There we halted for the day, to
let the sailors, who suffered dreadfully from sore feet, recruit a
little. This building is one which, for magnitude, convenience, and
durability of architecture, would do honour to any country.
"The walls are adobe, and the roofs of well-made tile. It was built
about sixty years since by the Indians of the country, under the
guidance of a zealous priest. At that time the Indians were very
numerous, and under the absolute sway of the missionaries. These
missionaries at one time bid fair to christianize the Indians of
California. Under grants from the Mexican government, they collected
them into missions, built immense houses, and began successfully to
till the soil by the hands of the Indians for the benefit of the
Indians.
"The habits of the priests, and the avarice of the military rulers of
the territory, however, soon converted these missions into instruments
of oppression and slavery of the Indian race.
"The revolution of 1836 saw the downfall of the priests, and most of
these missions passed by fraud into the hands of private individuals,
and with them the Indians were transferred as serfs of the land.
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