 zled him to account for the same. The kindred on the side of 
 the demonstrative wife, flattered, it may have been, by the par- 
 
138 CALIFORNIA 
 
 tiality of so distinguished a person, were full of expressions of 
 sympathy and friendship for Manuelo, while those on the part 
 of the proposed bride were boiling over with resentment. 
 
 Viewing the matter in the light of passing events, Manuelo 
 concluded, and so informed Justino, that it was far more diffi 
 cult to effect an abandonment of the one than it would have 
 been to elope with the other, for the latter alternative was 
 actually suggested, and aid tendered, should he feel inclined to 
 undertake so desperate a step. But however deceitful Man 
 uelo may have been in some things, he was not base enough 
 to listen with equanimity to a proposition of this sort. It 
 aroused within him a feeling of indignation which he could with 
 difficulty suppress ; but under the stress of circumstances he 
 managed to pass over the suggestion in silence, regarding it 
 merely as the emanation of a weak brain, or as a proposition 
 coming from over-zealous friends. 
 
 These complications springing, as they did, mainly from 
 the families of the parties, gave Manuelo more trouble than 
 everything else that occurred during his stay with the Yonos. 
 However cunningly he devised his schemes, and however suc 
 cessful he may have been in deluding the men, he found it 
 quite impossible, by the use of similar means, to deceive the 
 women. In affairs of the heart he observed they were capable 
 of reading his very thoughts. Whether in the exercise of this 
 faculty these Yono women depended upon supernatural assist 
 ance or not he remained in doubt to the end of his days. 
 Owing to their remarkable shrewdness in such matters, it was 
 in vain that he sought to suppress his fears lest he should be 
 compelled at last to settle down among them and take upon 
 himself all the duties imposed by their curious laws. 
 
 In this emergency he bethought himself, as a last resort, to 
 intrust his cause to the generosity of his former friend, the 
 high priest s son, who had already been furnished with the 
 secret of his pretended business over the waters. Such an 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 139 
 
 appeal to one s bitterest enemy was an experiment of doubtful 
 nature, at best, but it was one for which Manuelo could discover 
 no alternative. 
 
 .With this determination in mind he sought the young man, 
 and plainly and candidly laid before him his wishes, at the 
 same time promising most faithfully that in the event of his get 
 ting safely away, nothing on earth would ever induce him to 
 return. 
 
 The plan was well conceived, and the step wisely taken. It 
 disclosed in its author a larger degree of intelligence than could 
 have been supposed to belong to a person of his limited edu 
 cation. Although Manuelo s mind was not stored with knowl 
 edge in very great variety, his judgment was generally sound 
 and his genius equal to any emergency. Learning does not 
 always imply wisdom, nor ignorance of books the want of 
 mental ability. Education is but the polish that is bestowed 
 upon the marble, the labor of the sculptor being sometimes ex 
 pended in vain upon the coarsest of granite, whilst the finest of 
 stones may never have felt the artist s chisel. 
 
 A man, continued Justino, may be intellectual, and at the 
 same time ignorant; he may be intelligent, and yet wofully 
 wanting in wisdom. 
 
 Manuelo s proposition was as pleasing to the priest s son as its 
 cordial acceptance by him was gratifying to Manuelo himself, 
 and accordingly it was arranged between them that on the very 
 first day of a favorable wind, the two would set out on a fishing 
 excursion and tak^ all the chances of being blown away in the 
 direction of the Santos settlement. But the wind they desired 
 did not soon arise, and their long-continued detention became 
 terribly annoying to both. 
 
 It is declared to be an ill wind that blows nobody good, and 
 the winds now prevailing were thought to be precisely of that 
 character; not so, however, would they have been pronounced 
 had the betrothed of the one, or the wife of the other, been 
 
140 CALIFORNIA 
 
 consulted, either of whom, had she known what was transpiring 
 behind her back, would have been more than delighted with the 
 adverse breezes. Both women were resting in ignorance of the 
 plot that was hatching on their account, though doubtless some 
 thing would have been suspected had they but been familiar 
 with the fable of the " Dog and the Wolf," which, as it is 
 related, were seen traveling together to attack the sheep-fold; 
 the moral of which is that " when old enemies are observed to 
 go hand in hand, there is always some mischief between." 
 
 The mischief to be accomplished in this case was the aban : 
 donment forever, by Manuelo, of the Yono village, which it 
 was known would prove as distasteful to the pretty spouse of 
 the priest s son as to the modest Nona herself. But the ene.- 
 mies now, unlike the dog and the wolf, were seen but little in 
 each other s society, and suspicion against them was not aroused. 
 
 LVI. 
 
 NEGLECT. 
 
 IT was clearly the duty of the sprightly priests of Evora to 
 give the manuscript such rendition throughout as was intended 
 by Father Justino, even though at the cost, to them, of a little 
 more labor and trouble. Having voluntarily taken upon them 
 selves the task of deciphering it, there could be no excuse for 
 men of their leisure and scholarly attainments omitting from 
 the scroll any feature which could have been preserved by dili 
 gent work, and yet it is undeniable that, though bound by their 
 sacred calling to the faithful discharge of every obligation, they 
 have, at times, in imitation of the rest of mankind, sought 
 to glide over the labor before them in the easiest man 
 ner possible, and have actually neglected, for large spaces in 
 the work, to follow the style of composition adopted in the 
 original. But at this stage of the translation, conscience- 
 stricken, it is presumed, they essayed to repair, as far as possible, 
 
350 YEARS AGO. HI 
 
 the injustice inflicted upon Justino in departing from the man 
 ner of his writing. 
 
 It is not, however, charged upon the good monks that the 
 injury to the author was intentional; on the contrary, their 
 neglect is attributed to mere inadvertence in giving in plain 
 prose what should have been transmitted in verse. But if they 
 are successful in the future all should be willing to forgive 
 them, and the charity of the reader is earnestly invoked in their 
 behalf. 
 
 LVII. 
 
 PROLOGUE. 
 
 SO certain am I that tis best to be 
 
 Correct in what pertains to history, 
 
 That greatest pains to this time have been taken 
 
 In order that I might not be mistaken 
 
 In any of the more important facts 
 
 Relating to the thoughts, and words, and acts 
 
 Of the bold sailor boy, Manuelo, 
 
 When living, some three hundred years ago, 
 
 In that strange land which at a later day 
 
 Became so widely known as California. 
 
 For this I am entitled to some praise, 
 
 Since, beyond question, there were many ways 
 
 In which to have portrayed both thought and action, 
 
 And easier to have given satisfaction. 
 
 But that is not my way; I like much more 
 
 Than plaudits, truth, as I have said before. 
 
 To deal in fiction is a great mistake 
 
 For anyone in writing history to make, 
 
 But difference wide there is betwixt mere fiction 
 
 And what is in the nature of prediction ; 
 
 Sometimes, indeed, events have been foretold 
 
 By authors who have been a little bold, 
 
 And such events have proved to be as true 
 
 As anything that people ever knew. 
 
 Prognostications that have come about, 
 
142 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Or prophecies, so called, that have turned out 
 To be correct, and have been verified, 
 Have far more wonder caused than all beside. 
 These have astonished people more by far 
 Than what has written been of peace or war. 
 A taste there seems to be in man for that 
 Which is abstruse and hardest to get at, 
 Hence puzzles, such as thirteen, fifteen, fourteen, 
 And games of chess and twenty-one have been 
 Greatly in vogue, causing much waste of time 
 In every age, and almost every clime. 
 This strange propensity in man is my 
 Excuse, and is, perhaps, the reason why 
 I shall incorporate in this new book 
 A story which at first may seem to look 
 As if it had no base to stand upon, 
 Whereas it has, in fact, an excellent one. 
 This much I say at start, and now here goes, 
 But where the end will be no mortal knows. 
 
 While waiting for propitious winds to blow, 
 
 The man whose wife so loved Manuelo, 
 
 Proposed a trip inland in search of game; 
 
 And going far southwest at last they came 
 
 Close by a mountain which was very high, 
 
 And which the Indians called Mount Tamalpais. 
 
 Observing that their path upon it tended, 
 
 The hunters this tall mountain then ascended. 
 
 When to its lofty summit they did climb, 
 
 A sight at once broke on them most sublime. 
 
 Manuelo with the view was overcome, 
 
 The others with astonishment were dumb. 
 
 Mountains they saw that looked down on the Bay; 
 
 A hundred vales spread out before them lay. 
 
 A sight like this not one of them had seen, 
 
 For none had ever on that mountain been. 
 
 Oppressed, our prophet sank upon the ground, 
 
 Nor heed took he of anything around. 
 
 Just then there came up from the neighboring brake, 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 143 
 
 And near him coiled, a monstrous rattlesnake.* 
 Even this disturbed not his dream that day 
 For his prophetic thoughts were far away. 
 
 LVIII. 
 
 A DREAM. 
 
 IN the distant future, coming from the sea, 
 
 Great ships he saw, a thousand it might be; 
 
 All kinds there were, as sloop, and brig, and bark, 
 
 And some, he thought, as large as Noah s ark. 
 
 From different lands they came, and flags they bore; 
 
 Some spread all sails, and some the aft and fore. 
 
 What was remarkable, and strange did seem, 
 
 A few appeared to be propelled by steam; 
 
 At least from midships he could see arise 
 
 A cloud of smoke, ascending to the skies; 
 
 A wheel on either side was turning fast; 
 
 Their yards were small, as was, likewise, the mast; 
 
 They were without jib-boom; their hulls were long, 
 
 And, though trim built, they still were very strong. 
 
 Their bows straight up and down, were like a blade 
 
 Slender and sharp, to cut the water made; 
 
 Their sterns were like another ship, or brig, 
 
 But in all else they had a different rig; 
 
 Unlike the ships with which he was acquainted, 
 
 While those were white, these all quite black were painted. 
 
 Propelled by fire, or smoke, or power within 
 
 P or steamer at that time had not been seen 
 
 Was to his vision something strange indeed. 
 
 He saw them move along with greater speed 
 
 Than ships with all sails set and wind astern; 
 
 And to their crews it was of no concern 
 
 Which way the tides might tend, or winds might blow, 
 
 *In the original Portuguese it is enorme calebra, venino^ which means an immense 
 poisonous serpent. Availing myself of the license that clearly belongs to me, as trans 
 lator, I have called it a "monstrous rattlesnake," and such, in very truth, it doubtless 
 was, since no other poisonous serp -nts infest Mount Tamalpais. Future excursionists 
 going there to verify the correctness of this narrative, are warned to be cttrcf^l iet they 
 should be bitten by these venomous reptiles. 
 
144 CALIFORNIA 
 
 For they against both tide and wind would go. 
 All other vessels they would leave behind, 
 Though sailing with a favorable wind, 
 And dashing through the ocean s troubled wave, 
 A line of long, white foam these ships would leave. 
 To him they seemed like some enormous creature 
 Of which he could not comprehend the nature. 
 
 When in the Bay the anchor was run out, 
 
 From all on board uprose a deafening shout, 
 
 So loud that all the hills for leagues around 
 
 The cheering heard, and echoed back the sound; 
 
 At the same time a bell on board was rung, 
 
 A bell as large as in cathedral hung; 
 
 And from midships, caused by a jet of steam, 
 
 Came forth a sound which was not quite a scream, 
 
 Nor whistle was it, but more like a screech, 
 
 And far and wide this fearful sound would reach. 
 
 To Manuelo this was all so new 
 
 That he was much in doubt what he should do ; 
 
 Whether he should narrate or close his lips, 
 
 So far as it concerned this kind of ships. 
 
 He feared Justino might discredit all 
 
 On hearing what was so improbable; 
 
 For this strange dream, or vision, as you know, 
 
 Occurred three hundred years, and more, ago. 
 
 But happily for all he did not fear 
 
 To tell what then was strange, but now is clear. 
 
 The ships of every kind when coming in 
 
 He could but notice were all filled with men; 
 
 And those that seemed to be propelled by smoke, 
 
 From stern to stern were black with moving folk. 
 
 The other ships, besides the men on board, 
 
 Between decks had of tools and food a hoard; 
 
 Likewise some strange machines, formed like the crib 
 
 In which he had been rocked while yet a babe: 
 
 Though larger some were like a coffee mill, 
 
 And others not described were stranger still. 
 
 But not a plow, nor scythe, nor sickle bright, 
 
 Was there on board, nor anywhere in sight; 
 
 Nor was there wheel nor loom, nor fork nor rake. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 145 
 
 To gather grain, nor knives the flax to break. 
 
 No implements of any kind were there 
 
 To make what people need for use or wear. 
 
 The tools they had were bar, and pick, and spade, 
 
 And many others very oddly made. 
 
 The food provided them, and stored below, 
 
 It was of all the kinds that ever grow. 
 
 The greater part, if he was not mistaken, 
 
 Consisted of hard-tack, and beans, and bacon. 
 
 Codfish was also there, and apples dried, 
 
 And fruit in cans preserved, and jars beside. 
 
 There was provided, likewise, for their drink, 
 
 Most everything of which mankind could think; 
 
 But for some reason, none could tell just why, 
 
 There was a great preponderance of old rye; 
 
 But many of them thought it would be handy 
 
 To have along a little drop of brandy. 
 
 Of books, also, they had each man a few; 
 
 But most of these were novels, old or new; 
 
 For works of history they did not care, 
 
 Andy.such, like poets works, were very rare, 
 
 But, strange to say, among so many men 
 
 There was a Bible only now and then, 
 
 And as to books of psalms, and books of prayer, 
 
 And like religious works, not one was there. 
 
 But pictures each man had of friends at home; 
 
 Of cards, and such like things, each one had some. 
 
 While reading claimed but little their attention 
 
 I think, in passing, I may just make mention 
 
 That games of dice and chance they all would play, 
 
 And spend at these a good part of each day. 
 
 These people came from every land on earth, 
 From melting tropics, and from frozen North, 
 From Europe, and from South America, 
 From Mexico, and from far-off Cathay, 
 From Sandwich Islands, and from South Pacific, 
 From England, and from Ireland most prolific, 
 From Cuba, and from Africa they came, 
 And other places that he could not name; 
 But Sonoranians, I must not forget, 
 
 10 
 
146 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Nor those who were called Sidney-ducks, nor yet 
 
 The dark Chileno, who, not given to roam, 
 
 Among them acted as if coming home. 
 
 Among the throng were mixed both good and bad; 
 
 The many happy seemed, but some were sad, 
 
 As if they might have been weighed down with care; 
 
 But all were hopeful, and none in despair. 
 
 These men appeared to be all very young, 
 
 And some of them exceedingly high-strung. 
 
 There were of women mongst them almost none, 
 
 Or only now and then a single one; 
 
 But she was held in very great respect, 
 
 As gallant Manuel did recollect. 
 
 The men, in fact, all seemed to worship woman, 
 
 As if she might be something more than human. 
 
 Their adoration, praises, and affection 
 
 All seemed to center in that one direction. 
 
 Woman- worship, to his prophetic view, 
 
 Was the religion of each single crew 
 
 Not as a goddess, as Diana was 
 
 Worshiped, in ancient times, but without cause 
 
 These women that he saw were thus revered 
 
 A species of idolatry he feared. 
 
 But women, after all, he was compelled 
 
 To admit, in every land and age are held 
 
 In high esteem by men of real sense; 
 
 A brutal man alone will give offense 
 
 To gentle woman, nor is it profanation 
 
 To treat them as the best thing in creation. 
 
 To think them goddesses may not be well, 
 
 But angels they appeared to Manuel; 
 
 At least Alola so appeared to him, 
 
 And more than angel sometimes she did seem. 
 
 He did not worship her, but did adore, 
 
 And worshiping, in fact, is little more. 
 
 So when he blamed the men that came in ships, 
 
 He was himself condemned by his own lips. 
 
 Of children mongst them all not one was there, 
 No bright-eyed boy, or little maiden fair; 
 
350 YEARS AGO. H7 
 
 No infant at the breast, or in the arms 
 Of nurse, beguiled those present with the charms 
 Of its sweet prattle, or upon the throng 
 Bestowed its smiles, or with its chirpy song 
 Inspired the men with those kind sentiments 
 Which always flow towards those innocents. 
 How this amidst so large a crowd could be 
 Good Manuel could not exactly see; 
 But then this was, as you, kind reader, know, 
 Three hundred years and more than that ago, 
 That he was looking with prophetic eye 
 Not at what was, but would be by and by. 
 
 LIX. 
 
 THE PLAINS. 
 
 AS Moses from Mount Pisgah viewed the land, 
 
 So Manuelo, from his more lofty stand 
 
 On Tamalpais, next eastward bent his gaze, 
 
 And there a most inexplicable maze 
 
 Arose before his much astonished vision, 
 
 Which may be now described with much precision. 
 
 There lay stretched out a plain of vast extent, 
 
 On which his mind in prophecy was bent, 
 
 And in the distant future he could see, 
 
 Approaching, objects which first seemed to be 
 
 Like the small ants, which, moving in a row 
 
 From place to place, enlined, in order go, 
 
 Each on his work intent, and making haste, 
 
 Lest he should suffer of his time some waste. 
 
 While yet he gazed these objects larger grew, 
 
 And all before his sight came full in view. 
 
 He saw a force, a hundred thousand strong, 
 
 In fifties and in hundreds move along. 
 
 Of this great army there was none to lead, 
 
 Nor did they of each other take much heed- 
 
 There was no order in the march maintained, 
 
 And when one fell behind he there remained. 
 
 No care was there observed for one another ; 
 
 Friend would neglect his friend, and brother, brother. 
 
148 CALIFORNIA 
 
 " The devil take the hindmost," was the law 
 With all that troop, which on the plains he saw. 
 The men were armed with pistols, guns, and knives, 
 As if they might be fearful of their lives. 
 They seemed to have no certain kind of dress; 
 Though Manuelo somehow did confess 
 That white felt hats, and pants and coat and vest 
 Of butternut, prevailed above the rest. 
 He thought he noticed also one thing more; 
 That hickory shirts most commonly they wore. 
 There may have been a few who did not wear 
 The hickory shirt, but they were very rare. 
 The only thing they wore that had been white 
 Was the slodch hat, and that was not so, quite. 
 They slept upon the ground, or dry, or wet, 
 And were, upon the whole, a filthy set 
 Of curs; but he could see they once had been 
 As clean as anybody he had seen. 
 Although they marched by day, and camped by night, 
 And were prepared at any time to fight, 
 And though well armed, as he could plainly see, 
 And all were men, it was not an army, 
 Except in numbers Their arms were for defense 
 Against some secret unseen foe, but whence 
 Such enemy might come did not appear, 
 For there was none in front and none in rear. 
 The line was fifteen hundred miles in length, 
 And if attacked it would have shown no strength. 
 While scattered as they were, so near and far, 
 He judged they could not be intending war. 
 Still on some object they appeared intent, 
 And vexed was he to know what it all meant. 
 Some were on mule-back, some on horses rode, 
 A few on asses mounted were, and many strode 
 Along on foot, and besides arms bore heavy packs, 
 And large enough almost to break their backs. 
 There were, besides all these, long wagon trains, 
 All covered in to shield them from the rains. 
 The covers were of whitest canvas made, 
 And when not moving looked like tents, he said. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 149 
 
 Some wagons were by horses drawn, but most 
 
 By oxen, and of these there were a host. 
 
 Of trains of pack-mules there were likewise many, 
 
 And these were quickest on the march of any. 
 
 These trains would sometimes leave the rest behind; 
 
 But this the others did not seem to mind. 
 
 The wagons laden were with every kind 
 
 Of article of which the human mind 
 
 Could possibly conceive, to eat, or wear. 
 
 Salt pork, and beef, and flour, and beans were there; 
 
 All sorts of household goods, and beds and clothes, 
 
 And drinks of what description no one knows. 
 
 They were of kinds quite new to Justino, 
 
 When writing of them centuries ago; 
 
 No doubt their names familiar are at present, 
 
 As drinks that are to some so very pleasant. 
 
 Sometimes the teams were stalled by too much load, 
 And then the men would freely ply the goad, 
 And if in mire the wheels were sunk, would yell 
 And curse and swear like fiends let loose from sheol. 
 Then the poor oxen to their work would spring, 
 And from the mire the loaded wagons bring. 
 
 The rivers on the route were hard to cross, 
 
 And this resulted sometimes in the loss 
 
 Of wagons, horses, mules, and even men, 
 
 Borne down, were lost, and never seen again. 
 
 And mountains also had to be ascended, 
 
 As on their westward winding way they wended. 
 
 One range to him so full of rocks appeared 
 
 That looking at it long he greatly feared 
 
 That over it a pass might not be found, 
 
 And that the trains would have to turn around, 
 
 And from that point their weary steps retrace; 
 
 But through its rocky files they found a pass, 
 
 And onward a more crooked route did take, 
 
 Until they came down to a great salt lake. 
 
 Here to the army was a great surprise, 
 
 And they could not, at first, believe their eyes, 
 
 For men and many women found they here, 
 
 With customs and religion very queer. 
 
150 CALIFORNIA 
 
 It seemed each man was blessed with several wives, 
 
 A thing they had not seen in all their lives. 
 
 Prophet had these, but this was nothing new, 
 
 For Manuelo was a prophet too. 
 
 With plural wives, these men lived in seclusion, 
 
 In order that there might be less confusion. 
 
 Their children, were it not for some such care, 
 
 Might not know surely who their fathers were ; 
 
 And hence it was a prudent step to take, 
 
 To come and settle by this great salt lake. 
 
 At this point then there was a village only, 
 
 And as to all the world it was quite lonely. 
 
 But Manuelo with prophetic view 
 
 Observed, while looking, that the village grew, 
 
 And, as it were, before his very eyes 
 
 He saw a city of great wealth arise, 
 
 Built by the people whom the army met, 
 
 And who, for aught now known, may be there yet. 
 
 They lived by farming and by cattle breeding, 
 
 Little getting from abroad, and little needing. 
 
 The men, and possibly the women too, 
 
 Contented were, until at last right through 
 
 Their settlement a road of iron was run 
 
 A thing which much against their wish was done. 
 
 This road of iron to Manuelo s view, 
 
 Like ships propelled by steam, was something new. 
 
 No explanation of it could he find, 
 
 And to the last it much perplexed his mind. 
 
 In modern times the wonder is dispelled ; 
 
 But he three, hundred years ago was held 
 
 Spell-bound, when, gazing with a prophet s eye, 
 
 He saw long trains of cars go whizzing by. 
 
 But what impressed him as most strange of all, 
 
 And was to him most unaccountable, 
 
 Was the great speed with which they seemed to glide 
 
 Over the plain, along the mountain-side, 
 
 Through deep ravines, along the tops of ridges, 
 
 Through tunnels in the hills, and over bridges. 
 
 They seemed, he said, to his prophetic eye, 
 
 To move as fast, at least, as birds could fly. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 151 
 
 Not as the lazy gull, or sluggish crow, 
 But swift, indeed, as swiftest bird could go. 
 The sparrow-hawk unleashed and in full chase, 
 Of fleet-winged whip-poor-will, or when the race 
 Was with the dove, or with the purple pigeon, 
 Or when in hot pursuit of lark or widgeon, 
 Did not more swiftly cleave the ambient air 
 Than on this iron rail did speed the car. 
 
 In every coach could sixty people ride, 
 And if they chose some might hang on outside, 
 And as the cars in each train numbered ten, 
 There would be traveling full six hundred men. 
 So many men on these great trains were carried 
 That those at Salt Lake soon became less married: 
 And each was happy could he get but one 
 Woman for wife, and many could get none. 
 
 The army he was speaking of to-day, 
 
 At Salt Lake most of them made little stay. 
 
 They pushed on further towards the mighty West, 
 
 And as the trains appeared upon the crest 
 
 Of the. Sierras, Manuelo could see 
 
 What kind of people in each train might be, 
 
 And where each company of men was from, 
 
 Or in what State was formerly their home. 
 
 Some were from York, and some from the Northwest; 
 
 Some came from Pike, but these were not the best; 
 
 Some from Missouri came, and those drove steers; 
 
 Some were from Michigan, well armed with spears; 
 
 Some were from New Jersey, known by their looks, 
 
 And some came from Cape Cod and brought fish-hooks; 
 
 A few from Maine, they called it "way down East," 
 
 And these an average were, to say the least; 
 
 Among the rest that came were Yankees blue, 
 
 Who, from peculiar dialect, he knew. 
 
 Then Texans came, with pistols at their backs, 
 
 And then Kentuckians, riding on their jacks; 
 
 And Arkansaw was next, a thousand strong, 
 
 Each man armed with a knife ten inches long. 
 
 From way down South some came along at last, 
 
152 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Too much inflated these to travel fast. 
 
 He judged they might, from tone, and speech, and gait, 
 
 Be westward bound on business of the State; 
 
 Having their slaves along, some black, some brown: 
 
 They thus appeared to be men of renown; 
 
 But of this last he was not very sure, 
 
 As some of them appeared to be quite poor; 
 
 But what they lacked in wealth, I may here mention, 
 
 Was made up of conceit and of pretension. 
 
 In naming different people, it was th intention 
 
 To speak of all then coming, and to mention 
 
 In particular the Pennsylvania Dutch, 
 
 For, scattered all along, were many such. 
 
 These for large horses were conspicuous, 
 
 But in some "other things they were ridiculous. 
 
 I might have spoken of their wagons sooner; 
 
 They were boat-like, and called the prairie schooner. 
 
 It was observed that when they camped at night, 
 
 Such was their greed that everything in sight 
 
 Was seized and held, and for their use was kept, 
 
 And guard was always posted while they slept. 
 
 They seemed to^e in constant dread and fear, 
 
 As if the Indians might be somewhere near. 
 
 All other people on the march would shun 
 
 These wily Dutchmen, and would from them run. 
 
 When other men to right or left would go 
 
 To shoot a deer, or hunt the buffalo, 
 
 These men, more cautious, close to camp would stay, 
 
 Content with salted meat, and never stray 
 
 From the plain road, unless to find good feed 
 
 For their fat stock, which seemed their greatest need. 
 
 Sometimes the wolves would come up, after dark, 
 
 And at their frighted horses howl and bark; 
 
 And in that case the men would everyone 
 
 Spring to his feet and quickly seize his gun; 
 
 A tumult loud they then would institute, 
 
 But never were they known a wolf to shoot. 
 
 It was not easy to discriminate 
 
 Twixt Suckers and men from the Buckeye State, 
 
 But if a nice distinction one would wish, 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 153 
 
 It will be found in that twixt pork and fish. 
 
 In jeans and homespuns both of these took pride, 
 
 And had ambition for not much beside. 
 
 But they were sprightly folk, and kind as well, 
 
 And everybody pleased with whom they fell. 
 
 Farmers they were by trade, and raising corn 
 
 Had been their chief business since they were born. 
 
 The Suckers were a little more inclined 
 
 To stay at home, and their own business mind 
 
 Than the Buckeyes, whose aims, and hopes, and wishes 
 
 Inclined them more to seek for loaves and fishes. 
 
 But if they fitness had for public places, 
 
 It was not indicated in their faces. 
 
 No wonder, though, for men of meanest looks 
 
 Sometimes know more of things and more of books 
 
 Than other men who look extremely well. 
 
 What a man knows, none from his looks can tell. 
 
 The men from Iowa were like the last; 
 And so from Wisconsin, though not so fast. 
 These all were pretty clever fellows thought, 
 And by others their company was sought. 
 In Manuel these did no wonder cause, 
 Since, as observed, it was among their laws 
 To keep on moving toward the setting sun, 
 As long as land was found to squat upon. 
 He might have stated more about these men 
 If it had not so happened that just then, 
 While he observing was their special actions, 
 And what appeared to be their chief attractions, 
 Some Indiana people came along. 
 These stalwart Hoosiers thought it nothing wrong 
 To seize a horse or mule when found astray, 
 And each man gained a number in that way. 
 Sometimes this practice would lead to a fight, 
 But Indianians held that might was right; 
 And stock thus seized was almost always kept, 
 Unless the owner got it while they slept. 
 
 The foremost people in this mighty tramp 
 
 And mongst whom doubtless there was many a scamp 
 
 Were from the Empire State, the western part. 
 
154 CALIFORNIA 
 
 With pack-mules these all came, and not a cart 
 Or wagon had, nor had they any tent. 
 On leading all the march, these men were bent; 
 They were amongst themselves a quarrelsome set, 
 And each of them was in a constant fret 
 Lest other trains should of them take the lead, 
 And use up all the drink and all the feed; 
 For on this march with all the chief desire 
 Was water, grass, and wood to make a fire; 
 These things were sought near which to pitch the camp, 
 Throughout the whole of that long, weary tramp; 
 And when the men at night lay down to rest, 
 Their dreams were always stretching further west. 
 Their thoughts when sleeping appeared all the while 
 To be concerning something called a "pi. e," 
 But whether it was precious stones, or gold 
 They thought about, his dream did not unfold. 
 He was quite sure it was some sort of gain 
 They sought, but what kind entered not his brain. 
 Though these things all were clearly then descried 
 By Manuel, and many more beside, 
 What by it all was meant neither could he 
 Nor good Justino at that distance see, 
 And each of them, in turn, gave up the ghost 
 In ignorance for what that mighty host 
 Of men, by land and sea, were coming here 
 A thing which seems to us now very queer. 
 But stranger things by prophets have been told 
 I mean by those who spoke in times of old 
 And people must not wonder, in our day, 
 At anything which a true prophet may 
 By inspiration have been led to say. 
 
 LX. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 It was three hundred years ago and more 
 A fact which has been stated twice before 
 When from Mount Tamalpais, Manuelo 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 155 
 
 Viewed with prophetic ken the land below, 
 
 And water, destined, at a later day, 
 
 To be "well known as San Francisco Bay. 
 
 That country then was all incognito 
 
 To all white people but Manuelo. 
 
 I might, perhaps, except, also, the crew 
 
 Of the Don Carlos, for they had been there, too; 
 
 But all the crew of that good ship were gone; 
 
 And since of them none ever did return, 
 
 What I just stated must, I think, be so, 
 
 The sole one living was Manuelo. 
 
 The land itself was picturesque and wild; 
 
 The climate was most charming, soft and mild, 
 
 And beautiful, just then, was all the face 
 
 Of nature, as beheld from that high place. 
 
 It has been stated how he was impressed, 
 
 And part of what from that tall mountain-crest 
 
 Broke on his view; how ships were coming in, 
 
 How vast the number of them must have been; 
 
 And how, by turning east, he saw strung out 
 
 A hundred thousand people, all en route 
 
 For the Pacific slope; and now we come 
 
 To something that he saw much nearer home. 
 
 Though what he viewed was not with natural eye, 
 
 To him it was as clear in reverie, 
 
 As he lay musing on the mountain-top. 
 
 Spread out there were before him, like a map, 
 
 A very great variety of things, 
 
 Which came up bold in his imaginings: 
 
 Some that appeared astonishing to him, 
 
 And some quite unaccountable did seem; 
 
 But still he kept on dreaming, where he lay, 
 
 From noon till end of that long summer day 
 
 Nor did he weary in the contemplation 
 
 Of the affairs and men of that great nation, 
 
 Which at a future time was to control 
 
 All of America, from pole to pole. 
 
 In the good Book we are most plainly told 
 That what Isaiah saw, in days of old, 
 
156 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Was all to his prophetic vision clear, 
 
 And that if what he saw had been quite near 
 
 In point of time and space, he could not better 
 
 Have told what did take place; for to the letter 
 
 Did that great leader of the ancient seers 
 
 Predict what would occur in after years. 
 
 And Manuelo did in similar way 
 
 Foretell what is transpiring in our day; 
 
 And though three centuries ago he spake, 
 
 There is in all he said not one mistake. 
 
 It is, perhaps, worth while here to repeat, 
 
 In just one line, what then his eyes did greet. 
 
 First to the western sea his thoughts were bent, 
 
 Then eastward for a time he looked intent; 
 
 But gazing southward, now, across the Bay, 
 
 Just down before him, and not far away, 
 
 Lay a large city, stretching from the shore 
 
 Back westward, over hills and dales a score. 
 
 This city was to him a great surprise, 
 
 For until now it had escaped his eyes. 
 
 Perhaps a fog or smoke did intervene, 
 
 And thus prevent, at first, its being seen. 
 
 But that was not a matter of great weight, 
 
 Since all the city now was plain in sight, 
 
 So plain, indeed, that he seemed almost there, 
 
 And in his vision could see objects clear. 
 
 Some things were quite beyond his comprehension; 
 
 Of such he thought it best to make no mention; 
 
 Of others that by him were understood, 
 
 He spoke without reserve, just as he should. 
 
 Much that was seen was so entirely new 
 
 That his description may not seem quite true 
 
 In all particulars; but bear in mind 
 
 That everything which in this book you find 
 
 Is only the translation ot a scroll 
 
 Found, lately, in a musty pigeon-hole 
 
 In the convent r.t Evora, and when 
 
 The manuscript was found it must have been 
 
 As old as three hundred and twenty years; 
 
 And I confess I entertain some fears 
 
 That it was not entirely genuine ; 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 157 
 
 But this is certainly no fault of mine. 
 
 My simple duty to translate it is, 
 
 And faults in the original are his 
 
 Who penned the curious story at the start, 
 
 And framed this history with so much art. 
 
 But I must now return to that great town 
 Which afterwards acquired such just renown 
 Its ^ harves far out into the Bay extended; 
 Some were entirely new, and some were mended; 
 Others were broke, and needed much repair, 
 And he observed a few, he said, that were 
 Full of large holes through which men disappeared, 
 And nothing afterwards of them was heard. 
 
 A bulkhead stretched around the city front, 
 
 Upon which men in idleness were wont 
 
 To saunter, stand and muse, and sometimes ride, 
 
 Or hither come, intent on suicide. 
 
 And sometimes, though not often, women too 
 
 Would seek the city front with that in view. 
 
 But when a woman jumped into the water, 
 
 A man, he said, was always near and caught her; 
 
 But if a man it was plunged in the Bay, . 
 
 The other men were all a league away; 
 
 Perhaps, at last, a few would come about, 
 
 And if reward was offered, fish him out. 
 
 Some streets appeared as smooth as any floor, 
 
 Others too rough too travel over more. 
 
 Some were well paved with stone, and some with wood; 
 
 The last were poor, the former very good; 
 
 That is, the first, when paved with blocks of stone, 
 
 And only when paved with that kind alone, 
 
 For there were other streets laid close with cobble, 
 
 And over these a horse could hardly hobble. 
 
 These cobble pavements were so very rough 
 
 The city soon obtained of them enough. 
 
 It would be difficult to pave a street 
 
 With substance more annoying to the feet, 
 
 And as the feet in this thing were consulted, 
 
158 CALIFORNIA 
 
 And not the head, it naturally resulted 
 
 In substituting stones, smooth on one side, 
 
 And over which men could with comfort ride. 
 
 The streets that were with wooden pavement laid, 
 
 And for which kind the people always paid 
 
 A good round price, would sometimes last a year 
 
 Or two, and perhaps three, but never near 
 
 So long as other kinds; but still some would 
 
 Persist in saying they were very good, * 
 
 And good they were for just a little while; 
 
 But it took little time for wood to spoil; 
 
 A heavy rain would cause the blocks to swell, 
 
 And then the pavement was all gone to well, 
 
 No matter; but the street would all appear 
 
 Thrown up in little hillocks, far and near, 
 
 And then no one along that street could drive 
 
 With any hope of getting through alive. 
 
 As many men have many different minds, 
 
 So of sidewalks there were as many kinds 
 
 As each saw fit to make fronting his door, 
 
 And some would have two kinds, and even more. 
 
 There was no uniformity whatever, 
 
 And so it never happened, or hardly ever, 
 
 That any two men could agree in making 
 
 The same sort of sidewalk, or undertaking 
 
 To make a walk that was at all worth having; 
 
 The end, as said, was many kinds of paving. 
 
 Some were of granite made, and some of flags, 
 
 And in these both most commonly were sags. 
 
 Some were of bricks, and some were laid with planks, 
 
 Which, so to speak, would cut up many pranks. 
 
 The planks would spring, and warp, and twist, and wind, 
 
 And never could be properly confined. 
 
 Some were of asphalt made with gravel mixed, 
 
 And this kind had to be quite often fixed; 
 
 The asphaltum would melt in the hot sun, 
 
 And quite, at times, over the stone curb run; 
 
 Or else, when level, get so soft, at last, 
 
 That women walking on it would stick fast. 
 
 And pretty girls, in going two and two* 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 159 
 
 Would, as it sometimes happened, lose a shoe, 
 Which at the time to her would seem shocking, 
 Since it exposed to public view a stocking; 
 But when some young man would the shoe restore, 
 She would appear as happy as before. 
 And walks were also made by mixing sand 
 With a cement; but none could understand 
 How this was done. It was a patent right, 
 And though performed by men in open sight 
 Of everyone, only a few could do 
 What to all people was exposed to view. 
 This kind of sidewalk was the very best, 
 And far excelled in smoothness all the rest; 
 But somehow only men whose wealth was ample 
 Indulged in it, and only then for sample. 
 
 Had he been looking with his natural eyes, 
 
 Reclining as he was on Tamalpais, 
 
 A waste of sand he would have had in view, 
 
 All over where the city after grew; 
 
 But in the future he was looking far : 
 
 To him a city was already there. 
 
 With mental vision casting o er the place, 
 
 Long rows of buildings he could plainly trace. 
 
 These he observed with some degree of care, 
 
 And noticed features that to him were rare. 
 
 Some people on the sand their houses made, 
 
 But others, building, their foundation laid 
 
 In solid ground; and some built on the rocks, 
 
 And these could not be moved by earthquake shocks; 
 
 A few were built of stone, and more of brick, 
 
 But of these last the walls were never thick. 
 
 So thin, 1 indeed, quite strange to say, were some 
 
 That when the least disturbed down they would come. 
 
 But houses most were built of wood called red, 
 
 And plastered on the side and overhead. 
 
 The windows, as a rule, were rather wide, 
 
 And from the house stood out on every side. 
 
 Long did he look, but never could conjecture 
 
 What style it was they had of architecture. 
 
 He noticed some oblong, and like a chest, 
 
160 CALIFORNIA 
 
 But these, he thought, were not among the best. 
 
 Immensely large to him some homes appeared, 
 
 But in the largest, he observed, were reared 
 
 Less children than in some mere hovels were, 
 
 Without a window, and with single door. 
 
 This waste of room, he thought, proved with mankind 
 
 That fortune fickle was, and likewise blind. 
 
 Some of these dwellings were palatial, 
 
 And in their grandeur rivaled the Querenial; 
 
 In these of works of art and bric-a-brac, 
 
 Selected with best taste, there was no lack. 
 
 All luxuries the world could then afford 
 
 Were there observed, and in the greatest hoard : 
 
 The statues and the paintings gathered there 
 
 Were by old masters made, and very rare. 
 
 Of tapestry and gems there was no end, 
 
 The cost of which no one could comprehend. 
 
 These dwellings mostly were built on a hill, 
 
 They called it Nob, and no one ever will 
 
 Or can well know how to Manuelo 
 
 These things appeared three hundred years ago. 
 
 The people that those houses occupied 
 
 Were genial folk, and some of them took pride 
 
 In kindly acts, and doing good to others, 
 
 And seemed to think that all mankind were brothers. 
 
 A few of them their boundless wealth enjoyed, 
 
 While others by their riches were annoyed, 
 
 And seemed to be in constant apprehension 
 
 Of breaches of the peace, or some contention 
 
 Among the other dwellers in the city; 
 
 Perhaps for lack of charity, or pity 
 
 Towards men of families that were in need, 
 
 For in that city some were poor indeed. 
 
 There is so much in prophecy revealed, 
 So many things that else would be concealed 
 In the dark womb of distant future years, 
 And about which poor mankind seldom hears 
 Things, but for the good prophet s warning cry, 
 Would come like thunder-clap from a clear sky- 
 That man should heed what in this way is told, 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 161 
 
 And not confide too much in power of gold. 
 Justino, after making this reflection, 
 Turned his attention in a new direction. 
 
 LXI. 
 
 THE PEOPLE. 
 
 THE people that inhabited that city 
 Were, as a general thing, both wise and witty. 
 Their wisdom was in many things displayed, 
 Their wit was mostly seen in what they said. 
 Sometimes in action they would show some wit, 
 In failing to be active not a bit. 
 
 The thing in which they proved themselves most wise 
 Was in the most remarkably large size 
 Assumed by them for everything they had, 
 And all they hoped to get, and all they made. 
 Some might not see the wisdom of this trait 
 And think it was but to exaggerate ; 
 But one should take of it a different view, 
 And one which seems to be to nature true, 
 That every man thereby improved his health, 
 And added likewise greatly to his wealth. 
 Another thing in which their wisdom shone 
 Was in a custom which was all their own : 
 This custom was to always look around, 
 And when, perchance, a thing of worth was found, 
 To try and turn it to their own account, 
 At least, if it was of some great amount. 
 This habit cultivated, grew so strong 
 That scarce a man among them thought it wrong 
 To take and keep whatever he could get, 
 Or to demand of anyone he met 
 A fair division of his surplus gains, 
 And on refusal to blow out his brains. 
 But rarely did this happen for that cause; 
 Nevertheless it was among their laws 
 That any man who might be called a thief, 
 And from the charge if he had no relief, 
 He could on his own hook hunt down the one 
 11 
 
162 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Who slandered him, and this was often done. 
 The wisdom of such laws was clearly shown 
 In making men more careful of their own, 
 In making them more cautious how they talked, 
 And more particular, also, where they walked. 
 This good effect was noticed everywhere, 
 And breaches of these laws were very rare. 
 It did occur to him, however, then, 
 That mongst them all there might be a few men 
 Who would adhere to their determination 
 To break these laws, in spite of all creation; 
 Who might the laws of father-lands prefer, 
 And who were willing, therefore, to incur 
 The hot displeasure of those other men, 
 Who to each one of these would number ten. 
 This kind of conduct always raised a row, 
 But these few men, by management, somehow, 
 Would form themselves into a committee, 
 And take possession of the entire city. 
 And for a week or two, both night and day, 
 The very deuce would seem to be to pay. 
 
 The people were made up of different classes, 
 
 Some being wise, he said, but some were asses; 
 
 But then they came from many different places, 
 
 And were composed of several different races. 
 
 There was the man from Europe, with white skin; 
 
 And Southern men were there, with skins quite thin; 
 
 Then came the African, whose skin was black, 
 
 And some of these were striped on the back. 
 
 The South American came next, with features 
 
 That make it hard to tell what kind of creatures 
 
 His father and his mother may have been, 
 
 According to the teachings of Darwin. 
 
 Next came the India man, more brown than stout, 
 
 A race of men that seemed well-nigh run out. 
 
 Then English, Irish, Scotch, and French, and Dutch- 
 
 The number was unlimited of .such. 
 
 Of Chinamen he thought there were a few, 
 
 And now and then a solitary Jew. 
 
 But in that city everything was made 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 163 
 
 By those supposed Chinese, and all the trade 
 Was carried on by Jews, if Jews they were, 
 And quite like Jews, to him, they did appear. 
 
 The people there had one infatuation 
 
 Which was peculiar to no other nation. 
 
 The men and women liked to be thought young, 
 
 Particularly when about half sprung. 
 
 They somehow seemed to think it a disgrace 
 
 To have white hair, or wrinkles on the face. 
 
 To make themselves look young the men would dye 
 
 Their hair a black, or brown, but by and by, 
 
 When it grew out, and sometimes all too soon, 
 
 It would assume a color called maroon. 
 
 Sometimes half whitCj and black the other half, 
 
 A man or woman s hair would cause a laugh. 
 
 The women, to look young, would paint their features, 
 
 And then, regard themselves as charming creatures. 
 
 So thick would these sometimes apply the paint 
 
 That some of them appeared extremely quaint; 
 
 But still they would persist, both maids and mothers, 
 
 In self-delusion, trying to cheat others. 
 
 He really thought it was the strangest yet 
 
 That men and women should so far forget 
 
 That youth depends upon how one appears, 
 
 And not upon the number of his years. 
 
 Some are in very truth quite old at thirty, 
 
 While others are as young as boys at forty. 
 
 Those men who play the old boy in their youth 
 
 Are sure to be, while young, old boys in truth. 
 
 But those who temperate are in all their lives, 
 
 And those especially who have good wives, 
 
 Though many years may over them have rolled, 
 
 Will still be vigorous, and not grow old. 
 
 Some persons have been known at eighty-seven 
 
 To be apparently as far from Heaven 
 
 As others only twenty-five have been, 
 
 From being by the devil taken in. 
 
 While, in true youthfulness, there is some glory, 
 
 None is in being prematurely hoary: 
 
 And this may be with some the reason why 
 
164 CALIFORNIA 
 
 They use so frequently dark-colored dye; 
 
 And women may use paint with the same view; 
 
 But dye nor paint can make an old thing new. 
 
 Good habits better are than dye, or paint, 
 
 And these observed there need be no complaint. 
 
 Manuel thought the elixir of man s life 
 
 Was a good, loving, true, and faithful wife; 
 
 But what of women might be th elixir 
 
 He could not guess, but thought perhaps for her 
 
 It might be well rich dresses to provide, 
 
 And jewelry, and many things beside. 
 
 But what he thought would most renew her strength, 
 
 And to her life add many years of length, 
 
 Was what appeared to him a simple thing, 
 
 That is, to give her tongue the fullest swing; 
 
 For women s lives, he thought, had been curtailed 
 
 By husbands who, most foolishly, had failed 
 
 To fully comprehend their greatest need, 
 
 Which was to talk, he said, and not to read. 
 
 LXII. 
 
 THE CITY. 
 
 MANUELO had been brought up in Spain, 
 
 And always hoped he might go back again. 
 
 As seaman he had traveled far and wide, 
 
 And visited a hundred ports beside 
 
 The one on which he now was looking down, 
 
 And on the shores of which he saw this town. 
 
 But in the ports and cities he had seen, 
 
 And through the busy streets of which had been, 
 
 Not one presented such a sight as here 
 
 Arose before his seer like vision clear. 
 
 In other towns were carts and drays and hacks, 
 
 But here the carriages all ran on tracks. 
 
 A single hoise would draw one very large, 
 
 And as capacious as a captain s barge. 
 
 But what was more surprising to him still, 
 
 Some of them would run up the highest hill 
 
 Without so much as single horse to pull, 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 165 
 
 And that, too, when they were chock brimming full 
 
 Of passengers. This surely magic was, 
 
 He thought, and contrary to all the laws 
 
 Of nature and of art. To save his soul 
 
 He could not tell what caused the wheels to roll; 
 
 But roll they would, and that, too, very swift, 
 
 And in some way would actually lift 
 
 Those riding in them up the steepest height, 
 
 And keep on doing so through day and night. 
 
 He saw, but could not tell exactly where, 
 
 Except it was on some great thoroughfare, 
 
 A single structure which, for style and size, 
 
 Surpassed by far all buildings that his eyes 
 
 Had ever rested on. Hotel it seemed, 
 
 But large enough if was for king, he deemed. 
 
 He doubted if there was a palace built 
 
 That for magnificence could hold a tilt 
 
 With this great building. It was so very high, 
 
 To see its top one had quite hard to try. 
 
 A court it had, rectangular in form, 
 
 Which was entirely shut in from the storm, 
 
 For it was covered with a roof of glass. 
 
 In beauty this fine structure did surpass 
 
 The Mosque of Omar, and the Vatican, 
 
 And every other building made by man. 
 
 A thousand people in it found a home, 
 
 And in its corridors a man might roam 
 
 For several days, and travel many a mile, 
 
 And something new and strange see all the while. 
 
 This structure by a banker was designed, 
 
 And owed its perfectness to the great mind 
 
 Of that one man, whose heart and noble soul 
 
 Shone forth in every part, throughout the whole. 
 
 In all the views that Manuelo took, 
 The only things that had familiar look 
 Were the cathedrals and the churches there, 
 And these were scattered almost everywhere. 
 Some churches that he saw were very small, 
 And some were large, with steeples very tall. 
 
166 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Some were surmounted with a cross of gold; 
 
 Some were quite poor, and others very old. 
 
 Those having crosses on he had no doubt 
 
 Were Catholic, and those that were without 
 
 Were Protestant. But this was nothing new, 
 
 For Manuelo, though a Catholic true, 
 
 Was quite familiar with this sort of thing, 
 
 For in his time Don Carlos V. was king, 
 
 And emperor as well of all the Germans, 
 
 And personally had listened to the sermons 
 
 Of Martin Luther, who sought to reform 
 
 The church, and who raised such a fearful storm 
 
 Throughout all Europe, and throughout the world, 
 
 By his bold threats against Pope Leo hurled. 
 
 So in these churches there was nothing odd, 
 
 Since all attendants worshiped the same God. 
 
 There were some places, though, Josh-houses named, 
 
 In which the God of Christians was defamed. 
 
 In these were idols w- rshiped by the people, 
 
 But then these houses had no bell, nor steeple, 
 
 And could not properly be churches called, 
 
 Though Christians, by them, were sometimes appalled. 
 
 In one of the best churches he saw there, 
 
 A man called Brother, someone, led in prayer. 
 
 This church was thought to be not orthodox, 
 
 Though it appeared to have been built on rocks. 
 
 In the largest cathedral that he saw 
 
 A bishop reverend laid down the law, 
 
 The law by which the good should be directed, 
 
 And that likewise which vitally affected 
 
 The temporalities of all his flock; 
 
 And this church founded was upon a rock. 
 
 No standing army in that land appeared, 
 Nor outside enemy was ever feared. 
 The native born were peacefully inclined, 
 v And most of them, it was observed, did mind 
 Their own business, and let their neighbors go. 
 A few, however, would kick up a row; 
 But these were not unto the manof born ; 
 On the contrary, all of these were foreign 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 167 
 
 Men, who, as strangers, to that land had come 
 
 In search of food and for a better home. 
 
 These men were brought up under other rules, 
 
 And widely different laws, and different schools, 
 
 And could not quite take in the situation, 
 
 And therefore often caused great botheration 
 
 To such as had been born in that country, 
 
 And hoped there to enjoy prosperity. 
 
 These foreigners on Sunday afternoons 
 
 Would come together in squads and in platoons, 
 
 And on some sand lot listen to the blarney 
 
 Of one whose name he thought was Dennis Kearny. 
 
 This fellow, in reality, was clever, 
 
 And dosed his hearers with some good palaver. 
 
 He made them think they had been much abused, 
 
 And good men, in that town, this man accused * 
 
 Of all the crimes found in the calendar, 
 
 And some that never had been written there. 
 
 At last this thing became distasteful to 
 
 A few, who said to him it would not do, 
 
 And that unless he stopped abuse right quick, 
 
 And better talked, that they would make him sick. 
 
 And just about this time, as history goes, 
 
 Began the serious troubles and the woes 
 
 Of this man Dennis, and his silly friends, 
 
 Who then did all they could to make amends 
 
 For the great injury they had thus caused ; 
 
 And when, at last, and luckily, they paused, 
 
 And well considered all that they were doing, 
 
 And that their course would surely bring much ruing, 
 
 They promised in the future to do better, 
 
 And to obey the laws up to the letter. 
 
 The people, then, who had been so maligned, 
 
 But who were always very much inclined 
 
 To charity towards all other men, 
 
 And more particularly in cases when 
 
 They were misled by idle demagogues, 
 
 Who knew no more of human rights than swine 
 
 These people, then, he said, their work suspended, 
 
 And all disturbance for the time was ended. 
 
168 CALIFORNIA 
 
 I said a standing army there was none, 
 
 Nevertheless, there was a sort of one. 
 
 This army called itself the police force, 
 
 And in the city they held sway, of course. 
 
 Their proper duty was to keep good order 
 
 Throughout the city, and along the border. 
 
 A star they wore, and dressed in uniform, 
 
 In order that themselves might do less harm. 
 
 These policemen were a good-looking set, 
 
 And behaved well enough to all they met; 
 
 But though their duty was to detect crimes, 
 
 They were most noted for their love of dimes; 
 
 And if one of them ever made arrest, 
 
 Twas as likely to be one of the best 
 
 Of all the citizens, as of the worst. 
 
 It was remarked that not one of them durst 
 
 Take in his charge a person that was bad, 
 
 And persons caught by them were weak or sad. 
 
 By sad was meant they were oppressed by sorrow, 
 
 And wished some place to stay until the morrow : 
 
 If anyone could render this excuse 
 
 He would find lodgings in the calaboose. 
 
 If crime was perpetrated night or day, 
 
 The police force was sure to turn away. 
 
 To avoid trouble they were much inclined, 
 
 And each one his own business chose to mind. 
 
 Sometimes they would take in a girl or boy, 
 
 But full-grown men they seldom would annoy. 
 
 Like other armies this one had its fort, 
 
 And that, in this case, was the police court, 
 
 In which the police force was very strong ; 
 
 And here they would pretend to punish wrong ; 
 
 But wrong was not more punished there than right, 
 
 For the police would try with all their might 
 
 To get a fine imposed, or send to jail 
 
 The man, or woman either, who might fail 
 
 To pony up, whatever was demanded. 
 
 And in the jail the poor were always landed. 
 
 A common council in that city was 
 
 Called common, from the nature of the laws 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 169 
 
 Enacted by them, or, perhaps, because 
 They were an ordinary set of men, 
 And paid but little heed to duty when 
 Transacting business for the public good, 
 Or doing what in honesty they should. 
 These men would quarrel about little things, 
 But in all large ones were controlled by rings. 
 By rings are understood, some men combined 
 To carry out the scheme they have in mind. 
 The object of these men was always pelf, 
 And at the city crib each helped himself. 
 
 There was among the rest a water ring, 
 
 Which had an institution they called Spring 
 
 Valley. The object of it was to bring 
 
 Pure water to such people as were fond 
 
 Of it ; but from a filthy, stagnant pond 
 
 The water for the citizens was brought ; 
 
 Of which all were compelled to drink, or nought. 
 
 Another ring related to the light 
 
 With which the city was illumed by night. 
 
 Whatever this light was, they called it gas. 
 
 But when this dream occurred there was., alas! 
 
 No gas in all the world, or none by name, 
 
 Though something else may have been just the same; 
 
 But it was not then used for light at all ; 
 
 If known it was to alchemists, that s all. 
 
 The lights in use in Manuelo s day 
 
 Were all produced in quite a different way. 
 
 The tallow candle was the main reliance ; 
 
 But some had made so much advance in science 
 
 That lamps were used, in which was burned whale oil ; 
 
 But these, for common use, were deemed tpo royal. 
 
 When Manuelo therefore heard so much 
 
 Loud talk about gas-light, his mind was such 
 
 That light thereon would have been well conferred, 
 
 To help him comprehend what then he heard. 
 
 But the first object of the great gas ring 
 
 From giving light was quite a different thing. 
 
 They sought to keep the public in the dark 
 
170 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Regarding their concern and all its work. 
 In just that way, that is, by means of stealth, 
 Immense amounts were added to their wealth. 
 Justino rather thought, but was not sure, 
 The practice of this ring towards the poor, 
 In wringing out of th_m their little gains, 
 To gather which had cost them so much pains, 
 Might be the reason why they were so named; 
 At all events, for wringing they were famed. 
 But then no matter how the term arose, 
 Or what we may concerning it suppose, 
 The fact will still remain, and eve-r be, 
 That ring the same is as monopoly ; 
 And of monopolies in that fair land 
 There was no end. They were on every hand, 
 And controlled everything. If but a street 
 Was to be fixed you would be sure to meet 
 A band of hungry wights, hot for a job, 
 All ready to combine to steal and rob. 
 
 Another ring, the strongest one of all, 
 
 Was formed about a large new city hall 
 
 Which they were building on a sandy dune, 
 
 But which would not be finished very soon; 
 
 For when complete it would no longer give 
 
 The ring support, nor on it could they live. 
 
 Officials of the city, high and low, 
 
 Were members of this ring from the word go. 
 
 Some of them would get rich out of a job 
 
 Upon it, and others would try to rob 
 
 The city on some contract they would take, 
 
 Intending in that way large wealth to make. 
 
 A sort of sheep-shears was this city hall, 
 
 Which served to fleece the people, one and all; 
 
 And meek as lambs the people would submit 
 
 To whatsoever any ring saw fit 
 
 To do. or to impose upon the city; 
 
 And Manuelo thought it was a pity 
 
 That all the good men in the town did not 
 
 Arise and teach these combinations what 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 171 
 
 They ought to do, or rather what they should 
 Refrain from doing, unless it be for gond. 
 
 The reader will remember the time when 
 
 That fight came off between four hundred men 
 
 On the one side, and on the other side 
 
 Some thirty bears, who, with mouths open wide, 
 
 Defied the men, and bravely stood their ground 
 
 Until the Santoese did them surround; 
 
 And how the men advanced with fearful yell, 
 
 And how the bears, affrighted, screeched as well, 
 
 And how the great tumult filled all the plain, 
 
 And from the hi Is was echoed back again. 
 
 But this commotion could not be compared 
 
 To a tumult which Manuelo heard 
 
 In that city, in a great granite hall, 
 
 Built very strong, with steeple very tall. 
 
 About three hundred men were there assembled, 
 
 And in their conduct very much resembled 
 
 The men who were engaged in the bear fight; 
 
 But ia loud yelling beat them out of sight. 
 
 He watched them closely, and tried to find out 
 
 What it all meant, and what they were about, 
 
 But it was of no use, there was no telling 
 
 What caused the men to keep up such a yelling. 
 
 In the great din he thought he could detect 
 
 Thai much of it was done just for effect; 
 
 And that the ones who made the greatest racket 
 
 Had much less cause than others had to make it. 
 
 As empty wagons make the loudest noise, 
 
 So loudest among these were empty boys. 
 
 He heard them saying something about stocks, 
 
 And sometimes one would speak of bottom rocks. 
 
 Much of their talk was about puts and fills, 
 
 And sometimes also about shafts and mills; 
 
 But to his understanding this was Greek, 
 
 And so to comprehend it d d not seek. 
 
 Each man would have a pencil in his hand, 
 
 And now and then one of them would demand 
 
 Of the fat man, who sat above the crowd, 
 
 That he right there and then should be allowed 
 
172 CALIFORNIA 
 
 To bring some other fellow up to taw; 
 
 And then the fat man would pronounce the law. 
 
 Though all these men were full of demonstration 
 
 For that among them all was all the fashion 
 
 Not one was ever hit upon the nose, 
 
 Though many of them, as he did suppose, 
 
 Received black eyes, or were quite badly skinned, 
 
 And now and then someone would have the wind 
 
 Knocked out of him, and such would always then 
 
 Complain of aches about the abdomen. 
 
 Some of these men when chafed, like wolves would howl, 
 
 And others when close pressed like bears would growl; 
 
 So much like bears, at times, a part would act. 
 
 That others justly called them bears in fact. 
 
 Another set would bellow so like bulls 
 
 That they were termed, in spite of all the rules, 
 
 The bulls of that assembly; and this part 
 
 Would sometimes show in practice so much art 
 
 In puffing up what they might have in mind, 
 
 That good Manuelo was half inclined 
 
 To look upon them as sets of scamps, 
 
 And scarcely better than so many tramps. 
 
 About this granite hall, and on the street, 
 
 A stranger in the town would always meet 
 
 A crowd of hungry, seedy, anxious wights; 
 
 Where they were from, and where they slept o nights, 
 
 A puzzle was, and mystery profound; 
 
 But some he judged must sleep upon the ground, 
 
 For they as filthy were, and looked as bad, 
 
 As if they board or lodgings never had. 
 
 Some hopeful were, and some were in despair, 
 
 As would appear from their disheveled hair. 
 
 Some from hard drink had faces very red, 
 
 And others from diseases were half dead. 
 
 These fellows, judging from their gentle ways, 
 
 May at some time have seen much better days, 
 
 But now their case was sorrowful enough, 
 
 And their prospect in life seemed pretty rough. 
 
 Each was beset with a strange sort of whim, 
 
 That some great fortune was awaiting him; 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 173 
 
 And this delusion would hang to each one 
 
 Until his course on earth at last was run. 
 
 Once in a while a woman would come there, 
 
 Though women in that crowd were rather rare; 
 
 But when one did appear she rushed along, 
 
 And would be hardly noticed by the throng. 
 
 If sensitive, the woman never failed, 
 
 In that locality, to keep closely veiled, 
 
 For women on that street were out of place, 
 
 And were quite apt to fall into disgrace 
 
 By going there too often, or by staying 
 
 Where those mad men their curious games were playing. 
 
 LXIII. 
 
 DRESS. 
 
 GOOD Manuelo in his youth had heard 
 That "finest feathers make the finest bird;" 
 Which words of wisdom he could not forget, 
 And that now brings us to the best part yet 
 Of this long dream. At least, I think it is, 
 And my opinion is the same as his 
 Who dreamed the dream. But then, nor he, 
 Nor yet myself, a proper judge may be. 
 
 By feathers here are meant quite different things 
 
 From those which grow upon the tails and wings 
 
 Of birds of various kinds. The things I mean 
 
 Are those which are so very often seen 
 
 In cities large, to wit, what women wear 
 
 When to the play they go, or when to prayer. 
 
 The dreamer wrapped in reverie profound, 
 
 In a great hall was borne, where all around 
 
 Were seated men and women, young and old, 
 
 In numbers greater than can well be told. 
 
 A theater it seemed, of vast extent, 
 
 And for the pleasure of the people meant. 
 
 Its form was circular, but from one side 
 
 A stage extended off, both far and wide. 
 
 The whole of this great hall was ornamented 
 
 With every figure that could be invented; 
 
174 CALIFORNIA 
 
 With angels in mid air, in nakedness, 
 
 Or with the least apology for dress. 
 
 Goblins likewise there were, with hideous forms, 
 
 Some having faces, necks, and breasts, and arms 
 
 Of lovely girls; but all the parts below 
 
 Of horrid beasts, of kinds no one may know. 
 
 Some were like fishes formed, with fins and tails, 
 
 Some bore the heads of men, but most females. 
 
 Of all these things no heed at all was taken, 
 
 Or none unless the dreamer was mistaken. 
 
 But mirrors large were set in many places, 
 
 In which reflected were the people s faces. 
 
 These mirrors objects were of much attention, 
 
 As if they might have been some new invention. 
 
 The women, he observed, would peer in these, 
 
 And some, in doing so, seemed ill at ease, 
 
 And anxiously adjusted what they wore, 
 
 Which Manuelo thought, in looking o er 
 
 That vast assembly, might have been 
 
 A little more extensive than was seen, 
 
 For more than half of all the ladies there 
 
 Appeared with breast and neck and arms quite bare; 
 
 But then their dresses all, such as they had, 
 
 Were of the very finest fabrics made; 
 
 And gold and jewelry of every sort 
 
 Adorned the person where the dress was short. 
 
 Feathers, and likewise flowers, most gay, upon 
 
 Their heads they wore in the greatest profusion. 
 
 In this, he thought, he could most plainly see 
 
 They had a custom of the Santo.ee, 
 
 For all the maids and matrons of that nation 
 
 Adopted flowers and feathers as their fashion. 
 
 But from the Santoese they different were, 
 
 In that those in the hall wore golden hair; 
 
 And many of them were of light complexion, 
 
 Made so by paint, as was plain of detection. 
 
 Whereas the native women of his day, 
 
 Who then were living just across the Bay, 
 
 Had hair as black as any raven s wing, 
 
 And eyes as dark as any darker thing. 
 
 But paint was never used by dame or maid 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 175 
 
 Though men themselves would paint when on a raid 
 Their faces were as clear as* amber bright, 
 And beautiful, though not exactly white. 
 
 The people in this theater assembled, 
 Which in arrangement very much resembled 
 The arenas by the Romans built in Spain, 
 But which for ages had in ruins lain, 
 Were waiting with impatience, all within, 
 For the evening s entertainment to begin. 
 At length, before them all, upon the stage 
 A man stalked forth, who seemed in towering rage ; 
 He stormed and stamped and swore and beat about, 
 When, in a little while, two more came out, 
 And tried to cool his anger with soft speech; 
 But the first man replied in turn to each 
 Of the two men, denouncing them aloud, 
 With words severe, before the assembled crowd. 
 Just then a lady came upon the scene, 
 From a more distant place behind a screen. 
 This lady s dress was made of silks and fur, 
 And two bare-legged pages followed her, 
 Bearing her train, which was three varas long. 
 When near the front she soon began a song, 
 In which the men all three joined in, with notes 
 Quite loud enough to split their very throats. 
 With many demonstrations wild these four 
 Were singing, when in rushed a dozen more; 
 A troop of peasantry, fair maids, and men, 
 "And women, young and old, and then 
 They all joined in the singing, and the noise 
 Was equaled only by that which boys 
 Upon a village green, on festive day, 
 Are wont to raise when foot -ball is the play. 
 The din continued half an hour or more, 
 When the first lady fell upon the floor, 
 And to appearances s"he lay there dead ; 
 But still the play and singing onward sped. 
 The angry man then, kneeling by her side, 
 Showed by his actions that she was his bride, 
 For he with sorrow was quite overcome, 
 
176 CALIFORNIA 
 
 And anxious seemed to be to take her home. 
 But while yet there, and what to do uncertain, 
 . And others still were singing, down came the curtain. 
 Then from the vast assemblage there uprose 
 Loudest applause. But this was not the close. 
 It was an interlude between the acts, 
 And Manuelo then observed these facts. 
 
 Foremost among the men, and near the stage, 
 
 Were many gentlemen advanced in age. 
 
 Some were adorned with wigs, but most were bald. 
 
 Though young some were, they all would old be called; 
 
 For while their years were few, they much had seen, 
 
 And their experience had quite various been. 
 
 These, in that town, were known as fast young men. 
 
 So fast indeed they were that never again 
 
 Could they be youthful, for their prime was passed, 
 
 And with much older men their lot was cast. 
 
 The old, bald-headed men, no doubt, drew near 
 
 In order that they might the better hear; 
 
 Or possibly their sight was dimmed by age, 
 
 And for this reason they sat near the stage, 
 
 In order that the better they might view 
 
 All that the actors on the boards might do. 
 
 It was observed when dancing girls came out 
 
 These ojd, and old young men, were close about 
 
 To see and hear all that was going on, 
 
 To cheer the actors, and enjoy the fun. 
 
 Of dancing girls there were in that same play 
 
 A score or more, and not for many a day 
 
 Had Manuelo seen a sight so fine, 
 
 Or anything, in fact, in that same line. 
 
 With hop, and skip, and sudden turns and whirls, 
 
 This troop of twenty beautiful young girls 
 
 Came vaulting on the stage, and briskly danced, 
 
 While each in turn on light tiptoe advanced 
 
 Quite to the front, so that the men might see 
 
 Which one of them best danceress might be. 
 
 All of these damsels had a sort of notion 
 
 That too much clothing might impede their motion, 
 
 And for that reason garments they had few, 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 177 
 
 As few, in fact, as possibly would do. 
 In truth, it must be said to have had less 
 Would have been to be almost without dress. 
 Such clothes each had as modesty req ired, 
 And that was all the audience desired, 
 Particularly that portion near the stage, 
 Who have been mentioned as advanced in age. 
 These ladies danced with such transcendent skill, 
 And were applauded with so much good- will, 
 And all so smiled, and showed such winning ways, 
 That each in turn was showered with sweet bouquets. 
 But pleasures all must end, and so this play ; 
 And the people went reluctantly away. 
 
 These things were seen some centuries ago, 
 And what is plain to us could not be so 
 To one accustomed to the different ways 
 Of people living in those ancient days. 
 Tis nothing new to us to see men smoking; 
 But the good friar thought the dreamer joking, 
 \Vhen he related how he saw the men 
 Imbibing smoke, from something round, and then 
 Puffing it out again from mouth or nose, 
 When, as he said, the smoke in clouds arose; 
 And then the men would watch with anxious eyes, 
 To see how high the cloud thus made would rise. 
 He could not tell to save him what this meant, 
 But gave the fact, and with that was content. 
 He thought, however, it was childish sport, 
 And wondered that full-grown men could resort 
 To such a boyish practice as that seemed, 
 And one so foolish, too, as this was deemed. 
 
 Another thing that caused astonishment 
 Was, that men, young and old, were not content 
 To drink what their necessities require, 
 But were possessed with a most strange desire 
 To pour into their stomachs, all the while, 
 Some spirits strong, or some decoction vile, 
 Which they well knew would surely cause their death, 
 And while thev lived, erive them a horrid breath. 
 12 
 
178 CALIFORNIA 
 
 This common habit of intoxication 
 
 He thought the crowning curse of that great nation; 
 
 And so it was, for of their men the best 
 
 Were by it sent to their eternal rest. 
 
 But then he would not have it understood 
 
 That all the people drank ; some were too good, 
 
 And some had too much pride to be seen drunk, 
 
 And rarely was one found who had so sunk 
 
 In his own estimation as to become 
 
 A common mendicant, without a home ; 
 
 But such examples would sometimes occur, 
 
 Brought on by drink, as all such cases were. 
 
 By this account Justine s heart was moved 
 
 With pity great, for all mankind he loved. 
 
 Most people in that town were well inclined, 
 As good, he thought, in fact, as one could find. 
 Politeness and true goodness are the same, 
 The difference being only in the name. 
 Politeness marked the conduct of the many, 
 And of rude people there were hardly any. 
 But some there were disposed to foppishness, 
 W ho counted overmuch upon their dress. 
 Even in this trait there was some wisdom shown, 
 And the distinction was not all their own; 
 For other men in other times have thought 
 - That reputation with one s clothes is bought. 
 Say what you will, that is not all absurd 
 Which on this head we have so often heard : 
 Dress makes the man, the want of it the boor, 
 The ill-dressed man is always very poor. 
 Nine tailors, it is said, it doth require 
 To make a man ; but we do not desire 
 To be unfair; one tailor surely can, 
 If a good one, make up a gentleman. 
 Why nine should be required to make the clothes 
 Of one is more than anybody knows. 
 But nine it may require to make a fit ; 
 And should the fact be sought, that may be it. 
 The tailors as a class are much abused, 
 And payment of their bills sometimes refused : 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 179 
 
 By closest observation you will find 
 That they are benefactors of mankind. 
 
 Among the well-dressed men, it was observed, 
 Were those who in their health were best preserved. 
 The most of these in business were employed, 
 But some with business never were annoyed; 
 These mentioned last were mostly men of wealth, 
 But some of them appeared to live by stealth, 
 Their occupation could not well be seen, 
 And so he thought some of them might have been 
 Engaged in games, that is, I mean, with cards, 
 Or, which is much the same, in the stock-boards. 
 Most of the well-dressed men had lots of money, 
 While others aS well clad were without any. 
 The impecunious ones were termed these last, 
 And they distinguished were for living fast. 
 A selfish sort of life some of them led, 
 And for all good they did might well be dead. 
 They had no wives nor children to support, 
 Nor would engage in business of that sort. 
 They were, in fact, a shiftless set of scamps, 
 And when they became seedy were called tramps. 
 
 Among the richest men it was a rarity 
 
 To find one much inclined to charity. 
 
 The man of wealth, who, with a generous heart, 
 
 Relieves the poor by giving up a part 
 
 Of the large gains which fortune has bestowed, 
 
 Does others some, but does himself most good. 
 
 That happiness which one may others cause 
 
 By operation of kind nature s laws, 
 
 Back to the generous man is sure to come, 
 
 By the same rule that curses roost at home. 
 
 If this wise law rich men could understand, 
 
 There would be less distress in every land. 
 
 In speaking of the laws good Manuel 
 Thought of the lawyers, and went on to tell 
 About this class of men as they appeared 
 In his long dream, but said he greatly feared 
 He might injustice do that curious class, 
 
180 CALIFORNIA 
 
 And half inclined he was to let them pass; 
 
 But, yielding to the friar s earnest prayer, 
 
 He tnen went on to say the lawyers were 
 
 By far the most deceitful, treacherous set 
 
 Of individuals he had ever met. 
 
 He said they would by cunning and deceit 
 
 Impose upon the people, and would cheat 
 
 The men by whom they were employed; 
 
 That in some cases men were more annoyed 
 
 By their own lawyers than by th others . 
 
 He said the lawyers called each other brothers, 
 
 And an association formed in which they would 
 
 Conspire together for their common good; 
 
 That they before the court would spout and spar, 
 
 And seem to be engaged in earnest war; 
 
 But when the court adjourned, and out they came, 
 
 They to each other would appear the same 
 
 As if they always had been best of friends, 
 
 And for discourteous words to make amends, 
 
 The two would step into the next saloon, 
 
 And all their quarrels were frogotten soon. 
 
 The two would there shake hands, and drink, and smoke, 
 
 And treat their quarrel as a pleasant joke. 
 
 They called themselves practitioners at the bar, 
 
 And such, he said, in fact they really were; 
 
 But then the bar that most attention claimed 
 
 From these good lawyers was the one just named, 
 
 Where whisky, gin, and wine were sold and bought, 
 
 And not the one where justice is dealt out. 
 
 The lawyers may in league be with the devil, 
 
 But then they are a necessary evil. 
 
 Regarding many things which there he saw, 
 
 Some men were needed to lay down the law, 
 
 And lawyers were employed that thing to do, 
 
 Though some of them had other ends in view. 
 
 And then the same precisely are the facts 
 In that profession where are found the quacks. 
 Some doctors faithful are and some are not; 
 Some are men of learning, and some have got 
 A mere smattering of the knowledge most in need 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 181 
 
 In that important calling to succeed. 
 Some to acquire that knowledge take great pains, 
 But nevtr can succeed for want of brains. 
 In such we see the bent of nature foiled, 
 A strong blacksmith or a good butcher spoiled." 
 Those doctors who lack power of diagnosis, 
 And give, hap-hazard, to their patients doses, 
 Are thought to be about the very worst 
 Of mortal men with whom the world is cursed. 
 The shyster may be cause of loss of gold, 
 In which event his client may be sold : 
 Such injury sustained is to his wealth, 
 But that caused by the quack relates to health, 
 And it may be extends to the man s life, 
 Or to depriving him of child or wife. 
 And yet there are who term themselves physicians, 
 And in their practice hold quite high positions, 
 Whose skill is all in humbug and pretense, 
 And who are lacking even common sense. 
 These, by their airy ways and solemn looks, 
 Lead to belief that they are learned in books ; 
 Whereas, about their art they know much less 
 Than many persons who do not profess 
 To understand a thing about the ills 
 Of which mankind are cured by drams and pills. 
 
 In Barcelona, when he was a lad, 
 
 Manuelo s indulgent parents had 
 
 Sent him to school, to learn how to recite 
 
 His prayers; also, perhaps, to read and write, 
 
 And he could cipher just a little too ; 
 
 But scholars in that country then could do 
 
 Not much beside. His teacher was a priest, 
 
 And worldly knowledge was deemed of the least 
 
 Importance, when compared with that which would 
 
 Result in the immensely greater good 
 
 Of being saved, when his career below 
 
 Was ended, and his soul at last should go 
 
 Up to its Maker, for its final sentence, 
 
 And proof demanded W.TS of his repentance. 
 
 The schools, therefore, that in old Spain were kept, 
 
182 CALIFORNIA 
 
 And those now seen, while Manuelo slept, 
 
 So widely different were in all their aims 
 
 That they might well be called by different names. 
 
 Quite properly, he thought, some were termed schools, 
 
 While others were but nurseries for fools ; 
 
 But which the latter were he did not say, 
 
 And left us to determine as best we may. 
 
 But in the schools to which he, dreaming, went, 
 
 And not the one to which his parents sent 
 
 Him, a small lad, to learn to be a good 
 
 Young man, and to behave just as he should 
 
 In these latter schools, seen in the vision, 
 
 And which he then observed with some precision, 
 
 The teachers were distinguished for their knowledge, 
 
 And had been graduated from some college; 
 
 That is, a college where the sciences and arts 
 
 Were taught. And some were from most distant parts 
 
 Of the world, and were men of the broadest learning, 
 
 And full instructions could impart concerning 
 
 The mysteries of nature, and those curious rules 
 
 Which govern the creation. These latter schools 
 
 Paid less attention to the future state, 
 
 But careful were about what might relate 
 
 To human conduct, and the life on earth; 
 
 Nor was much said about the second birth. 
 
 The mind, it was, received the most attention; 
 
 The soul was seldom thought worthy of mention. 
 
 All this to Manuelo seemed quite odd, 
 
 Since he instructed was to worship God; 
 
 And other learning was of little worth 
 
 Where he was taught, and where he had his birth. 
 
 But there were female teachers here as well; 
 
 And looking, as he dreamed, he could not tell 
 
 Which, for the work, might be the better fitted, 
 
 And on this point his judgment he omitted. 
 
 The females, he observed, received much praise 
 
 From all the pupils, for their winning ways, 
 
 And to impart instruction; these he deemed 
 
 Equal to the men; or so they seemed. 
 
 The scholars by their bright and sprightly looks 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 183 
 
 Showed that they were attentive to their books. 
 Not only could they read, and write, and spell, 
 But in the grammar and geography as well, 
 And in the higher branches, as the algebra, 
 And in philosophy, were taught each day. 
 The greatest aim in their instruction was 
 To make them understand and heed the laws 
 Of good society, and which relate 
 To the requirements of a prosperous state. 
 
 Few books were printed in Justine s time, 
 And none, I think, in that far-distant clime 
 Of Mexico. It is not strange, therefore, 
 That Manuelo s story was not more 
 Clearly understood, when he described the power- 
 Press, and assured Justino that in an hour 
 More than thirty thousand sheets of paper could 
 Be printed much larger each of them than would 
 Be used to make a book. These paper sheets, 
 He said, were hawked about the city s streets, 
 And mornings early left at every door. 
 He thought there might a million be, or more, 
 Of these each day, which all the people read, 
 To find what might about themselves be said, 
 And learn the news concerning all mankind, 
 Which in these papers they were sure to find. 
 But how the news could be obtained each day 
 From places many thousand miles away, 
 Could not be comprehended by the friar, 
 And Manuel, he thought, must be a liar, 
 But did not tell him so, though both did laugh, 
 For neither thought about the telegraph. 
 
 In Manuelo s time book writers were 
 In numbers very few, and they were poor. 
 As want imparts to appetite a zest, 
 So, hungry authors, as a rule, are best. 
 The rich man, when he undertakes to write, 
 Lacks the great stimulus of an appetite. 
 The overpampered brain is never keen, 
 As in the rich man s writings may be seen. 
 
184 CALIFORNIA 
 
 An author never should be too well fed, 
 
 Since a full stomach makes an empty head. 
 
 The belly and the brain so sympathize 
 
 That when the first is full the last is otherwise. 
 
 The city Manuel saw while yet he dreamed 
 
 With writers and with authors fairly teemed; 
 
 They were of every sort and every grade, 
 
 And of as many kinds as could be made 
 
 Out of the poor materials then on hand 
 
 In that most fanciful and curious land. 
 
 Of those who wrote in measure there were many, 
 
 But real poets there were hardly any; 
 
 For wide the difference was, as he could see, 
 
 Betwixt mere rhyming and good poetry. 
 
 Poetic thoughts sometimes appear in prose, 
 
 And prose in rhymes, as everybody knows. 
 
 He found not even one in that vast throng 
 
 Who could compose a tolerable song, 
 
 And hence, he thought, mongst all the writers there 
 
 That real poets were extremely rare; 
 
 And he, in this, showed his superior wit 
 
 By holding that, poeta nascitur, nonfit. 
 
 To be a poet he made no profession, 
 
 And the translator has the same discretion; 
 
 But history he thought was his strong suit, 
 
 And that distinction none can well dispute. 
 
 The writer would the reader not deceive, 
 Nor would he for the world have him believe 
 That he s in any way entitled to 
 The credit for what other men may do. 
 If in this story there is any merit 
 Or genius, such as author might inherit, 
 It all belongs to wise Manuelo, 
 Who really was a very clever fellow; 
 And if defects in composition are 
 . Observable, it is but just to say they were 
 Committed by the friar, and all respon 
 sibility should be located on 
 His broad shoulders; for I now confess 
 That I had nought to do with the MS. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 185 
 
 But it is proper that I here should mention 
 
 That when the manuscript first claimed attention, 
 
 Some thirty -five or forty years ago, 
 
 At the old convent in Alemtajo, 
 
 It was, as penned by Father Justino, 
 
 Writ in blank verse, just as, in ancient days, 
 
 Some authors would prepare for stage their plays ; 
 
 Or, as blind Homer did his story tell 
 
 About the valiant Greeks, and how Troy fell, 
 
 After a long siege, which in heroic deeds 
 
 All other written stories far exceeds, 
 
 Unless we should except this of the friar, 
 
 Who, like old Homer, thrummed the magic lyre. 
 
 But the poor foolish priests, who found the scroll 
 
 So snugly hidden in a pigeon-hole, 
 
 Were so obtuse and purblind at the time 
 
 That poetry for them must be in rhyme. 
 
 And so in prose they rendered most of it, 
 
 And in plain prose I have to now transmit 
 
 The greater part of this historic tale. 
 
 But the good reader will, I trust, not fail 
 
 To notice I have given all I could 
 
 In verse, and more, it may be, than I should; 
 
 And more, perhaps, considering the kind, 
 
 Than persons of good taste will feel inclined 
 
 To justify in such a story as this one, 
 
 Which as a simple history was begun. 
 
 But then Justino lacked poetic fire, 
 
 And nothing in the story could inspire 
 
 A man like him, who from his childhood lacked 
 
 A taste for everything but naked fact, 
 
 While poetry is made up of invention, 
 
 And must be difficult of comprehension ; 
 
 It should be noted for obscurity; 
 
 The more obscure the greater is its purity. 
 
 The fault with Virgil, and the men of old, 
 
 Is that their stories are too plainly told. 
 
 If they had been a little more abstruse, 
 
 There would have been a little more excuse 
 
 For handing down their works to modern times, 
 
186 CALIFORNIA 
 
 When they did not so much as write in rhymes, 
 And when their writings were so plain, indeed, 
 That anyone, in running, might them read. 
 
 LXIV. 
 
 THE RETURN. 
 
 AROUSED from his reverie late in the afternoon, Manuelo 
 partook of such repast as had been provided, and at the dawn 
 of the following day he and his companions set out on their 
 return to the village of the Yonos, all refreshed and much 
 pleased with what had been experienced. Manuelo himself 
 lingered behind to take one last, long look, in the light of the 
 rising sun, over the mighty expanse of delightful scenery with 
 which he had been so completely entranced, and a sense of 
 sadness crept over him, as he reflected that he was beholding 
 for the last time from that inspiring elevation a land and sea 
 which he verily believed were destined in future ages to become 
 the busy scenes of a civilization entirely distinct from that of 
 the people whose villages then dotted its shores, and whose" 
 canoes only occasionally disturbed its placid waters. Strongly 
 impressed with the truthfulness of his vision, he at last tore 
 himself away from the enchanted place, and with measured 
 tread followed the priest s son and his companions on their 
 winding way down from the summit of lofty Tamalpais. Re 
 turning, the hunters followed a new and devious path, much 
 longer than the one they had pursued in coming, and the shades 
 of night were fast falling, when, with weary steps, the little band 
 filjd into the Yono village, the manly form of Manuelo being 
 the most conspicuous figure in the procession. 
 
 Their coming was greeted with various demonstrations of 
 gladness, especially by the female portion of the population, 
 some of whom, it may well be supposed, were most anxiously 
 awaiting their return, and all joined in enlivening the event by 
 the heartiest applause. 
 
350- YEARS AGO. 187 
 
 The expedition had not been eminently successful for the 
 game that was taken, but far more had been accomplished than 
 was anticipated by anyone, and far more than was understood, 
 at that time, by the natives. Ascending the mountain was not 
 among the things contemplated when they set out, and nothing 
 was further from the mind of the hunters than the magnificent 
 view which broke upon them from that towering height. The 
 dream of Manuelo was something that pertained to himself 
 alone; nor did he, when there, disclose what he saw to his com 
 panions; but on his way down he ceased not, nor afterwards, 
 to revolve in his own mind the wonderful events that had 
 passed in review before him, until they became so thoroughly 
 impressed upon his memory that he was able to relate them, 
 years afterwards, to Father Justino, with all the particularity 
 with which they have been given. 
 
 Not many days were the conspirators compelled to abide in 
 the village before a favorable wind arose, and they were en 
 couraged to undertake their contemplated expedition upon the 
 Bay. Accordingly the two set out in their boat alone, with a 
 fair prospect of being driven in the direction they wished. So 
 carefully was everything conducted that their purpose was not 
 suspected even by the shrewdest of the Yonos, all of whom 
 ,were accustomed to take a deep interest in every movement of 
 Manuelo. It was with no little pain, as he subsequently ac 
 knowledged, that he embarked for a lasting absence, without 
 being permitted, as he felt strongly inclined, to bid his cher 
 ished friends an affectionate adios. But his own prudence, 
 united with the cooler judgment of the priest s son, forbade 
 any demonstrations which might betray their purpose, and pos 
 sibly defeat the end they had in mind. Until far away on the 
 water he smothered, as best he was able, the reproaches of con 
 science, awakened, doubtless, at beholding the slender form of 
 the confiding and hopeful Nona lingering upon the shore, and 
 with sweetest smiles waving the fishermen good luck. To- 
 
188 CALIFORNIA 
 
 wards his companion s imprudent wife, who was also there, his 
 feelings were different. Though Manuelo s sentiments towards 
 her were those of extreme kindness, he had been so perplexed 
 by her attentions that he left her now with less regret. The 
 priest s son himself was the happiest person on that occasion, 
 though he lacked not the discretion to conceal the cause of his 
 merriment. 
 
 The boat and its occupants were soon out of sight on the 
 broad expanse of the Bay, and, as had been anticipated, they 
 were borne by the winds in the direction of the Santos settle 
 ment. 
 
 Landing near the city, late that evening, the long-absent 
 Manuelo was greeted by all the people with every demonstra 
 tion of joy, and by none of the men with more cordiality than 
 by the old chief, and still more venerable high priest, both of 
 whom had returned from the warlike expedition against the 
 Modens alive, to be sure, but covered as it were with wounds. 
 Their escape had been almost miraculous, for both were in the 
 forefront of the fight at the time of the flank movement of the 
 enemy, and both were compelled to cut their way out through 
 the opposing lines, only finding safety in the darkness of the 
 night, which, happily for them, was just then shutting down its 
 curtain upon the earth. It was thought but for this circum 
 stance, and the diversion fortunately caused by the sudden ap. 
 pearance of Manuelo upon the scene, utter annihilation must 
 have been the fate of the Santos forces; and both these digni 
 taries were therefore ready to confess their indebtedness in 
 some sense to the sturdy Manuelo for their return once more 
 to their own kingdom. But as it was, many of their people 
 were slain and left upon the bloody field; probably not more, 
 however, on the one side than on the other; so that the treach 
 erous Modens were compelled to render up a full equivalent for 
 their victory. Among others who escaped from that terrible 
 encounter was the stalwart young prince, Gosee, who had afore- 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 189 
 
 time so disastrously worsted Manuelo in the wrestling match, 
 and who, it will be remembered, was his rival for the hand of 
 the princess Alola. This young man welcomed the return of 
 Manuelo with some apparent good-will at first, but that was 
 soon dispelled by his beholding the warmth with which the 
 white man was greeted by the fair Alola herself. 
 
 Manuelo s coming was wholly unexpected, and the delight 
 of the young woman on seeing him again could not be re 
 strained; nor did she endeavor in the least to repress an 
 exhibition of her feelings. Alternately she laughed and wept 
 for joy, and, in the presence of them all, again and again 
 kissed and embraced him. The engagement that had been 
 made by the authorities between her and Gosee had in Man 
 uelo s absence so far ripened by time that the marriage was to 
 be consummated at the very next Feast of Flowers; but even 
 this did not restrain her emotions. Her love had survived the 
 lapse of time, and now, touched by the sudden appearance of 
 her lover, whom she had been led to believe was dead, it 
 blazed forth again without restraint. The perplexing situation 
 into which affairs had drifted in his absence was soon made 
 known to Manuelo from the lips of the maiden herself, and, 
 as you may well know, caused a sorrow in his heart no less 
 poignant than that which wrung her own; for during all his 
 long absence, he had never ceased to think of her, nor to .hope, 
 with all the ardor of a true lover, that he might see her again. 
 She alone of all the native women had captivated his affections, 
 and he found it quite impossible to divest himself of the tender 
 attachment, though he could plainly see that it was his duty to 
 endeavor to do so. He might possibly have succeeded in 
 repressing in some measure the warmth of his own passion had 
 it not been for the almost insane infatuation of the poor creat 
 ure for him. Her feelings were past all control. As may well 
 be imagined by some of the readers, though not perhaps by 
 others, the two were now terribly embarrassed by the situation, 
 and utterly miserable. 
 
190 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Curiously enough we are left by Justino quite in the dark as 
 to the length of time that had elapsed between the departure 
 of Manuelo for the war, and his return, and it is mere conject 
 ure on the part of those who discovered the manuscript when 
 they set the period down at less than two years. A longer 
 time it could hardly have been, since it would seem impossible 
 for the flame of love to burn so brightly in the breasts of per 
 sons widely separated, for a longer period. 
 
 Though Manuelo could but admire many of the laws and 
 customs of this strange people, he now became fearfully dis 
 gusted with those which related to matrimony. Different though 
 these were from the practices of civilized people, and contrary 
 to what had been familiar to him in his native country, never 
 theless he might have been reconciled to them but for his own 
 experience. We refer, of course, not more to his unwilling 
 engagement with the Yonoese maiden than to his anticipated 
 pleasure with the beautiful Alola, which was so liable to be in 
 terrupted by those laws. These two considerations led him to 
 look upon them with the highest disfavor, and his deprecation 
 of them to Father Justino was unmeasured. 
 
 Manuelo s re-appearance at the capital after so long an 
 absence was to the people in general, as well as to his sweet 
 Alola in particular, as joyous as it was unexpected. All had 
 for some time been resting under the conviction that he had 
 taken his everlasting departure to the land of shades; never 
 theless, it was counted as ground for doubt on the part of a 
 few, that the seers had been utterly unable to obtain any com 
 munication from him from that quarter. He was thought by 
 most of the people to have perished in the battle, and none 
 really expected ever to see him again. Alola had mourned 
 him long and sorrowfully, and only after positive assurance 
 from Gosee, and one or two others, equally mendacious, that 
 his dead body had been seen stretched upon the plain, would 
 she give up all hope of his returning. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 191 
 
 The uslial interruptions growing out of the excessive joy of 
 the greeting being over, Manuelo, accompanied by a large 
 retinue, was conducted to the dwelling of the great chief, where, 
 being seated on a grizzly bear skin in the center of the princi 
 pal apartment, he was required to give a detailed account of 
 his movements during all his long and painful captivity. He 
 began by relating to the eager crowd there assembled, with 
 lips apart, how, in pursuit of the enemy, he had been led 
 away from his friends, and after a desperate hand-to-hand en 
 counter, in which were slain he knew not how many, he was 
 overpowered by numbers, and made a prisoner of war. With 
 all candor he told them how he had attempted to conciliate the 
 angry Modens by pretending not too much friendship for the 
 Santos, whom he assured his captors were neither of his own 
 race nor in sympathy with him, and for whom he said he en 
 tertained no affection, in this instance forgetting Alola entirely. 
 He next related how he was detected by his dress as the leader 
 of the former naval engagement on the interior waters of the 
 country, and he had no doubt his subsequent enslavement and 
 the many indignities heaped upon him were attributable more 
 to this one circumstance than to any other. In giving a par 
 ticular account of the cruel treatment received by him at the 
 hands of his heartless masters, it was observed that tears would 
 often spring to the eyes of the sympathetic Alola, who listened 
 to his story with more undivided attention, if possible, than 
 anyone else. He then told how he had instructed the com 
 mon people of the Modens touching their natural rights, and, 
 in due time, incited an insurrection against their government; 
 how an opportunity was providentially offered for getting them 
 underarms and rallying them to his support; but that they 
 failed him entirely when, like so many slaves, as they were, 
 they came to facing their masters ; how, accompanied by a 
 handful of men, he had fled to the distant mountains off to 
 the west, and finally, after much privation, reached the ocean. 
 
192 CALIFORNIA 
 
 His hearers were greatly amused with his account of the aib- 
 content of his followers, and his description of the manner in 
 which they had been miraculously supplied with food, arid how 
 they subsisted upon shell-fish during all of their wanderings by 
 the sea. They noted with interest what he said about coming 
 to an arm of the ocean and being compelled to turn inland, 
 and about his camping near some warm sulphur springs ; but 
 he prudently omitted relating to them, at that time, his dream 
 at the springs, and he also forebore to speak, when he came to 
 that point of his vision on Tamalpais, judging rightly that his 
 hearers would fail to comprehend the events that were fore 
 shadowed in them. When he came to tell how he had lost his 
 ten Moden companions, and that he could not, by seeking and 
 shouting, find hide nor hair of them, he could but observe 
 that his listeners appeared to be especially delighted, and they 
 more than expressed their gratification at the probable de 
 struction of so many of that hated race. But when he related 
 how, unexpectedly, he had come upon a Yonoese maiden 
 whom he knew, and to whom he gave chase, but who did not 
 know him, but fled with fear, a shout of laughter went up from 
 all the assembly, with the exception of Alola alone, who did 
 not seem to appreciate the joke. 
 
 The story ended, the night far advanced, and the fire in the 
 great wigwam burning low, each hesitatingly retired to his home 
 and to slumber. But there were two in that city who slept not 
 soundly that night. Alola and her lover were overmuch con 
 cerned for their future welfare to rest in peace. The Festival 
 of Flowers was fast approaching, and faster still, it seemed to 
 them, the time for the marriage between her and Gosee, and 
 unless something could be done to forestall that event, her hap 
 piness and that of Manuelo would be forever wrecked. Wake- 
 fully he thought of the matter the night through, and as he 
 afterwards -learned, Alola had been equally concerned, so that 
 sleep visited not her drooping eyelids till the weary sun came 
 peeping over the high eastern hills. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 193 
 
 As for Manuelo, he asseverated that his embarrassment was 
 not greater at any time during all his fearful round of captivity, 
 than now, when his trials would seem, to an unsentimental 
 observer, to have come to an end. As often happens to man 
 kind, his anticipated quiet was turned into a sea of troubles. 
 The goal of one s ambition, says Justino, in spite of the best 
 calculations that can be made by mortal man, is frequently the 
 threshold of events which, were they open to view, would 
 never be approached. Man is seldom permitted to know in 
 what direction his real pleasures lie ; nevertheless, it is wisely 
 provided by the Author of his being, that he should be deluded 
 with the vainglorious belief that happiness is the reward of his 
 own exertions. Were it not so, man might fall into habits of 
 listlessness, and who can say to what depressions of the race 
 foreknowledge might not lead ? Whether this provision of nat 
 ure be wise or otherwise, Manuelo was not disposed to criti 
 cise it, but, on the contrary, he strove to accept the situation 
 with all the equanimity he could command. His great desire 
 had been to reach the capital, confidently hoping the while 
 for the best, and little anticipating that when there he would 
 encounter troubles which must have crushed the spirits of any 
 one of less courage. The prospect of disappointed love was 
 supplemented by dangers to the object of his adoration, which 
 took hold of his sensitive nature with powerful effect, and 
 caused him more real suffering than he had ever before experi 
 enced. The suddenness with which this burden was placed 
 upon his shoulders rendered it the more oppressive, and it was 
 not at all alleviated by the fact of its being shared by another. 
 Love by one alone can be endured. In that form it is not a 
 dangerous malady. The single-lighted fagot by itself alone 
 will soon expire ; but fagots in contact burn brightly, and are 
 not so easily extinguished. So with the flame of love; when 
 kindled between two such ardent, sympathizing souls as Man 
 uelo and Alola, it burned with a consuming power. In truth 
 13 
 
194 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Manuelo was not aware until now how much he adored his 
 sweetheart, and the danger of losing her by seeing her become 
 the wife of the envious Gosee, would rush upon his mind at 
 unguarded moments, and almost drive him to distraction. For 
 the first few days after his return there seemed to be no cir 
 cumstance to alleviate his distress, but on the contrary every 
 thing appeared to conspire to augment the trouble. The 
 hated Fiesta of Flowers, which was to bring the hour of his 
 calamity, was approaching apace, and preparations for the fes 
 tivities, though not very near, were already in progress. 
 
 In the meantime also the devotion of Alola for her long-lost 
 lover was increasing day by day. It had existed in large meas 
 ure from the time of their first acquaintance, or, at all events, 
 from the time of his becoming a leader of fashions in the city, 
 and nothing had ever occurred to dampen its ardor in the slight 
 est, until a positive assurance had come of his death, which 
 false report had been forced upon her belief; and now, when he 
 was restored to life as it were, the power of her passion became 
 uncontrollable. It was greater under these circumstances than 
 if it had been kept steadily ablaze from the start. By their 
 forced separation there had been an accumulation of the ma-" 
 terials upon which it could feed, and now all efforts to suppress 
 it only tended to stir up the brands and cause them to burn 
 the more brightly. 
 
 Ebullitions of feelings on the part of Alola were noticed with 
 some concern by her father, the king, and at the same time by 
 her venerable prospective father-in-law, the high priest. The 
 women of the city, likewise, and particularly those about the 
 chiefs quarters, where Manuelo was again abiding, readily ob 
 served the renewed attachment. But the person of all others 
 whose eyes were widest open to the conduct of the young 
 woman was the stalwart Gosee, her intended husband. His 
 jealousy was again aroused, and it was but natural that his par 
 tially suppressed hatred towards his more favored rival should 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 195 
 
 occasionally manifest itself. He could not fail to notice that 
 Alola sought the companionship of Manuelo more than was 
 prudent for a person under an engagement of marriage to 
 another. To allay suspicion as far as it might, the time was 
 prudently employed on such occasions by Manuelo in relating 
 to the girl, as he did over and over again, the story of his ad 
 ventures with the Modens. She never grew tired of listening to 
 the narration of his perils and hardships, and some of the more 
 harrowing passages excited in her the warmest sympathy. To 
 her alone, in the narration, he added an account of his dream 
 at the Hot Sulphur Springs, and also ventured to give her in 
 detail his vision on Tamalpais; both of which were related in a 
 manner to excite in her the liveliest interest. The mystery of 
 these communications to the listener was profound ; but to Man 
 uelo, whose experience in early life had been such as to give 
 direction to lines of thought which might develop into such 
 prophetic views, they were less mysterious. More particularly 
 interested was Alola in what, pertained to her own sex, and she 
 was led to indulge in many inquiries concerning the apparel 
 and appearance of so strange a people as were described in the 
 dreams. 
 
 LXV. 
 
 A FLIGHT CONSIDERED. 
 
 MANUELO was fully admonished of the embarrassment 
 that must certainly result from permitting matters to drift along 
 in their present channel, until the opening of the approaching 
 spring, when the long-existing engagement between those two 
 prominent members of the Santos nation must, in due course, 
 be consummated. This harrowing reflection seemed to pro 
 duce less impression upon the mind of the girl, who was to be 
 a party to the marriage, than upon Manuelo s. Like the rest of 
 her race she was more given to fatalism than he, and conse 
 quently less heed was paid by her to the impending calamity. 
 
196 CALIFORNIA 
 
 It must not be inferred, however, that she was wholly oblivious 
 of the distressing facts of the case; by no means. Even her 
 present satisfaction in the society of Manuelo, though intense, 
 was not of such a character as to obliterate from her mind all 
 sense of the threatened danger. She was only a little less sen 
 sible of it than her ardent Spanish lover, that is all. 
 
 As for Manuelo, his soul was so thoroughly penetrated with 
 the situation that he ceased not to contemplate the subject, 
 and to devise plans for escape, first one and then another, out 
 of the difficulty. Sometimes, and in spite of himself, his mind 
 would recur to the suggestion of an elopement (made, as he 
 remembered, before his expedition against the Modens) as a 
 resort in case of emergency. After much serious reflection, 
 this subject was broached anew, not this time by the maiden, 
 but by Manuelo himself, and it was discussed between the 
 lovers alone whenever an opportunity offered. But whither 
 should they flee? that was the question. It was a most difficult 
 point to decide, and the settlement of it gave them an infinite 
 amount of trouble. There was one point of the compass, how 
 ever, about which there was no hesitancy in arriving at a con 
 clusion. That direction presented no attractions to Manuelo, 
 at least; it was the direction of the Modens. He was quite 
 content with his past experience in that quarter. 
 
 As a matter of actual fact, the lovers were not so very greatly 
 restricted in point of time, in this case, since several changes of 
 the moon must intervene before the Florales would arrive; 
 nevertheless, time was flitting, and each day was one less for 
 the business before them. Every departing sun but added its 
 modicum to the already distressing suspense of the parties. If 
 it added also to the hopes of the expectant bridegroom, the im 
 patient Gosee, it is but natural, and without doubt he was as 
 much annoyed by the tardiness of time as the real lovers were 
 with its remarkable speed. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 197 
 
 Manuelo in the meantime was duly active in obtaining in 
 formation concerning the countries and peoples in other direc 
 tions than the north, and was immensely gratified to learn that 
 the native inhabitants to the southward were, and long had 
 been, on friendly terms with the Santos. This doubtless was 
 the more pleasing to him because of his disagreeable expe 
 rience with the people at the opposite point of the compass. 
 
 It was really for the purpose of reconnoissance and observa 
 tion, though ostensibly for game, that hunting excursions to the 
 southward were set on foot. Some of these, at the instigation 
 of Manuelo, were pushed quite beyond any limit theretofore 
 attained by the warriors or hunters of the Santos nation. One 
 in particular extended a great many leagues, and occupied 
 many days in the performance. On this occasion they pene 
 trated the territory of an unknown tribe, who lived beyond sev 
 eral ranges of mountains; but the adventurous hunters, with due 
 caution, forebore to make known their presence to the people 
 residing there, since all were in doubt as to the temper that 
 might be displayed toward encroaching game seekers, and 
 Manuelo, above ail, was unwilling to run any risk of detention 
 among them. The real object of this adventure was unsus 
 pected by his companions, but the result was highly gratifying 
 to Manuelo himself, and settled his purpose as to the course 
 he should pursue in case of flight with his beloved Alola. 
 
 The disposition to inquietude which characterizes all persons 
 brought up to the sea, had never been eradicated from the nat 
 ure of our hero, and with him, therefore, there was less hesi 
 tancy about undertaking a movement like the one contem 
 plated than otherwise would have been, and less than naturally 
 belonged to Alola, who had seen but little of the world, and 
 who could form but an inadequate conception of its vast ex 
 tent. Her knowledge of geography was limited by the hills, 
 the mountains, the Bay, and that little part of the ocean near 
 her native home; and this seemed large enough for all purposes 
 
198 CALIFORNIA 
 
 until the necessity for an elopement arose, when the world, as 
 known to her, became at once exceedingly small. The fact 
 being confessed, Manuelo was everything to her. Any place 
 with him was large enough, and all the earth too small without 
 him. 
 
 Casting this love affair aside, and Manuelo had may rea 
 sons to be content where he was. His associations with the 
 Santos had been, as a general thing, of the most satisfactory 
 character. The people had fairly overwhelmed him with kind 
 ness ever since his first appearance amongst them; and but for 
 his relations towards Alola he would have remained there no 
 one knows how long. But Alola was his guiding star. For 
 her he was but too willing to make any sacrifice and incur any 
 danger. Life itself was not too great a boon to lay at her feet. 
 An elopement he knew was fraught with perils, and if under 
 taken would have to be conducted with the utmost caution, 
 since a failure would be likely to prove fatal to both. 
 
 The Santos, though brave and generous, were at the same 
 time, like all other uncivilized people, revengeful, and would 
 be quite sure to visit any attempt at treachery with the severest 
 penalties. He had no doubt that his own life, and he greatly 
 feared the life of his fair companion, would depend upon the 
 success of the enterprise. This opinion he was at great pains 
 to impress upon the mind of the confiding Alola; but instead 
 of softening her purpose, it only tended to strengthen her 
 determination. She was no less resolute than himself in the 
 determination to seek, by flight, that happiness which was 
 denied her by the laws of her forefathers; and they deliberately 
 resolved by themselves together to offer up their lives, if need 
 be, upon the altar of love. 
 
 The usual perplexity to know just how the thing was to be 
 successfully accomplished, weighed so heavily upon their minds 
 that it was with difficulty they could conceal their purpose from 
 others. Preparation for the journey could only be made in the 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 199 
 
 most secret manner, and the initiation of the movement did not 
 seem possible, without imminent danger of detection. But 
 Manuelo s discretion forsook him not, and he calmly concluded 
 that the first step, so to speak, should be accomplished by 
 water. His familiarity with that element probably induced this 
 idea, for it was very distinct from the plan proposed by Alola, 
 who was willing to take the chances in a race, in case of pur 
 suit, with so much of advantage in the start as could be gained 
 in one night and the part of a day, as she hoped. Pursued 
 they both knew they certainly would be in that case, and as 
 they could take with them only a small stock of provisions, and 
 of personal comforts but a limited supply, they must of neces 
 sity make themselves known on the route, after the first few 
 days, to such people as might be living by the way. Hence it 
 would not be difficult for the swift-footed Santos to ascertain 
 their general course, and at last to overtake them. This was 
 all pondered well by the cautious Manuelo, and his plan as 
 finally concluded upon was to set out, some fine morning, a 
 few days in advance of the feast, they two in a canoe alone, 
 on a fishing excursion on the Bay, and after proceeding by such 
 conveyance as far as was practicable, to abandon the canoe 
 and pursue their journey by land. There was a well-grounded 
 apprehension in his mind that suspicion would be aroused by 
 the circumstance of their going together, and unaccompanied 
 by anyone else, and here was the first obstacle to be surmounted. 
 To allay apprehension growing out of this circumstance, a fish 
 ing expedition of the kind mentioned was made the subject 
 of conversation not only between themselves but with other 
 members of the tribe on divers occasions, and some time in 
 advance of the contemplated departure, though, of course, no 
 particular day was mentioned by either for the undertaking. 
 This ruse was adopted in order that no considerable excite 
 ment should be aroused among their friends when their absence 
 might be ascertained. And then they must needs make their 
 
200 CALIFORNIA 
 
 calculations to go quietly away lest meddlesome persons should 
 be inclined to accompany them, likewise, in canoes; and hence 
 their purpose was to start early in the morning, before the peo 
 ple generally were aroused. Thus they hoped to avoid the lia 
 bility of being followed by other fishing parties, and yet they 
 would not start so early as to give the appearance of a sin 
 ister motive. It was Manuelo s design to leave the canoe, 
 when they had done with it, afloat on the Bay, and he was 
 hopeful that a favorable wind would drive it back in the direc 
 tion of the city, to produce an impression on the minds of the 
 people, when they should discover the empty craft, that its late 
 occupants had found a watery grave. 
 
 The time of their departure was, for that reason, to be gov 
 erned somewhat by the course of the winds and the tides. 
 Another plan much considered was to so gauge the time of the 
 flight that the canoe would float out to sea, when they had left it, 
 and never be heard of more, in which case the people might con 
 clude that its unhappy occupants had gone with it upon the 
 boundless ocean and were lost. But this idea was not regarded 
 so favorably as the first, since the people of the city, many of 
 whom were shrewd men and women, would hardly believe that 
 Manuelo could be so thoughtless as to be caught a second time 
 on the fast-ebbing tides that rushed periodically from the 
 mouth of the harbor. Those tides they knew were well under 
 stood by him, and consequently this second plan was dis 
 missed from their minds. 
 
 Manuelo had now more than ever occasion to deplore the 
 loss of his trusty sword and pistols, of which he had been 
 deprived by the savage Modens. Armed with these he would 
 have felt greater security in this perilous undertaking, but he 
 was compelled to content himself with a spear, and with a bow 
 and a few arrows, in the use of which, however, he had become, 
 by constant practice, almost as expert as the natives. 
 
 After the plan was fully concluded upon between the anx- 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 201 
 
 ious lovers, but some time before it was to be carried into effect, 
 Manuelo pretended to have received, in his character as prophet, 
 a communication from the land of spirits, which he hoped 
 might, in an emergency, be of some avail to him in the flight; 
 but he made no application of it either to himself or Alola. 
 It ran as follows : 
 
 A man and a maiden a- fishing will go, 
 But into what waters no person shall know. 
 Many fish they will catch and many will fetch, 
 If, in fishing for fish, no fish shall them catch. 
 
 Little was thought of this at the time, but both he and Alola 
 were at some pains, by repeating it often, to impress it upon 
 the minds of the people, in order that it might be remembered 
 when they should fail to return from their contemplated fish 
 ing excursion. They would have it understood, when gone, that 
 they had been attacked and devoured by some sea monster, 
 and by such strategy avoid the danger of being pursued by 
 their friends. 
 
 All preparations that were possible to make, surrounded as 
 they were by a thousand sharp eyes, having been completed, 
 the lovers only awaited the arrival of a favorable day for set 
 ting out on their long journey, a journey which by them was 
 truly regarded, as all such journeys should be, as the journey 
 of life, but which they fully comprehended might be, in case of 
 mishap, a journey to their doom. 
 
 Heralds had already gone forth from the capital, in every 
 direction, to notify the many villages of the nation of the time 
 appointed for the Festival of Flowers, and to inform all that the 
 principal occurrence to be celebrated on that joyous occasion 
 was the marriage of the chiefs beautiful daughter to the gallant 
 son of the old ex-king and high priest. This expected event 
 was likely to bring a far larger concourse of men and women 
 together than usual. It had long been looked forward to by all 
 the people of the city, and particularly by those about the larger 
 
202 CALIFORNIA 
 
 central dwellings, with the greatest anxiety, and the fair Alola 
 was congratulated every day, and every hour of the day, on the 
 approaching happy event, as it was regarded. 
 
 Robes of the finest of white rabbit skins, and the skins of 
 other small animals, were prepared most tastefully for the 
 bride; and head ornaments of brilliant feathers and shining 
 shells were constructed both for her and the expectant bride 
 groom, by the industrious women of the place. The most 
 beautiful gifts of various sorts were fabricated in abundance 
 in the city for wedding presents,, and the people of all the 
 country ruled over by her father were expected to bring in 
 other gifts, equally attractive, to contribute to the wealth and 
 happiness of the distinguished couple. 
 
 Little did anyone, except the astute Manuelo, imagine that 
 these preparations, so far from adding to the enjoyment of the 
 princess, only made her the more miserable, and it required 
 the greatest exertion, as Manuelo could plainly perceive, on 
 the part of the poor damsel to conceal her embarrassment, 
 which became greater and greater as time rolled by and 
 brought her nearer and nearer to her apparent fate. Unso 
 phisticated as she was, with difficulty could she hide from 
 general observation the anxiety that preyed upon her mind; 
 but it was attributed by her female companions to an entirely 
 different cause from the true one. By them her silent de 
 meanor and many blushes were readily interpreted as indicat 
 ing that maidenly sensibility which one must feel on the eve 
 of exchanging her girlish estate for the responsible duties of 
 womanhood; and, fortunately for her and Manuelo, the real 
 cause of her disquietude was never so much as suspected by 
 those about her. 
 
350 YEARS AGO, 203 
 
 LXVI. 
 
 THE ELOPEMENT. 
 
 UNFRIENDLY weather and adverse winds delayed the 
 excursion until delay was no longer to be tolerated, and the 
 lovers finally fixed upon a time, only three days in advance of 
 the commencement of the festivities, as the period for setting 
 out on their uncertain journey, be the weather what it might. 
 Most fortunately for them, on the day appointed the winds 
 were propitious, and the two friends met as it were by chance, 
 in the usual way, early in the morning on the sandy beach, 
 and without delay, but with some trepidation, embarked in 
 their lonely canoe. The lazy morning sun arising from his 
 slumbers discovered them several leagues away from the 
 shore upon the watery expanse; but, so far as they could judge, 
 no human being witnessed their departure, or knew of their 
 
 going- f 
 
 They were both skillful in the management of their tiny 
 craft, and, not late in the afternoon, they effected a safe land 
 ing at precisely the point designated by Manuelo in advance, 
 on the southwesterly side of the Bay, near the base of a 
 mountain since then called San Bruno. The canoe was at 
 once stripped of all its contents, and made to appear as if it 
 had been emptied by capsizing. This accomplished it was 
 set adrift, with a wind so blowing as to be likely to drive it 
 back nearly in the direction it had come. 
 
 After congratulating each other upon the success of their 
 movement thus far, the two, as a first duty, dispensed with 
 everything that they deemed might impede their flight, care 
 fully concealing from the view of possible pursuers all that was 
 to be left behind. Taking with them only such robes and 
 provisions as they could well carry, they assumed their line of 
 march to the southward. 
 
 They were now traveling they knew not exactly whither, nor 
 
204 CALIFORNIA 
 
 did either much care, only so it might be to some quiet place 
 in the wide world, where they could enjoy each other s society 
 for all time without interruption. There was to be constant 
 danger of encountering beasts of prey, but these were dreaded 
 far less, at the outset, than creatures of their own kind; and 
 their chief care during the balance of the first day was to ob 
 serve any traces of humanity that might exist, and to avoid 
 running upon some stray settlement of the natives. 
 
 They were less apprehensive of encountering hunting parties 
 at this season of the year, knowing that the villagers there 
 abouts, if any there were, must be engaged in the preparations 
 for the great feast at the capital, to which they would have to 
 be starting in a day or two, at furthest, if they would be in 
 lime. 
 
 As a matter of caution the lovers kept away from the shore, 
 and skirted the base of the mountains, making the best progress 
 they could under that disadvantage; but it was a much more 
 difficult route than one along the open plain would have been. 
 
 The pair were already as happy in each other s company as 
 it was possible for fugitives to be, and each was heard to in 
 dulge in frequent expressions of solicitude for the other s safety. 
 
 Resting but little during the afternoon of that long, weary 
 day, and only then to observe well their course, they passed 
 a numbe-r of villages in the distance, the locations of some of 
 which were already known to Manuelo, having been spied out 
 by him in advance. 
 
 Just as sable night was letting fall her curtain upon the dark 
 green earth, and all nature seemed in search of needed rest, 
 the wanderers found themselves by the side of some bubbling 
 mineral springs, located opposite to the head of the great Bay, 
 in sight of which they had been traveling since noon, and here 
 they concluded to rest for the night. It need not be told that 
 they slept soundly, for Alola, unaccustomed to that sort of 
 thing, was nearly exhausted by the long tramp of that day, and 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 205 
 
 Manuelo himself, but for the concern felt for his fair com 
 panion, would have been unable to proceed further without 
 repose. 
 
 How far they had actually come may possibly be ascertained 
 by geographers of later times, from the data here given, but 
 the distance there was then no means of determining except 
 from the extreme lassitude of the weaker partner in the flight, 
 judging from which Manuelo thought it might be twenty 
 leagues, and even more. But sleep restored the wonted vigor 
 of both, and when, as Justino expressed it, the circling hours 
 with rosy hands unbarred the gates of night, and Phoebus, 
 with her shining face, came forth in chariot bright, they were 
 awakened by the sweet music of the birds, which, in the over 
 hanging foliage of the great tree under which they slept, were 
 celebrating their own nuptials with songs. 
 
 The lovers, refreshed with their long repose, arose and 
 prepared for a renewal of their journey. Their hour of start 
 ing was not so early as on the previous morning, nor was it 
 beset with such intense anxiety as that had been. They were 
 now under no necessity for slipping away surreptitiously to 
 avoid the peeping eyes of men and women, as they had been 
 but yesterday. The only observers of their present position 
 were the merry feathered songsters, the innocent rabbit, and 
 the soft-eyed antelope, and to these the gentle lovers paid 
 little heed, as none of them were capable of exciting either 
 fear or jealousy, and their presence was by no means unwel 
 come. 
 
 The conspicuous landmarks of the country thus far, such 
 as bay, mountains, and hills, were tolerably well known to the 
 fugitives, and particularly to Manuelo, who had taken special 
 pains to inform himself about them, with a view to the use 
 such knowledge might be to him on an occasion like the 
 present. These being observed as they proceeded, the second 
 day at its close found the happy couple in the unalloyed en- 
 
206 CALIFORNIA 
 
 joyment of each other s society a little over the summit of a 
 considerable range of mountains to the westward, and in plain 
 view of the ocean, a sight that was always cheering to Manuelo. 
 
 But an incident occurred on this day s journey which must 
 not be omitted, as it came as near as possible not to succeed 
 in balking all their calculations. Ascending the mountain 
 just mentioned, by a well-marked trail, they came almost upon, 
 and would have met face to face, a large procession of people 
 on their journey to the feast. There were men and women, 
 young men and maidens, a hundred or more, wending their 
 way towards the city by the Bay. The keen ear of Alola 
 detected the merry laughter of the advance guard of young 
 people just in time to enable herself and companion to secrete 
 themselves in the convenient undergowth of the forest. The 
 troop of pleasure-seekers passed on their course and were soon 
 out of sight and hearing. As they filed by she could plainly 
 hear them conversing merrily, but earnestly, about herself and 
 Gosee, and for the first time she realized the great disappoint 
 ment her absence must cause to the people on that festive 
 occasion. Without regretting the step she had taken, she 
 could but feel sorry, nevertheless, that there was no other way 
 of securing happiness to herself and Manuelo, but by destroy 
 ing so much of it in others. 
 
 The danger passed, the lovers came forth from their hiding- 
 place and renewed their journey. This incident was a warning 
 to observe greater caution in the future, for Alola was too well- 
 known throughout the land to be disguised, and the appearance 
 of Manuelo, as a man of a distinct race, was too conspicuous 
 to be overlooked by anyone, in case they should unhappily be 
 discovered. Their only safety lay in escaping detection by 
 any human being until they could pass entirely beyond the 
 kingdom of the Santos, and that, they judged, must require 
 a diligent journey of many days ; but how many neither could 
 guess. They were convinced that numerous villages skirted 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 207 
 
 the ocean, and danger in consequence must be lurking there; 
 nevertheless, as they looked off upon its placid surface, they 
 could not resist an inclination to approach it, and such accord 
 ingly was their determination for the following day. 
 
 Selecting a quiet, grassy nook on the steep mountain-slope, 
 thickly bespangled with sweet-scented flowers, they encamped for 
 the second night. A new world was now opening to the aston 
 ished vision of Alola. Hitherto she had formed no conception 
 of the vastness of the creation of which she formed a part. 
 The horizon here was many times farther away than she had 
 ever observed it before, and the declining sun lighted up with 
 the most brilliant colors the whole western sky. The sea 
 shone with a luster only surpassed by that of the great orb of 
 day, and reflected upon the intervening space between where 
 she stood and the ocean, those peculiar tints only visible at the 
 season of the year when nature first puts on her robes of 
 green to greet the approach of summer. Though weary with 
 the day s tramp, she could hardly persuade herself that she 
 was not already in that Heaven of which she had heard so 
 much from the lips of her Manuelo. On a bed of roses, so 
 to speak, but without the thorns, here they slept and dreamed 
 only of happiness for the future. 
 
 Their starting the next day was not early, for the fugitives 
 chose to abide in this enchanted place to welcome the rising 
 sun, which was slow to make his appearance above the 
 mountain-crest. In the meantime Alola joined her gentle 
 voice with the carols of the equally happy birds, and the whole 
 place re-echoed with their music, while Manuelo made ready 
 for the journey. Descending from the mountain was an easy 
 task, and their resting-place on the evening of the third day 
 was on the strand, where they were hushed to sleep by the 
 waves breaking upon the shore. 
 
 The fourth day was mainly spent in reconnoissances by 
 Manuelo, and in carefully circumventing several villages, which 
 
208 CALIFORNIA 
 
 were discovered all in good time to be avoided, and less prog 
 ress was made than on any day previously. Their course, in 
 consequence of these dangerous obstacles, was exceedingly 
 tortuous, and they were both distressed to think that so little 
 real headway had been made since leaving camp in the morn 
 ing. At the end of this day they were still by the sea and 
 were comforted in their disappointment by its ceaseless music. 
 To Manuelo the ocean was like an old friend. He was en 
 tranced by the ever-recurring motion of its billows, and he 
 enjoyed, he said, the society of his beautiful companion by its 
 side more, if possible, than when wandering in the solitude 
 of the mountains. There was even danger of his being 
 soothed by its grand old cadence into forgetfulness of the 
 necessity of prosecuting their flight with the utmost vigor. 
 The pensive quietude which is so apt to come over young per 
 sons when strolling on the smooth, sandy beach, seized hold of 
 the romantic soul of Alola as well, and they lingered longer 
 than was prudent. More progress they were conscious would 
 have been made had they adhered to the base of the mount 
 ains instead of the shore, but they reasoned within themselves 
 that jeopardy was in whichsoever way they went, and they 
 therefore yielded the more readily to the fascinations of the 
 breakers, preferring to take their chances where pleasures were 
 most plentiful. 
 
 Speculations indulged in, however, upon what must then be 
 transpiring at home, spurred them up to greater exertions, and 
 their journey for the fifth day, as they could see from the 
 position of certain mountain-peaks, was not altogether unsatis 
 factory. They rested for that night on the margin of a small 
 river, a league it might have been back from the ocean, but 
 still within sound of its breakers. During the course of this 
 long day, they passed in sight of several villages, one of which 
 they could see from an eminence was very large; and they 
 narrowly escaped, more than once, coming in collision with 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 209 
 
 parties of men, women, and children who were out on one ex 
 pedition or another. They were actually seen from a distance 
 by a company of half-grown boys and girls, but, hurrying along, 
 made good their escape. So far as they could learn no alarm 
 was created by this event, but their haste was increased thereby 
 in order to get beyond the reach of possible pursuit. 
 
 The nations to the southward, for an indefinite distance, be 
 ing on terms of peace with the Santos, it was the wish of the 
 fugitives to go so far in that direction before indulging in any 
 considerable halt, and before making themselves known, as to 
 be. entirely safe against invidious inquiries, and there to tarry for 
 rest at least, and, perchance, for a permanent home. This was 
 as far as their calculations extended; nor had they any more 
 definite object in view. But the world was all before them 
 where to choose a place of repose, and Providence their guide. 
 They felt themselves excluded only from that little portion 
 which had been left behind, but that at times appeared ex 
 tremely large to the diminutive Alola. 
 
 The whole world, however, as Justino has informed us, was 
 less to her than Manuelo. With him for a possession it mat 
 tered little whether what remained was small or great. Him 
 she had now gained, and in her imagination there was not 
 much beside worth living for. She preferred Manuelo with 
 trials, trepidations, fears, and flight to the peace and abundance 
 of a princess. She was better content to be a slave, if need 
 be, with her lover, than a queen, as she was very likely to be 
 come, with Gosee, and her heart was light, however burdened 
 her mind may have been with the cares and fears of the flight. 
 
 For greater security their time, while on the march, was 
 spent mostly in silence, but when resting and at night the 
 hours were beguiled by stories which Manuelo related of his 
 own adventures, and stories that he had heard and read in his 
 boyhood days. 
 
 The delightful tale of Abelard and Heloise was told with all 
 
210 CALIFORNIA 
 
 the embellishments, and the relation of it ran through more 
 than one evening; but Alola was never tired of listening to 
 stories from a lover whose attachment was even stronger than 
 that of the unfortunate Abelard, for the love of Heloise, we 
 are assured by Justino, was all surpassed by that of Alola for 
 her instructor and companion in flight. 
 
 So little is said, and that so indefinitely, about the transac 
 tions of the sixth day, that it were as well, perhaps, to omit 
 them entirely in the translation ; and such was the intention 
 until there was observed in the manuscript, written in the 
 native tongue of Manuelo, the words, " El Monte," which, 
 rendered in English, mean the grove, or the woods; and it was 
 in a grove of pines and oaks, charmingly intermingled, that the 
 lovers pitched their tent, figuratively speaking, but, in plain 
 language, built their bower for the night of the sixth day. The 
 place was but a short way, some three hundred varas as Justino 
 expresses it, from a quiet nook of the ocean, and scarcely 
 further to the eastward from a small rivulet that put into the 
 sea at that point. Here Manuelo, before retiring for the night, 
 at the earnest solicitation of the romantic Alola, finished up 
 the story of Abelard and Heloise. 
 
 The first part of that strange, eventful history was so exactly 
 similar, in many respects, to their own experience up to this 
 time, so replete with love and devotion, which had their incep 
 tion in the relations of teacher and pupil, but which were only 
 promoted by absconding together, that when Manuelo came to 
 relate the latter part of that saddest of stories, the poor Alola 
 was stricken with fear, lest, peradventure, the parallelism might 
 be continued in their own case, and the loves of herself and 
 Manuelo encounter, at last, some insuperable obstacle. But 
 Manuelo soothed the tender mind of the maiden by assuring 
 her that though Abelard and Heloise were separated by cruel 
 fate for years and years, nevertheless they came together after 
 wards, and were finally buried in the same grave. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 211 
 
 In the morning everything about them appeared so ravish- 
 ingly beautiful that the lovers agreed between themselves, then 
 and there, that they could spend the balance of their days in 
 contentment on that very spot were it not for the danger that 
 some curious serpent would invade their terrestrial paradise. 
 The deep-shaded atmosphere of the locality, at once res 
 onant with the cheerful music of innumerable feathered 
 songsters, and redolent with the most captivating odors of 
 flowers, was entrancingly attractive to them. In very truth, all 
 their senses were gratified to repletion in this most fascinating, 
 this heavenly place, and they were charmed as never before. 
 There being no words in the Spanish language to express their 
 happiness^and none suitable found in the English, the subject, 
 from sheer necessity, is turned over to the imagination of the 
 gentle reader. But the moaning of the lazy morning zephyrs 
 in the tall pines, mingled with the plaintive notes of a turtle-dove 
 perched upon an oak nearly over their heads, reminded these 
 children of nature that other matters than love should engage 
 a part of their attention, and the two, tearing themselves 
 away from the enchanted spot, hand in hand renewed their 
 weary journey. Our first parents, thought Justino, left their 
 Elysian home when commanded by the Almighty to sally forth 
 into the troublesome world with scarcely more reluctance than 
 did Manuelo and Alola leave this modern Eden on that inter 
 esting occasion. 
 
 On the seventh day they came to a point where the mount 
 ains abutted so abruptly upon the ocean that it was impossible 
 for them to pursue their journey further along the beach, and 
 they were compelled to retrace their steps for a while, and to 
 strike inland before proceeding further southward. This ne 
 cessity was particularly distressing from the fact that their stock 
 of provisions was running low, and they had been able to eke 
 out a supply from the different kinds of shell-fish found by the 
 shore- They had no assurance whatever of finding any kind 
 
212 CALIFORNIA 
 
 of food away from the sea, but Manuelo was skillful with the 
 bow, and they hoped that in case of an emergency some sort of 
 game might be taken. The seventh day, so far as progress on 
 their journey was concerned, was as good as lost, and they 
 were not yet beyond the borders of the Santos territory. 
 
 The experience of this day showed them very clearly that 
 the country was not only to be traversed, but must also be ex 
 plored for their future course, and their advance from that time 
 onward might be slow. But every day, they estimated, would 
 add a little to their security. It did not appear to them possi 
 ble that anybody could trace their tortuous course thus far; 
 and ere long, if they continued to make any progress whatever, 
 they must be in a country where they would be unknown even 
 if discovered. 
 
 Bending their journey inland the eighth day made up for the 
 loss of the seventh, for at its close they were many leagues to 
 the southward of their morning camping-place, and in a narrow 
 valley shut in by high mountains on either hand. In fact, they 
 had followed a well-defined trail pretty much the day through, 
 and were under no little anxiety of mind to know whither it 
 led. No village had been encountered since leaving the ocean, 
 but the path they had been treading was one made, at least in 
 part, by human beings, for they could see the evidences of that 
 fact in broken bushes, and in fragments of baskets scattered 
 by the way. The last persons passing along this trail had been 
 going in the contrary direction, and as the number in that com 
 pany was quite large, judging from the indications, Manuelo con 
 cluded they too must have been on their way to the great town on 
 the Bay, to attend the spring festivities. He hardly had the 
 courage to make known his suspicions to his fair companion, lest 
 it might arouse some shadow of regrets in her sensitive bosom, 
 at being the cause of disappointment to people traveling so far 
 to attend the wedding of herself and Gosee. He feared this 
 the more from the fact that their provisions were now almost 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 213 
 
 exhausted, and -they were compelled to lie down that night 
 more or less oppressed with hunger, as well as by fatigue. To 
 content her mind, a more than usually comfortable bower was 
 prepared, and they would have slept well and soundly after 
 the wearisome day s journey had not their camp been invaded 
 before they were fairly locked in the arms of Morpheus, by two 
 large bears. This threatening encroachment was with difficulty 
 repelled by loud noises and many demonstrations on the part 
 of the lovers, and only then by submitting to a robbery of all . 
 that remained of their scanty store of provisions. Nothing 
 short of this would satisfy the greedy monsters; but the travel 
 ers were only too glad to be rid of their unwelcome visitors, 
 even upon these harsh terms. Manueio s experience with this 
 species of animal, on a former occasion, had taught him the 
 danger of an encounter with a single one, and he knew full 
 well he would stand no chance of victory in a close contest 
 with two, unarmed almost as he was. Moreover, the safety of 
 the precious charge in his keeping, more than his own, admon 
 ished him to a course of prudence, which was by no means to 
 excite the rage of the intruders. That the bears were hungry 
 was evident, and his chief solicitude was that they should not 
 satiate their appetites upon the tender limbs of his sweetheart. 
 The night was passed without much sleep, and on the following 
 morning hunger no less than fear impelled them to an early 
 resumption of their tiresome journey. 
 
 Manuelo was as much surprised as pleased at the courage 
 and confidence displayed by his young and frail compailera, 
 nevertheless he failed not, as best he could, to incite in her a 
 renewed determination to resist the hardships which were now 
 coming thick and fast upon them. While extending to her now 
 and then a helping hand, he would at the same time, by kindly 
 words, hold out the hope that speedy relief from their perilous 
 situation would come; but whence, had he been asked, he 
 could not have told to save him. Owing to hunger and want 
 
214 CALIFORNIA 
 
 of sleep they were constrained to move slowly, but Manuelo, 
 if we may believe him, did not relax his vigilance and caution, 
 which seemed the more necessary, since, later in the day, they 
 came upon more than usual the signs of human beings. Dur 
 ing the afternoon a rabbit and a pigeon were brought down 
 with his arrows, and with these their hunger was partially 
 appeased. By a brook, near which they pitched their camp, 
 some tender plants were likewise found, and the lovers were 
 not constrained to retire that night, as they feared they might 
 be, altogether supperless. 
 
 The next day, which was the tenth, if we mistake not, of 
 their flight, was entered upon in pretty good spirits, but it was 
 destined to be the most eventful of all thus far. 
 
 Ascending a low mountain pass on their trail, they came in 
 full view of an expansive and comparatively level country, beyond 
 which the ocean appeared again. The prospect altogether was 
 by nature most inspiring. This country was evidently inhab 
 ited by a numerous people, though the outward signs of it, 
 from where the fugitives stood in the pass, were few. Manuelo 
 was half in doubt whether this was a part of the Santos king 
 dom, or the land of some other nation; but as there was no 
 way to satisfy his curiosity upon this important point, except by 
 making his presence known to the inhabitants, he determined 
 to run no risk of that kind, but to pass beyond it if possible, 
 and thus render their escape from pursuit and capture the more 
 certain. But food himself and companion must have, and to 
 the obtaining of this he set his genius to work. 
 
 From their secure lookout, he discovered some leagues ahead 
 on the plain below, the symptoms of a village, towards which in 
 the afternoon they advanced as nearly as they could with en 
 tire safety, and made their camp for the night. From here 
 Manuelo resolved, under cover of the approaching darkness, to 
 reconnoiter the country, and spy out, if practicable, who the 
 people might be. While contemplating this proposed raid, and 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 215 
 
 just as the dull sun was hiding his ruby face behind the west 
 ern horizon, Alola discovered at some distance a party of hunt 
 ers returning to the village. Calling Manuelo s attention to 
 this unexpected development, they were both half paralyzed 
 with fear, thinking they saw the ominous bird s wing in the head 
 ornamentation of the hunters. If true, this was an unquestion 
 able sign of their belonging to the great Santos nation ; but of 
 this they were left in doubt by the distance that intervened, 
 and as well by the fast-falling darkness. 
 
 The village, as usual with native villages, was on a knoll, close 
 bordering upon a stream of clear water, and the plain about 
 was interspersed, not thickly, with large oaks, so that as a ham 
 let it was really romantic and beautiful. The people were evi 
 dently as gay as the locality was cheering, for indications of 
 merriment, on the part of old and young alike, were plainly 
 observable from the cover of the fugitives. These were noticed 
 with as much caution as the circumstances would admit of, and 
 the lovers awaited with illy suppressed anxiety for the lengthen 
 ing hours of the early evening to glide by. 
 
 Impelled by hunger and fatigue, and relying upon the long 
 distance already come, the strangers might have been con 
 strained to discover themselves to these people, running what 
 risk there might be of recognition, but for the circumstance of 
 their observing, as they supposed, the head-gear spoken of. 
 This admonished them to forego the pleasure which they other 
 wise would have expected in a visit to such a delightful village, 
 and to so merry a population as this appeared to be. Night 
 came on, and with it silence, which grew profound as the even 
 ing waned. 
 
 About to pact from his bride for the first time, he embraced 
 her affectionately before sallying forth from their bower on his 
 errand of discovery. So loth was she to part with him, even 
 for a single hour, that she held his hand for a long time after 
 he would have been on his way, and then with tears she bade 
 him godspeed. 
 
216 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Observing first, carefully, the location of their camp, and 
 marking out for himself and companion a line of retreat in 
 case of pursuit by night, he cautiously advanced upon the vil 
 lage. Manuelo s eyes and ears were open to every moving 
 thing, and riot a bird or living creature, however small, escaped 
 his attention as he silently felt his way towards the object of his 
 investigation. Prudently hovering in the suburbs until all was 
 still as the grave, he assumed all the courage at his command, 
 and at the same time, as nearly as he could, the appearance of 
 a native, then penetrated with noiseless tread to the very center 
 of the village, where he discovered some venison, cut in long 
 strips and hung on flakes to dry. To this he helped himself 
 without ceremony, for it was just what himself and Alola 
 needed, and then safely made his retreat, going in the direction 
 of the brook until quite beyond the confines of the village. 
 With hasty steps and less caution he now returned to the bower 
 of his wakeful and anxiously waiting companion. 
 
 They were both overjoyed with the success of the venture, 
 which, though in violation of the laws of civilized and savage 
 countries alike, was justified by Manuelo on the ground, not 
 of his own, but of the extreme hunger of the fairest creature 
 living, as he said, and the act was not condemned by Father 
 Justino, who was sure it would have been excused by the owners 
 of the food themselves, had they been acquainted with the 
 circumstances. But this was no time to tarry, even for a hom 
 ily on the morality of the transaction, and so, refreshed, in the 
 stillness of night, the two set out on their southward journey. 
 
 The rising sun discovered them many leagues away from the 
 place of their last encampment; and henceforward their trav 
 eling was done under cover of the night, for in this country 
 settlements were so frequent as to subject their progress by day 
 to the imminent peril of discovery. 
 
 In scaling mountains they must needs follow passes which 
 were threaded by trails on which people were frequently mov- 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 217 
 
 ing to and fro, some of whom they would be quite sure to 
 meet in the day-time, but at night they were comparatively safe 
 except from the assaults of wild animals, which were numer 
 ous and ferocious in that country in those times. 
 
 On one occasion their progress was seriously interrupted by 
 a hungry lioness, which, however, was dispatched by Manu- 
 elo s spear while its attention was diverted by the cunning of 
 Alola, but not till its appetite had been gorged with nearly all 
 that remained of their scanty supply of venison. This un 
 toward event, though not so sad as it might have been, ren 
 dered it necessary soon afterwards to replenish their store, 
 which it was believed could be done in the same manner as 
 before. Although they had not yet gone nearly so far as they 
 intended, they felt less dread of detection, since both concluded 
 they must now be some distance beyond the dominions of 
 Alola s old father. But as friendly relations existed between 
 Bear-Slayer and all people to the southward, the lovers were 
 apprehensive that information of their flight, should it be known, 
 might find its way bade to the country of the Santos, in which 
 case their return or surrender would be demanded, and prob 
 ably enforced by a war, if the demand was not speedily 
 acceded to. 
 
 News of the elopement of so distinguished a person as the 
 king s daughter they rightly judged would be likely to spread 
 far and wide, and they were constrained to prosecute their 
 flight for many days longer, and as far as absolute safety required. 
 Their uncontrollable love for each other contributed immeas 
 urably to their caution, and neither felt like resting in one 
 place longer than a few hours. 
 
 About this period a large village was discovered on the well- 
 shaded bank of a river, some little distance back from the sea, 
 and here it was resolved by Manuelo to obtain a new supply of 
 food if possible. The place seemed to afford peculiar induce- 
 
218 CALIFORNIA 
 
 mcnts from the facilities with which it could be approached. In 
 the rear it was beset with steep hills, and on the up-river side with 
 a growth of large trees. From down the river the town was 
 exposed to view, and in that direction looked off upon the not 
 distant ocean. The situation was as eligible as ever could have 
 been chosen for a village, and by its surroundings showed a 
 great deal of intelligence and good taste on the part of its 
 founder, whoever he may have been. 
 
 A secure hiding-place having been fixed upon by the fugi 
 tives at a convenient distance up the river, Manuelo made prep 
 arations to explore the place from that point for the means of 
 subsistence. 
 
 In order to come without delay to the more important facts, 
 for which the reader is impatiently waiting, it has been thought 
 best to omit entirely from the translation the great solicitude 
 felt by Alola for the safety of her lord, and likewise her earnest 
 injunction given before starting on his perilous mission, to ob 
 serve the utmost caution and to hurry back. Suffice it to say 
 that the scene at this time, had it been witnessed by anyone, 
 would have been nearly a repetition of what took place only a 
 few nights before, but with this exception, that both were now 
 infinitely more hopeful of success than they had been when 
 inaugurating their first enterprise of the kind. This last ob 
 servation called forth from the good friar the pious reflection 
 that the best way to avoid disappointment is always to 
 expect it. Had Manuelo and his innocent spouse observed 
 this sensible rule, they would have escaped much disquietude 
 to themselves and at the same time have enabled the author to 
 proceed with this narrative with less embarrassment. 
 
 Practicing the same tactics very nearly as on his former raid, 
 Manuelo penetrated this village in the dead of night, when all 
 the inhabitants, as he supposed, were sound asleep. But find 
 ing no food exposed out-of-doors, as his former experience had 
 led him to expect, he was constrained by adverse fate and too 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 219 
 
 much daring to enter a dwelling to obtain what he so much 
 needed. Guided more by his sense of smell than of sight, 
 he was feeling about in the dark, when incautiously he stum 
 bled upon one of the recumbent slumbering inmates. In 
 stantly aroused, of course an alarm was raised. Manuelo fled 
 and was pursued. Had he been as familiar as the people of 
 the place with the locality, he could easily have escaped ; but, 
 alas ! he ran in the wrong direction, and becoming entangled in 
 some bushes, was captured. Here was a dilemma. The 
 whole village was aroused, and he was at once surrounded by 
 hundreds of people peering at him in the starlight and won 
 dering what sort of a being it could be. So entirely unusual 
 was his whole appearance that many of the wisest among the 
 people were disposed to look upon him as a messenger directly 
 from the infernal regions, and therefore entitled to respect, 
 which they, one and all, in the darkness of the night freely 
 showed him. Most of them, and the women and children in 
 particular, kept quite aloof, and no injury was inflicted upon 
 him by anyone. Had he been a veritable demon they could 
 not have paid more deference to his person, but for all that, he 
 was retained a close prisoner, under strong guard, until morn 
 ing, when the fact was revealed to their astonished vision that 
 he was human, and belonged to another, a distinct, and an un 
 known race of men. 
 
 The wonder of the people at now beholding for the first 
 time, in the broad light of day, a white man, it would be diffi 
 cult to describe, nor do we propose to undertake the task at 
 this time. It is even doubtful if they expressed their aston 
 ishment in any words that could be written down ; and why 
 should Justino be expected to supply the deficiency? Accord 
 ing to Manuelo s account of the affair, their exclamation of 
 surprise resembled an expression often since heard in the In 
 dian tongue, and sounded not unlike, " Woe ! woe ! " 
 
 Their language, in other respects, Manuelo could not well 
 
220 CALIFORNIA 
 
 understand, but he knew enough of the Indian character to 
 make known by signs his wants, and in a measure to conciliate 
 them. He gave them to understand that he came from the 
 South instead of the North, and as soon as he was permitted, 
 but under heavy escort, he sought out the hiding-place of his 
 beautiful bride; but, alas ! she was no longer there. The bird 
 had flown, leaving only a few scattered feathers behind, and 
 nothing to indicate in what direction she had taken her flight. 
 Manuelo s distress was now unbounded. He called for Alola 
 at the top of his voice, but could get no response. He judged 
 rightly that she had heard the commotion in the village, caused 
 by his detection, and had fled, and he greatly feared she would 
 be entirely lost in her flight, or be destroyed by wild beasts. 
 He felt almost certain she would not go far away without him, 
 but he was none the less perplexed by her absence. He man 
 aged to make known, as speedily as possible,* the fact of her 
 existence, to his captors, and a search for her was generously 
 undertaken by them all. It appears that the poor, affrighted 
 creature, on hearing the terrible noise in the village, created 
 by her husband s arrest, had approached with the noiseless, 
 trembling tread of a kitten, to its very suburbs, and not seeing 
 him, had fled in the direction of the ocean, believing that 
 Manuelo, if he made his escape, would pursue the same course. 
 There on the beach, running hither and thither, late in the 
 afternoon, the poor thing was found by the natives, more dead 
 than alive, and bemoaning aloud her hard fate, as only a young 
 and tender creature like herself could be expected to do. She 
 greatly feared her lover had been slain, and she was already 
 contemplating self-destruction by plunging alone into the deep 
 blue sea. Reluctantly she was brought by her captors to the 
 village, and was there surprised and delighted to meet Manuelo 
 again, and the two were happier then than they had ever been 
 before in their lives. Captives though they were, all the pains 
 of imprisonment were dispelled by the knowledge of each 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 221 
 
 other s safety, and with ineffable ecstasy they recounted to each 
 other every occurrence since their separation, only the night 
 before. 
 
 LXVII. 
 
 THE BARBOS.* 
 
 THE people in whose hands they had now fallen, and who 
 were called the Barbos, proved to be a distinct nation from the 
 Santos, but there was no well-defined boundary separating the 
 territories of the two countries. The people were known to 
 each other, but no relations existed between them, or none of 
 a diplomatic character, if I may use that expression, and this 
 fact, when it became known, had a tendency to ease the minds 
 of the fugitives, and to enable them to rest in peace long 
 enough to recuperate their energies, which had been greatly 
 exhausted by the long and tedious marches by night, as well as 
 by day, without proper food most of the way, and part of the 
 time without any. Though they were extremely solicitous to 
 ascertain the relations existing between the Barbos and the 
 Santos, the inquiry was conducted so cautiously as not to be 
 tray the fact that they were fugitives from the latter nation. 
 On the contrary, both Manuelo and Alola studiously gave forth 
 the impression, as the cautious Manuelo alone had done before, 
 that they had come from the opposite direction; not, however, 
 from the country immediately adjoining the Barbos on the 
 
 *SANTA BARBARA TRIBE. When in 1769 [about 170 years after 
 Manuelo was there], the Spanish explorers in their northward march came 
 to the locality of the present Santa Barbara, they found there a large 
 native village. The inhabitants were fishermen, who had fine boats, 
 twenty-four feet long, made of pine boards. They also possessed consid 
 erable artistic skill, as exhibited in their wood-carvings, which were eagerly 
 bought by the Spaniards, who in return gave glass beads to the natives. 
 Some of the graves were opened recently, and the relics found in them 
 were ascribed by many to prehistoric times, and to extinct races. Santa 
 Barbara Independent. 
 
222 CALIFORNIA 
 
 south, but from some far country in that quarter. This was 
 the more readily believed, inasmuch as the Barbos had heard a 
 vague rumor of a people resembling Manuelo, in some distant 
 southern land. 
 
 As might have been expected, the sudden appearance of two 
 such unusual characters in this village, not only created great 
 excitement, as has been stated, but it also caused much gossip 
 ing comment, particularly amongst the women, who never 
 ceased wondering how it was that such a pretty young woman 
 as Alola could have been found in such limited company and 
 under such strange circumstances. Much tattle about the affair 
 was indulged in, and it sorely taxed the inventive genius of the 
 happy couple to satisfy the numerous meddlesome inquiries 
 made of them concerning the event. It may have been a weak 
 pretense on the part of the strangers that they had become lost, 
 and were wandering, they knew not whither, but it was the 
 best explanation that could be offered, and the over-curious 
 matrons and maidens had no alternative but to make the most 
 of it. How much of this improbable story was really believed 
 the happy pair could not know, but then, neither did they care, 
 only so they were not betrayed by too bold an imposition upon 
 the credulity of their listeners. Both Manuelo and Alola felt 
 that it was little of the business of this people to know all about 
 them, and that, at all events, their movements concerned them 
 selves more, by far, than mere strangers; hence they scrupled 
 not to mislead the prying Barbos women in any way they were 
 able. To have told the whole truth, situated as they were, 
 might have proved disastrous to their plans, and their decep 
 tive course was fully justified by Father Justino, on the ground 
 that, as husband and wife, they alone were entitled to their 
 family secrets; unless, forsooth, such secrets might be demanded 
 at the confessional, by a regular priest like himself, and who, in 
 that case, would be bound to keep them in clerical confidence. 
 
 Aside from these meddlesome and annoying inquiries the 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 223 
 
 fugitives were treated with much kindness by the thrifty people 
 of this Barbos village, and after the first few days of their stay, 
 no restraint whatever was put upon their movements. They 
 were at liberty to do whatsoever they would, and their sojourn, 
 though begun as prisoners, was continued and ended more like 
 a veritable honey-moon. Frequent excursions were made to 
 the ocean beach, both for exploration and enjoyment, and for 
 the first time in all their experience did the stream of their love 
 appear to flow smoothly. 
 
 In the ceaseless roar of the ocean there is something so 
 soothing to the senses of lovers that Manuelo made bold to 
 recommend to all persons who might be compelled to run 
 away, on account of their attachment for each other, to seek 
 the sea-side by all means, and, if practicable, to resort to the 
 coast of the Barbos, whose secluded vales and entrancing 
 scenery, not to mention its unequaled climate, he thought pre 
 sented unusual attractions for such romantic adventurers. 
 
 Fascinated by their pleasant surroundings in this beautiful 
 land, Manuelo and his bride, too happy, remained as long as 
 they dared, and longer, perhaps, than prudence would have 
 allowed. 
 
 At last satisfied, though not wearied, with this genial locality, 
 and with the attentions of its equally genial people, the lovers 
 pretendecLanxiety to return to their home, and expressed to 
 their new-found friends fears lest their long absence might 
 create alarm. So much was true, but the alarm they were 
 alluding to was in the opposite direction from the one they 
 wished to go. Generously provided by the kind Barbos with 
 all the comforts they would need upon their journey, the two, 
 bidding their protectors an affectionate adieu, set out on t leir 
 southward march, arm in arm at first, and always near to each 
 other. 
 
 Manuelo had learned from these people that a powerful and 
 warlike nation called the Anglos lay some five or six days jour- 
 
224 CALIFORNIA 
 
 ney off in the direction they were bound, and before starting 
 he determined to enter that territory boldly, and conceal from 
 its inhabitants nothing except whence they came and the oc 
 casion of their coming. 
 
 It was JVIanuelo s intention to proceed still further in the 
 direction of Mexico as soon as convenient, and perhaps to 
 penetrate to the very settlements of the Spanish, which he 
 knew must lay in that quarter. 
 
 The Barbos were not on the most friendly terms witn the 
 Anglos, and the security of the former from invasion, he could 
 see, depended upon their isolation; for the part of the journey 
 they were now about to make was more difficult and danger 
 ous than any they had hitherto passed over. A succession of 
 mountains and deserts intervened, and it was hard to say 
 which of the two, whether desert or mountain, presented the 
 greater obstacle to their progress. 
 
 The travelers were in constant danger of losing their way, 
 or else of being destroyed by wild beasts, which abounded in 
 the mountains, and they therefore felt constrained to make 
 their camp each night on the open plain, or in the midst of 
 some valley, though comforts there were fewer, in order to be 
 away from the haunts of the bear, the lion, and other ferocious 
 animals. There were few villages on the route, and only on 
 the first night out were they favored with a lodgment^ in one. 
 Thus far on their way the wanderers were accompanied by two 
 stalwart braves of the Barbos, but the remainder of the journey 
 had to be made in solitude and by themselves alone. Neverthe 
 less they continued on their course with safety and by easy 
 stages, no incident of importance occurring, or, if so, not 
 related; until on the seventh day they came in sight of the 
 capital of the Anglos. It was situated on the border of a 
 magnificent plain interspersed with isolated groves of large 
 trees, and not many leagues away from the ocean. The city 
 was first seen from the crest of a mountain, not of great height, 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 225 
 
 but precipitous, and the prospect, comprising as it did, plain, 
 river, city, ocean, and all, was, next to that from Tamalpais the 
 grandest he had ever beheld. Contemplating it long and 
 earnestly, with Alola by his side, the two began at length to 
 speculate upon the nature of the inhabitants, wondering what 
 sort of people they must be who were living in such an inspir 
 ing region, and what kind of. a reception they would probably 
 meet with on the following day, for they were yet a great way 
 off, and could not have hoped to reach the city that night, had 
 they desired to do so. Resting there in the mountains they 
 cogitated over what account they should give of themselves on 
 arrival at the city the following day, and how they should make 
 their debut among that strange people. They still felt them 
 selves under the necessity of concealing from public curiosity 
 the cause of their journey, and their firm conclusion therefore 
 was to evade answering too many inquiries at the first, and 
 until they could be certain of giving a consistent and satisfac 
 tory explanation of their movements. But it was resolved in 
 case nothing appeared in the way of such a statement, to say 
 that Manuelo had been cast ashore far to the northward, 
 some two years before, and with his fair companion, who had, 
 with the consent of her parents, become his wife, was making 
 his way back to his own country, which lay a hundred days jour 
 ney or more, it might be, to the southward. This was as near 
 the truth as it was thought advisable to venture at the start. 
 They would gladly have avoided making any misstatements or 
 misrepresentation whatever, but such was deemed incompatible 
 with safety. They had been compelled to enter upon a system 
 of prevarication by the very unjust and arbitrary laws of the 
 fiery Santos, and they were not yet far enough away from the 
 influence of such laws to render entirely safe an abandonment 
 of that policy, for one of candor and honesty. 
 
 It was the opinion of Father Justino, plainly expressed in 
 the manuscript, that the laws of a country are responsible for 
 15 
 
226 CALIFORNIA 
 
 many of the crimes committed in it, and that laws are some 
 times so oppressive and unjust that they must needs be disre 
 garded. Such is the case, he said, particularly where the 
 happiness of the people is seriously impaired by the character 
 of the institutions under which they are compelled to live, and 
 where the lives of citizens are endangered by their operation. 
 To be respected, laws, he added, ought to be equal and uni 
 form, and bear upon all alike, upon the rich and the poor, the 
 high and the low, and only such laws he thought could be 
 conscientiously observed by everybody. 
 
 It was also said by Justino, but whether he was merely 
 echoing the opinions of Manuelo, or giving utterance to his 
 own sentiments, gathered from early observations in Portugal, 
 cannot now be told, but he declared that unjust laws, by pro 
 ducing hunger, privation, and suffering, are the cause of a far 
 greater number of premature and untimely deaths than wars, 
 pestilence, and earthquakes combined; and he drew a compari 
 son between different countries to show that the prosperity or 
 otherwise of each depended almost entirely upon its govern 
 ment. Thousands, he said, yea, millions of innocent children 
 each year, and of men and women not a few, whose early 
 departure from this life was attributed, as the world goes, to 
 blind chance and uncontrollable fate, were in truth murdered 
 by oppressive laws; yes, absolutely murdered; sacrificed to 
 appease the demands of unjust governments; and therefore it 
 was, as he reasoned, that the infraction of the law was not 
 always a crime, the criminality being oftener in the law itself 
 than in its violation. He thought that if the palaces of the 
 great could be turned into mausoleums to accommodate the 
 victims of their tyrannical owners, they would be filled from 
 base to turret with dead men s bones. 
 
 This good Dominican friar envied not any people the 
 enjoyment of their crime-gotten gains; but, if we may believe 
 him, was more content with his scanty allotment in the New 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 227 
 
 World than were the greatest of kings with all their possessions 
 in the Old. 
 
 As evidence of the correctness of this conclusion, he 
 referred again with powerful effect to the fact just then becom 
 ing known in America, that the great Charles V., though not 
 yet old, had cast aside his glittering imperial crown, for the 
 peace of mind which he hoped to find in the quiet of the 
 cloister. In naming over at the time different kingdoms, some 
 powerful and others weak, to prove that the condition of the 
 one or the other depended almost exclusively upon the char 
 acter of its institutions, good or bad, the strong nation possess 
 ing the good and the weak the bad, he was not content, but pro 
 ceeded further to adduce a fact, well sustained in history, that 
 the same country is at one period prosperous and at another 
 otherwise ; that the time of its prosperity was when blessed 
 with wise rulers and just laws, and that degeneracy and decay 
 were the inevitable results of corruption and injustice. Laws, 
 he said, should be framed for the protection of the weak, and 
 not the strong; for the poor, and not the rich; the powerful 
 and wealthy, continued he, being able to provide for them 
 selves, while the poor and the weak are at the mercy of 
 others unless protected by law. 
 
 It sounds so much like a woman that we must believe that 
 Alola herself was the real author of the sentiment, that the 
 poor and unfortunate are the babes and sucklings of the gov 
 ernment, and entitled to its first consideration. Not the lions, 
 said the good woman, but the lambs; the hares, and not the 
 bears, require protection, and yet the lions and bears of society 
 have the benefit of nearly all legislative enactments, while the 
 hares and the lambs, so to speak, are left to shift for themselves. 
 The powerful and rich, who become so by the favor of the 
 king, and use their bounty unmercifully, were declared to be 
 the ravenous human hyenas of civil society, and more deserving 
 of destruction than of the flattery which is so frequently 
 
228 CALIFORNIA 
 
 bestowed upon them. If God is good and at the same time 
 merciful, said the friar, the just lawgiver, who is too often con 
 demned in this world, will be abundantly rewarded in the next; 
 while the bad one, however pious he may seem to be, will fail 
 of his aim to reach Heaven ; for, said he, where laws are so 
 oppressive and unjust that persons must from necessity violate 
 them in order to obtain the necessaries of life, it is .not the 
 breakers of the laws, but the makers of them, that ought to be 
 punished. 
 
 Justino observed, furthermore, that the character of the gov 
 ernment of a country was always depicted in the countenances 
 of its inhabitants. If the government be good, said he, 
 happiness will prevail and will plainly appear in the faces of 
 the people; but if harsh and oppressive, that, in like manner, 
 will be shown in their dissatisfied and dejected expressions. 
 He maintained that under just and equal laws a noble race of 
 men and women would spring up in any country; while abject 
 servility and degeneracy were sure to follow in the wake of an 
 unjust and tyrannical government. This, he assured Manuelo, 
 had been demonstrated in all ages and in all countries. The 
 comely Greeks and noble Romans of ancient times had 
 grown to their exalted state of perfection from much lower 
 orders of humanity, under the influence of wise enactments; 
 and as the result of oppressive government they had degen 
 erated again, at times, to a deplorable extent. Addressing 
 himself to Manuelo with much earnestness he added uViat 
 even the manly and generous-souled Santos, if subjected to 
 improper governmental influences, might, in the course of 
 centuries, degenerate into an inferior race of beings, and their 
 women, of whom Alola was a brilliant example, would be likely 
 in time also to lose much of their beauty and comeliness. 
 This sweeping assertion Manuelo was hardly prepared to 
 believe, until reminded by the friar of the shameful conduct 
 towards himself of the slavish Modens, when the great truth 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 229 
 
 for the first time flashed across his mind that government has 
 everything to do with the moral, mental, and physical condition 
 of a people, a fact never afterwards questioned by him. 
 
 In the case of Manuelo and Alola, they were now fleeing 
 from the operation of laws directly in conflict with a law of 
 nature, and as Justino maintained, in opposition to the divine 
 law of love ; hence he was far from censuring the poor fugitives 
 for resorting to so much of prevarication, as was deemed 
 necessary to shield themselves from that vengeance which was 
 liable to follow from the wicked practices of the Santos. The 
 lovers had the entire sympathy of the good friar, as they have 
 also of the translator, and doubtless will have of every honest 
 reader of this history. Laws that are right and tend to pro 
 mote human happiness are always readily obeyed, and are 
 easily enforced; in fact, they enforce themselves by their own 
 justness; hence, very little government is anywhere needed 
 except to enforce oppressive laws. 
 
 LXVIII. 
 
 THE ANGLOS. 
 
 AWAKENED at early morn by the shrill, penetrating notes 
 of a brown thrush piping its lays in answer to its mate, and 
 refreshed by a night s rest in the pure mountain air of that 
 elevated place, the doubting couple issued forth from their 
 temporary bower, to find as clear a sky and as brilliant a 
 prospect as ever mortal man had looked upon. The sun had 
 not yet come forth from his hiding-place in the orient, and 
 the two lingered where they were long enough to greet his 
 appearance, and to plight anew, before the shining face of 
 that great luminary, their mutual faith. Then and there, sur 
 rounded as they were by the untold beauties of nature, and 
 fully inspired by the surpassing sublimity of the scenery, they 
 vowed again most solemnly to love, honor, and cherish each 
 
230 CALIFORNIA 
 
 other through all trials and temptations, through evil and good 
 report, cleaving only one to the other so long as they both 
 should live, and until death should them finally part. 
 
 They were now about to enter upon associations entirely 
 new, the continuation of which was a thing of great uncer 
 tainty, and they deemed this a fitting occasion to pledge again 
 their troth, and bind themselves more closely together. Should 
 it be their fate to spend the balance of their days with the 
 Anglos, they would leave nothing undone which might be 
 needful to perpetuate the remembrance of their blissful union, 
 and both, bending towards the east, earnestly called upon the 
 rising sun to witness the sincerity of their affection. 
 
 This ceremony brought to a close by the sun entering upon 
 his daily journey, the wanderers, cheered in heart, not more 
 by the delightful scenery before them than by the conscious 
 ness of having discharged an important, but solemn duty, 
 abandoned their resting-place, and were soon down on the 
 plains, wending their way to the city, which, by diligent trav 
 eling, they reached before noon. Their approach had been 
 observed from afar, and their unexpected advent in the place 
 caused great commotion among the people. No herald or 
 information of any kind had preceded their coming, and nearly 
 the entire population assembled to express their wonder at 
 so strange an event. They were able at first to converse but 
 poorly with the gathering crowd, on account of a difference 
 in dialect, and could therefore give but little account of them 
 selves. They were regarded with amazement by all, but the 
 authorities of the city were inclined to look upon them at the 
 beginning, as nothing but spies. In consequence they were 
 treated with coolness, and were kept under close surveillance 
 for the time, but succeeded after a while in gaining the con 
 fidence of the great chief, and eventually, more liberty of action. 
 This was accorded them with the more reluctance on account 
 of the peculiarity of their costume, which clearly indicated 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 231 
 
 that they were from some nation entirely unknown in those 
 parts. Their dresses, though of skins, like those of the Anglos, 
 were of fashions entirely different. 
 
 Manuelo himself was no less an object of curiosity here 
 than in other places where he had been, and, notwithstanding 
 his strenuous endeavors to appear and act like a native of the 
 country, it was of little avail. It was impossible to divest 
 himself of distinctive features, nor could he in any way de 
 ceive the shrewd Anglos. They detected in him at once 
 something unusual and extraordinary. His fuller beard, his 
 blue eyes, his brown hair, and his lighter skin, all betrayed 
 him as belonging to an entirely different race from their own, 
 and he was therefore contemplated with a great deal of sus 
 picion, until his acquaintance with the people grew apace, and 
 their friendship was ripened by time. 
 
 Towards the beautiful, dark-eyed Alola, whose general 
 make-up, though superior to that of the rest of her race, was 
 more in accordance with the accepted standard of the country 
 in those days, they felt differently. Her gentle manners and 
 winning ways soon gained for her the friendship of all. Par 
 ticularly was this noticeable on the part of the women, but she 
 was not wanting in attentions from any. The kind young 
 people of her own sex took special delight in administering to 
 her wants, and all the comforts that the city afforded were 
 bounteously heaped upon her. The style of her garments, 
 differing so radically from their own, interested this class of 
 the population amazingly. They were really of a kind that 
 had never before been seen nor dreamed of in that locality, and 
 they seemed to promise as much of comfort on account of 
 their pattern as of pleasure from being of a fashion entirely 
 new. It was asserted that their delight with the dress of Alola 
 was only excelled by their admiration for its wearer. Besides 
 fitting her well, and showing off to the best advantage the 
 graces of her person, it was profusely ornamented with fringes 
 
232 CALIFORNIA 
 
 and feathers. To tell the simple truth, and we know no reason 
 why we should not, it had been gotten up at her home, with 
 the aid of the good Santos dames, in anticipation of her mar 
 riage with the gallant Gosee, as a sort of bridal attire, and it 
 was lacking neither in good taste, nor in true regal style. That 
 the genius of Manuelo was manifest in its general construction, 
 there can be no question, but not with the expectation that 
 his rival, the envious Gosee, would draw any pleasure there 
 from. The head-dress of Alola was simple and tasty, and 
 made of the finest of fur, but with few ornaments of any sort, 
 as they were not at all needed to set off her comely features. 
 Beauty unadorned is always the sweetest, and so in her case. 
 No marvel, certainly, all these things considered, that the gay 
 and festive Anglos maidens were well pleased with their un 
 expected female visitor. 
 
 The king and the principal prophets adopted costumes 
 similar in fashion to Manuelo s, as soon as they could be pre 
 pared. In a spirit of true magnanimity the strangers rendered 
 the Anglos of both sexes all the assistance they were able in 
 fabricating garments after the style of their own. In this way, 
 and by other kindly acts, Manuelo and his gentle bride in 
 gratiated themselves with the people of the city, and of the 
 neighboring villages, in an incredibly short space of time. In 
 reality Manuelo acquired, according to the words of the manu 
 script, as much popularity with the Anglos as he had ever 
 enjoyed with the Santos in his palmiest days, and it would 
 have been known just as well, had the fact not been told us, 
 that he was more than delighted this time to share his popu 
 larity with his charmfhg young wife. They were hospitably 
 provided with the best of quarters, in a great lodge near the 
 dwellings of the head men of the nation, and there, securely 
 ensconced, the loving pair were as happy as human beings 
 could be under the most auspicious circumstances. It was a 
 most fortunate thing for them at the beginning, that neither 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 233 
 
 was able to converse freely in the tongue of this people, since 
 they were thereby relieved from the necessity of entering upon 
 an extended explanation of their sudden and. most unlooked- 
 for visit. But this duty was deferred only a short time, for 
 the Anglos dialect was not difficult to acquire, and they were 
 constrained after a while, by many importunities, to give an 
 account of themselves, which they did, precisely in accordance 
 with the plan as laid out in their last night s watch upon the 
 mountain. These people, like the Barbos, were given to un 
 derstand that the purpose of the wanderers was to continue 
 their journey at some future day to the South, for reasons 
 already detailed, but not necessary to be repeated here. 
 
 The Anglos differed not essentially from the other inhabit 
 ants of Upper California, at that remote period, in their habits 
 and mode of living, but were regarded by Manuelo as a little 
 shade less enlightened than the swift footed Santos; nor were 
 they so numerous a nation. Their territory, likewise, was more 
 circumscribed, but they were, nevertheless, a warlike people, 
 and their chief, or king, exercised his rule with almost as much 
 despotism as was exhibited by the old king of the Modens. 
 He was more considerate, however, with his authority, and 
 among the people at large was accustomed to require much less 
 of servility than was exacted from the Oaks by their king. He 
 was still a powerful man physically, though past the middle of 
 life, and was generally foremost in war, in hunting, and in ath 
 letic sports. 
 
 The Barbos had not misrepresented the facts in saying that 
 he was fond of war, and he was on terms of absolute friend 
 ship with none of the neighboring nations. His principal and 
 most active enemy joined his territory on the south, and with 
 these people, who were known as the Dagos, he was frequently 
 in open hostility and with ever-varying results. In the last con 
 flict the Anglos had been worsted, and the chief s proud spirit 
 still writhed under the castigation then received, and he burned 
 
234 CALIFORNIA 
 
 for an opportunity of revenge. In truth, he had been severely 
 wounded in the head with a missile of some sort, sent by a 
 Dago brave, and the wound was hardly yet healed when Man- 
 uelo and his female companion arrived in the country. He 
 congratulated himself with having slain in that battle, with his 
 own hands, several of the stalwart warriors of the Dagos, but 
 their king was still spared, and it was against him in particular 
 that Mosoto s enmity (for that was the name of the king of 
 the Anglos) was particularly directed. The king of the Dagos, 
 more than two years before, had captured and carried off the 
 favorite wife of Mosoto, while she was out with others gather 
 ing berries near the border, an indignity to which the resolute 
 Mosoto could never bring his mind to submit with any degree 
 of composure. He had little hope of ever recovering his lost 
 wife, but he was constantly thirsting for vengeance upon her 
 captor, and for that reason, hostile incursions were undertaken 
 into the country of his rival as often as the requisite prepara 
 tions could be made. 
 
 The prowess of the enemy the Dagos who numbered many 
 valiant warriors, deterred the Anglos people from these expe 
 ditions oftener than enforced by the angry king, but they were 
 nevertheless quite sure to be set on foot as frequently as once 
 a year, and sometimes more than once in the same season. 
 Mosoto had it in purpose to try the fortunes of war with the 
 Dagos again that summer, and he readily saw that he could 
 turn the talents of Manuelo, if Manuelo was so disposed, to 
 good account in fitting out this contemplated expedition. A 
 great point he could perceive had been gained in the form of 
 the clothing his people had been taught by the strangers to 
 wear, and, besides, Manuelo had made some suggestions in 
 regard to the shape and use of the weapons of warfare of the 
 Anglos, which were regarded as highly advantageous. But it 
 was in the management of the campagin itself from which 
 Mosoto hoped to derive most advantage from the readily 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 235 
 
 observed genius of his singular guest When this fact became 
 known, Manuelo contemplated with some dismay the use 
 intended to be made of himself; and even the prospect of being 
 invested with the dignity of commander-in-chief failed to dis 
 pel his apprehensions of danger in the movement. His 
 exceedingly disastrous experience in the fight with the Modens 
 had weaned him, so to speak, of the desire for military renown, 
 and though he was quite willing to render what assistance he 
 could in fitting out an expedition, he felt a great deal of reluc 
 tance about taking an active part in it; and what was worse, the 
 very thought of his going off to war again was exceedingly dis 
 tasteful to little Alola, who could not help picturing to herself 
 a repetition of the painful servitude her husband had suffered 
 while a prisoner with the cruel Modens; and even worse, for she 
 greatly feared, from what she could learn about the formidable 
 Dagos, that he might be slain outright. 
 
 On her account, therefore, more than on his own, he seri 
 ously contemplated an early desertion of the Anglos, and actu 
 ally thought of making his way with his bride to the country of 
 the Dagos, since it lay to the south. But this step he knew 
 must be planned, and at the same time accomplished, surrepti 
 tiously, if at all, and that would be an undertaking fraught with, 
 probably, as much danger to himself, and infinitely more 
 to his wife, than to join heartily, and at once, in the campaign 
 against the Dagos. By no means could he persuade himself to 
 a step which would, more than any other, jeopardize the safety 
 of the one he loved so tenderly. It was with apparent zest, 
 therefore, that he took an active part from that moment in the 
 preparations for the war, believing that he could thus, in a 
 measure, control the movement for his own purposes, judging 
 wisely that his return to Alola would depend thereupon, and 
 that her happiness forever afterwards would hang upon the 
 success of the campaign. 
 
 According to Justino s account of the affair, Manuelo, with 
 
236 CALIFORNIA 
 
 all his fears, betrayed a little streak of vanity, such as many 
 another embryo general had felt before him, and as some may 
 possibly since have felt, at a prospect of promotion, and he was 
 less reluctant to enter into the war on that account. He con 
 fessed to some gratification springing out of the great confi 
 dence reposed in him by the king, in voluntarily offering him 
 the management of this delicate and dangerous business. 
 
 The matter having been fully considered in every point by 
 Manuelo and Alola, and the work of the campaign laid out, so 
 far as it could be, in all its diversified particulars, it was reluc 
 tantly entered upon, though with all apparent good-will, Man 
 uelo not betraying to anyone, except to his fair bride, his real 
 sentiments. 
 
 Most diligent exertions for several weeks were required to 
 equip and prepare the Anglos warriors as he directed. Each 
 man was to be clad in close-fitting garments instead of a blanket 
 of skins, as theretofore, and the more vital parts of each soldier s 
 person were to be partially protected from the arrows and jave 
 lins of the enemy by patches of the thick hide of the bear, or 
 of some other large animal, sewed into the garment. The 
 soldiers were shod with more substantial moccasins than had 
 been their custom to wear, so that they could clamber over 
 sharp rocks, and even trample upon the prickly cactus, with 
 impunity. Each warrior s head was adorned with a helmet, 
 fashioned out of the firmest leather that could be made in that 
 country, and these were ornamented with the tails of wolver 
 ines, foxes, and other wild creatures. Each helmet was crested 
 with an abundance of the longest feathers that could be pro 
 cured, much after the manner of civilized nations; and with 
 these they presented a remarkably martial appearance. No 
 very radical change could be made by Manuelo in the con 
 struction of their weapons, owing to the scarcity of implements 
 at hand for their manufacture; but, as a compensation for 
 this disadvantage, each soldier was able to arm himself with a 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 237 
 
 greater number of weapons, by reason of his having fewer 
 incumbrances of other kinds. In addition to the protection 
 their uniforms afforded, one whole division of the army was 
 furnished with shields, or bucklers, usually of more than one 
 thickness of skins, stretched upon a strong hoop of wood, and 
 always of more than one thickness, unless of the heaviest kind. 
 By much practice this division became remarkably expert in 
 receiving weapons cast towards them, upon these bucklers, and 
 turning such weapons aside. 
 
 Instead of burdening each man with his own stock of pro 
 visions, as had been the custom from time immemorial with 
 the Anglos, a commissary department, so to speak, was 
 provided, and men less fitted for battle were detailed to carry 
 the food. The organization of this corps, so very unusual 
 among them, cost the general an infinite amount of trouble 
 and annoyance, the tendency of the individuals in that de 
 partment being always towards a too hasty consumption of the 
 supplies. But by the severest discipline they were brought to 
 a perfect discharge of their duty, before the campaign began. 
 Manuelo was a native of Barcelona, and had seen enough of 
 military maneuvering in the land of his birth when a boy, to 
 enable him to put his army through a sort of drill each day, 
 for several weeks in succession, before setting out on the ex 
 pedition. 
 
 His own military dress was carefully prepared by the assist 
 ance of Alola, with special reference to the safety of its wearer. 
 He selected the very best of the skins for himself, and it is 
 doubtful if arrow or dart, or even a javelin, could have pene 
 trated any portion of his uniform with fatal effect, when it was 
 completed; while he relied upon his shield for the protection 
 of his face, in the event of his being exposed to the missiles of 
 the adversary, which, b)i the way, he hoped, as commander-in- 
 chief, to avoid, as was customary with all well-regulated armies. 
 
 His forces were prudently divided into several different corps 
 
238 CALIFORNIA 
 
 how many was not stated in the manuscript and a com 
 petent officer was designated to take charge of each, while 
 Manuelo was to be in command of the whole, to direct the 
 movements of all. At the head of the principal division, and 
 the one that was to be in the lead, was the formidable king 
 himself, whose giant frame, surtopped with the tallest of plumes, 
 was the most conspicuous figure in the whole army. If Man 
 uelo was proud of his command, it is needless to say that Mo- 
 soto was still more proud of his share of the same, and he 
 chafed at the little delay that was deemed necessary by the real 
 commander to make ready for an entirely successful cam 
 paign. 
 
 In view of the pageant, in which her husband was the leading 
 spirit, Alola s objections to the enterprise gradually grew less, 
 and it is no discourtesy to say that her admiration for the gen 
 eral overcame in some degree her early scruples about his en 
 gaging in a war in which he had really no concern, and against 
 a people that had never done either him or her any harm, no, 
 not even the slightest. But it is not the first instance, said 
 Father Justino, where military glamor has obliterated the sense 
 of justice, and blinded the eyes of men, and women too, to the 
 horrors of bloody war. It has been a common thing in all 
 ages for people to become so dazzled by the glory and splendor 
 of military movements, as to forget all the dire consequences. 
 
 LXIX. 
 WAR WITH THE DAGOS 
 
 PERFECTLY equipped and disciplined, as they now were, 
 and well supplied with provisions, this Anglos army of scarcely 
 a thousand fighting men, bearing arms, and not more than 
 fifteen hundred of all ranks, and including camp followers, filed 
 out of the city, by the principal southern exit, and took up 
 their line of march towards the country of the Dagos. As 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 239 
 
 they moved off in a long extended column, in perfect order, 
 they might be likened if great things may be compared to 
 small to a large flock of wild geese going South, as the ad 
 vancing season invites their return from the high Arctic regions, 
 where they have spent the summer in multiplying, and recruit 
 ing their energies, upon the fresher products of the North. So 
 the Anglos army, with long, waving line, their leader a little in 
 advance, but with rear-guard somewhat disorganized, bore away 
 to the southward, on that beautiful midsummer morning. 
 
 In less than a week these exulting forces were in the heart 
 of the enemy s country. But the wary Dagos, ever on the 
 alert for their foes, had observed their approach ; and the prog 
 ress of the Anglos, day by day, had been reported by heralds 
 to the king of that nation, who, with the utmost alacrity, gath 
 ered together his forces also, and made ready to meet and give 
 battle to his hereditary foe. With the utmost confidence on 
 either side the two armies proudly approached each other, both 
 eager for the fray. 
 
 The Dagos outnumbered the Anglos more than two to one; 
 but this fact was not unknown to Manuelo, who, like a skillful 
 general as he was, took account of it by drawing up his forces 
 on the right bank of a small river, just where it debouches into 
 the ocean, so that his right wing rested upon the sea, leaving 
 no opportunity for the enemy to pass between him and the 
 water. His left wing, in like manner, rested upon a high bluff, 
 rendering it as impossible for the Dagos to turn that flank; 
 and in this situation he was aware that the fight must be a 
 square face to face contest, in which case he judged his own 
 men would possess greatly the advantage, by reason of their 
 superior armorial defenses. To choose this favorable position 
 he was admonished by his sad experience at the time of the 
 bloody fight between the Santos and the Modens, in which, it 
 will be remembered, the battle and his own liberty, at the same 
 time, were lost, as the result of a flank movement. It was not 
 
240 CALIFORNIA 
 
 so much for his own safety as out of regard for the loving 
 Alola, that Manuelo selected for himself the securest place in 
 the whole line, or, rather, in the rear of the line, where he 
 could spur on his warriors to greater exertions, in case the tide 
 of battle might require it. It was no slight evidence of his 
 prowess as a commander, that he was able to inspire all his 
 men, from Mosoto down, with confidence, and even with en 
 thusiasm. 
 
 Posted as we have seen, Manuelo and his gallant army 
 calmly awaited the approach of the bloody Dagos, who in 
 vastly superior numbers came up, at the expected hour, in hot 
 haste and with shouts that almost made Manuelo s hair stand 
 on end, as he said; but the inveterate Anglos, nothing daunted, 
 received the first discharge of arrows from the other side upon 
 their bucklers, almost without harm, and then returned the fire 
 with terrible effect. The fight at once became general and 
 desperate, but Manuelo s brave men held their ground, deal 
 ing blow for blow with most fatal results, to the astonished 
 Dagos. Urged on by their desperate leaders, the enemy now 
 advanced across the shallow stream separating the two armies, 
 and coming upon the lines of the Anglos at several points at 
 the same moment, the battle was fast assuming the form of a 
 hand-to-hand contest. Just then, foremost in the fight, on the 
 Anglos side, was observed the herculean frame of the fierce 
 Mosoto, moving to and fro in the line, protected by his huge 
 armor, and striking to the right and the left, slaughtering his 
 opponents in great numbers, but receiving little or no harm in 
 return. Manuelo, noticing the advantage thus gained, could 
 not restrain his own fiery disposition general though he was 
 to take an active part in the fray, and his weapons did good 
 execution. Encouraged by these noble examples of individual 
 bravery, the men advanced, with loud cries of exultation, and 
 not only checked, but drove back the Dagos again, across the 
 narrow river, The Anglos had been taught that their security 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 241 
 
 from hostile weapons lay in keeping theij; faces to the foe, 
 for their backs had been purposely left unprotected in order to 
 discourage retreat. In flight, Manuelo, not being over-swift of 
 foot, would have stood a poor chance of escape, and this fact 
 had been shrewdly taken into account by him in the prepara 
 tion of his army. The Dagos were completely surprised by the 
 new and strange accouterments of their old enemies, and being 
 stricken with dismay at their apparent imperturbability, a rout 
 ensued. The triumphant Anglos followed up their victory 
 sharply, and the consternation of the enemy increased at every 
 step. In compact order and under good command, but with 
 terrific and repeated yells, the pursuit was continued the bal 
 ance of the day, and until, weary with the chase, a halt was 
 called by Manuelo, for the night, in a secure place by the sea. 
 
 The Anglos were elated beyond expression by their success, 
 and now felt themselves invincible. Their casualties had been 
 few and their wounded were easily provided for. These were, 
 by order of the Commander-in-chief, put in charge of the com 
 missary department, and, to say the least, they were well fed 
 Manuelo was now a hero indeed, and every tongue was loud in 
 his praise. No one was more ready to do him honor than 
 Mosoto himself, who was really overjoyed with the victory. 
 When fairly in camp, and supper over, a council of war was 
 called by the chief, and it was resolved on the morrow to con 
 tinue the pursuit. 
 
 The king of the Dagos, a most desperate character, was 
 afforded sufficient time during the night to rally his shattered 
 forces, and, without consulting his chiefs or his prophets, he 
 determined to make a stand on the following day, and to renew 
 the conflict. This time he had the selection of his own ground, 
 and choosing a pass in the mountain through which the retreat 
 had to be made, he there drew up his crippled army for a last 
 desperate struggle. 
 
 This advantage of the enemy was noticed at once by Man- 
 16 
 
242 CALIFORNIA 
 
 uelo as he proceeded on the next day, and in so great doubt 
 was he as to his ability to surmount the difficulty before him, 
 that he called a halt, and, at the same time, another council of 
 war, and took the advice of his corps commanders as to whether 
 they should undertake it or not. Elated by their victory of 
 the day before, which was certainly glorious enough, they were 
 unanimous in the wish to prosecute the war with vigor, and 
 consequently, without much delay, an assault was made, by a 
 select body of the Anglos with Mosoto at their head, upon the 
 strong position of the Dagos. The assaulting party was sup 
 ported by the entire force of Manuelo, which rushed forward 
 when the word was given, with an impetuosity that would have 
 done credit, as was said, to the very best soldiers of the great 
 King Charles. There was no withstanding the onslaught, 
 though the stubborn Dagos, who were now fighting, not for glory 
 merely, but for their homes, their families, and their firesides, 
 resisted with the most unaccountable determination. The fight 
 was persisted in for some time with unexampled energy, before 
 the pass was finally made, but the enemy were compelled to 
 yield to the better equipments of the Anglos, and were driven 
 again in great confusion towards their capital. 
 
 This second battle with the Dagos was won about the middle 
 of the day, and before sundown the heroic little army, under 
 the brave Manuelo, with hasty steps marched into the principal 
 city of their discomfited enemies. They were preceded, of 
 course, by the dismayed and flying soldiers of the Dago king, 
 and their approach being known, the women and children of 
 that nation, old and young, fled precipitately to the mountains, 
 in the greatest consternation. A few only remained behind, 
 but among these was the stolen and long-absent wife of Mosoto; 
 and here we are compelled to relate, or rather translate, an event 
 most sorrowful. Gladly would the translator avoid the narra 
 tion of it entirely if he could with propriety, and the mind of 
 the sensitive reader should not be harrowed up by an account 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 243 
 
 of the occurrence, could he be permitted to have his own way, 
 but the truth of history demands, imperatively, at his hands, a 
 performance of the task, however disagreeable. 
 
 This poor woman, not greeting Mosoto, her former husband, 
 with as much cordiality as he thought it was his right to ex 
 pect, possibly not recognizing him in his new and strange uni 
 form, was cruelly slaughtered by him in cold blood, then and 
 there. This horrible event, in the mind of the good Manuelo, 
 detracted vastly from the glory of the campaign, and he could 
 never think of it without actual regrets that he had undertaken 
 the war at all, for so heartless and revengeful a person. He 
 could not to his own satisfaction account for the motives that 
 induced such a blood-thirsty act, and least of all could he forgive 
 it. The thought of it always brought tears to his eyes, and 
 when the sad event was related by him to Alola, as it was in 
 pathetic terms, she too wept bitterly. There had been no chance 
 for Manuelo to interfere, or even to expostulate with the cruel 
 king before the bloody deed was accomplished, so hasty was it. 
 But Manuelo s anger was thoroughly aroused at the time against 
 the author of it, and, as he acknowledged, he would have slain 
 Mosoto on the spot, and in the presence of his victim, had he 
 been armed, as he wished he had been, with his sword and 
 pistols. 
 
 In discussing the matter afterwards, Manuelo was of the 
 opinion that this dreadful tragedy might be attributable, in part 
 at least, to the wicked passions of Mosoto, whose love for the 
 poor, gentle Red Berry having been once very great, as every 
 body knew, was suddenly converted, by the magic power of 
 jealousy, into uncontrollable hate, on beholding her the wife of 
 another. The less sentimental Dominican, friar, turning the 
 matter over in his own mind, suggested that the fell deed may 
 have been the result of sheer habit; that Mosoto, having been 
 so vigorously employed for the last two days in slaughtering 
 people, may have actually killed poor Red Berry without much 
 
244 CALIFORNIA 
 
 thinking. But the more probable opinion is the one enter 
 tained by Manuelo and concurred in by Alola, that Mosoto s 
 enmity towards the king of the Uagos was at the bottom 
 of the whole thing, and that he could not bear to behold 
 the slender person of his inamorata, embellished as it was, with 
 raven locks, with ruby lips, and teeth of pearl, in the posses 
 sion of another, and that one to him the most detested being 
 on earth. These views of Manuelo were fortified by an allu 
 sion to the Moor of Venezia, and the fair Desdemona, the 
 tragic story of whom was often repeated throughout the Spanish 
 world in those days. Had there been some miserable lago in 
 the army, to excite, by false insinuations against the meek-eyed 
 Red Berry, the fiery temper of Mosoto, Alola would have had 
 no doubt as to the motives which led to the untimely death of 
 the poor, defenseless woman. 
 
 It is needless to say that this affair wrought a complete 
 change in the feelings of Manuelo towards the king. But 
 they were yet in the captured city of the enemy, and there was 
 no opportunity now to show his indignation, surrounded as they 
 were on every hand by a people greatly superior to the Anglos 
 in numbers, and capable, to say the least, of giving them much 
 annoyance. Without bestowing protracted consideration upon 
 the subject just then, Manuelo posted a strong guard at every 
 entrance to the city, and the conquerors rested in the enemy s 
 stronghold that night, but not before observations first made as 
 to a proper line of retreat to a place of greater safety, in case of 
 a night attack. 
 
 The Dagos, however, were too seriously disconcerted to 
 disturb his repose, and on the following morning, by the peep of 
 day, the Anglos battalions were on their line of march towards 
 their own homes, taking with them such booty as they desired, 
 and leading captive a few prisoners of war. After the first 
 day their march was by easy stages, and in less than a week 
 their return was greeted with the most unbounded demonstra- 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 245 
 
 tions of joy, by all the people of the Anglos nation assembled 
 in the capital for that purpose. The heart of the fascinating 
 Alola overflowed with delight at the safe return of her gallant 
 husband, and the pleasure she enjoyed in a rehearsal by himself 
 of the events of the campaign was only alloyed by the tragic 
 occurrence already alluded to, but which is altogether too 
 sorrowful for recapitulation. 
 
 LXX. 
 
 TROUBLE WITH MOSOTO. 
 
 WE have now reached a point in this eventful narrative 
 where some embarrassment is liable to occur, and for the fol 
 lowing reason : all the remainder of the manuscript the out 
 side portion of the same being more or less nibbled away by 
 the mice, it was impossible to decipher some of the words, 
 and occasionlly a sentence was so obscured as to render its 
 interpretation exceedingly difficult. As a consequence, the 
 ambitious young priests of Evora who had this literary treasure 
 in their keeping, were unable to give it, in all respects, a con 
 struction absolutely literal, and candor compels the acknowl 
 edgment that now and then a word, and, possibly, the frag 
 ment of an idea, was supplied by them in order to give the 
 story an intelligible rendering. All the remainder of this 
 history, therefore, will be justly obnoxious to the suspicion of 
 being in some small degree problematical ; nevertheless, it will 
 be quite as reliable as histories in general, and much more so, 
 we promise, than many of the writings of the most renowned 
 historiographers of these times, who, it is well understood, 
 seldom permit facts, particularly if they happen to be of an 
 unwholesome nature, to stand in the way of an agreeable nar 
 ration. 
 
 Writers of profane history called profane on account of an 
 irreverence for truth are as likely to indulge in prevarication 
 
246 CALIFORNIA 
 
 as other people, and much more likely than good, pious 
 monks, who rarely do anything wrong, and who in this instance, 
 at least, did all in their power to get at the exact meaning of 
 the scroll, or rather at the ideas of Justino, the real author of 
 the same, Manuelo himself, from whom was obtained the 
 facts, being only an humble actor in the drama. To that kind- 
 hearted Dominican the world will be indebted from this time 
 on for all that is known concerning Upper California at that 
 remote period, though some little gratitude may possibly be 
 due the humble translator for preparing so speedily this val 
 uable volume for the printer. Its rendition in English, and 
 good English at that, has been no mean task, and the duty has 
 been interrupted by many serious misgivings. Hence, the 
 world will never know the risk it has run of being left in the 
 dark touching the events recorded. 
 
 Should this apology be satisfactory, we will proceed, without 
 further delay, to narrate how exceedingly popular Manuelo 
 found himself on his return with his little army of heroes from 
 the war with the arrogant Dagos, and how, eventually, but 
 unexpectedly, he became king of the Anglos in consequence. 
 That he was inspired to both these movements- -we mean the 
 one against the Dagos, and the other towards the throne 
 more by his love for Alola than by any ambition of his own, 
 there can be no question, for we have his personal authority for 
 the statement that he was always controlled by the loftiest 
 motives a fact which has never been controverted. The 
 authority in this case is precisely the same as that upon which 
 rests the fame of Julius Caesar, who also gave an account of 
 his own exploits and the one authority is certainly as good as 
 the other. It may have been observed already that the expedi 
 tion of our hero against the barbarous Dagos bears a striking 
 similitude to that of the great Julius against the Helvetians, 
 and this parallelism in the careers of the two personages is not 
 by any means lost in subsequent events, though, of course, 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 247 
 
 there can be no pretense that the rude Anglos were the equals 
 of the enlightened Romans, nor that the political power of the 
 one commander bore any comparison to that of the other. 
 The chief difference springs from the circumstance of the one 
 people being well acquainted with use of metals, while the 
 other was wholly ignorant of their use; and, besides, there was 
 some difference betwixt them in point of numbers, as candor 
 compels us to admit, and in the extent of territory of the two 
 nations also, though this is less certain. But that they were 
 all human beings equally brave and inspired by similar motives, 
 will always remain true, in spite of any apparent discrepancies 
 that may be found in the histories of the two men and the two 
 peoples. 
 
 The glory of Manuelo, as in the case of Caesar, was shared 
 by his wife, who was the recipient of almost as many con 
 gratulations from the grateful Anglos as were bestowed upon 
 her noble husband. A princess herself by birth, it must be 
 presumed that she enjoyed to the fullest extent the distinction 
 so worthily won by Manuelo in the army, and if she was 
 incited by a feeling of ambition, it ought not to be wondered 
 at. These congratulations so worthily bestowed came not 
 from "her own sex alone, they were united in by the men as 
 well, and men of all ranks and classes. The greetings of the 
 bravest of the soldiers were so cordial as to amount almost to 
 adoration, and though she was anxious to do so, for obvious 
 reasons, hereafter to be mentioned, she could illy conceal her 
 blushes. Possessing all the acumen of a true woman, Alola 
 was not slow to perceive that the attentions shown to herself 
 and Manuelo began to excite in the breast of the king a feel 
 ing of envy. His cruel treatment of his former wife, the 
 inoffensive Red Berry, in the capital of the enemy, was 
 regarded with horror by all of his good subjects (as well as by 
 his guests), and very naturally led to a perceptible coldness on 
 their part towards him, which he falsely attributed to their 
 new-born esteem for Manuelo. 
 
248 CALIFORNIA 
 
 To make matters still worse, tyrant that he was, he became 
 smitten with the beauty of the dark-eyed Alola, and conceived 
 in his heart a purpose, most foul and wicked, of possessing her 
 for his own. This fact, of course, first became known to the 
 princess herself, and caused in her great trouble and trepida 
 tion of spirit. When reluctantly, at last, the cause of her sor 
 row was conveyed to her gallant husband, his indignation was 
 aroused towards its author to the highest pitch, and his resent 
 ment was unbounded, or if bounded at all, it was by prudence. 
 His first inclination was to leave, without delay, the dominions 
 of so unjust a king, but the war with the Dagos, whose territory 
 lay in that direction, forbade his continuing his journey to the 
 southward, else he must have left, at once, with his beloved 
 wife, the kind-hearted Anglos, and sought some more peaceful 
 land, where would be less danger to their happiness, and where 
 they could enjoy that domestic tranquillity to which they were 
 so justly entitled. But there was now no escape for the lovers, 
 except to retrace their steps towards the country from which 
 they had fled, and that would be no less dangerous to their 
 peace of mind than to remain where they were. Therefore 
 they reluctantly chose the latter alternative, resolving to make 
 the most of the situation. It required much exertion on the 
 part of Manuelo to conceal his real feelings towards the wicked 
 king, but he was put upon his guard, knowing that Mosoto 
 would like nothing so well as a personal encounter, and 
 realizing that, in all probability, he would seek to accomplish his 
 nefarious designs by first depriving Alola of her husband, in 
 some way or other. The king could see, as well as anybody, 
 the strong attachment which existed between the wanderers, 
 and he knew full well that it must be broken in some manner 
 before he could accomplish anything. But he was reckoning 
 without his guests, for Manuelo was an obstacle not easily to 
 be removed, unless by violence, and both Manuelo and Alola 
 were duly cautious not to give him an opportunity. 
 
850 YEARS AGO. 249 
 
 While a captive with the Modens, Manuelo had, as we know, 
 some experience in setting on foot a public insurrection, and 
 that experience stood him in excellent part at this time. Like 
 Caesar before him, he kept control of his military organization 
 by the practice of drilling and exercising them almost daily. 
 With great shrewdness he courted the favor of the army, by 
 pleasant suggestions of one sort and another, until, as he 
 believed, every man would have died for him had there been 
 any real necessity for it. 
 
 In the meantime there was no neglect on his own part, or 
 that of Alola and her intimate friends, to keep vividly before 
 the minds of as many people as could safely be approached, a 
 picture of the dreadful slaughter by the king of his lost wife. 
 The matter was whispered throughout the city by thousands of 
 trembling lips, and no one was found to justify the deed. 
 This vindictive act of the revengeful tyrant was portrayed by 
 Alola in all its repulsive enormity, and her womanly eloquence 
 gathered tenfold more fire from the danger in her own situa 
 tion, from this same identical person. She could but reflect 
 that, as the poor unfortunate Red Berry had been, while with 
 the Dagos, so she herself now was in a strange city, and how 
 was she to know that the poor woman had not been held there 
 by some attachment no less powerful than that which bound 
 herself to Manuelo. This idea was strengthened in the mind 
 of the thoughtful Alola by her reflection upon the fiendish 
 character of Mosoto, who, she firmly believed, was never en 
 titled to the affections of any good woman, and least of all to 
 the love of Red Berry, who, she was assured, was a person of 
 most gentle and loving disposition. Alola even suspected, 
 though she was careful to express her misgivings to Manuelo 
 alone, that the sorrowful Red Berry had not been captured by 
 the Dagos at all, but had simply fled with some lover, and 
 taken refuge from the anger of Mosoto, by resorting to the land 
 of his enemies. Why otherwise, reasoned Alola, should he 
 
250 CALIFORNIA 
 
 have killed her? Why otherwise should he have expressed no 
 remorse? And how, she continued, could it be possible for 
 him, if he were not a thoroughly bad man, to show such a 
 fiendish disposition as to seek to destroy the domestic happi 
 ness of herself and Manuelo? 
 
 Father Justino, though not over-partial to the other sex, with 
 a degree of candor that did himself infinite credit, conceded 
 the force of Alola s argument, although, as he said, by way of 
 vindication of his own disposition, it had no better support 
 than the naked suspicion of a woman. 
 
 This bloody transaction engrossed the attention of the 
 female portion of the Anglos population more than all the 
 other occurrences of the war, and frequently bathed in tears 
 were those who knew Mosoto s victim the best. As often as it 
 was safe, maledictions were heaped upon the head of her 
 destroyer, not only by Alola but by others of her friends. As a 
 matter of course, these things were conducted in secret, and 
 the chief, suspecting no evil, gradually grew bolder in his 
 attentions to Alola, until, at last, his conduct became unbeara 
 ble. If it was annoying to Alola, it was still more so to her 
 faithful husband, who could illy brook any indignity shown to 
 his loving wife. 
 
 But Mosoto being, as already recorded, a powerful man in 
 battle, and possessed of great physical strength, Manuelo was 
 no match for him in that regard, and this the king well knew. 
 Relying then on his herculean power, he sought on more than 
 one occasion to provoke a personal conflict, but Manuelo knew 
 his despotic purpose too well to accede hastily to his wishes. 
 It was with much difficulty sometimes, however, that Manuelo 
 could rest-rain himself from gratifying his rival in just the manner 
 he desired. He was, in fact, so strongly incited to a personal 
 encounter that he was only dissuaded from it by the incessant 
 prayers and tears of his tender bride, who was at times fairly 
 overcome with fear lest his impetuous nature, which she well 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 251 
 
 understood, should lead her husband into a rash conflict with 
 his royal adversary. His anger fairly rendered Manuelo re 
 gardless of consequences, so far as himself was concerned, but 
 from his better judgment warning came that in case of disaster 
 the result would be fearful, indeed, to her whom he loved, and 
 the conflict in his mind between the two passions of affection 
 and revenge was something terrific. 
 
 As a matter of fact, the life of Alola was so entirely wrapped 
 up in his own that were he to be slain she would at once have 
 committed suicide. This Manuelo was given plainly to under 
 stand, and it had a controlling influence upon his conduct 
 under these most trying circumstances. 
 
 Thus deterred, not by his own fears, but by the fears and 
 importunities of another, he was constrained to listen to ad 
 vice, which he knew was more to be relied upon than would 
 have been that of a person not in sympathy with him. 
 
 In this he was more fortunate than most men similarly situ 
 ated, for counsel in such cases usually comes from persons 
 who would see another s honor vindicated at the cost of his 
 life, and who scruple not thus in their zeal to heap injury upon 
 insult. Manuelo believed, as he said to Justino, that he could 
 have compassed the death of his adversary in a quiet manner, 
 since others were ready to aid him, but he disdained a resort 
 to so unmanly a method of relieving himself from annoyance, 
 and it made no difference in his determination that he could 
 not count upon equal magnanimity on the part of his rival. 
 
 Both himself and Alola were in perpetual fear lest some 
 undue advantage should be taken of him by the king, for they 
 knew full well his treacherous and blood-thirsty nature, and 
 there was abundant reason to apprehend an exhibition of it at 
 any unguarded moment. 
 
 Manuelo remembered "some examples in history of similar 
 arrogance on the part of great men, which he ventured to 
 relate to his wife, and notably that of the renowned Henry 
 
252 CALIFORNIA 
 
 VIII., king of Great Britain and Ireland, who still at that time 
 may have been upon the throne, and enjoying the society of 
 a wife of one of his murdered subjects. By much contem 
 plation of these matters the peace of mind of Manuelo, as 
 well as that of Alola, was eventually wholly destroyed. They 
 were fast becoming convinced that affairs were approaching 
 a crisis when delay would be entirely incompatible with safety. 
 They wisely concluded that something must be done, and that 
 speedily, or worse would follow. Manuelo himself was too 
 good a general to be caught napping, and a better subaltern 
 adviser no commander ever had than the bright-eyed and 
 keen-wilted Alola. 
 
 During all the time we have been speaking about, Manuelo 
 was diligently drilling his compact little army, with the osten 
 sible purpose of undertaking another foreign war, and it was 
 observed that, on several occasions, jealousy cropped out on 
 the part of the king in reference to the chief command on 
 future expeditions. This feeling Manuelo was at no pains to 
 quiet; on the contrary, it was rather encouraged by him. He 
 even sought an occasion for an open entente, which was not 
 long in coming. 
 
 The national forces, well armed and equipped, were pur 
 posely led out on the plain one autumn day by the doughty 
 Manuelo, when the arrogant Mosoto, presuming upon his 
 civil rank, sought to take charge of them, and to give forth his 
 commands. This movement of the king was promptly resisted 
 by Manuelo, and a difficulty at once arose on the field. Mosoto, 
 incited by a terrible rage, advanced with some haste upon 
 Manuelo, and would have stricken him down on the spot, or 
 at least made the attempt, had not Manuelo, observing his 
 actions, with great presence of mind appealed to his faithful 
 soldiers for protection, who sprang to his rescue like so many 
 lions, and the king was by force resisted. 
 
 A counter appeal was then made to the men by the angry 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 253 
 
 Mosoto, but all in vain. Manuelo, with military promptness, 
 now rallied the army in a short speech, and almost to a man 
 they sided with him. Inspired by the personal courage of a 
 general who had led them to victory against the formidable 
 Dagos, they no longer feared their king, powerful in person 
 though he was, but would then and there, in large numbers, 
 have set upon him with their ready weapons, and put an end 
 to his miserable existence, had they been permitted to do so. 
 But the generous Manuelo restrained them by his words, and 
 kept their impetuosity in abeyance until their indignation had 
 time to subside, for he was now no longer in fear of his rival, 
 and did not wish to subject himself to the ungracious charge 
 of regicide. 
 
 The stalwart king, or rather Mosoto, for he was from that 
 hour no longer king, seeing himself deserted by his soldiers, 
 and alone, turned upon his heel and fled towards the mount 
 ains, He was brave by nature, none more so, but conscience 
 had made a coward of him, and he took himself away as fast 
 as his legs would carry him. Pursued by the jeers and de 
 rision of his late subjects, he relaxed not his pace until his 
 giant figure was reduced by distance to the dimensions of a 
 mere pigmy. 
 
 The triumph of Manuelo was most marked, and in about 
 half the time it takes to relate the circumstance, he was pro 
 claimed king by the shouts of his gallant little army. Thereto 
 fore it had been his custom to march his men, but this time 
 they marched him back into the city, and it would have puzzled 
 any mere spectator to say whether the victory that had been 
 achieved belonged the more to Manuelo or to his followers. 
 The truth may be, and probably was, that it pertained to both, 
 and in just about equal proportions to each. The one was 
 rid of a rival, and the others of a tyrant, and their congratu 
 lations were mutual. 
 
 The news of the elevation of Manuelo spread with wonderful 
 
254 CALIFORNIA 
 
 rapidity throughout all the country of the Anglos, and so happy 
 were the people to be rid of the despotic Mosoto that a great 
 feast was proclaimed and presently inaugurated in honor of 
 the event. In a week s time nearly all the residents of the 
 several tribes and villages of the nation were gathered in at 
 the capital to give expression to their joy. Such a man as 
 Manuelo before him had never been seen in that country, and 
 one and all looked upon him as a being sent from Heaven to 
 rule over them. Lacking positive information on the point, 
 Justino was half inclined to the belief that the proud Manuelo 
 made no effort whatever to dispel that delusion, and that he 
 continued to reign, in the opinion of his subjects, by right 
 divine. 
 
 Never was monarch more popular with his people, and never 
 was one more deservedly so. But what shall we say of Alola? 
 Here we are compelled again to abandon the subject to the 
 imagination of the reader, for language is wholly inadequate 
 to depict her happiness. Her affection for Manuelo had been 
 fully vindicated. A poor fugitive from her home and native 
 country, and a renegade from her distinguished relatives, she 
 had been transformed by the prowess of her chosen lord into 
 the most prominent person in the land. 
 
 Queen was she now of the Anglos, a people at that day 
 given to all manner of kindness, and possessing a country un 
 exampled in beauty. It is a mild expression to say that she 
 was fairly worshiped by all the vast assemblage at that great 
 feast. Woman-like, her first impulse was to make known her 
 good fortune to those from whom she had fled, but that was 
 not practicable just then ; however, the fact became known to 
 them, without her agency, all too soon for her happiness, as 
 will be seen further along in this history. 
 
 Alola contented herself for the present by redoubling her 
 demonstrations of love towards Manuelo, who as cordially 
 reciprocated the same. He did not forget that he owed his 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 255 
 
 elevation indirectly to the fascinations of his charming wife, 
 and the greatest pleasure he found was in her adoration. 
 
 LXXI. 
 MANUELO AS KING. 
 
 IT seems very remarkable that so observing a person as 
 Manuelo, who was now fairly installed as king of the Anglos, 
 and who had been successful in wars, at least with the Dagos, 
 and who doubtless was equally so in other respects, should have 
 failed to give an extended insight into his civil administration, 
 or even to describe with any degree of accuracy his public 
 policy. Yet such is the fact. He neglected to do it, unless, 
 indeed, the fault be Justino s, for the manuscript contained 
 almost no account of his management of the affairs of state, 
 so to speak, while presiding over the destinies of that splen 
 did people. It is barely possible there may have been design 
 in all this, and that the course pursued by them was the sub 
 ject of deliberation. It is not altogether unlikely that both 
 Manuelo and Justino realized that it was the uniform practice 
 of historians, both ancient and modern, to speak only of wars, 
 contentions, conquests, and the like, and to leave civil govern 
 ment and the piping times of peace to take care of themselves, 
 or to be taken care of by the writers of fiction alone. 
 
 If such be the solution of this apparent negligence, they cer 
 tainly had the example before them of the great Julius himself, 
 who, while both actor and narrator of the stirring events of .his 
 time, confined his history to wars and conquests, to the neglect 
 of his civil administration, which some might contend was no 
 less glorious. Peace, it has been said, hath its triumphs no 
 less renowned than war; but if such belonged to the peaceful 
 portion of Manuelo s government, they are now irretrievably lost 
 to the world. We may nevertheless congratulate ourselves that 
 all is not lost. Much pertaining to that distinguished character 
 
256 CALIFORNIA 
 
 and his remarkable people we certainly have left us. Thanks 
 to the far-seeing young priests of Evora, some of the salient 
 points of King Manuelo s rule have been preserved rescued 
 as it were from the lethean shades and among these is con 
 siderable that related to his foreign troubles, which, as the world 
 goes, are after all the most interesting. About these, there 
 fore, we proceed to speak, but in the modest terms transmitted 
 through this Portuguese channel. 
 
 The festivities consequent upon the enthronement of the 
 white man and his interesting bride lasted several days, and 
 until the hilarious Anglos were fairly exhausted with merry 
 making. Feasting and dancing and all sorts of games were 
 indulged in to excess, and the newly-endowed royal personages 
 were heartily glad, at last, to see an end of the dissipation. 
 Attention was now to be turned to more serious matters. The 
 public business must be looked after with care. The new chief 
 felt the full responsibility of his exalted position, and he was 
 not the man to be found derelict in duty. Gratitude was one 
 of the liveliest sentiments of his nature, and he resolved from 
 the first to render, in his public acts, a full equivalent to this 
 generous people for their kindness to himself and Alola. 
 
 In that country then, as later, there was almost perpetual 
 summer, and not much necessity therefore existed for that prov 
 idence which has to be exercised in more rigorous climates, 
 but Manuelo, nevertheless, required his people to keep always 
 on hand an ample supply of wholesome food, as they might 
 need; and, likewise, an abundant store of peltry for clothing. 
 To accomplish these desirable ends the necessity was involved 
 of frequent hunting and fishing excursions by the people. 
 
 Distant expeditions, also, to the mountains and hills in quest 
 of wild fruits, berries, and nuts of various kinds, in their season, 
 were frequently set on foot. In this way the people were 
 always prepared against a possible drought, and there was never 
 the least fear of a famine among them. In case of a war, in 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 257 
 
 like manner, they would be ready to march on short notice, 
 and be able to avoid the accustomed delay on occasions of the 
 kind. 
 
 Everything that Manuelo needed for his own convenience, 
 or that of his household, was gratuitously supplied in large 
 quantity by his devoted subjects, and his principal occupation, 
 when engaged at all, related to foreign affairs. There was no 
 longer, on his part, nor on the part of his people., any fear of 
 the troublesome Dagos, for they had been thoroughly quelled 
 in the last campaign. But off to the eastward a nation existed, 
 more distant by far than the Dagos. Though not particularly 
 hostile, these people were in the constant habit, and had been 
 for years, of encroaching upon the dominions of the good An 
 glos, for the purpose of hunting and foraging. A sort of preda 
 tory tribe they were, from a wide desert country that lay in the 
 direction mentioned, no one knew exactly how far away. From 
 the description given of these people they must have partaken 
 largely of the nature of Arabs; but they were called the Movos. 
 Little could be learned concerning them from captives, since 
 their language differed radically from that of the Anglos and 
 the other nations to the north. Besides, they appeared to be, 
 on the whole, a sullen, silent set of scamps, and disdained 
 when interrogated, as prisoners were, to enlighten Manuelo as 
 to their strength, or as to the extent of their territory. 
 
 LXXII. 
 
 AGAINST THE MOVOS. 
 
 AFTER suffering no inconsiderable annoyance from these 
 inhabitants of the desert, as they were supposed to be, Manuelo 
 determined at last to chastise them, in a military sense, and, pos 
 sibly, to subjugate them to his rule. His well-disciplined army 
 of veterans had long been unemployed and naturally thirsted 
 for conquest, so that when an expedition against these Arabs 
 17 
 
258 CALIFORNIA 
 
 of the desert, as they might be termed, was first suggested to 
 the soldiers it was met with a ready response, and preparations 
 for war were made after the manner of those times, but without 
 the accustomed delay. At Manuelo s suggestion Alola was to 
 be left in possession of the government at home during his 
 absence, an arrangement that was quite as satisfactory to the 
 people as to herself. 
 
 Not calculating on a lengthy campaign, or one of much diffi 
 culty, little ceremony was observed on the setting out of the 
 army, but they were admirably equipped and provided, and 
 were all in most excellent spirits. The forces thus ready, in 
 every respect, and numbering some eight hundred effective men, 
 their commander-in-chief, the gallant Manuelo, one clear morn 
 ing in early summer, while the larks were yet singing, led them 
 forth from the city and proudly took up his line of march 
 towards the country of the predatory Movos. 
 
 The march was uninterrupted and eventless, so far as re 
 ported, until they came upon the broad desert, but there Man 
 uelo unexpectedly encountered, in the barren waste itself, a 
 more formidable adversary than any number of fighting men 
 could have been, but he was by no means discouraged, nor did 
 he suffer his men to become so. 
 
 The tiresome tramp, through sand and dust, sand under foot 
 and dust in the air, was continued for weeks without finding 
 any other enemy than the parched waste, and until their stock 
 of provisions began to run low. The general-in-chief realized 
 to the fullest extent the necessity of finding an enemy upon 
 whom to forage for supplies, and he courageously kept on his 
 course. About this time, and when almost in despair, the little 
 army, begrimed with dust, foot-sore, and hungry, came up to a 
 large river, along the borders of which many villages were ob 
 served to be strewn, and the evidences were abundant of a large 
 population. These villages had been recently deserted, and 
 not a human being was to be seen moving in any one of them. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 259 
 
 But upon the opposite bank of the stream numerous warriors, 
 decked in bright martial paint and with waving plumes, were 
 assembled, prepared, as it appeared, to dispute the passage. 
 These things were viewed from the bluffs a little way back 
 from the river by Manuelo, with mingled feelings of satisfac 
 tion and consternation satisfaction at seeing a prospect of 
 appeasing the hunger of his brave men, and consternation at 
 beholding the evidences of a probable controversy over the 
 gratification of their appetites. His forces, all told, had been 
 no more than eight hundred men at the start, but the number 
 of efficient soldiers was now considerably reduced by the long 
 march through a barren country, and even those who were 
 still able to keep their places in the ranks were greatly dimin 
 ished in strength and efficiency by continued hunger and thirst. 
 The warriors of Scipio, after a long forced march over the hot 
 sands of Africa, were in a better condition than Manuelo s at 
 this moment, and the Carthagenians were much more accessi 
 ble to the Romans than were the Movos to the Anglos. 
 
 Without delay, and impelled by their necessities, the latter 
 eagerly rushed down into the vacated villages on the hither side 
 of the stream, hoping to find wherewithal to satisfy their ap 
 petites; but the cunning Movos had taken the precaution, on the 
 approach of the invader, to destroy, or remove to the opposite 
 shore, everything that could in the least supply their wants, and 
 the disappointment of Manuelo and his men can better be 
 imagined than described. They were in such a dilemma as 
 had never beset them before. The enemy ,on the further bank 
 outnumbered them apparently by thousands, but this disparity 
 in numbers perplexed them less than how they should cross 
 the wide and rapidly flowing river. There was some wasting 
 of arrows on both sides, for firing across was at too long a 
 range to be effectual, and Manuelo, in his strait, essayed nego 
 tiations, but in vain. His men had already given too many 
 demonstrations of a hostile purpose to deceive the wary Movos, 
 
260 CALIFORNIA 
 
 who felt secure in the advantage of their position, and kept 
 close watch over the movements of the enemy. It was pres 
 ently seen by the sagacious Manuelo that he must somehow or 
 other make the passage of the stream, otherwise many of his 
 noble warriors would miserably perish, and long before they 
 could retrace their weary steps across the wide desert. He 
 therefore determined to attempt the transit at all hazards. He 
 felt most unbounded confidence in the new and superior 
 armament of his men, and still more in their bravery and skill. 
 
 Hungry and exhausted as they were, he believed they could 
 hold their own and make headway, too, against any number of 
 the timorous foe, could they but once set foot on the opposite 
 shore. Casting about in this emergency, he observed in the 
 village already in his possession, and scattered along the river 
 bottom, above and below, an abundance of timber of the cot 
 ton-wood species, and he determined, as soon as the night 
 should shut down its curtain, to construct as many rafts as the 
 time would allow, and on these to cross the river, if possible, 
 before the break of day. This plan was made known to his 
 men, but all signs of the contemplated movement were care 
 fully concealed from the overconfident enemy. Accordingly, 
 when darkness had completely covered the earth, and the 
 Movos, as was supposed, had retired to rest for the night, the 
 little army of heroes, as one man, silently and cautiously, and 
 for the time forgetting their hunger and hardships, set about 
 the construction of rafts, working in squads of fives and sixes 
 upon each craft. 
 
 Some time before the dawn of day, all being in readiness, at 
 a given signal the rafts were pushed into the rapidly moving 
 current, and, loaded with men, were hopefully pulled in line for 
 the opposite bank of the river. A landing was effected on the 
 other side some distance below the principal camp of the 
 Movos, but not without annoyance, for the alarm was given 
 while they were yet in the middle of the stream, and the enemy, 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 261 
 
 in vast numbers, came rushing down to repel the advance. 
 But the place of landing had been well chosen, and Manuelo 
 and his men, protected by their shields, sprang ashore and 
 stood their ground with heroic firmness. 
 
 The battle on the strand was waged with terrible fury, until 
 the morning light showing the way, an advance was ordered by 
 the general, and the vast forces of the Movos were put to rout 
 with great slaughter. The desperate Anglos followed up their 
 victory with rapid steps, and soon had possession of the enemy s 
 camp, with all his stores. 
 
 The casualties of this hard-fought field on either side are 
 not given, but they were infinitely greater on the part of the 
 Movos than on the Anglos side, not to mention the loss sus 
 tained by the former of their villages and all their supplies. 
 The Movos had not calculated upon the passage of the river 
 as among the things possible, and had taken no pains to re 
 move their stores and munitions of war back from the water s 
 edge. Even their women and children were left reposing in 
 conscious security on that side, but the good Manuelo, antici 
 pating all this, had given the strictest command to his soldiers 
 not to visit revenge upon these helpless classes, but to turn 
 their weapons against the men alone. 
 
 Most of the cowardly and predatory warriors of the Movos, 
 when they found themselves beaten, fled precipitately to the 
 hills, for they could make no stand against their better armed, 
 more stalwart, and more skillfully commanded antagonists. 
 
 Manuelo without unnecessary delay brought over, in the 
 boats of the enemy, which he found moored in numbers on 
 the left bank of the river, his hungry reserves and likewise the 
 enfeebled, who had been left in charge of his own camp. 
 
 Notwithstanding the efforts of the Movos to escape, many 
 prisoners were taken with arms in their hands, and these were 
 put to work at once in burying the dead and caring for the 
 wounded. Owing to their reduced and weakened condition. 
 
262 CALIFORNIA 
 
 no less than to the desperation of the Movos, who were con 
 tending for their homes and firesides, quite a number of the 
 brave invaders were made to bite the dust.* 
 
 Keeping possession of their principal villages, and retaining 
 in his custody many of their women and children as hostages, 
 for greater security against a secret attack of these barbarians, 
 Manuelo recruited his attenuated forces as rapidly as he possi 
 bly could, preparatory to a return to his own country. The 
 campaign had been much more difficult and disastrous than 
 had been anticipated by anyone, and it adds another to the 
 many warnings to ambitious monarchs, to undertake no war 
 without adequate provocation, nor to pursue a people for the 
 mere purpose of gratifying a thirst for conquest. The best 
 disciplined of armies, under the most skillful of leaders, is 
 liable to fall into dangers, particularly when it has to contend 
 against the forces of nature, which, when arrayed against man, 
 are a more unrelenting enemy than his fellow-creatures can pos 
 sibly be. Deserts, forests, rivers, and storms have before now 
 broken the spirit of the proudest military organizations, and 
 subdued generals whose genius rendered them invincible to 
 arms. It so happens in human affairs that a sense of justice, 
 which nature herself is very apt to display, often comes to the 
 aid of the weak against the strong, and overwhelms the arro 
 gant oppressor. Mankind is thus admonished, and on most 
 unexpected occasions, says Justino, to avoid the perpetration of 
 wrong, for it was the firm belief of that good friar that any 
 injustice, by whomsoever committed, will be visited, sooner or 
 later, with merited punishment; if not in this world, certainly 
 in the next. 
 
 *Precisely what is meant by this expression so often used by other 
 historians, or how it arose, we are unable to say; but as it appears in the 
 narrative, so we are constrained to give it in the translation. But as for 
 Manuelo s men, they had been eating nothing but dust for days past. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 263 
 
 LXXIII. 
 
 RETURNING HOME. 
 
 BUT the disaster to Manuelo and his gallant little army on 
 this occasion was not so very great but that in a few days they 
 were sufficiently recruited to set out on their homeward march, 
 and it was resolved by the commander, for reasons that need 
 not be explained, to return by some other route than the one 
 by which they had come. Taking in an ample supply of pro 
 visions and carrying along with him a few men and women, 
 still as hostages, Manuelo dropped down the river with his com 
 mand, some in boats, but most marching by land near the 
 water, intending to make a more southerly and circuitous 
 route back to his home. But the treacherous Movos getting 
 wind of his intentions, posted themselves in secure places on 
 the bluffs along the line of his march, and harassed his men 
 with their arrows and javelins almost every step of the way. 
 As the Anglos advanced, the number of the enemy increased 
 every day, for the Movos had sent information of the invasion 
 to the Macops, the Umos, and other friendly tribes further 
 down the river, and they too were gathering in front in over 
 whelming numbers to intercept Manuelo and cut off his retreat. 
 Seeing this danger, the wily leader of the Anglos, on the fourth 
 or fifth day, crossed over all his forces to the right bank, 
 abandoned his boats, and struck off to the westward. The 
 route now lay just to the south, but near the margin of a salt 
 lake many leagues in extent, but which recent geographers 
 have been utterly unable to find. That it must have existed at 
 that time there can be no doubt, else how can its mention 
 be accounted for 1 Barring so much of the route as lay by 
 this lake, and after abandoning the same, their course was over a 
 desert country, even more repellant, if possible, trian that which 
 had been traversed on their outward march. Still the enemy, 
 now recruited to an immense force, hung upon their flanks and 
 
264 CALIFORNIA 
 
 rear like a swarm of enraged bees fresh from a disturbed hive. 
 Being of a predatory nature, they were more at home on the 
 desert, and annoyed the Anglos in every possible way, but 
 could not be brought by any device to give battle. This 
 uncomfortable worry was kept up with unabated zeal by the 
 combined foe, giving the retreating army no rest night or day, 
 until at last, happily, a range of mountains was reached, where, 
 selecting a secure locality and fortifying their camp, Manuelo 
 and his men rested in comparative quiet for three days. But 
 the Movos prisoners, in the long and hurried retreat, had all 
 made their escape, and the Anglos, thus deprived of their only 
 trophies, and less accustomed to being pursued than to pursu 
 ing, were somewhat crest-fallen if not dispirited. They had 
 been delighted, however, to see the enemy diminishing in num 
 bers, day by day, as they receded from their homes, and when 
 the mountains were finally reached, the pursuers presented 
 more the appearance of straggling parties than of a well -organ 
 ized army. 
 
 It was evident that the strength of the Movos, and of their 
 allies, was not in their personal prowess at all, but in the barren 
 and desolate character of the country they occupied, and their 
 method of warfare was to annoy and harass an enemy by 
 raids and dashes and by night attacks. They were no match 
 for the well-armed and thoroughly disciplined troops of Man 
 uelo, in an open and manly warfare, and, fortunately for them 
 selves, they were too shrewd to risk a battle with him. 
 
 But a new and unexpected danger now confronted the 
 Anglos. They were again in the country of their ancient 
 enemy, the Dagos. These mountains, or rather the desert 
 that lay at the foot of them, constituted the eastern boundary 
 of the Dagos territory, and the little army of the Anglos was 
 liable to encounter their opposition at any moment. Manuelo 
 half suspected that the wide-awake Dago chiefs, having seen 
 the immense advantage of the new and superior armament of 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 265 
 
 the Anglos, would fall to imitating" the same and be able to 
 meet him on another occasion on more equal terms. He was 
 therefore exceedingly anxious to avoid a collision with them at 
 this time, and at all events until his men could recover from 
 their late disasters. Accordingly he wasted no time in leading 
 his army through the passes of the mountains in a north 
 westerly direction, where, as best he could calculate, lay their 
 homes, and where he had left his loved and loving Alola, whom 
 he had long been most anxious to see. But he had not mis 
 calculated the danger of the situation. Swift runners of the 
 Movos, or of their nearer neighbors, the Umos, had borne 
 intelligence of his movements to the sleepless Dago king, and 
 he, hastily gathering an army of his faithful subjects, was mov 
 ing with alacrity to intercept Manuelo s retreat. The last 
 camp of the Anglos before emerging from the territory of the 
 Dagos, was pitched at night in a narrow valley near some warm 
 springs, shut in by high and impassable mountains on either 
 side. Here they rested in security, as they supposed, and 
 were apparently in a fair way of reaching their homes within 
 the next three or four days. But alas for the foresight of 
 man ! How little did they know what was before them ! 
 Awaking right early on the following morning they were more 
 than surprised they were horrified to behold in their front, 
 ready to dispute their further passage, a large army of the 
 dreaded Dagos, evidently much better prepared for a fight 
 than they ever had been before. Retreat was not practicable 
 for the Anglos, in fact they were retreating from the Movos and 
 their allies at this very time, and, besides, they were too anx 
 ious to reach their homes to think of turning back. Manuelo 
 took the situation in at a glance and determined upon his 
 course. In a stirring speech he rallied his men with the hope 
 of soon seeing their homes and again greeting their wives and 
 children, and then, drawing them up in order of battle, pre 
 pared for the desperate charge. Before the forward movement 
 
266 CALIFORNIA 
 
 was ordered, he reminded them of their previous triumphs 
 over this same treacherous foe, and assured them that they had 
 only to stand firmly by each other, and preserve their ranks 
 unbroken, to achieve a victory, no less glorious than the former 
 one, over that same hated race. So forcible and eloquent was 
 his appeal that the men even rejoiced that they had once again 
 an enemy before them whom they could meet face to face, 
 the only opportunity, in fact, of the kind they had enjoyed in 
 the whole campaign, unless we except the fight in the night on 
 the strand. Manuelo s forces being now inspired with unwonted 
 courage, he watched, with eagle eye, the arrival of a favorable 
 opportunity, and then, with one tremendous whoop, in which all 
 the army joined, he ordered a charge. The Dagos, relying 
 too much upon their greatly superior numbers, and being less 
 skillfully commanded than their adversaries, were taken a little 
 at unawares by the impetuosity of the attack, but they were 
 most surprised by the unexampled daring of so small a force. 
 Manuelo and his intrepid warriors, in solid phalanx and with 
 long-continued yells, pressed forward like a band of heroes, as 
 they were, and presently struck the center of the enemy s line 
 with consternation. Seeing the middle and strongest part give 
 back, each wing of the Dagos forces, in succession, yielded like 
 wise, and a rout ensued. The affair may be compared to a band 
 of wolves attacking a large herd of sheep and scattering them 
 helpless in every direction, filling even tneir shepherd with 
 dismay. No victory was ever more complete or gallantly won. 
 The celebrated charge of the Hebrews upon the Philistines 
 could not have excelled it in bravery. It was the crowning 
 event of the whole campaign, which would have been none too 
 brilliant without it, but which now shone with transcendent 
 luster. If the general of the Anglos had lost, in any degree, 
 his standing with his troops by reason of what had transpired 
 of a disagreeable nature, since they left their homes, it was now 
 entirely recovered. He was never so much of a hero as at 
 
350 YEARS AGO 267 
 
 this time. Again was he worshiped by his soldiers, and his 
 praises were upon every tongue. Not waiting for further lauda 
 tions, nor wishing to enjoy them alone, Manuelo continued his 
 march without more interruption, and on the fourth day after 
 the battle of the Warm Springs, the little army, weary and worn 
 with the toils of war, but full of courage, entered the city of the 
 Anglos, where they were greeted with the joyous acclaims of 
 all the people. 
 
 LXXIV. 
 
 MOSOTO S WAR. 
 
 THE arrival of Manuelo at home was not a moment too 
 soon, for the wicked and desperate Mosoto, when driven from 
 his own country, had gone to the North among the Barbos, and 
 there, by the most foul misrepresentations, had stirred up a 
 feeling against his former subjects, and particularly against his 
 successor. Having treacherously won his w r ay into the confi 
 dence of that people, he had armed and disciplined them after 
 the exact manner taught him by Manuelo, and, with the ap 
 proval of all the Barbos chiefs, was actually leading an army of 
 that nation against the Anglos. Information of this movement 
 had reached the ears of Alola while in possession of the govern 
 ment, and ruling alone, and caused her the greatest imaginable 
 distress of mind. She hoped and prayed for the return of her 
 long-absent husband in time to avert, if possible, the impend 
 ing danger, but the worst results were feared. Brave woman 
 that she was, and being at the head of affairs in the absence of 
 Manuelo, she set about with the utmost diligence the business 
 of arming, equipping, and disciplining all the men, young and 
 old, yet remaining in the land; and when Manuelo returned from 
 his Eastern expedition he found an army, a sort of home guard, 
 already well organized, and much stronger, in point of numbers, 
 than the one he had led against the Movos. With this force, 
 so fortunately and with so much forethought provided in his 
 
268 CALIFORNIA 
 
 absence by the fair young queen, added to his own little army 
 of veterans, he had not much fear of the meddlesome Barbos, 
 though led by so powerful an enemy as Mosoto himself. In 
 fact the ex-king was most to be dreaded for his individual 
 prowess, and it was on account of that, mainly, that he had won 
 the confidenqe of his new allies. He had, moreover, repre 
 sented to them Manuelp in the worst possible light, describing 
 him as a traitor, an ingrate, usurper, and as altogether a most 
 dangerous man. He concealed from them the fact of his own 
 unholy passion for Alola, but assured the suspicious Barbos 
 that Manuelo and his wife had been among them as spies, to find 
 out their weak points, intending to subjugate, and, if need be, 
 to annihilate them; that Manuelo was planning and preparing a 
 military expedition against their country, and that the only way 
 to head him off was to carry the war into Africa, so to speak. 
 With apparent magnanimity he proffered his own powerful serv 
 ices to crush out so dangerous a neighbor, and the simple 
 Barbos were but too glad to accept his offer. 
 
 Alola, with remarkable sagacity, had kept informed, by means 
 of scouts and heralds, of the movements of her dreaded enemy, 
 and had fully made up her mind, though nothing but a tender 
 woman, to take personal command of her improvised army, 
 meet Mosoto in some mountain pass, and hold him at bay, or 
 possibly drive him back. She well understood that his princi 
 pal object was to gain possession of her person a thing that 
 she more abhorred than any other earthly calamity that could 
 happen. 
 
 Much time had elapsed since her royal husband had set out 
 on his campaign against the people of the desert, and not hear 
 ing from him, she greatly feared some dire calamity might have 
 befallen his little army, himself included, and she firmly resolved, 
 in her own mind, to repel the advance of her tormentor, or 
 perish in the attempt. The plans of the brave little woman 
 were all laid with care, and she was preparing with diligence to 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 269 
 
 execute them, when she was happily interrupted by the sudden 
 appearance at the capital of her husband. Justino, the con 
 siderate author, almost regretted, he said, that Manuelo had 
 not remained away a little longer, in order that the world might 
 have had one more instance added to the many examples of 
 female heroism recorded in history. The good friar was cer 
 tain that had she been permitted to go ahead, as she intended, 
 Alola would have put to rout and driven back the wicked 
 Mosoto, and would thus have acquired another, and most 
 brilliant gem, with which to adorn the crown of her many virtues. 
 He remembered the history, not long then past, of the won 
 derfully inspired Joan of Arc, and he doubted little that the 
 marvelous heroism of that young French woman would have 
 found a parallel in that of the equally youthful Alola. But he 
 trembled when he reflected that her fate might possibly have 
 been that of the more renowned Queen of Palmyra, who was 
 led away captive and made to grace the triumphal procession 
 of her cruel enemy. The case of the royal Zenobia, to be sure, 
 as compared with Alola s, was, strictly speaking, hypothetical, 
 nevertheless the kind-hearted friar could but observe the re 
 markable similarity in the careers of the two persons, at least 
 up to this time, and his apprehensions for the future of Alola 
 were most naturally aroused. Turning the matter over in his 
 own mind, there arose before his distempered vision, the history, 
 then unwritten, of his own noble queen, the great Isabella of 
 Castile for he was now in a Spanish province and he was, 
 at times, enthusiastic enough to believe that as Isabella, by 
 her incomparable genius, united under one crown the two 
 kingdoms of Aragon and Castile, so Alola, had there been no 
 interruption, might have joined under her single scepter the 
 kingdoms of the Anglos and the Barbos. But something may 
 have to be set down, in this free translation, to the monkish 
 partiality of this Dominican friar. In his overwrought view 
 of the affair, it is probable that womankind, as represented 
 
270 CALIFORNIA 
 
 in the character of Alola, was enveloped with some sort of a 
 halo, and that possibly her brilliancy, like that of the stars, 
 was augmented by distance. It is not to be denied, however, 
 that women, under certain circumstances, display even more 
 real resolution than is exhibited by those who are called the 
 sterner sex; but, as well remarked by Justino, it is in their 
 own, and not in manly virtues, as a general rule, that women 
 excel. 
 
 While congratulations on account of the return of Manuelo 
 and his army from the east were being freely exchanged in the 
 city, matters were rapidly approaching a crisis at the north. 
 Mosoto, already within the territory of the Anglos with his 
 well-ordered army, showed no disposition to await the con 
 venience of either Manuelo or his royal wife, but was advanc 
 ing by regular marches towards their capital. To avoid the 
 desert country he was coming by a route nearer the sea, and 
 through a region exceedingly mountainous and broken, so that 
 his progress, with the numerous army under his command, was 
 almost as slow as could have been desired by Manuelo; never 
 theless, Mosoto would be, in a few days longer, should 
 he not be intercepted, in a position to menace some of the 
 largest towns and cities of the Anglos. Another object of the 
 wary Mosoto in adhering to the mountainous country was, 
 doubtless, to avoid the danger of a surprise, and perchance to 
 enable himself the better to protect his soldiers, and his own 
 person, in case of disaster. 
 
 It is thought to have been impossible that he could have 
 known anything whatever about the invasion of Italy by Han 
 nibal, but his tactics were the same in every particular as those 
 put in practice by the great Carthagenian general, when ap 
 proaching the imperial city. 
 
 The mountains and hills among which Mosoto was now 
 hovering constituted an endless succession of strong natural 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 271 
 
 fortifications, some of which were actually impregnable. From 
 these, even with a much inferior force, he could, like Hannibal, 
 sally forth at pleasure, and annoy his enemy beyond endurance. 
 A.S Hannibal before him threatened Rome from his mountain 
 fastnesses, so Mosoto was already threatening the capital of 
 the Anglos, over which he had once been the unrestrained 
 sovereign. 
 
 The mutilated manuscript also contained something in this 
 connection about Coriolanus, a Roman general of distinction, 
 who, having been banished from his native city, went off and 
 joined his old enemies, the Volci, and revengefully led an 
 army of them against his ungrateful countrymen, beleaguering 
 Rome and compelling its inhabitants to sue for peace. But 
 the remainder stated in the scroll about this character could not 
 be made out with sufficient distinctness, and was omitted by 
 the young Portuguese priests, as not particularly illustrative 
 of the present case, inasmuch as it is related that both the 
 wife and the mother of Coriolanus successfully joined their 
 importunities with those of other citizens of Rome, for him 
 to spare the city, whereas nothing of this kind could possibly 
 have occurred in the case of Mosoto, who was not only mother 
 less, but whose wife disliked him intensely. 
 
 Delaying but a few days to recruit his veteran* soldiery, 
 for there was little time now to devote to that purpose, Man- 
 uelo gathered all his forces together, from every part of the 
 kingdom, and set out, with his best warriors in the advance, 
 to meet this new adversary. He selected a route more inland 
 than the one by which the Barbos were approaching, with a 
 view to getting in their rear, or at least upon their flank, and 
 so force from the bloody Mosoto a battle. The Anglos had 
 been out but four days when suddenly the advance guard came 
 upon a scouting party of the enemy, and at once drove them 
 back. The pursuit was eager, but the enemy, retreating, were 
 soon securely ensconced in the fastnesses of the mountains, 
 
272 CALIFORNIA 
 
 and Manuelo s men were compelled to desist. What the gen 
 eral of the Anglos most desired was to bring on a battle with 
 out delay, but the cunning Mosoto knew too well the power 
 of his opponent as a military commander to risk an engage 
 ment upon anything like equal terms, and he adhered with 
 his usual tenacity to the mountains. He was ever on the 
 lookout to take his antagonist at some disadvantage; but 
 Manuelo was too shrewd a general to be caught napping by 
 one whom he hated with so much cordiality as he did his 
 predecessor in office and rival. 
 
 Occasionally parties of the Barbos would sally out to harass 
 and bother their enemies, but on all such raids they were made 
 glad to hunt their retreat, as wolves are glad to seek their 
 holes when pursued by a pack of blood-hounds. In this 
 manner valuable time was being wasted, while simultaneously, 
 the patience of Manuelo s men, who had seen too much of 
 war of late to be content without fighting, was becoming 
 seriously impaired, and he saw plainly the necessity of bringing 
 things to a crisis without much further delay. But how to do 
 this was the question. 
 
 To force a general engagement, under the circumstances, 
 required the exercise of some sort of strategy, as he could 
 distinctly see, and his genius, as ever, was equal to the emer 
 gency. Selecting out from his army the oldest and youngest, 
 the most inefficient portion of his men, he put them under 
 the command of his most trustworthy subordinate, one Warno 
 by name, and directed him to take possession of and guard 
 the mountain passes in front of Mosoto. Warno was in 
 structed to obstruct and resist in every possible manner the 
 progress of Mosoto towards the Anglos country, should he 
 attempt to continue on his course in. that direction, but by 
 all means to keep open a safe line of retreat for his command, 
 in case the formidable Mosoto should prove too powerful for 
 him. Warno thus admonished and directed, Manuelo, with 
 
350 YEARS AGO 273 
 
 the main body and better portion of the Anglos army, took 
 up his line of march directly back upon the track of the 
 Barbos, as if he would invade their country, but marched 
 slowly. Seeing, from their lofty places of lookout, this threat 
 ening movement of the larger part of the Anglos forces, the 
 Barbos soldiers, as Manuelo had anticipated, became alarmed 
 for their homes, and clamored to be led back to the defense 
 of their families and firesides. The ruse had the desired effect; 
 Mosoto could not resist the demand of his men, and, in some 
 disorder, they followed upon the heels of the Anglos, moving 
 towards their own country. At a favorable point, while the 
 simple Barbos, with the sulky Mosoto in their midst, were 
 crossing a valley of some little extent, Manuelo, like a lion 
 pursued, looking back over his shoulders at his pursuers, sud 
 denly turned upon them and forced an engagement, when the 
 Barbos were least expecting it. The commanders of the two 
 armies, Mosoto and Manuelo, now rallied their forces respect 
 ively in short but energetic speeches, and in a few moments 
 the fight became general. There was no particular advantage 
 of ground for either, but, if any, it was on the side of the Anglos, 
 who had a little the more elevated position. Both parties 
 contended with stubborn bravery, and for a time the issue 
 seemed doubtful, as the Barbos were much the superior in 
 point of numbers. Their missiles, for they were well armed, 
 filled the air, falling like hail upon the shields and bucklers of 
 the noble Anglos, and were by them returned with fearful 
 execution. The battle had not progressed long before it be 
 came apparent that the strength of the Barbos was mainly in 
 their tall and stalwart leader, who was making terrible havoc 
 among his former subjects, most of whom were known to him, 
 and who (that is, Mosoto) presently manifested a clear deter 
 mination to force a personal conflict with his hated rival. 
 Manuelo, seeing this purpose, would gladly have avoided the 
 encounter, for he was no match for him in physical strength; 
 18 
 
274 CALIFORNIA 
 
 but to avoid it was no longer possible. Well armed himself, 
 and supported by a little squad of his best-equipped followers, 
 Manuelo coolly awaited the onslaught of his exasperated foe, 
 who was coming down upon him with dreadful impetuosity. 
 When Mosoto was at a convenient distance, but still rushing 
 on with uplifted spear, conscious of his own prowess, and 
 fearing no danger, or not fearing it much, Manuelo, with the 
 speed of thought, hurled his well-poised javelin full in his face, 
 the weapon taking effect in the left eye of Mosoto, causing 
 him suddenly to halt; and, spinning about twice on his right 
 heel, he fell to the ground with a terrible thud. So heavy was 
 the fall, declared Manuelo, with some apparent seriousness, 
 that had the cause of the tremor not been known, it might 
 have been mistaken for the slight shock of an earthquake. 
 Seeing this great giant prostrate, Manuelo s men bravely rushed 
 upon him, and, with uplifted spears and stone hatchets, speedily 
 put an end to what little remained of his miserable existence. 
 Manuelo, the victor, like David before him, stood proudly 
 erect, and would magnanimously have restrained his men from 
 mutilating a fallen foe had it been possible; but time did not 
 suffice, for sooner than one could think about the matter the 
 thing was done, and the poor slaughtered wife of the wicked 
 Mosoto was avenged. 
 
 Observing the complete vanquishment of their leader, the 
 Barbos, stricken with dismay, precipitately fled. The pursuit 
 was not long continued, but the affrighted enemy halted not 
 in their flight unless to rest for the night, until they had 
 entered their distant homes. 
 
 The indignation of the kind Anglos, and of Manuelo, was 
 less roused against these simple Barbos than it had been 
 towards the author of the war, the cruel Mosoto, and he being 
 now out of the way they would gladly have buried the hatchet 
 with his dupes, had they but asked for a performance of that 
 ceremony. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 275 
 
 The damage resulting from the invasion extended to the 
 sacking of some small fishing settlements of the Anglos in a 
 remote part of the kingdom. The victorious portion of the 
 army, joined by the reserves under Warno, now all again under 
 the lead of Manuelo, made their way back by easy marches to 
 the capital, where again he and his soldiers received expressions 
 of the profoundest gratitude from all the populace. 
 
 Manuelo s renown as a great military leader, and likewise his 
 fame as a just king, spread beyond his own borders, and his 
 reputation was such as to insure peace for his own dominions 
 with all who heard of his mighty achievements. His great suc 
 cesses up to this time, as a prince, a prophet, and a warrior, 
 had been far in advance of any hope or expectation entertained 
 of him, but his talents were now, for the immediate future, to 
 be put to the severer test of conducting with equal success the 
 peaceful affairs of his people. The good fortune that had 
 presided over his destinies hitherto was not disposed, as we 
 shall see, to jilt him now, when at the top of his fame, as it 
 might have done a person of less natural parts. 
 
 Genius, whatever that may be, thought the matter-of-fact 
 Justino, is the offspring of courage and application. It is not, 
 said he, a gift at all; it is an achievement. If it were among 
 the bounties of Providence, there would be no merit in 
 it, and in that case the man of genius would be entitled to no 
 special praise for whatever he might accomplish. The fact, he 
 argued, that mankind are disposed to bestow their laudations 
 upon the possessor of true genius is proof conclusive that in 
 cheir estimation, at least, the accomplishments of the great men 
 of the world are the result of labor and perseverance, and not 
 in the mere hap-hazard of the original making up of the indi 
 vidual. He held, moreover, that the display of extraordinary 
 talents in any particular line of action, depended less upon 
 opportunity than upon the force of will in the person. As may 
 be concluded from this dissertation, Manuelo lost none of the 
 
276 CALIFORNIA 
 
 credit to which he was entitled, by the inane sentimentality 
 of his historian. On the contrary, Justino awarded him all 
 the commendation, which, from his native goodness and laud 
 able ambition, justly belonged to him. But fame is usually the 
 growth, not of the present, but of subsequent generations, and 
 so with Manuelo s. His name, though revered by his Anglos 
 subjects, was little known throughout the world in his time, and 
 his great deeds all lay buried in the musty tomb of uncertainty 
 till dragged to the light, as it were, by the appreciative monks 
 of Evora three hundred years after the hero of them had 
 retired to rest with his fathers. 
 
 It is possible, without any great stretch of the imagination, 
 to account for the triumphs of Manuelo as a military chief 
 tain from the fact that he dated his nativity at Barcelona, a city 
 that was actually founded by Hamilcar, the father of the great 
 Hannibal, whose blood, for aught we can know at this day, may 
 have coursed in Manuelo s own veins ; and with whose history, 
 at all events, Manuelo must be presumed to have been familiar. 
 When a lad, strolling, forth for an evening s walk upon the 
 famous rambla of his native town, his thoughts may have 
 reached out beyond the Old World, a notion that finds encour 
 agement in the statement somewhere found, that it was at his 
 own special request that he was apprenticed a seaman, to the 
 end that he might escape the dull routine of a life in Catalonia. 
 
 Living there in the city of Hamilcar, with the citadel of 
 Mount Jove ever looking down upon him, how was it possible 
 for his youthful mind to avoid the thoughts of war, and how 
 could he fail to become inspired with that ambition which 
 cropped out so distinctly in his future career? 
 
 But the place above all others where a person is without 
 distinction is in his own home and among his neighbors and 
 friends. There his faults and not his virtues attract the more 
 attention. In other lands his foibles, being unknown, stand not 
 in the wav of his advancement. Our divine Master has told 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 277 
 
 us that a prophet is not without honor except in his own 
 country, and his own brief and sad life was a most complete 
 illustration of the truth of the announcement. 
 
 Manuelo, with his transcendent talents, enjoyed in Spain no 
 higher reputation than that of a sprightly sailor boy, but in 
 another country he arose, by chance, as some might say, but 
 really by the force of his own character, to the highest dignity. 
 His elevation, as pious Justino would have us believe, was in 
 accordance with inevitable destiny, but it was also, doubtless, 
 in order that the saying above referred to might be fulfilled, 
 for Manuelo, it will be remembered, was himself a prophet. 
 
 This good Dominican priest was not only in his life a most 
 commendable example of Christian excellence, but he was also 
 a close observer of the ways of Providence, and this, no doubt, 
 led him to give a much more extended and specific history of 
 the worthy Manuelo than otherwise would have been written. 
 As a consequence, also, the world is now blessed with the 
 knowledge of a people who were themselves without books, or 
 written language, and who, but for Justino s wise forethought, 
 must have sunk into that great gulf of oblivion which now and 
 forever effectually conceals from mortal view tens of thousands 
 of nations similarly situated, nations whose records were 
 once plainly written along the sandy shores of time, but which 
 have long since been washed entirely away by the breakers that 
 keep rolling in from the ocean of eternity. 
 
 LXXV. 
 
 THE ANGLOS DESCRIBED. 
 
 IT was mentioned as a matter of regret by the young priests 
 of Evora, that Manuelo, who was not overmuch distinguished 
 for his piety, should have neglected to give the world more 
 light touching the religious character of the people over whom 
 he was called to exercise government ; but regrets in the case 
 
278 CALIFORNIA 
 
 are now unavailing. We only know that they were beset with 
 heathenish superstitions, in many respects similar to those en 
 tertained by the inhabitants of that country in after ages. If 
 there was any difference between them and other contempo 
 raneous peoples, the Anglos were a little more careful to main 
 tain perpetually burning a fire upon the altar of the high priest, 
 and they were, as we glean from the Tecord, like the Santos, 
 unmistakably worshipers of the sun. The sun they regarded 
 as the source not only of light, but of all life also. The rising 
 sun was ever greeted by them with demonstrations of joy, and 
 the setting of the same was the signal for expressions of sorrow 
 and sadness. 
 
 The inconstant moon was looked up to as an inferior deity, 
 and its propitiation was never sought, except in times of great 
 trouble. The stars were attentively watched by the priests at 
 night, and the motions of the planets seemed to be understood 
 by them. They were fond of the ocean and believed that its 
 ceaseless waves uttered intelligent sounds, but they never vent 
 ured far out upon the broad bosom of its waters. 
 
 Towards their children they were very affectionate, and their 
 respect for aged women, and sometimes for venerable men, 
 amounted almost to adoration. There were no insane or 
 idiotic persons among them, nor was there intemperance of 
 any sort. Schools they had none, but every household was a 
 place of instruction for the young, and they were fully taught 
 in all the virtues, in goodness, and in charity. 
 
 By hunting and fishing, and in the spontaneous growth of 
 fruits, berries, and nuts, all their needs were supplied, and they 
 cared for nothing beyond these natural resources. 
 
 In peace they were happy, and in times of war not greatly 
 otherwise, for they were little in fear of death, believing that 
 the spirits of the departed could return to the earth as often 
 as they would, and that the life hereafter was fraught with in- 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 279 
 
 finitely more happiness than the one in this- world, besides 
 being eternal, while the one below was only temporary, as 
 everybody knew. 
 
 Manuelo said little or nothing on the subject, but Justino 
 was thoroughly convinced, and so stated, that the gentle 
 Anglos only needed a knowledge of the true faith to make 
 them as contented and happy as any people in the wide world, 
 and the good man yearned to be the agency of conveying to 
 them knowledge of that religion by which their souls could be 
 saved. If we may rely upon the manuscript, he ceased not to 
 deplore, in the most pathetic terms, the loss of a people so 
 little deserving of that perdition to which all pagan nations are 
 inevitably consigned.* 
 
 As may be inferred from what has already appeared, the 
 Anglos were not a numerous people, but they made up in 
 bravery and in shrewdness what they lacked in numbers. 
 Their strength had been greatly augmented by the teachings of 
 Manuelo since he came amongst them, but, like a good king, 
 he was never satisfied with their advancement, and could not 
 content himself as long as there was more glory to achieve in 
 the line of improving his people. 
 
 His greatest adversary, the wicked Mosoto, having been dis 
 posed of, he turned his attention earnestly to the instruction of 
 his subjects in so many of the useful arts as could be incul 
 cated with the limited means at his command. He felt very 
 sorely the need of iron implements, and though he tried the 
 experiment in various ways, he could never succeed in supply 
 ing the place of iron with gold, the only metal in a pure state 
 that the country afforded. Gold, he presently discovered, was 
 but a poor substitute for iron. He found it impossible to con 
 struct knives or any cutting instruments out of that metal. 
 
 * The good reader is reminded again, lest he should forget it, that Friar 
 Justino, the author, as we verily believe him to lie, was a Catholic mis 
 sionary, with strong predilections for his church. 
 
280 CALIFORNIA 
 
 It was altogether too soft. It was even inferior to the hard 
 stones of the country for such purposes, and flints were there 
 fore properly regarded by the natives as of infinitely more value 
 than gold. He did succeed at one time in fashioning some 
 arrow-heads out of this pure yellow metal, which was abundant 
 in places, but it dulled and bent much too readily, and had to 
 be cast aside as of no real value. Gold, said Justino, so bright 
 and cold, and for which so many men their lives have sold, is 
 after all only precious by the common consent of civilized 
 man, its value being entirely fictitious. 
 
 So delighted were the young Christian priests of Evora with 
 Manuelo s account of the good Anglos that one of their num 
 ber, more ambitious than the rest, undertook to give Justine s 
 description of them in verse. His success in the Portuguese 
 tongue was a thousand times greater than has attended its 
 rendition in English, which, owing to the exertion required to 
 give in rhyme a literal and truthful translation of the text, has 
 been nearly an entire failure. The translator, nevertheless, has 
 come almost as near to a proper rendering of the original as 
 did Alexander Pope in translating the Iliad. But of this the 
 reader will be able to judge for himself, since he will have 
 Manuelo s story both in prose and in rhyme. If, however, 
 anyone should lack the time to waste on mere repetition, he 
 can skip over the balance of this chapter. 
 
 Most happy people were the Angelese, 
 
 They nothing lacked that could their fancy please, 
 
 Or wants supply. Their needs were few and such 
 
 As would be satisfied without too much 
 
 Expenditure of labor, for, indeed, 
 
 There was of labor mongst them little need, 
 
 In order to obtain, or to prepare 
 
 What they required for food, and what to wear. 
 
 In sport, and with the arrow and the hook, 
 
 They could procure afield and from the brook 
 
 Whatever was desired, or what caprice 
 
 Demanded for their comfort and their ease. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 281 
 
 They were, in fact, contented altogether, 
 
 And in the worst as in the best of weather; 
 
 For comfort were their houses made, and warm, 
 
 And well designed to shield them from the storm; 
 
 Fashioned as well against the summer s heat 
 
 As to protect against the snow and sleet 
 
 Of winter. Nor so made were they that falling 
 
 When visited by those most appalling 
 
 Earthquakes which sometimes, and too often, came, 
 
 They would destroy, or mutilate, or lame 
 
 Their occupants. But they were made so light 
 
 That all were safe in them, by day or night: 
 
 But if, by any chance, a house should fall, 
 
 The occupants within could easy crawl 
 
 Out from beneath the masses of d6bris, 
 
 And, notwithstanding loss of house, would be 
 
 As independent as they were before, 
 
 For it was little trouble to restore 
 
 The structure to the shape it had at first, 
 
 And such of their mishaps was not the worst. 
 
 Of prisons had they none they needed none. 
 
 Of criminals, so called, there was not one, 
 
 For all obeyed the laws with greatest care. 
 
 If anyone by chance, a thing most rare, 
 
 Incurred the censure of his fellow-men, 
 
 Or was unable to make good again 
 
 Some wrong, and when that fact became disclosed, 
 
 His punishment was always self-imposed. 
 
 No man among them all was ever known 
 
 To take or use that which was not his own, 
 
 Nor was one ever found to do a thing 
 
 Which had the slightest tendency to bring 
 
 Sorrow unto his fellow-man, or cause 
 
 Him pain, or in the least to break the laws 
 
 Of human kindness, or a word to speak 
 
 Which would bring blushes to another s cheek. 
 
 The women were all modest and all good, 
 And never one by word or action could 
 Be charged with any impropriety, 
 
282 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Or what would not in good society 
 
 Be lady-like, and be by all approved; 
 
 In consequence of which they were much loved. 
 
 The children were, without exaggeration, 
 
 As pretty as of any other nation. 
 
 The pupils of their eyes were dark and bright, 
 
 But the surrounding parts as snow were white. 
 
 So plump, and smooth, and soft the cheeks of each, 
 
 They might be likened to a perfect peach. 
 
 The lips of many of the little misses 
 
 Were quite too sweet for anything but kisses. 
 
 But then their sweetness was by no means all 
 
 In their sweet lips: their graceful mien, and tall, 
 
 Lithe forms, could not but be admired, 
 
 And these he said always true love inspired. 
 
 These blessed little folks Justino thought 
 
 Most perfect would have been had they been taught 
 
 To say their prayers and read the catechism, 
 
 And been, likewise, purgated with baptism. 
 
 These things those tender creatures wanted most, 
 
 And lacking these, of course their souls were lost. 
 
 A sad reflection this for the good friar, 
 
 Whose thoughts were not in this, but in the higher 
 
 And better world above, where all who know 
 
 Just how to worship God are sure to go. 
 
 Their knowledge of philosophy was slight, 
 Nor kenned they much beyond what was in sight; 
 But then, about all things within their view, 
 None others better than these people knew. 
 The world entire of course they could not see, 
 And therefore were in doubt what it might be. 
 The wiser of them were somewhat inclined 
 To think it was a creature of some kind, 
 A monstrous, living, animated being, 
 Upon whose back the Anglos were then living; 
 But on whose other parts and near the side 
 Some other nations were allowed to ride. 
 They thought the bloody Dagos and Movos 
 Were on the parts behind the good Anglos, 
 And that the Barbos were more near the head, 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 283 
 
 And therefore might more justly be in dread 
 
 Of being shaken off, when this huge beast, 
 
 Uneasy from some cause, or when, at last, 
 
 He might, after a lengthened sleep, awake, 
 
 And rouse himself by giving one good shake. 
 
 From such belief concerning this great sphere, 
 
 They would not dig it up for very fear 
 
 Of wounding the great monster, and thus make 
 
 Him angry, and so cause the earth to shake. 
 
 In consequence they neither plowed nor sowed", 
 
 Nor planted grain, nor seeds, nor reapt, nor mowed, 
 
 But were content to gather what they could 
 
 For eating find among the hills and in the wood. 
 
 The sun they knew it was that gave the heat 
 
 That caused to grow whate er was good to eat. 
 
 They could observe that when he moved away, 
 
 And by receding shortened each new day, 
 
 That vegetation died, or ceased to grow, 
 
 And that the hills about were white with snow: 
 
 But when the sun returned, the snow would melt, 
 
 And plants and living creatures likewise felt 
 
 The kind influence of his warming beams, 
 
 And how delightful in the spring the streams, 
 
 So cool and bright, would course down from the hills, 
 
 And thus create the music of the rills. 
 
 Observing these the people, eveiy one, 
 
 With pagan darkness worshiped the sun 
 
 Bow down they would to him, morning and night, 
 
 Deplore his absence, or adore his light. 
 
 The pale, cold moon, with placid, shining face, 
 Was all the clock they ha 1 on which to trace 
 The march of time. Her change from new to old 
 And old to new, thirteen times round, all told, 
 Marked one whole year for them, in which the sun 
 From north to south and south to north had run, 
 And this same guide would fix the occupation, 
 In different seasons, of this happy nation. 
 The stars they thought to be not far away, 
 But why they shone by night and not by day 
 
284 CALIFORNIA 
 
 They could not understand, nor could they tell 
 What shooting stars were for, nor why they fell. 
 
 Their worshiping the sun was the extent 
 
 To which their knowledge of religion went: 
 
 Whence they came, or whither they were going, 
 
 These wretched pagans had no means of knowing. 
 
 Their priests were not those pious men of learning, 
 
 Who could with case enlighten them concerning 
 
 The life that was to follow this on earth; 
 
 And all as well about the second birth, 
 
 Which men must have before they can be sure 
 
 That they will find above an open door; 
 
 About that lake of fire, far down below, 
 
 Where unrepentant sinners all must go; 
 
 About that city which is paved with gold, 
 
 And precious stones, and filled with wealth untold; 
 
 About the three in one, the blessed Trinity, 
 
 Which may be three, or may be one divinity; 
 
 About the future, and the present, and the past, 
 
 And what is coming of this world at last; 
 
 How it was made six thousand years ago, 
 
 The work of six days only, as we know: 
 
 Those poor blind heathen, having no such teachers, 
 
 Could never comprehend what kind of creatures 
 
 Themselves and other human beings were, 
 
 And how infinitely superior 
 
 Mankind must be to all the brute creation; 
 
 How very different in form and fashion, 
 
 How much unlike in mind and aspirations 
 
 To other living, animate creations. 
 
 Justino was about them much concerned, 
 
 And, as we know, his good heart daily yearned 
 
 To be the bearer to them of the truth, 
 
 And which he would have been, had he, forsooth, 
 
 Not been by death, alas! too soon cut off, 
 
 To render by his actions certain proof 
 
 Of his most pious and humane intent, 
 
 Regarding that strange land where Manuel went, 
 
 And where, together with his native wife, 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 285 
 
 lie spent a part of his eventful life; 
 Becoming king of all the people there, 
 And ruling over them with pious care. 
 
 LXXVI. 
 
 THE SANTOS INVASION. 
 
 THREE years, and upwards, had the good Manuelo been 
 thus employed in improving the condition of his people men 
 tally and physically, when he was greatly alarmed at the close 
 of a charmingly quiet day in early summer, by the hurried 
 arrival at the capital of a herald, informing him that his terri 
 tory was about to be invaded from the north by a large hostile 
 force, but how large the excited messenger could not state, 
 further than that he represented it to be as numerous as the 
 locusts which had the year previously devastated a large part of 
 the Anglos dominions. They were pouring down, he said, on 
 several different lines, and apparently sweeping everything 
 before them. This was all that Manuelo s anxious inquiries 
 could draw from the affrighted courier, but it was far more than 
 he wanted to hear. 
 
 To him who had now been, tor years, thoroughly engrossed 
 in civil pursuits, and who had lost much of his taste for war 
 and military display, this was most unwelcome news. What 
 ever the disturbance might be he knew it was not of his seek 
 ing, and he resolved within himself to confront the danger with 
 out a murmur, as a person in his position should. Accordingly 
 he lost no time in sending out runners in the direction of the 
 encroachment, to gather information concerning the invaders. 
 These were dispatched singly and in pairs, with instructions to 
 ascend to the mountain-tops and observe carefully everything 
 relating to the enemy, and, if practicable, to approach near 
 enough to their camps to ascertain who they might be and what 
 was their purpose. This last delicate duty was imposed more 
 
286 CALIFORNIA 
 
 particularly upon two of his astute and trusty young warriors 
 by name, respectively, Loto and Soto. These were to spy out, 
 at any hazard, the strength, armament, and habits of the enemy, 
 and to report as soon as possible. They were furnished with 
 disguises, and with fabricated pretexts by Manuelo, so that in 
 the event of capture they would stand some chance of being 
 spared. 
 
 This precaution to obtain desirable information touching the 
 enemy having been taken, Manuelo at once set himself, person 
 ally, about the task of reorganizing his army, a task he prose 
 cuted with great diligence. For three whole years had his men 
 been engaged, almost exclusively, in industrial pursuits, greatly 
 to the neglect of military discipline, and even their arms had, so 
 to speak, become rusty. To be exact and to tell the truth, 
 their bows had been long unstrung, their arrows were headless, 
 their spears sprung, and their shields warped. There was no 
 public armory in the country, and in failing to establish one, 
 Manuelo had shown a neglect that seemed now unpardonable 
 for a man in his position. But then all his known enemies had 
 been subdued, and he was in no apprehension of attack from 
 any quarter. The fact is he had seen too much of standing 
 armies in his own native country, in his younger days, to be 
 lieve in their virtue, and he was the last man to encourage them. 
 But it is clear that he ought, at least, to have kept in constant 
 preparation a sufficient supply of the accouterments of war for 
 an emergency like the one which had now arisen. In this 
 alone he exhibited a weakness unlocked for in one possessing 
 so much wisdom in other respects. He argued that a standing 
 army was always a means of oppression, and the ready instru 
 ment by which wicked despots perpetrated wrong and outrage 
 upon their own subjects. Though ostensibly for the defense 
 of the state against foreign enemies, standing armies are more 
 frequently organized for the suppression of liberal sentiments 
 at home. Manuelo maintained that a just king needed no 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 287 
 
 military establishment in time of peace, and he set a worthy 
 example to others by dismissing his own. The safety of a 
 country, in his estimation, reposed in the patriotic hearts of its 
 citizens, rather than in military power, and he was satisfied, as 
 he said, that an army composed of the loving subjects of an 
 upright ruler, improvised for the occasion, was infinitely more 
 reliable than a horde of heartless hirelings, however carefully 
 equipped and disciplined. Such an army he had himself cre 
 ated on two former occasions and in each instance they had 
 proved invincible. 
 
 In further extenuation of his neglect to provide an armory 
 and to keep up an active military force, he asseverated, with 
 great earnestness, to Justino, that regular army life was nothing 
 less than a species of slavery, and that, too, of the most abject 
 kind, inasmuch as the common soldier must be entirely sub 
 ordinate in all things to the will of his superior. Military life, 
 said he, requires the surrender of all independence of action, 
 and even of thought. The very existence of the soldier in the 
 regular army establishment, he continued, is subject to the 
 arbitrary discretion of his commanding officer, and no harmony 
 can possibly be preserved between real manhood and such a 
 life. But what struck him as still worse, and the greatest 
 objection to a standing military organization, was the enormous 
 drain upon the industrial resources of a people, incurred in its 
 maintenance, even in time of peace. Many a nation, he said, 
 had been kept in abject poverty by this means, and millions of 
 subjects, in the most productive of countries, have been 
 reduced to penury and starvation, to gratify the ambition of 
 some prince, in keeping on foot a painted, feathered, and tin 
 seled soldiery. Not such alone as are killed in battle, said 
 he, are destroyed by the standing army, but a much larger 
 number perish in the useless work of keeping the army alive. 
 
 Manuelo was unwilling to be the guilty instrument of a 
 tyranny of that sort, hence he had disbanded his forces after 
 
288 CALIFORNIA 
 
 his conflict with Mosoto, remitting them, one and all, to the 
 peaceful pursuits of private life. By this course he had 
 secured at the time a larger share of the esteem of his subjects, 
 and had lost none of their veneration for him as a military 
 chieftain. 
 
 At his call, now, his loving people came forward with won 
 derful alacrity, and he soon found himself surrounded with a 
 force of over two thousand as brave soldiers as ever gladdened 
 the heart of a military leader in any country. Even sooner 
 than he thought it possible, they had become thoroughly 
 equipped and were under excellent discipline. 
 
 There were enough of the veterans of the campaign against 
 the Movos left to instruct in the usual tactics the younger 
 members of the tribe, and all the men who had participated in 
 the battle of the Warm Springs, as well as those who had fought 
 the Barbos, now turned to most earnestly, to incite by their 
 graphic accounts of these two engagements, enthusiasm in the 
 breasts of their less experienced companions in arms. 
 
 The forces were drilled this time in two battalions of a thou 
 sand men each, or thereabouts, and besides, there was a small 
 reserve corps, who were to act as scouts and skirmishers. These 
 last were put under the command of the trusty Warno. A 
 better organized army for its numbers, take it all together, it 
 would be difficult to find, and so the enemy, after a few days, 
 and without searching for it, found it to be. 
 
 The heralds that had been sent forth to observe the move 
 ments of the invaders were now returning one by one, and their 
 reports comfirmed, yes, more than confirmed, all that had been 
 told by the excited messenger who first brought the news. 
 The enemy was approaching by slow marches, but in numbers 
 truly appalling. The first returning scouts had observed them 
 from the mountain-tops only, and were unable to give any defi 
 nite description of them, so that the Anglos were in great doubt 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 289 
 
 as to who the approaching people might be, but Manuelo s sus 
 picions had been aroused from the start, that they were the 
 Santos, and his suspicions proved to be, in the main, correct, 
 though not quite comprehensive enough to include all the 
 facts. He likewise knew full well what their motive might be, 
 but this was understood by himself and Alola alone; for not 
 to this day had either of them ever disclosed to the people 
 with whom they were living, the escape they had made, nor 
 why they had fled from the land of the swift-footed Santos. 
 
 Manuelo knew of no other incentive than revenge on the 
 part of his former friends that could have mustered such vast 
 numbers against him, and his fears were very naturally aroused 
 for the worst. Still, somewhat in doubt, he awaited with as 
 much the appearance of calmness as could be assumed by a 
 person in so responsible a position, the return of one or the 
 other of his two more reliable messengers, before undertaking 
 any decisive movement. Soto was first to make his appear 
 ance. 
 
 Just at the close of the seventh day from his departure, 
 while the gloomy twilight was fast receding from the western 
 sky, the faithful Soto, with breathless haste, came running into 
 the camp of his friends, and, in words much broken with 
 trepidation, related how he had, two nights in succession, 
 hovered around the quarters of the enemy, and beheld with his 
 own eyes the ominous bird s wing, worn as an emblem by the 
 main body of the invaders. He learned, moreover, that the 
 bird ^-wing people had for their allies large bodies of Barbos, 
 and likewise of the Movos, as he supposed them to be, and 
 that the entire army then threatening the Anglos capital com 
 prised many thousand men, all well armed and provided for 
 desperate war. From the best estimate that could be made by 
 the faithful herald, the enemy outnumbered the Anglos at 
 least ten to one, and they were already within the borders of 
 Manuelo s kingdom. Neither this dreadful intelligence, nor 
 19 
 
290 CALIFORNIA 
 
 the unfeigned commotion in the mind of the trusty Soto, dis 
 turbed the apparent equanimity of the king, who was at some 
 pains to soothe the perturbation of his friend, and then, turn 
 ing about, calmly reminded his warriors, who in full force were 
 there assembled, that not only considerable valleys, but three 
 ranges of mountains intervened between the approaching host 
 and his capital. He assured them proclaiming the fact in 
 words so loud that all could hear that however numerous the 
 enemy might be, and even though they outnumbered the 
 locusts, they could be checked and driven back by his little 
 army of heroes, who had never yet been, and never could be 
 conquered. Halting here for breath, in the middle of his 
 speech, a great shout was sent up on that calm summer night, 
 from his two thousand men - ?uch a shout as was never before 
 heard in that place and probably never will be again. 
 
 LXXVII. 
 
 A BATTLE IN THE CLOUDS. 
 
 EARLY on the following day the brave Anglos army, 
 inspired by the applause of all the women of the city, who had 
 come forth to witness and encourage the movement, conspicuous 
 among whom was the tearful Alola, were on their march to 
 intercept the enemy at the first of the ranges of mountains to 
 be crossed on his way, from the place where last seen, in com 
 ing towards the city of the Anglos. 
 
 Manuelo, though the bravest of men, could not summon up 
 courage to take a formal leave of his affectionate wife. Some 
 how, in spite of himself, fearful forebodings would come over 
 his mind that he might not see her again, and he dreaded most 
 lest the weakness which he would be sure to exhibit in parting 
 from her in the usual way, might produce an unfavorable 
 impression upon the rninds of his men. With illy concealed 
 emotions, therefore, he hurried off to the head of his forces, 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 291 
 
 and from there anxiously looked back upon the comely form 
 of Alola, again and again, until quite out of sight and far away 
 on the plain. 
 
 After three days of lively marching, and early on the morn 
 ing of the fourth day, the forces of Manuelo took possession 
 of the only two known passes leading over the third range of 
 mountains to the north of the capital, not knowing with 
 certainty which of them would be assailed by the combined 
 forces then advancing. Manuelo s army, though small at best, 
 in comparison with the one opposed to him, was thus, at the 
 start, necessarily divided. But his men were judiciously 
 apportioned in reference to the strength of the two positions, 
 some fifteen hundred of the regulars, with the reserves, being 
 posted in the easier of the passes, and only five hundred in 
 the other and more difficult one. 
 
 As was expected, the enemy approached the lower and 
 broader of the gaps, the one where Manuelo himself remained 
 in command, the stalwart Warno being put in charge of the five 
 hundred brave men who were sent to occupy the more elevated 
 of the passes. Arranging the forces under his immediate 
 charge in the best possible manner, and in the most advanta 
 geous position in the pass, Manuelo quietly awaited the 
 onslaught, which, from the proximinity of the enemy, it was 
 apparent could not be long delayed. Before the warm sum 
 mer sun of that day had mounted quite to the zenith, the 
 main body of the Santos, confiding in their numbers, advanced 
 with steady steps, coming up the gentle mountain slope in 
 solid phalanx, ready and anxious to give battle on any terms, 
 with an adversary whom they regarded as despicably small. 
 But Manuelo, undismayed, watched their every movement 
 from an elevated position, in the middle of the pass, and when 
 the enemy, in large force, were in -easy range, he ordered his 
 men in the front rank to discharge their light weapons. The 
 invaders, thus greeted with a perfect shower of darts and 
 
292 CALIFORNIA 
 
 arrows from the strong bows of the gallant Anglos, were a little 
 nonplussed at first, and failed to respond at once to the fire. 
 Manuelo seeing their hesitancy, quickly ordered a second dis 
 charge, whereupon the foremost men in the advancing columns, 
 staggered by the reception given them, wavered and fell back 
 in some confusion. But they were supported by a large body 
 of Barbos, and the charge was speedily renewed by the com 
 bined battalions of the Santos and Barbos, followed up by 
 other allies. Urged on by their ablest commanders, the enemy 
 now came up with redoubled determination, and a terrible con 
 flict ensued in that high mountain gorge. Fortunately for him, 
 there was only room between the precipitous hills on either 
 hand for the employment of just so many men on Manuelo s 
 side as he had in his command, and more, had he possessed 
 them, would have been useless, unless as reserves. So the 
 advantage of the position was altogether with the Anglos, and 
 the combined forces of the enemy were stubbornly held at 
 bay. The battle was maintained long and desperately on both 
 sides, but the assailants, finally, after suffering fearful slaughter, 
 were compelled to withdraw from the carnage. Crest-fallen 
 and dissappointed, they retired to the plains below, whence they 
 had but lately come. Taking with them their wounded and 
 some of their dead, they went into camp, for it was now night. 
 
 Manuelo s army, though elated with their success, were not so 
 thoughtless as to be drawn from their position by pursuit of the 
 retiring foe, but remained within their strong entrenchments, 
 hoping that the allies would renew their rash attempt on the 
 following day. But the enemy had been too severely chastised 
 not to consider well of the matter before resuming active hos 
 tilities. They were advised of the existence of the other 
 pass the one occupied by Warno but had ascertained from 
 their scouts that it also was well guarded. 
 
 All the next day was spent by the enemy without any general 
 movement, apparently in consultation among themselves, for the 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 293 
 
 ascertainment of some more practical way than the one they 
 had undertaken, of continuing on the course towards their des 
 tination. But the day by them was not wasted. During the 
 forenoon a detachment of the pilfering Movos, some five hun 
 dred strong, were observed to move silently off from their camp 
 in an easterly direction, as if towa rds their homes, and were 
 soon lost to sight. 
 
 On the next day the second one after the first battle in the 
 clouds, another attempt was made with equal vigor, to all ap 
 pearances, to effect a passage of the mountain on the same 
 line with the first. The fight was renewed with the same de 
 termination on both sides, and the result must have been a 
 repetition of what occurred on the former occasion, but for a 
 piece of strategy on the part of the enemy, which would have 
 done credit to Scipio himself. While the combat was at its 
 height, Manuelo discovered a cloud of dust rising off in the 
 valley on the hither side of the range, and he was not long in 
 determining that it was caused by a body of the enemy who 
 were approaching to attack him in the rear. The fact was that 
 the five hundred Movos who left the camps of the allies the 
 day before, had gone many leagues to the eastward, and during 
 the night, by forced marches, had passed through the mount 
 ains by another and far-distant opening, known to themselves 
 alone, and were now hastening to the aid of their friends. 
 Observing this movement, Manuelo sent word concerning it by 
 a courier to Warno, who was stationed in the neighboring pass, 
 and they (Warno s men) at once rushed down to intercept and 
 punish this band of Movos, for Manuelo could illy spare any of 
 his own fifteen hundred, every man of whom, together with his 
 reserves, was required in the great struggle with the main body 
 of the enemy. Warno s command, which had not yet tasted 
 battle, and who were anxious for the fray, speedily fell upon 
 the equal force of the Movos, and fairly annihilated them, 
 scattering to the four winds so many of them as escaped 
 
294 CALIFORNIA 
 
 death. But the cunning Barbos, familiar with wild mountain 
 life, were watching with eagle eyes the occurrences from their 
 side of the range, and seeing the higher pass vacated by Warno, 
 themselves hastily took possession of it with a large force of 
 light-armed bowmen, and nearly all the unemployed reserves 
 of the-allied armies followed at once in that direction. 
 
 The detachment of the Anglos, under the brave Warno, who 
 had been chastising the Movos, now undertook to regain their 
 former position in the pass, but the effort was in vain. They 
 were this time put in the position of the attacking party, and 
 were now no longer on the defensive, with the choice of the 
 situations, as they had but lately been. Besides, their numbers 
 were limited, while their opponents were as numerous as 
 the locusts and like locusts were constantly increasing. Warno 
 and his followers fought with the desperation of lions, and were 
 ready to sacrifice themselves, every one, but it was of no use. 
 They were contending against impossibilities. 
 
 Seeing the desperate situation into which matters were thrown 
 by adverse fate, Manuelo ordered a bold final dash upon the 
 enemy in his front, and put them to flight, whereupon he im 
 mediately withdrew his men from the pass, and joining the 
 other division of the army under Warno, on the plain below, 
 they marched together, in good order, across the intervening 
 valley towards the next range of mountains. 
 
 As many another general before him, so now Manuelo had 
 been compelled to yield to the force of numbers. It was no 
 worse for him than it had been in the case of Pericles, of 
 ancient fame, nevertheless it was exceedingly galling to his 
 pride. For the first time now had he been worsted, unless, 
 indeed, we except the occasion, long past, when he was in lead 
 of an army of base slaves against the king of the Modens ; but 
 that, it is thought, ought not to be considered as a military 
 defeat at all, for was not he the only brave man among them ? 
 To have continued the fight at that time would have been to 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 295 
 
 sacrifice himself to no purpose, and its consequences would 
 have been most disastrous, since it would have deprived the 
 world of this valuable portion of its history. 
 
 Referring to Manuelo s present distressing discomfiture, 
 Father Justino could not but remark upon what a slender thread 
 hangs the destiny of some men. How precarious, said he, are 
 the ways of Providence, as they relate to persons and to whole 
 armies, and even to nations and to the races of mankind. Out 
 of the slightest circumstance sometimes emanate momentous 
 events, and the most gigantic preparations of men are often 
 brought unexpectedly to naught by the merest trifle. Man pro 
 poses, continued the good friar, but God disposes. 
 
 LXXVIII. 
 
 ANOTHER STAND. 
 
 ON the next range of mountains, through which there seemed 
 to be only a single pass, Manuelo the brave took his stand, 
 determined there to defend his kingdom against the ruthless 
 invaders, or perish gloriously in the effort. Every precaution 
 was taken by him, as soon as possible, in the way of posting 
 his men and in fortifying his position. A succession of barri 
 cades of brush and wood and stones were speedily thrown up 
 across the road by which the enemy must approach. Behind 
 the strongest of these, and near the summit, his little army, 
 now somewhat but not greatly reduced, was stationed to await 
 the oncoming of the allies, who, elated with their late triumph, 
 must have been impatient of delays. Though considerably 
 crippled by the stubborn resistance they had met with, and now, 
 in consequence, moving, as it were, upon crutches, the enemy 
 were not expected to tarry long in the valley below, although 
 that valley was one of the most beautiful and attractive ever 
 beheld, covered as it was with a thick carpet of greensward, 
 interspersed with flowers, and coursed by a stream of bright, 
 
296 CALIFORNIA 
 
 crystal water, bordered with a thick growth of umbrageous 
 sycamores. It was a place that would have beguiled a more 
 sentimental people, but the barbarous allies took little heed 
 of its fascinations, and pushed hopefully on, looking only to 
 the coarser enjoyment of booty and beauty in the capital of 
 their enemy. 
 
 News of the discomfiture of the Anglos had gone back with 
 telegraphic speed to the city, causing the greatest possible con 
 sternation in the minds of the people, and fairly wringing with 
 distress the poor heart of Alola. With more than womanly 
 discretion, she had taken it upon herself to organize and push 
 forward all the new recruits she could possibly muster, almost, 
 as it seemed, robbing the cradle and the grave to supply them. 
 Old and young alike were drafted into her battalions, and such 
 was her anxiety on her husband s account, that she could hardly 
 be dissuaded from taking command of them in person, and 
 leading them against her former friends, for she knew now of 
 a certainty that the enemy were none other than the powerful 
 Santos. 
 
 Alola was the more resolute in demanding the services of 
 the old and infirm of her subjects, from the fact of her having 
 long entertained the opinion that such were precisely the per 
 sons that ought always to be sent off to the wars, and not the 
 hale and hearty. She reasoned, that if any persons in a com 
 munity ought to run the risk of being killed, it should be, not 
 the most useful, but those, rather, whose usefulness on earth 
 had nearly ceased. And these, she maintained, if any, ought 
 to be willing to sacrifice themselves upon the altar of patriotism, 
 since they can be of service to their country in no other way. 
 The sensible little woman could never see the propriety of 
 exacting military duty of such valuable citizens as Manuelo, to 
 the exclusion of persons of no account whatever in the world; 
 nor could she be persuaded of the consistency of the uniform 
 practice of nations, of killing off in wars their very best and 
 most vigorous young men, while the infirm and the useless are 
 permitted to go free. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 297 
 
 LXXIX. 
 
 LOTO S STORY. 
 
 SCARCELY were his preparations for defense in this mount 
 ain pass completed, when Manuelo was surprised and mo 
 mentarily delighted by the sudden appearance within his fortifi 
 cations of the other one of his faithful heralds, the sharp-eyed 
 Loto, who in pursuance of instructions had actually penetrated 
 into the camp of the enemy, and had been with them many 
 days, only now making his escape to report to his master what 
 he had seen and heard. 
 
 At first Loto was treated by the Santos as a spy, and nar 
 rowly escaped execution as such, but by the practice of that 
 native astuteness tor which he was distinguished, he won upon 
 the confidence of the leaders in the enemy s lines, and learned 
 all about them and their purposes. His story, as related with 
 trembling lips and blanched, to the impatient Manuelo, was 
 that Mosoto on his first flight had gone directly into the land 
 of the Barbos, and had given that people a complete account of 
 Manuelo and his young wife, both of whom, as we have already 
 seen, were grossly misrepresented by him. Even before the 
 expedition of the Barbos, in which Mosoto lost his life, it is 
 thought that information may have been conveyed in some way 
 to the nearest villages of the Santos, touching the whereabouts 
 of Manuelo and his bride. But whether this be so or not, 
 certain it is that the Barbos, on their return from that war, 
 were not long in dispatching a delegation of their shrewdest 
 and most influential men, including their head prophet, to visit 
 the capital of the Santos, and lay before the authorities of that 
 people a full account of this strange personage, for s,uch Man 
 uelo was to them, and to take counsel of that great nation as to 
 what should be done, or undertaken, to quell his extraordinary 
 and growing power. 
 
 From their own sad experience with him in arms, no less 
 
298 CALIFORNIA 
 
 than from the description given of him by the wicked Mosoto, 
 the Barbos looked upon Manuelo as an exceedingly dangerous 
 character, and that opinion had been intensified by the remarka 
 bly suspicious circumstances attending his first appearance as 
 an entire stranger among them in company with a young and 
 beautiful woman. They had long since detected the falsehood 
 of his account of himself on that occasion, and they would have 
 placed no confidence thereafter in anything he might have said 
 or done. 
 
 The delegation of suspicious Barbos on arriving at the 
 Santos capital, found to their no little astonishment that both 
 Manuelo and his interesting companion were but too well 
 known to that people. The swift Santos were of course greatly 
 surprised to learn all then told them about the fugitives, whom 
 they supposed to be dead, but their astonishment knew no 
 bounds when assured that Manuelo had actually become the 
 king of a considerable nation known as the Anglos, and that his 
 interesting little wife, their former princess, was queen of 
 the same. They had been constrained to believe originally 
 that both Manuelo and Alola had been drowned in the Bay. 
 This fact they inferred from finding shortly afterwards the 
 canoe in which the pair had departed, floating empty upon 
 the watery waste. It had been driven back across the Bay by 
 adverse winds, and all signs pointed ominously towards the 
 conclusion that its late occupants had perished. 
 
 Alola, in particular, was long and sorrowfully bewailed as one 
 dead and never to be heard of again. The then impending 
 Feast of Flowers, which was to have been made especially joy 
 ful by her marriage with the gallant son of the old high priest 
 Pokee, instead of being an occasion of gladness, was turned by 
 her untoward absence into one of the deepest sorrow, and so 
 severe was the bereavement to her father, the great chief, that 
 he pined away, and the very next year died of grief. The 
 young and stalwart Gosee, the intended bridegroom, was duly 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 299 
 
 elected king in the place of the deceased lather of his betrothed. 
 This event was not at all inconsistent with the character and 
 standing of the man, but it is believed that sympathy for the 
 young brave on account of the loss of his intended (as was 
 supposed, for no one knew that he had been jilted) may have 
 had something to do with his choice as king. But on this 
 point the evidence, from the very nature of things, is uncertain, 
 and the suggestion must be regarded as resting largely upon the 
 naked surmise of Justino, for it cannot be shown at this late 
 day, that any of Gosee s supporters were influenced by such in 
 adequate motives. But surmises, with no better basis, even in 
 matters of history, are often as reliable as positive statements, 
 which are falsely claimed to be founded in facts. Be all this 
 as it may, it is sufficient for our purpose to say that Gosee had 
 been elected the successor of Bear-Slayer, and was king of the 
 great Santos nation when their capital was visited by the afore 
 said Barbos delegation. And when the young king became 
 fully convinced by the representations of that delegation, of the 
 treachery of Manuelo, and of the infidelity to himself of Alola, 
 his rage arose to a towering height, and he resolved on ven 
 geance, cost what it might. The cunning Barbos embassadors 
 having accomplished their purpose, returned to their own coun 
 try satisfied. 
 
 A system of secret inquiry was promptly set on foot by the 
 vindictive Gosee, extending throughout all the nations and 
 tribes to the southward of his dominions, and these were carried 
 on for a year or two with the greatest diligence, in order that 
 he might learn all about Manuelo and his people. Spies had 
 even been sent into the Anglos country, but their object had 
 never been so much as suspected by that generous and confid 
 ing people. All this investigation was conducted with so 
 much caution by the king of the Santos and his faithful sub 
 jects, that it never came to the ears of Manuelo at all, who, in 
 the meantime was enjoying, in conscious security, his ease and 
 
300 CALIFORNIA 
 
 dignity in his own kingdom. Not a soul among the Anglos had 
 the least apprehension of the terrible conspiracy that was 
 being, in that cruel manner, hatched up against them. 
 
 The emissaries of Gosee found willing listeners among the 
 Movos as well as among the more intelligent Barbos, and both 
 these nations, moved by a spirit of revenge for past discomfitures, 
 were but too willing to unite their strength with that of their 
 more formidable neighbor at the north, to crush out, if possible, 
 the power of the mysterious white king of the Anglos. The full 
 est preparations having been made by these three nations, and 
 all being in readiness for an aggressive movement, the great 
 army of the Santos, under the skillful leadership of the ambitious 
 Gosee, set out on its march. On his southern border Gosee was 
 joined, in pursuance of previous arrangements, by large forces 
 of the Movos and kindred tribes, and by the Barbos> and the 
 march of the allied powers was continued towards the capital 
 of the unsuspecting Anglos, as the good reader has been 
 already informed. 
 
 This intelligent report of the hawk-eyed Loto caused Man- 
 uelo inwardly to tremble, but he was not the person to exhibit 
 evidences of fear to his confiding soldiery, and he kept up, as 
 best he might, all the outward appearances of unfaltering 
 courage. He now knew for a certainty the full nature of the 
 enemy he had to contend against, and he felt a little relieved 
 from suspense, though not at all encouraged for the future. 
 He was fully aware that the leader of the opposing forces, the 
 disappointed and jilted Gosee, would be unmerciful towards 
 him and Alola, and he prepared his mind for the worst that 
 could possibly happen, resolving within himself to sell his life 
 for the very highest price he could obtain for it, and it appeared 
 to him, just then, that the market was, so to speak, exceedingly 
 favorable to a satisfactory disposition of the same. 
 
 A smaller army than his own, he remembered, had stayed a 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 301 
 
 much larger force of armed men than that which was being 
 led against him, at the Pass of Thermopylae, and the pass he 
 was now holding was believed to be as favorable, at least for 
 defense, as the one mentioned in Greek history. Nor did he 
 forget that Leonidas and all his little Spartan band had perished 
 in the noble struggle in which they were engaged. But it was 
 for his beloved Alola that he feared the most, and he could but 
 shudder whenever the thought came over him, as it would at 
 times, of that tender creature s falling into the hands of the 
 revengeful Gosee. The more he pondered upon this matter 
 the more he thirsted for the blood of her tormentor, and he 
 longed for an opportunity to meet him in single combat. He 
 would gladly have settled the whole dispute in that way, but 
 such, alas ! was not the custom of those times, nor in that 
 country. 
 
 Manuelo likened his enemy to the mighty Attila, who, at the 
 head of an innumerable throng of barbarous Hungarians, 
 Scythians, and Germans, swept down upon the plains of Italy, 
 carrying devastation wherever they went ; and as Attila was 
 compelled at the great battle of Chalons to retreat, so Man 
 uelo hoped to drive back this latter-day Hun, the bloody 
 Gosee, with all his wicked allies. But when again he remem 
 bered the fate of the Emperor Theodosius, who finally fell, 
 cruelly murdered by the sword of the conqueror, he could 
 scarcely suppress a feeling of horror at his own possible fate, 
 and that of his ever-affectionate wife. 
 
 In spite of himself, Manuelo was haunted by these appre 
 hensions, from the time he learned from his faithful Loto that it 
 was certainly his old rival who was so stubbornly opposing him, 
 and his mortification at being once beaten was much the 
 more poignant on account of its having been suffered at the 
 hands of such a person. It is proper enough, right here, to 
 soothe the anxious mind of the reader by stating that things 
 
302 CALIFORNIA 
 
 did not turn out quite so badly as Manuelo apprehended, else 
 how could he have given Justino an account of the battle? 
 But then they did turn out badly enough, in all conscience, as 
 will be seen, if the reader will but carefully peruse the next 
 chapter. 
 
 LXXX. 
 
 ANOTHER FIGHT AND DEFEAT. 
 
 THERE was now no time for vain laments. The enemy 
 that had given Manuelo so much trouble was still before him, 
 and flushed with victory. It stood the Anglos general in hand 
 to re-inspire his men with confidence, or all would certainly be 
 lost. Fortunately they, as well as he, could see the strategy by 
 which they had been driven back from their last stronghold, 
 and they could see, as plainly as he, that the disaster they had 
 suffered on the other mountain was owing to no fault of their 
 commander- in-chief, but was the result of the overweening 
 anxiety of the men in the smaller subdivision of the army, 
 under Warno, to take part in the fight, and to chastise the 
 circumventing band of treacherous Movos. It was this unfort 
 unate zeal that led to leaving exposed the second pass in the 
 first range, thus compelling the retreat of the whole Anglos 
 army. Similar tactics on the part of the allies did not seem 
 likely to be practiced successfully a second time, for the cir 
 cumstances were now somewhat different, and the courage of 
 the men, and their confidence in their leader, were not very 
 greatly impaired. 
 
 By the direction of Manuelo, the forces under him were 
 arranged in the best possible manner, the spearmen occupying 
 the front ranks, and in their rear, but on more elevated ground, 
 were stationed the bowmen, in lines three deep. The curious 
 body of recruits, pushed forward by Alola, arrived just in time 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 303 
 
 to receive orders before the battle began, and were stationed 
 in a secure place in the pass, out of reach of the enemy s 
 weapons, but where they would be convenient as reserves, to 
 render what assistance they might in case of an emergency. 
 
 The main body of the little army being posted behind breast 
 works, were positively ordered to withhold their fire until the 
 invaders approached within close range, and by no means to 
 deliver battle until the enemy had discharged his first volley of 
 missiles, many of which it was known would find lodgment 
 within the defensive works of the Anglos. These orders of 
 Manuelo were obeyed by his men to the letter, and the proud 
 advancing foe. not this time with the swift-footed Santos in the 
 van, but led on by their relentless allies, the Movos and Bar- 
 bos, pressed forward up the steep mountain-side, overcoming 
 the first obstacles with ease. The exulting enemy came on this 
 time in more solid columns than before, and apparently with 
 more determination, though it was plainly to be seen that one 
 detachment of the Movos, a sort of vanguard, anticipating their 
 fate, halted several times, and had to be rallied most vigorously 
 by their officers. The enemy finally approaching, with some 
 enthusiasm, almost to the ramparts of the Anglos, discharged 
 their first volley of arrows and javelins, but with no great effect, 
 when Manuelo s men, in turn, opened upon them with a perfect 
 cloud of spears and arrows, all at the same moment. The 
 enemy went down before this discharge like a row of bricks, 
 which, set upon end, and leaning one against another, the first 
 being displaced, the whole string of them tumble in quick suc 
 cession. The head of their column was staggered, and as 
 many of them as remained on their feet would inevitably have 
 fallen back precipitately down the pass, but the cunning Gosee, 
 having anticipated the possible cowardice of his allies, had kept 
 in their rear with his whole Santos army, prepared to force his 
 alien cohorts up to their work. Thus prevented from retreat 
 ing, the enemy s assaults upon the Anglos strong position were 
 
304 CALIFORNIA 
 
 renewed again and again, and every time with the same result. 
 Li the meanwhile, the great body of Gosee s army, inspired by 
 the loud exhortations of their commander, were crowding close 
 up to the lines of the Anglos, and were fast becoming a dense 
 and impenetrable mass. Several ineffectual attempts had been 
 made to effect a breach in Manuelo s fortifications, but they 
 were promptly repelled, with loss to the assailants. But now 
 the spears and javelins of the brave Anglos having become 
 exhausted, and their arrows nearly so, they were compelled, as 
 a last resort, and at greater risk to themselves, to seize and 
 return the weapons of their adversaries. The fight, under these 
 circumstances, was wholly unequal, with the advantage on the 
 side of the allied enemy. 
 
 In this emergency the raw Anglos recruits, furnished by 
 Alola, were ordered to the front, and they came forward with a 
 fearful yell of discordant voices, old men and boys mingling 
 their cries in the general shout. If these were not as stalwart 
 as soldiers usually are, they were, to say the least, sufficiently 
 armed, and they promptly lent a portion of their weapons to 
 their veteran confreres, who were quite as anxious to use, as to 
 get them. This timely assistance to Manuelo s little army, fur 
 nished by the remarkable foresight of a woman, was indispensa 
 ble at the time, and came not a moment too soon. 
 
 The battle was now more desperate than ever. It was 
 waged with unheard-of determination, all along the line, which 
 stretched quite across the pass, from side to side, and the vic 
 tory seemed to hang in the balance, so to speak, for a long 
 time. But just now, and in the hottest of the fight, the athletic 
 and swift-footed Gosee appeared, with his tall plume, upon the 
 scene, rallying his well-disciplined and trusty Santos for a final 
 charge. With stentorian voice he called upon his friends to 
 follow, himself leading the assault. In an instant the breast 
 works were broken down on the left and right, and Gosee, in 
 person, with one grand bound, made a breach in the center. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 305 
 
 An immense number of his men quickly followed, and in an 
 instant hosts of them were inside of the Anglos works. There 
 they were promptly met by its brave defenders, and in less than 
 a quarter of the time that it takes to relate the facts, the con 
 test assumed the form of a hand-to-hand struggle. Manuelo, 
 with a voice that was heard above the din, exhorted his band 
 of heroes to still greater exertions, and they fought with the 
 desperation of tigers at bay. But numbers will always tell in 
 the long run, and the Anglos were finally overpowered. Man 
 uelo himself was hastening to confront with his own weapons 
 the powerful Gosee, when unfortunately, stepping upon a 
 smooth rock, that lay there wet with blood, he slipped and fell. 
 No sooner did his men see their leader prostrate than, sup 
 posing his fall to have resulted from an enemy s spear, they 
 beat a retreat. As when some huge bull, invincible to ordinary 
 foes, is attacked by a whole swarm of bees whose hive is un 
 luckily overturned by the proud monster, is powerless to resist, 
 and from necessity is compelled to retreat, and who with head 
 in air and loudly bellowing, hastens away, pursued by the buz 
 zing throng, so the noble band of Anglos, forced by the multi 
 tude of the enemy to flight, made off from the field. The day 
 was lost. The allies were victorious, and Manuelo was a 
 prisoner. He regretted, at the time, though not subsequently, 
 that he had not been slain then and there. 
 
 The allies quickly made their way through the now unob 
 structed pass, and poured down, still in countless numbers, upon 
 the valley below. The shattered forces of the Anglos, in con 
 fused and unequal detachments, made the best of their way, 
 in hot haste, towards the near and only remaining range of 
 mountains intervening between their homes and the hosts of 
 the enemy, intending as they went to make one more and a 
 final stand before surrendering all. 
 
 Early the next day most of the Anglos, assembled upon this 
 last mountain height, were prepared in mind for any exertion 
 "20 
 
306 CALIFORNIA 
 
 that might be required of them, but, alas ! they were now with 
 out a leader. Even Warno had been killed or captured, they 
 knew not which, nor did it make any difference to them just 
 then, since he was not there to advise and assist in their present 
 dire emergency. Like Manuelo, he had been left behind, and 
 the fate of both remained a mystery for some time. 
 
 The passage of this last range, the lowest of the three, was 
 much more difficult of defense than either of the others had 
 been, and consequently the brave Anglos were vastly more in 
 need of a directing spirit than they had been on the former 
 occasions. Nevertheless, they hastily completed such prepara 
 tions as they were able to make in the brief time allotted them 
 in order to dispute the passage of this mountain with an enemy, 
 elated with successive triumphs, hurrying forward, confident 
 now of his ability to achieve another and any number of vic 
 tories. 
 
 Gosee, however, was too good a general to incur the danger 
 of an unnecessary sacrifice of his men, and accordingly he 
 deployed a portion of his forces to the right, and another por 
 tion to the left, sending them up and down the valley to find 
 other passes in the range, with directions to them to push over, 
 however precipitous the ascent, and to attack the Anglos occu 
 pying the pass in the rear, while he, with the main army in 
 hand, was to advance :n a direct line and force his adversary 
 to extremes. His plans were readily understood by the intelli 
 gent Anglos, who were especially familiar with this range of 
 mountains, and they acted accordingly. Leaving a small force 
 of their best men in ambush, as it were, merely to check the 
 onward march of the enemy, the main body retired reluctantly 
 to the city. The news of the second great disaster to the 
 Anglos had preceded them, by several hours, and the proud 
 capital on their arrival was found in the greatest possible com 
 motion. 
 
 About the only persons who had been left at home were the 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 307 
 
 women and children, and they were all alarmed beyond expres 
 sion. There was weeping, and wailing, and wringing of hands, 
 as each fond wife, mother, sister, or daughter, inquired of the 
 returning soldiers touching the fate of her husband, son, 
 brother, or father. Yes, and there were anxious inquiries about 
 the old grandfathers and the little boys whom Alola had sent 
 to the front in the desperate emergency. But the bereaved 
 would have been more numerous had the Anglos army been 
 less ably commanded than it was. And besides, being better 
 acquainted with the country, many more of them escaped, and 
 presently made their appearance in the city, than could reason 
 ably have been expected. The return of each one, whose ab 
 sence at first led to the belief that he had been slain, was the 
 signal for rejoicing among his friends, and there was some little 
 merriment amidst the general gloom. But as night approached, 
 thick clouds of impenetrable darkness seemed to hover over 
 that doomed city like birds of evil omen. Its army was broken 
 into fragments, and no longer of much use. Its king and 
 guiding spirit was absent either slain or captured. A numer 
 ous, angry and ruthless enemy was at its very gates, and Justino 
 was entirely correct when he said there was very little left upon 
 which to hang a hope, if indeed hope was not already sus 
 pended. 
 
 LXXXI. 
 
 THE CITY ABANDONED. 
 
 A SORROWFUL time indeed had now fallen to the lot of 
 the Anglos, who but yesterday, so to speak, were so very happy. 
 From an exalted state of prosperity they were precipitated into 
 the darkest abyss of despair. As on some bright summer after 
 noon a black cloud suddenly appearing in the western horizon, 
 quickly overspreads the whole heavens, amidst lightning flashes 
 and peals of thunder, deluging the earth with rain, compelling 
 
308 CALIFORNIA 
 
 husbandmen, in great haste, to save their property from the 
 destructive floods, so the sudden advent in their territory of 
 the allied enemy caused the Anglos to bestir themselves and 
 now to flee for their lives. A severe earthquake shock, over 
 whelming their city in general ruin, could hardly have been 
 more surprising. Their country was overrun by hostile feet; 
 their beloved chief was, they knew not where, nor whether dead 
 or alive; their capital was about to fall into the hands of a 
 powerful and unrelenting enemy, and there was apparently no 
 relief from the impending catastrophe, and no power to stem, 
 even for a brief time, the fast inrolling tide of misery. 
 
 If there was one single circumstance wanting to make their 
 distress complete, it was that the Dagos were not engaged with 
 their other adversaries in the general work of devastation. 
 This small shadow of comfort was left to this distressed people in 
 the midst of all their sorrow. But it was no merit of the 
 Dagos that they were not so employed. That revengeful tribe 
 would have been but too glad to participate in the indiscrimi 
 nate plunder of the rich Anglos homes, had they, like the 
 Movos, been invited to do so. But fortunately, they were not. 
 On account of their remoteness from the land of the Santos, 
 and not by reason of any want of inclination on their part, 
 they were left out of the calculation when the war was begun. 
 In truth, up to this time, and for some period afterwards, the 
 Dagos rested in profound ignorance of these hostilities, and of 
 the great disaster that had befallen their neighbors at the north, 
 so completely had communication between the two peoples 
 been broken off. 
 
 The flood of consternation in the doomed city was aug 
 mented by the return of individuals and straggling parties 
 from the front. Members of the brave little army, some alone, 
 and others in squads, some wounded and others not, but all 
 tired and foot-sore, kept coming in as the night waned, until at 
 last the excitement arose to such a pitch that it can better be 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 309 
 
 imagined than described. In fact, an adequate account of it 
 would be impossible, and Father Justino has wisely omitted 
 the attempt, concluding, doubtless, that any effort he might 
 make in that direction would result in disastrous failure. 
 
 But amidst all that was transpiring on that momentous oc 
 casion, there was one cool-headed person ; one who appeared 
 to be equal to the emergency, and whose judgment was no less 
 clear in storms than in sunshine, and that person was- the gentle 
 Alola. In the absence of her husband, all responsibility was 
 resting upon her delicate shoulders, and she felt the full weight 
 of that responsibility. She was, in this terrible emergency, 
 wrought up by a keen sense of the obligation of herself and 
 Manuelo to that good people, to the exercise of more than 
 masculine fortitude, and her remarkable strength of purpose 
 and goodness of heart never shone forth with such brilliancy 
 as on that most trying occasion. She, at least, wasted no time 
 in vain lamentations. Though having infinitely more reason 
 to be sorrowful than any other person in the city, she, among 
 them all, displayed the least weakness. 
 
 Without waiting for the return of all the men who had gone 
 to the war and, indeed, to have waited for alt would have 
 been to wait to all eternity but what Justino intended to say 
 was that Alola, without waiting for the return of all the soldiers 
 of the Anglos that had been spared by the weapons of the 
 cruel enemy, ordered every preparation to be made, as speedily 
 as possible, for abandoning the place. She caused to be packed, 
 in convenient form for transportation, everything that would be 
 most useful in the flight, and all that could be borne away by her 
 people; and that which might be at all serviceable to the enemy, 
 she ordered to be destroyed. When, early the next morning, 
 all was in readiness, and every man, woman, and child supplied 
 with as many of the necessaries of life as he, she, or it could 
 carry, the whole population, bearing with them, so to say, their 
 lares and penates, with many loud lamentations and floods of 
 
310 CALIFORNIA 
 
 tears, bade farewell to their pleasant homes, and filing out of 
 the western exit of the city in groups of families, and detach 
 ments, the strong helping the weak and infirm, but none far 
 sundered from others, they entered upon their distressful line of 
 march towards the sea-shore. Longer delay was impracticable, 
 for the combined army of the enemy, though not yet in sight, 
 could not be far away, and the van-guard might, in a few hours, 
 burst upon the plain, and soon thereafter arrive in the suburbs. 
 Similarly sad experiences, peradventure, had been the lot of 
 cities before that time; but never, in all history, had a people 
 greater occasion to bewail a sorrowful fate. In the rear of the 
 long procession, surrounded by a little band of faithful soldiers, 
 was the queen herself, she being the last to leave the doomed 
 capital. This had been the scene of her greatest triumphs. 
 There had she enjoyed a measure of happiness that had fallen 
 to the lot of but few of her sex, and she thought it befitting 
 that she should be the one to bid final adieu to those scenes. 
 In doing so the poor woman could not conceal her emotion. 
 Overwhelmed with sadness, she lingered long in the beautiful 
 apartments of herself "and her lord, and there, alone, for some 
 moments gave vent to her grief in copious tears and loud 
 lamentations. Thus within her own doors occurred the most 
 heart-rending event of that terrible day. Summoning cour 
 age at last, and banishing her tears, she followed the silent pro 
 cession of her people, and in a few hours they were all beside 
 the great ocean, which, in its boundlessness and depth, it is 
 thought, might furnish some slight illustration of the sorrow 
 and sadness of the Anglos. Continuing along its shores, they 
 made but a few leagues the first day, for the march was encum 
 bered at the same time with small children and large supplies, 
 and their progress was necessarily slow. The whole retinue 
 camped by the sea the first night, and the grief of the people 
 was soothed, in some measure, by the gentle music of the 
 breakers. The second day the march was continued by the 
 ocean-side, and likewise the third. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 311 
 
 LXXXII. 
 
 THE PENINSULA. 
 
 EARLY in the fourth day of the hegira, the fleeing Anglos, 
 already weary with the march, and some of the more infirm 
 ready to give up in despair, came in sight of a curious geo 
 graphical formation. It was a peninsula extending far out into 
 the sea and connecting with the main-land by a narrow isthmus. 
 At a considerable distance from the principal shore . the 
 peninsula widened out into a broad area, which could be 
 approached only by persons passing in single file over the 
 rocky neck. Alola in an instant saw the advantage of this 
 position, and without much delay marched her people onto the 
 peninsula, the women and children proceeding with great 
 caution lest they should tumble into the deep on either side. 
 This peninsula being a broad and beautiful table-land, or 
 mesa, as written in the original, was supplied with wells of 
 water, from which the sharp-eyed Alola observed it had been 
 occupied before, and she concluded that it had, in past times 
 been the resort of some people similarly circumstanced, but 
 concerning such use of it even the oldest men among her sub 
 jects knew nothing.* 
 
 In pursuance of orders the camps were pitched on this 
 stronghold, and-the sacred fires were lighted upon an altar hastily 
 erected of rough stones. With but little delay, thanks were 
 
 *It has been ascertained on diligent inquiry that no such geographical 
 formation exists at the present day, or, at least, none can be found any 
 where along the southern coast of California; but that matters not, nor 
 does it discredit the story in the least ; since without doubt the waves and 
 earthquakes of these last three hundred and fifty years, have broken down 
 and removed the isthmus, or narrow neck, entirely, and what was once a 
 paene insnla, is now tota insiila, or a complete island, which is there still; 
 and what is conclusive of the question, it is in the same location exactly 
 as when visited by the queen of the Anglos, in the early part of the 
 sixteenth century. 
 
312 CALIFORNIA 
 
 offered up by the high priest to the sun and moon, and what 
 ever lesser deities and saints belonged to the calendar of the 
 pious Anglos, for this their apparently providential deliverance 
 from wicked enemies. 
 
 A sufficient guard was then stationed at the isthmus to pre 
 vent any encroachments, and the good queen and all her weary 
 followers, feeling now perfectly secure against danger of every 
 sort, slept the night through. Her mind was now relieved of a 
 great burden. The innocent people under her charge were at 
 last in a place of safety, and she felt like defying Gosee and all 
 his wicked hosts. She deemed she had now fairly eluded her 
 relentless pursuers, and she would have joined heartily in the 
 general rejoicing, continued from the day before, had it not 
 been for the absence of her unhappy husband, who, though 
 far away in person, was seldom absent from her thoughts. 
 Alola knew not how near the enemy might be on her track, 
 but she was sure they would follow without much delay. She 
 reasoned wisely that the disappointed Gosee would never falter 
 or turn back until he had her in his possession; at all events, so 
 long as there was the least hope left of accomplishing that pur 
 pose. Her gratification was most in the thought that from 
 her present secure place her brave soldiers could sally forth 
 and harass the enemy and be as safe, on their return, as if 
 ensconced in the fortress of Gibraltar. 
 
 Though considerably demoralized at first, and broken in 
 spirit by their successive defeats, her warriors, nevertheless, 
 were the same men who had fought so gallantly on former 
 occasions, and she was confident they would still be able to do 
 great execution against the common enemy common, did we 
 say? surely it was a most uncommon enemy for the good 
 Anglos. There was one consideration, however, in this con 
 nection that pleased her not at all. She remembered that her 
 former friends, the Santos, were reputed to be the swiftest run. 
 ners in the world, and it would hardly do, therefore, for a force 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 313 
 
 that relied upon retreat for safety, to come in collision with 
 them at any great distance from home, and she feared her men 
 might be able to inflict upon the allied powers less annoyance 
 for that reason. 
 
 The good queen was unremitting in her exertions to provide, 
 and lay in supplies of every kind that might be needed within 
 her fortified place, so that it should not be reduced by starva 
 tion, in case of siege. Men, women, and also the larger chil 
 dren, of both sexes, under her charge, were sent out into the 
 nearest hills and valleys to gather provisions, and all the 
 necessaries of life, and in a short time there was laid up in 
 this camp an abundant store. On the borders of the peninsula, 
 all around, close down by the sea, shell-fish abounded, and in 
 the deep waters, near the shore, other fishes of all sorts could 
 be taken in numbers, and the beleaguered would have that 
 resort for sustenance in case of great need. Thus fixed and 
 provided, Alola, the fair, was secure in these her new quarters. 
 
 Scarcely had the requisite preparations for long confinement 
 in this islandic home been completed, when the Santos scouts 
 began to make their appearance on the main-land, and in a 
 day or two longer a large body of the combined forces of the 
 enemy hove in sight. These were under the lead of the jealous 
 Gosee himself, who, exulting in his late victories, was in hot 
 pursuit of the fugitive queen, whom he confidently expected to 
 capture, and whom he fully intended to lead back to her native 
 country in triumph. As she had treated his suit with disdain 
 by running off with his rival, so he was resolved now to visit 
 upon her the fullest measure of punishment, in the form of con 
 tumely and reproach. His ambition was to possess himself of 
 her person, as now he had that of Manueio, and by humbling 
 her before all the people, he thought to heal in some measure 
 the gaping wounds in his honor. Learning, while yet in the 
 
314 CALIFORNIA 
 
 Anglos city, from his scouts, the direction she had taken, he, 
 impatient, tarried only a day and part of another, at that place, 
 and then pushed on to overtake her, which he felt certain in 
 his own mind of doing, knowing full well that her flight would 
 be impeded by the children and old people she had felt com 
 pelled to take with her. A man, he thought, might have 
 abandoned these to their fate in so great an emergency, but a 
 woman, and least of all Alola, he was certain would not, and 
 he followed her up with renewed confidence of success. 
 
 Already, in his imagination, was she bending before him in 
 the deepest humiliation, her dark eyes streaming with tears, 
 begging for mercy at his hands, when he arrived in front of the 
 peninsula with his army but here his pleasant delusion was 
 suddenly dispelled. Gosee took in the situation at a glance, for 
 was he not an experienced commander ? and he was greatly 
 perplexed to know just what next he should do. At first, he 
 essayed rashly to cross some of his troops over the narrow neck 
 of land that led out to where Alola was entrenched, but her 
 trusty men were on guard and promptly repelled his advance, 
 casting several of the invaders headlong into the briny waves. 
 Being dumfounded with disappointment, and in great doubt, 
 Gosee stamped about for a while, and then ordered the allied 
 forces to go into camp for the night where they were, and called 
 a council of war. Neither he, nor the wisest of his subalterns, 
 were able to devise any means by which possession could be 
 obtained of Alola s new quarters. Some of his warriors advised 
 that the place be blockaded at once, in order that, all supplies 
 being cut off, the queen would be compelled, after a little, as 
 they thought, to surrender at discretion. But this calculation, 
 like many others in war, was made without sufficient informa 
 tion. Alola had prudently provided against just such a con 
 tingency. Nevertheless, a siege was concluded upon ; for the 
 victorious Gosee had come too near his game to forego the 
 chase, while there was yet the shadow of a hope left of a capt- 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 315 
 
 ure. He was not the man, after advancing thus far, to be 
 balked in his purpose at last, and that too by a woman, if he 
 could help it. 
 
 In the midst of this perplexity, on the following day but one, 
 and while Gosee, like a prudent general, was taking observa 
 tions upon the situation of his antagonist, he was greatly sur 
 prised by the sudden appearance, on the neighboring portion of 
 the peninsula, of Alola herself, who, arrayed in her gayest attire, 
 attended by a troop of brilliantly-dressed young women, and 
 all surrounded by a guard of brave warriors, approached, as 
 nearly as safety would allow, to the main-land, and there, stand 
 ing upon a high bluff, with clear and distinct tones addressed 
 her former lover, the new king of her native country, and suc 
 cessor of her noble father, who (that is to say) Gosee, was attent 
 ively watching her movements from the main shore, and eagerly 
 listening to catch her every utterance ; for he knew at once, 
 from her majestic bearing and beautiful appearance, that it was 
 none other than the long-absent Alola. Directing her burning 
 words to her cruel persecutor, she severely reproached him for 
 waging an unjust war against a people who had never, in the 
 slightest degree, molested him or his kingdom. She plainly 
 told him that the blood of many of his own subjects, who had 
 been slain in this cruel war, as well as that of not a few of her 
 own, was upon his guilty head, and she warned him that the 
 vengeance of the offended gods would surely overtake him in 
 his wicked career and herein she seemed to speak with the 
 voice of prophesy. 
 
 She said, with much emotion, for she could not entirely sup 
 press her feelings, and her voice was broken as she proceeded, 
 with sobbing, that if it was on account of her elopement with 
 the good Manuelo that he waged the war, still it was unjustifia 
 ble, since the laws of his country were grossly unreasonable, 
 in so far as they enforced matrimony upon unwilling parties; 
 
316 CALIFORNIA 
 
 and that such laws, no matter where found, ought not to be 
 respected; that they were in direct conflict with a great law of 
 nature, and that, not their infraction, but obedience to them, 
 would be criminal. She told him, emphatically, that she had 
 never loved him, and never could, but that her love for Man- 
 uelo, as Gosee himself might have seen if he had had his eyes 
 open, was from the first, pure, holy, and irresistible, and that 
 she had now no regrets for anything she had done, and had 
 never felt any compunctions of conscience on account of 
 absconding with him. 
 
 She then demanded to know where her husband then was, 
 and with thrilling tones warned the proud king that if Manuelo 
 was yet living, as she verily believed he was, it would be unsafe 
 for either Gosee, or any of his men, to harm, or permit to be 
 harmed, so much as a hair of his head; that if Manuelo should 
 be killed, or maltreated, she, who was now quite beyond the 
 reach of all danger, had genius enough left to avenge such a 
 wrong, and she would live for that purpose alone, during all 
 the balance of her natural life, and when dead, haunt him for 
 the crime. 
 
 She then coolly informed him of what he had already sus 
 pected, that he might as well break up his camp at once, and 
 go hence about his business, for he could never enter the pen 
 insula, or make a captive of her; that she had anticipated his 
 tactics and had laid in an ample supply of provisions for her 
 people, and could hold out in her impregnable station much 
 longer than he could afford to maintain the siege. Finishing 
 her speech, she was on the point of retiring, when Gosee, who 
 had been listening with open mouth and ears to every word 
 she had uttered, now with lying and deceitful tongue replied 
 that her dear Manuelo, upon whom she had so graciously con 
 descended to bestow her charms, instead of upon himself, 
 though a prince imperial, was then dead, having been killed at 
 the pass in the mountains, and that she could make up her 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 317 
 
 mind never to see him more, unless in the land of the spirits. 
 Alola shuddered when he assured her that the body of her 
 beloved husband was at that very moment being torn by hun 
 gry vultures, on the field of that desperate strife. The heartless 
 Gosee then reproached her for being the cause of the prema 
 ture death of her venerable father, by her willful violation of the 
 laws of her native country, and ended his deceitful harangue 
 by complimenting her on her splendid personal appearance, 
 telling her that he had never seen her look so fine before in his 
 life, and that, though he had no disposition to flatter her, far 
 from it, yet he could not help saying that the Anglos nation 
 had done themselves great credit in selecting for their queen a 
 person of so much beauty and attractiveness, and finally, that, 
 as a native Santo, like herself, he was proud and delighted that 
 the choice had fallen upon one so worthy of the place. 
 
 Alola, for the moment, was in doubt as to the motives of 
 Gosee in the utterance of such very kind and agreeable words; 
 but she deigned not a reply, but as she left her high stand, she 
 waved her hand towards him, as much as to say, "Go away," or, 
 as Justino interpreted it, " Get thee behind me, Satan." 
 
 This remarkable interview ended where it began, for neither 
 party was, as to the other, further or nearer than before. The 
 siege was maintained for several days longer, without any event 
 worthy of mention in this hasty narrative, when one bright 
 morning the camp of the allies was observed to be broken up, 
 and their forces marching off over the neighboring hills, as if the 
 siege were entirely abandoned. The enemy were all soon out 
 of sight from the peninsula ; but before they quite disappeared, 
 the Anglos soldiers, who were always on guard, observing the 
 movement, sallied forth in considerable numbers, well armed, 
 and pursuing, fell upon the rear guard of the receding foe, to 
 the end of annoying him and nothing more, for it was not their 
 purpose to become involved in a general battle. 
 
318 CALIFORNIA 
 
 LXXXIII. 
 
 A DESERTER. 
 
 THESE brave Anglos warriors contented themselves with 
 harassing the retreating enemy, in the manner described, dur 
 ing the greater part of that day, and after inflicting no little 
 punishment upon him, they leisurely made for their stronghold 
 on the peninsula. But on their way back they picked -up by 
 the road-side a straggler from the enemy s ranks. He had 
 feigned to his friends to be lame, but was really a deserter 
 from the Santos corps. This man had fortunately listened to 
 the speech of Alola and was captivated by her arguments. 
 Being a native of the same place as herself, he had known 
 Alola in former years, in fact during all the period of her child 
 hood, and was strongly in sympathy with her. His admiration 
 of the lady had always been excessive, and it was not at all 
 diminished when he learned the facts about her subsequent 
 history. He was an admirer of heroism, whether in man or 
 woman, but in all his life he had never heard of so fabulous an 
 exhibition of it as was witnessed in her individual case. 
 
 This man being remembered by Alola, was freely admitted 
 over the narrow isthmus into the peninsula, and in response to 
 Alola s anxious inquiries, gave to her then and there a full ac 
 count of Manuelo s treatment after his capture, for he was not 
 killed, as Gosee had falsely stated. She was, as you may well 
 guess, most eager to hear about him, and listened to the story 
 of the deserter with tears in her eyes. Seated on a tawny 
 lion s skin, in the largest wigwam, in the presence of his captors, 
 but addressing his words to Alola, he said that when gallant 
 Manuelo unfortunately tripped and fell, at the battle in the 
 steep pass over the second range of mountains, he was instantly 
 seized hold of by a detachment of the Santos soldiers, many 
 of whom remembered him well, and some of them, in spite of 
 all attempts to inflame their minds against him, still entertained 
 
350 YEARS AGO. , 319 
 
 for him a very high regard. In past times he had graciously 
 instructed them in the useful arts, and among those arts were 
 the wonderful improvements in the fashion and construction of 
 their wearing apparel. Remembering these things gratefully, 
 the last thing they would do would be to inflict upon so useful 
 a person unnecessary harm. But the feelings of Gosee towards 
 him, and for abundant reason, were entirely different. Man- 
 uelo in fact had been his successful rival in the affections of 
 the fairest, wisest, and best of all the damsels of his kingdom, 
 and Gosee was ready and anxious to visit upon him the ven 
 geance that was rankling in his heart. Incited by such hatred, 
 he would have rushed headlong upon Manuelo as soon as he 
 was observed to fall, had he not been restrained by a quickly 
 gathering crowd of his Santos soldiers, who closely hovered 
 about the prostrate white man, and perceiving that their king 
 had blood in his eye, resisted his advance by force, protecting 
 Manuelo. The melee that ensued was terribly exciting, till 
 Manuelo regained his feet and was prepared to defend himself. 
 So hotly revengeful was Gosee that he raved like a madman, 
 and his purpose could with difficulty be thwarted. He was 
 determined at every hazard to compass the death of his more 
 fortunate competitor for the fair hand of the princess, but the 
 numbers against him were too great, and he was compelled to 
 desist. Manuelo s life for the time was spared, but his mighty 
 enemy was by no means disposed to give it up so. It was the 
 principal burden upon Gosee s mind, until in camp that night, 
 on the hither side of the mountain, the question was again 
 raised, now with more deliberation, as to what disposition should 
 be made of the distinguished prisoner, when, fortunately for 
 Manuelo, and the literary world, the Barbos and the Movos 
 both put in their several claims for the distinction of putting 
 him to death by torture, for both these peoples, like the bloody 
 Gosee himself, were boiling over with revenge. They recol 
 lected, as they hr.d good reason to, the chastisements that had 
 
320 CALIFORNIA 
 
 been inflicted upon them in the past by his hands, and a vio 
 lent dispute arose between them as to which should enjoy the 
 satisfaction of taking his life. Each of the allies based his 
 claim upon the fact of having been in the van of the attack, 
 and having in consequence suffered most from the resistance 
 of the Anglos, and perhaps from the weapons of Manuelo him 
 self, and both were extremely persistent. 
 
 But for this unexpected quarrel, which ran very high at the 
 time, the deserter assured the trembling Alola that Manuelo, a 
 prisoner, unarmed as he was, must have given up his life that 
 night, inevitably, and with tortures probably unheard of. A 
 period, however, was finally put to this dispute, said the deserter, 
 by a force of the Santos, who came forward and claimed the 
 prisoner for themselves, by virtue of their greater numbers and 
 their superiority in some other respects. This demand of the 
 swift-footed Santos was not to be resisted, and the designs of 
 both the allies were thus frustrated. When the lucky Manuelo 
 was once more in trie hands of his former friends, the bloody 
 designs of Gosee were likewise opposed, and the prisoner s 
 life was spared. In fact, the commander-in- chief of the allies 
 was too much engrossed at this hour in the disposition of his 
 various forces, to give further attention to his distinguished 
 captive, for discontent, from different causes, and dissatisfaction 
 on account of their losses, were fast creeping into the camps of 
 the cohorts. Serious complaints were heard among them, 
 growing out of being compelled to take the brunt of the fight, 
 while most of the glory, they spitefully alleged, was being 
 appropriated by the selfish Santos. Quiet was at last restored 
 among the clamorous allies, who slept that night upon the hope 
 of an abundance of plunder and pillage within the next day 
 or two, which they expected surely to find in the rich capital of 
 the Anglos. 
 
 On the following day the movement in advance was resumed, 
 and on the evening of the very day it had been deserted by its 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 321 
 
 inhabitants, the doomed city was entered by the triumphant 
 hordes of the enemy. Hurrying forward for the purpose of 
 sacking the town, the invaders found much less to gratify their 
 desires than they had been led to expect, and out of revenge 
 for their disappointment they turned to and wickedly destroyed 
 or desecrated whatever there was left. 
 
 Gosee in particular was terribly annoyed to find that he had 
 been eluded by his game, and in his rage he stormed so loudly 
 about, as was said, that the whole city was shaken from its 
 foundation. With the utmost confidence had he counted upon 
 the capture of Alola, and when the kindly deserter, who was 
 relating these facts, came to describe to that person the con 
 duct of her wicked pursuer, she could but join in the gen 
 eral rejoicing of those present. The vindictive Santos high 
 chief was most overcome with anger when he visited the mag 
 nificent apartments of his former betrothed, as he did without 
 delay, and found that the beautiful bird had flown. It was a 
 poor and a petty revenge to tear to pieces with his own hands 
 whatever was recognized as having belonged to her, and his 
 conduct only excited the contempt of the queen herself, when 
 listening to this account of it. Remaining in the city only 
 that night, but without finding much sleep for his eyelids, the 
 fiery Gosee pushed forward on the following day, as we already 
 know, in pursuit of the fugitive queen, leaving Manuelo, in the 
 meantime, under a strong guard of the Barbos, in his own 
 mutilated and deserted capital. 
 
 As may well be supposed, the loving Alola was overjoyed to 
 learn from this kind Santos deserter that her noble husband 
 had been spared, and was yet alive, and apparently safe. So 
 happy was she made by this intelligence that, in recognition of 
 the great obligation, she permitted the deserter to reverently 
 kiss her soft hand, and he was more than satisfied for all 
 the risk he had run in bringing the welcome information. It 
 was a compensation he had not been looking for, and was 
 therefore all the more gratifying. 
 
322 CALIFORNIA 
 
 What was thought at first might be a feint on the part of 
 Gosee in withdrawing from the siege of the peninsula, proved 
 to be a veritable retreat. The situation, as he had found it, 
 was discouraging enough to him and his impatient allies, and 
 he despaired of ever being able to reduce the place, or to 
 capture the wily Alola. Ashamed to be seen withdrawing by 
 the same route he had come, he took a more circuitous one by 
 night, and made his way back to the capital of the Anglos, 
 disappointed and crest-fallen, and the more so from being 
 worsted by a woman. Finding not the wherewithal in the 
 towns of the Anglos to recruit his men, as he had hoped, 
 Gosee tarried but a short time in the country before turning his 
 face northward, for the season was now fast advancing. Hov 
 ering about in the enemy s country, therefore, but a few days, 
 to gather up such supplies as he could find, he mustered his 
 wearied and hungry warriors in front of the city, and without a 
 word either of congratulation or encouragement, he gruffly 
 ordered the march to begin, for their homes, over the same 
 path by which they had come some weeks before. 
 
 Disappointed in the main object of the expedition, Gosee 
 sullenly lingered behind in the silent city; for though he had 
 Manuelo in his charge, he wanted Alola the more, and reluc 
 tantly departed without her. To his great mortification, he 
 afterwards learned that this noble little woman, leaving a colony 
 on the curious peninsula, to the end that she might always hold 
 the same as a secure retreat for her people, in case of another 
 disaster like the last, had returned to her cherished capital, and 
 by the exercise of extraordinary energy and foresight, had 
 restored it to its former condition of prosperity, and even more. 
 There she continued to reign in the absence of Manuelo, but 
 always with a hope of his return, for the good woman knew 
 full well that if it was ever in his power he would hasten back 
 to her arms. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 323 
 
 LXXXIV. 
 
 MANUELO A PRISONER. 
 
 BUT poor Manuelo was now a prisoner of war in the hands 
 of his most cruel and vindictive adversary, and was being carried 
 back to the land whose laws he had broken, and from which, years 
 agone, he had fled. A captive he had been before, but not un 
 der such intensely disagreeable circumstances as the present. 
 When with the Modens he had been merely restrained of his 
 personal liberty, but now in addition to the loss of his individ 
 ual freedom, he was compelled to undergo the humiliation of 
 being held by his quondam friends, and for what they consid 
 ered a gross breach of good faith on his part, and what he 
 himself was constrained to regard as somewhat in the nature of 
 a violation of the laws of hospitality. The mortification which 
 he suffered, on this latter account, was a thousand times more 
 cutting to his sensitive nature than would have been ordinary 
 captivity, or than had been his painful servitude with -the cruel 
 Modens. But there was no help for him now. Ignominiously 
 bound, to prevent his escape, and under an ample guard of the 
 myrmidons of the cautious Gosee, he was forced to keep along 
 with the returning army of the Santos and their mercenary 
 allies. He was, in fact, about the only trophy of the disastrous 
 campaign worth naming, but it was regarded by Gosee as no 
 mean achievement to take back to his capital the reigning 
 king of the country against which he had led the war. Though 
 not particularly proud of the expedition, on account of his 
 failure to capture Alola, Gosee was at least glad to be in 
 possession of the person who had treated him so disdainfully, 
 and had cheated him of the love of that agreeable young 
 princess. 
 
 It was some consolation to poor Manuelo to have the com 
 pany, in his distress, of his faithful Warno, and a few other 
 Anglos veterans, who, like himself, were being led into cap- 
 
324 CALIFORNIA 
 
 tivity, but who, unlike himself, knew not whither they were 
 going. 
 
 On the borders of his kingdom, the haughty Gosee dis 
 missed his allies, the Movos and the Barbos, and then prose 
 cuted his march towards the great city on the Bay, located, as 
 we remember, over against its entrance from the ocean; and the 
 progress of the returning army of Santos was thereafter without 
 incident. 
 
 Arriving at the capital just in time for the autumn feast of 
 ripe fruits, the disconsolate Manuelo saw, on that occasion, 
 many of his old friends, by some of whom, prisoner though he 
 was, he was greeted with kindly words and tender expressions 
 of regard, but by none with more real sympathy than was 
 shown him by his former betrothed, but slighted, Nona, who 
 happened to be among the visitors and recognized him this 
 time instantly. From her he learned many things about his 
 early friends, the Yonos, from whom he had been so long 
 absent, and for whose welfare he had never ceased to feel the 
 deepest solicitude, as he truthfully assured her. .Nona had 
 been happily married, for three years and upwards, to a younger 
 son of the high priest, and was already the mother of two inter 
 esting children, a boy and a girl, who were always with her, and 
 who shared with their mother the hearty congratulations of 
 her former betrothed. Manuelo made her and her excellent 
 husband the bearers of numerous greetings, from a full heart, to 
 their people, and particularly to his reliable friend, the elder 
 son of the high priest, and to his indiscreet wife, who had been 
 the cause of so much annoyance in times past; but concerning 
 whom he was now especially gratified to hear only the most favor 
 able reports. Manuelo was informed that the priest s son had 
 returned alone from the fishing excursion, entered upon by the 
 two some half dozen years before, and in his account of the 
 same, stated to his anxious tribe that he and Manuelo had 
 been driven, by adverse winds, quite across the Bay, and that 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 325 
 
 Manuelo had positively refused to return, and it was with 
 some reluctance, he was told, that the Yonos had given up their 
 claim upon him, but they had almost forgotten after a while 
 that such a person as Manuelo had ever existed. 
 
 But for all Manuelo could do, and notwithstanding the undis 
 guised friendship of a portion of the people of the city for him, 
 the king, the hard-hearted Gosee, remained bitterly hostile, and 
 not only he, but some of his guilty retainers, were ever disposed 
 to heap indignities, of one sort or another, upon him. 
 
 Manuelo could illy brook their many taunts and insults, but 
 there was no relief, since Gosee had become a popular king, 
 and powerful withal, and his subjects were afraid to offend him. 
 Having been a king himself, Manuelo possessed too much 
 good sense to find fault with his treatment, or to suppose that 
 the present king of the Santos was wanting in a provocation. 
 But this was poor consolation to one who was kept constantly 
 under the closest watch, and, oftener than was needful to prevent 
 his escape, was bound hand and foot. His sufferings under 
 these inflictions put upon him by the royal prerogative of the 
 tyrannical Gosee, were so very great that life itself was fast 
 becoming intolerable, when one day, that autumn, a strange 
 spectacle made its appearance. Two large foreign ships were 
 observed coming into the harbor with all their sails set and 
 colors flying. The whole population were much alarmed at this 
 most unusual sight, and great commotion followed, especially 
 in the capital. These two monstrous vessels, side by side, like 
 two great swooping birds, sailed around the broad Bay, and at 
 last dropped their anchors directly in front of the city. In due 
 time six boats, three from each ship, filled with armed sailors, 
 were sent to the shore. These men, arrayed in shining accou- 
 terments, with proud step, and with cutlasses drawn, marched 
 directly up to the town, where Gosee, the king, tremblingly 
 awaited their approach. It was presently discovered that the 
 strangers were of the same race of people as Manuelo himself, 
 
326 CALIFORNIA 
 
 who in consequence, was at once released from his confine 
 ment, and gladly brought out to converse with them, and to 
 demand of them what they might want. 
 
 The ships were two proud Spanish men-of-war on a cruise 
 up the coast, and had entered the harbor, in the name of their 
 king, to take possession of the country, which to them bore the 
 appearance of being a land of pagan barbarity. They were 
 greatly surprised to find in such a place, and with such a popu 
 lation, a person who was able, after a little exertion, to recall 
 and converse with them in the Spanish tongue. In appear 
 ance, his dress being the same as the natives, Manuelo was 
 hardly distinguishable from the rest of the people of the coun 
 try, so long had he lived among them, and so completely had 
 he adopted their habits and customs, and it was with some 
 difficulty that the strangers could be made to believe that he 
 had ever been a Spaniard like themselves. But his account of 
 himself soon convinced them of the fact, and they then greeted 
 him with many demonstrations of kindness. 
 
 It rejoiced Manuelo s heart beyond measure to be able to 
 speak kindly words to his countrymen on behalf of the swift 
 Santos, with whom he had been so long acquainted, and thus 
 to protect them from the harsh treatment that Christians, in 
 those days, were in the habit of inflicting on all unbelieving 
 nations. 
 
 But towards the haughty Gosee he was less kindly disposed, 
 and boldly informed the Spaniards, in the very presence of the 
 king, though in the Spanish language, that he was a cruel 
 prince and a barbarian withal, and that he ought to be deposed. 
 In pursuance of this information, the guilty Gosee was directed 
 to leave the country, on pain of being treated as an enemy of 
 the great king of the Spaniards, and on his sullen departure, a 
 younger brother of Alola, a veritable prince, who, in the last 
 few years had grown to the estate of manhood, was duly 
 installed, in the place of Gosee, as king of the swift-footed 
 Santos nation. 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 327 
 
 This young king, whose name was Tonee, acknowledged the 
 supremacy of the Spanish crown, which the arbitrary Gosee 
 had refused to do, and he was promised the support, in his reign, 
 of as many great ships, like those now in sight, as might be 
 needed to make his authority secure. Tonee entered upon his 
 administration with great eclat, and the event was celebrated by 
 salvos of artillery from the two ships, which, thunder and 
 lightning, as it was thought to be, was never forgotten by those 
 simple-minded people. When the ceremony was over, it was 
 believed that no one would ever thereafter dare to dispute the 
 right of Tonee to the throne, and as far as known no one ever did. 
 
 On the elevated ground near the palace of the new king, a 
 large wooden cross was erected, large enough for actual use, 
 had such been required, and in all respects resembling the 
 original; and there, in the presence of the young king, Te Deums 
 were sung, in which that considerable personage and all his 
 household took part, as best they knew how, and they were duly 
 taken under the protection of the Spanish crown. 
 
 LXXXV. 
 
 CARRIED OFF. 
 
 THE two great ships remained in the Bay as long as was 
 deemed necessary to firmly establish the rights of their royal 
 master, the king of Spain, to this newly discovered territory, as 
 they called it, and then, with colors flying, and with booming 
 artillery, they sailed away, taking Manuelo with them. Manuelo, 
 be it said to his credit, left this country at that time with a great 
 deal of reluctance, but he was overpersuaded by the captains 
 of the two vessels, who were exceedingly anxious to carry him 
 along, as a true witness at home of the vastness and importance 
 of their conquests. Father Justino was sure that he never 
 would have left the land that contained his lovely Alola, but 
 for a promise, which he exacted in the most solemn manner 
 
328 CALIFORNIA 
 
 from the captains of both ships, that they would surely return 
 at an early day and bring him back a promise, however, which 
 Justino believed they never intended to keep, and which, at all 
 events, they never kept so far as known at the present time. 
 
 Having accomplished the object of their cruise, which was 
 to find and take possession of, in the name of the king, the 
 best harbor on the northwestern coast of America, these two 
 great vessels of war, with all sails unfurled, and with cheerful 
 ness on board, bent their course towards some home port, too 
 anxious to give to the Spanish authorities an account of their 
 eventful voyage. There was cheerfulness, we said, but the 
 cheerfulness was not universal on board; there was one person 
 there full of despondency, and with a heavy heart. 
 
 On the fourth day out, when the ships, sailing together, came 
 opposite the country of the Anglos, Manuelo sorely repented 
 him of his rash act, and wished heartily he had remained on 
 land. From the quarter-deck of the great vessel the poor man 
 looked off with longing eyes towards his kingdom, now the 
 kingdom of Alola, which lay spread out like a map before him, 
 until, overcome with anxiety, he appealed to the captain of the 
 vessel, in the most pitiful terms, to be put ashore. As the 
 beautiful image of his loving wife came up before his distem 
 pered imagination, he was excited to the brink of madness, 
 and with bended form he moaned aloud, bewailing his sad pre 
 dicament. So earnest became his importunities, at last, that 
 the prudent captain directed the ship to be headed out further 
 to sea, and away from the coast, lest Manuelo, in his uncontrol 
 lable frenzy, should leap from the deck down into the waves with 
 a view to swimming ashore. The hard-hearted captain, never 
 having himself felt the pangs of disappointed love, disregarded 
 the appeals of the distressed Manuelo, and> impelled by a 
 favorable breeze, hastened on his voyage, thus dissevering the 
 very heart-strings, as it were, of his unwilling passenger. 
 
 It is fortunate for Aiola that she did not know her poor hus- 
 
350 YEARS AGO. 329 
 
 band was there, else her end would surely have been hastened 
 by drowning in the ocean that bore him away. 
 
 In a very few weeks the good ships arrived safely at a port, 
 supposed to be that of Acapulco, where the fame of Manuelo 
 was soon spread abroad, and a report of his wonderful advent 
 ures reached the ears of the Dominican friar, Justino, who in 
 due time sought out the disconsolate sailor, and in return for 
 Christian blessings liberally bestowed, easily persuaded Manuelo 
 to relate his experience in full. 
 
 Many days were consumed in the work, but Justino wrote 
 down, word for word, the whole of that strange, eventful history, 
 just as it appears in the manuscript, and no occasion exists 
 therefore now for repeating the same. 
 
 When the story was completed, the good Dominican, ex 
 hausted by the labor and broken in health, took passage for 
 home in the very same ship that had brought Manuelo from 
 the coast of California. In due time, with the precious scroll 
 in his charge, he arrived at his native city of Evora, where, as 
 we know, he died and was buried. 
 
 Manuelp was left by the good friar Justino in far-off Acapulco, 
 but what became of him afterwards is not certainly known, 
 though Justino remembered that the last seen of him he was 
 fitting out, on his own account, a small schooner, of which he 
 himself was to take command as captain, and proceed with all 
 haste to Upper California. If successful, as the voyage proba 
 bly was, since it was favored with the earnest prayers of pious 
 Justino, as well as by propitious winds at that season of the 
 year, the schooner reached its destination in safety, and Man 
 uelo the brave was again happy in the embrace of the fair 
 princess Alola. 
 
Sable of 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 I. The Beginning 5 
 
 II. The Next Chapter 12 
 
 III. Manuelo I? 
 
 IV. Something Else 18 
 
 V. Native Habits and Religion 19 
 
 VI. Their Sports 23 
 
 VII. Chapter Seven 25 
 
 VIII. The Subject Resumed 28 
 
 IX. The Abandonment 29 
 
 X. Providential 3 1 
 
 XI. The People Described 32 
 
 XII. Matrimonial Affairs 33 
 
 XIII. Their Habitations 34 
 
 XIV. Their Names . 35 
 
 XV. A Doubtful Trick 37 
 
 XVI. His Departure 41 
 
 XVII His Majesty 43 
 
 XVIII. The High Priest 45 
 
 XIX. Embarrassments 46 
 
 XX. Pretensions 47 
 
 XXI. Native Weapons 49 
 
 XXII. The Kingdom 5 
 
 XXIII. The Capital 5 2 
 
 XXIV. Their Occupations 55 
 
 XXV. Setting the Fashions 57 
 
 XXVI. Their Sundays 59 
 
 XXVII. Sun Worship 61 
 
 XXVIII. Festivities 63 
 
 XXIX. About War 68 
 
 XXX. The Modens 7 
 
 (381) 
 
3QO 
 J.J 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 XXXI. Some Reflections ... 72 
 
 XXXII. Fishing 76 
 
 XXXIII. A Shipwreck ..." 77 
 
 XXXIV. A Sea Fight . . . . ...... 79 
 
 XXXV. Santos Industries 80 
 
 XXXVI. Some Legends 82 
 
 XXXVII. Winning a Sweetheart , . . 84 
 
 XXXVIII. A Bear Fight *... 86 
 
 XXXIX. Trials.../. 9 : 
 
 XL. A Change 96 
 
 XLI. Avoiding Danger 98 
 
 XLII. Another Tack 101 
 
 XLIII. War Brewing 102 
 
 XLI V. A Prediction 103 
 
 XLV. The Cause of the War 105 
 
 XL VI. A Dilemma 107 
 
 XLVII. Preparations 108 
 
 XLVIII. The March and Battle 109 
 
 XLIX. Captivity 114 
 
 L. The Retreat 120 
 
 LI. Some Rehearsals 125 
 
 LII. An Apology , . . . 128 
 
 LIII. With Old Friends Again , 129 
 
 LIV. Jealousy 131 
 
 LV. Strategy 1 36 
 
 LVI. Neglect 140 
 
 LVII. Prologue 141 
 
 LVIII. A Dream 143 
 
 LIX. The Plains 147 
 
 LX. San Francisco 1 54 
 
 LXI. The People 161 
 
 LXII. The City 164 
 
 LXIII. Dress , 173 
 
 LXIV. The Return 186 
 
 LXV. A Flight Considered 195 
 
 LX VI. The Elopement 203 
 
 LXVII. The Barbos 221 
 
 LXVIII. The Anglos 229 
 
 LXIX. War with the Dagos 238 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 333 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 LXX. Trouble with Mosoto 2 45 
 
 LXXI. Manuelo as King 2 55 
 
 LXXII. Against the Movos 2 57 
 
 LXXIII. Returning Home 26 3 
 
 LXXIV. Mosoto s War 26 7 
 
 LXX V. The Anglos Described 2 77 
 
 LXXVI. The Santos Invasion 2 5 
 
 LXXVII. A Battle in the Clouds 2 9 
 
 LXXVIII. Another Stand 2 95 
 
 LXXIX. Loto s Story 2 97 
 
 LXXX. Another Fight and Defeat 3 2 
 
 LXXXI. The City Abandoned 37 
 
 LXXXII. The Peninsula 3 1 1 
 
 LXXXIII. A Deserter 3 l8 
 
 LXXXIV. Manuelo a Prisoner 3 2 3 
 
 LXXXV. Carried Off 3 2 7 
 

 AT* J Jg ..w-.. >i *M... J ; 
 
 MOFFIH LIBRARY 
 
 ALL BOOKS ARE SUBJECT TO RECALL 
 RENEW BOOKS BY CALLING 642- 2452 - 
 
 (NO PHONE RENEWALS FOR 2-HOUR LOANS) 
 
 1. 
 
 2. 
 
 3. 
 
 4. 
 
 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW 
 
 *t-firr _TL* 1QOIFI 
 
 
 OGHlw* 
 
 
 
 
 rv IB* 
 
 
 ^ RECEIVED 
 
 
 L OCT 1 1 1995 
 
 
 CIRCULATION DEr 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 UGL 2A-10M-10, 80 (R3219L) 
 
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 ^jtf * 
 
 
 
 
 
 , . 
 
 
 ^Jaf *>? Wr.*r <<&. 
 
 %& ^^^i 
 
 m