, etc. The chancel decorated with numerous images, and
symbolical ornaments used by the priests in their worship. Gold-paper,
and tinsel, in barbaric taste, are plastered without stint upon nearly
every object that meets the eye, so that, when on festive occasions the
church is lighted, it must present a very glittering appearance.
The rich lands surrounding the mission are entirely neglected. I did
not notice a foot of ground under cultivation, except the garden
inclosure, which contained a variety of fruits and plants of the
temperate and tropical climates. From want of care these are fast
decaying. Some excellent pears were furnished us by Mrs. Bennett, an
American lady, of Amazonian proportions, who, with her family of sons,
has taken up her residence in one of the buildings of the mission. The
picture of decay and ruin presented by this once flourishing
establishment, surrounded by a country so fertile and scenery so
enchanting, is a most melancholy spectacle to the passing traveller,
and speaks a language of loud condemnation against the government.
Proceeding on our journey, we travelled fifteen miles over a flat
plain, timbered with groves and parks of evergreen oaks, and covered
with a great variety of grasses, wild oats, and mustard.
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