Mission San José

“ Not until 1797 was the mission of San José founded, on a spot some fourteen miles distant from the pueblo. The padres had no keen desire to place the missions in close proximity to the pueblos, fearing the evil influence on the Indians [172] of a bad class of white men, besides other inevitable complications, such as the mixing up of cattle. Father Engelhardt, in his History of the California Missions, tells the story of the founding of the Mission San José thus: “Here, on Trinity Sunday, June 11, 1797, Father Lasuén raised and blessed the cross. ”

“ Who heads you?"
"The Señorita Doña Carmelita Mendoza," replied Enrico, impressively.
"Thou hast ever been a joker, old man," guffawed Stanislaus. "Call to mind Salinas field where our bullet overtook thee, and bawl a joke about that."
Carmelita advanced her horse a few steps. "Stanislaus, I remember you as Padre Duran's major-domo, at Mission San José. Come forth here and meet me, and let you and me alone arrange for returning the peonas to their home. For each rifle of yours we have two to oppose, and reenforcements are hurrying to join us. Come, let us speak together." ”

“ The company departed, the soldiery to the San José pueblo, the land barons to their hacienda houses.
The hundreds of white adobe cots which swarmed around each grandee's mansion, as well as around the Mission buildings, sheltered that evening the retainer occupants who for days had forgotten service to their feudal lords and the ways civilization had taught them. Once more hill and valley were dotted with the blaze of camp fires before the Indian doorposts. ”

“ Mendoza, is that it?' I replied very shortlike, 'I am,' and started to shut up like another clam, then I thought better of it and blurted out, 'The "Seenyore" is determined no king sets up in business 'round this part o' the world.'
"'Where does this "Seenyore" live?' asked the Admyral. 'At Mission San José,' I told him. 'Mission San José? ”

“ Is he well?"
"He is well, and the years have small meaning to his strength."
Captain Morando talked with his host of the campaigns of General Guerrero in the Spanish trans-Mediterranean dependencies; of the newly concluded peace there; and of the retirement of the General by the age limit, but all the while his mind was fashioning love songs outside the window of the fair señorita. Through the haze of tobacco smoke the strong, kindly face of the Administrator of Mission San José de Guadalupe softened into the sweet face of the doña, with her laughing eyes and beautiful hair ”

“ Indian horsemen hurled themselves down the hills. Indian forms arose from the ground where they had hidden in shelter of vineyard and olive grove, and avalanched on the Mission.
Mounted renegades whirled around the buildings, cutting off avenues of escape for those within. Men on foot forced the porter's lodge in front, while others rushed through the artisans' shops in the rear.
Padre Osuna, Juan Antonio, major-domo, and nearly every able-bodied peon of the Mission were busy with the trading ships lying at the Embarcadero two leagues away, on the south arm of San Francisco Bay. ”

“ Señora Valentino and Captain Morando were riding along the rolling highway which led southerly from the Mission San José. A large portion of the company that had attended the ball traveled this same road, the men on their mounts, the women-folks mostly in carretas, though two or three, like Señora Valentino, preferred horseback.
"Our Mendoza is a lavish host. He does nothing by halves, like the worthy Californian that he is." ”

“ As Father Jose gazed, he was penetrated with a pious longing. Already his imagination, filled with enthusiastic conceptions, beheld all that vast expanse gathered under the mild sway of the Holy Faith, and peopled with zealous converts. Each little knoll in fancy became crowned with a chapel; from each dark canyon gleamed the white walls of a mission building. Growing bolder in his enthusiasm, and looking farther into futurity, he beheld a new Spain rising on these savage shores. ”

“ O'Donnell again laughed. "Very well, then, take service with Señor Mendoza. I'll ride to Mission San José later in the evening, and I intend to call on Mendoza myself. Would be glad of your company, if you'll come along with me."
The wounded began to come in on improvised litters. O'Donnell and Brown gave their assistance toward bringing them into comfortable quarters. Many of the men did not return from the field of La Cuesta de los Gatos. There was lamentation in hacienda house and in peon cot that night in the valley of Santa Clara.
"There's nothing more for us to do here, Brown. ”

“ He went on:
"Namely, that each able-bodied Indian of good character, member of this Mission, shall receive a plot of land of sufficient acreage to maintain himself and his family; the land, of course, to be taken from the leagues still held by this Mission, in trust, from the Mexican government."
Padre Osuna did not speak.
"The Indians are but overgrown children, and are incapable of caring for themselves, except under strict tutelage. So said the great missionary, Padre Junipero Serra, and the years have shown the wisdom of his thought." Thus, Padre Suscol, of Sonoma. ”

“ On June 9, 1797, Lasuen left San Francisco for the founding of the Mission San José, then called the Alameda. The following day, a brush church was erected, and, on the morrow, the usual foundation ceremonies occurred. The natives named the site Oroysom. Beautifully situated on the foothills, with a prominent peak near by, it offers an extensive view over the southern portion of the San Francisco Bay region. At first, a wooden structure with a grass roof served as a church; but later a brick structure was erected, which Von Langsdorff visited in 1806. ”

“ Josè began, “when the good man whom we call the Saviour sent his disciples out into the world he told them to preach the gospel and heal the sick. We have no record that he asked them to do more, for that included his whole mission. I am here to do his work. And, as I believe myself to have been led to you, so I shall preach what I believe to be given me by the great Father of us all. I shall teach you the Christ as I comprehend him. I would I could heal the sick as well. But the gift of healing which Jesus bestowed has been lost to mankind.” ”

“ Laughing and happy, the sons and daughters of the province repaired to the dancing room.
CHAPTER V
ANOTHER STRANGER MAKES A VISIT
"I hear the neigh of horses and the shouts of men. Has Dario, the head vaquero, returned from the valley of the San Joaquin? Or, perchance, is it some messenger from him?"
"Reverend padre, you hear the work Indians returning with their farm animals from the irrigated ground near the great spring. It is the noon hour."
The first speaker was the friar, Lusciano Osuna, spiritual head of the Mission San José. ”

“ Juan Antonio went to the door. Hesitating a moment he turned, with: "Reverend father, shall I not prepare a draught of the bark which Señor Mendoza left for you?"
"Go forth to your duties, man. I can accept no gift from Señor Mendoza if the acceptance implies acknowledgment of his administratorship. I will return him his Jesuit bark. The call of principle is higher than the claim of bodily health."
The major-domo closed the door. Sleep came to the friar.
The Mission buildings were constructed in accordance with the architecture in vogue in California at that time. ”

“ Señora Valentino rode slowly along the way leading from Santa Clara to Pueblo San José. Willow trees lined the edge of the road, lifting their featherly foliage in greeting to the morning sun. Yellow light filtered through and marked the interlacing plumes with myriad fairy figures in golden tints. The branches nodded and undulated in low-toned rhythm. Tempered breezes from the bay, sweet with the breath of virgin meadow, hung light-winged over this shaded alameda. Peons, men and women, worked in the vegetable gardens by the wayside, singing as they labored. ”

“ Carmelita came to the courtyard gate. The uncanny movements of the frantic men and women were dizzying, but she steadied herself.
"Hear me," she called. "Listen!"
She waited a moment, then began: "Amigos, Stanislaus and his men have come in from their fastnesses, and have taken away from the Mission many girls. These girls are daughters of our friends, and we desire to see them married to men of this valley, the honest men who tend herds and till the soil, and who will provide food in plenty for their families. ”

“ The men placed the Captain on the bed.
After what appeared an interminable time the watchers ungagged him and placed food at his lips. He ate of the tortillas, or Mexican corn bread, and of the chili con carne, or stewed meat and chili peppers, which were offered. A glass of Mission wine followed.
"Amigos, I can make you rich. Loosen these ropes and come with me. Why not be free from such a master as Yoscolo, and be rich at the same time? A ship will take you and your money where he can never reach you." ”

“ In middle life the wish had come to found a family to succeed him in his possessions. He married the daughter of a neighbor, a maiden of Castilian blood, but of California birth. A child was born to them, a daughter, and in that hour his wife died. Never was parent kinder or gentler than Señor Mendoza to the Doña Carmelita, his pride and joy.
The authorities in Mexico City thought it right to deprive the Franciscan friars of a part of the lands they held in Alta California, this act of the secularization of the missions causing comment of both approval and disapproval. ”

“ That flag has departed forever. Why not, then, seek another protector for Missions and for province which will make void the inconsiderate work of Mexico, and which will not be second to Spain, in good endeavor?"
"Señora, when rumors of change float in the air I close the windows and doors of my soul to all, that I may give myself unstinted to the work among God's untutored children."
"Why not safeguard the temporal and spiritual rights of your Indians? Ah! padre, think of India over which England is suzerain. There the amplest freedom is not only allowed but guaranteed to each native cult ”

“ People of enlightenment will govern wisely. Captain Morando, we need men, more men, who will place the common good above their private interest."
"You speak the duty of the soldier, Señor Mendoza."
"It is so, Captain." Then turning the conversation back to the situation in the Santa Clara valley: "Have you run across Stanislaus yet? No? Nor Yoscolo? Well, I hope you will soon see both over your pistol barrel. They are a menace to the peace in our valley. Yoscolo is the abler of the two. Many a lively skirmish have my fighting peons had with the scoundrel." ”

“ The military mind is fertile in expedient."
"I fear it would be sadly deficient in surmounting the need of a south wind."
"Our Captain has wit, as well as vigilance. But I am forgetting hospitality, soldier protector of the Mission. Come within. Let others woo, if they will, the goddess of dreams, but for you and me the pleasures of fellowship will hasten lagging hours."
"I thank you, Señor Mendoza, but I fear——"
"Fear never a moment, friend Morando. Sentinels watch over us in valley and on hill, men trusty, tried, and true. Eyes have they as keen as eagles ”

“ Never by word or act shall I acknowledge your authority in this valley of Santa Clara."
Señor Mendoza smiled. His equanimity was not easily upset.
"Good reverend padre, hear me. Your fathers did, indeed, redeem this country and its savage tribes. A mighty work surely has been done. But, because of freeing the natives from paganism, should you hold this vast province in fee simple? Is it right that a score of monks should own the land from San Diego to Yerba Buena? ”

“ At the western end the chancel is raised by three shallow steps. Behind the altar is a gaudily painted Mexican screen done in 1802. To the left hangs the miracle-working painting of San José sent to the Mission by Charles II of Spain, it is said. On the opposite wall is another holy picture painted on buffalo hide by some Mexican craftsmen. The San José painting was for years a serious cause of dissension and almost of war between Ácoma and Laguna, so that it was amusing to have my host pull me by the sleeve and say, sotto voce, pointing to our chauffeur, “Don’t speak of it, he’s Laguna.” ”

“ The Captain Morando still pursues Stanislaus, the elusive—so I heard this morning in San José. My brother-in-law, the Colonel Barcelo, has returned to Monterey in disgust, having given up the chase. You know the old saying, señorita, 'The braver in war, the keener in love.' The Captain is both a brave soldier and a keen lover. ”

“ Marshaling bowmen and carbineers, I mounted horse to come to your aid, should the miscreants gather force and give any trouble. Thus I rode to you in the thunderstorm, having dispatched couriers posthaste to the pueblo for further aid from the soldiery there."
"The pueblo soldiers were already scouring the Los Gatos hills near Santa Cruz for the ubiquitous Indian leaders," said Señor Mendoza, "word having come in from that region that an attack was imminent. A messenger from the pueblo met us in the foothills not long before you came. ”

“ The floor was earthen. A half dozen children tumbled about. The Indian woman sat on a rude settee and looked interestedly at the two occupying a similar piece of furniture.
"My man is absent in San Joaquin," she said. "He is a vaquero for Señor Higuera. We expect the cattle soon to return, and again I will have my husband."
The señora was charmed with the naïveté of the native.
"I'm sure you will be happy then," she said. Color had returned to her cheeks and brightness to her eyes.
"Great people need never be separated," the peona went on. ”