Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-05-06

huope uWciiihgS anu hiifoW btichiH VI
the quaint old Spanish town. Back from
the wide avenues and stately residences
of modern wealth and progress, the rel
les of dying age may still be seen, and
there is certain pathos in The erumbling
ruins that shelter the sad.faood descend.
ants Of u raco who once rcigned supreme
But they are passing away slowly, and
cro the next century dnwns their history
will be tradition, n sony, or n fragment
Of romance woven into musical verse by
some sympathetic Southern poet.
II is n subject for n poem the life Of
these dark.eyed people. reaching back
10 the days of the padres and missions,
and il would be q curious study TO find
the links one by one. weaving them into
dreamy summer idyl. The story would
be sweet with the fragrance Of the
orange blossoms and glorious with the
brilliant splendor of the Castilian roses.
In IL. too. would swell the song of The
sea, and the voice of the white browed
mountains.
In the old days the padres rode up
from the southlands with keen eyes and
enduring hearts to found their missions
under the shadow of the purple ranges
that roso TO the east. Tradition says
that their home was peaceful one
among the Indians and that the Mission
San Gabriel prospered and grew in
wealth for many years afterward
The old church is still standing in n
good state of preservation, though
nearly one hundred and twenty years
have elapsed since it was built. The
walls of this building are of stone, with
buttresscs of brick. The roof was origin
ally of tiles, but has been replaced re-
Gently by one of shingles. Astone stair.
case leads to the gallery, where choir
OF Mexican women sing during the Sun
day morning service.
Formerly the devotees worshipped on
on earthen floor, but stone pavement
has been laid through the center of the
church with a wooden floor ON either
side. The doors of the church are
worm-caten and the walls stained with
rains of many years The stone steps Of
the altar, fast falling into decay, have
been boarded oyerand the altar carpeted.
A few small windows near the roof light
the church. On the dark walls are
many paintings, some of them said to be
quite valuable and all OF them extremely
ancient, antedimvian enough in fact to
satisfy the most insatiate of Old World
enthusiasts. They are said to have been
brought from Spain by tho iriars.
The broad acres of the mission wore
laid out into beautiful fruit orchards,
vineyards and gardens, all cultivated by
the Indians. Parts of the old s"Mothcr
Vineyard" are still to be seem This was
so called because it supplied cuttings for
all the others. 1t is said at one time to
have contained one hundred thousand
vines. All Of these lands were surround
cd by a taRa (cactus) hedge, portions of
which still remain. This edge was in
some places fifteen feet high and en-
closed tract of land three miles square.
Opposite the old church, Just across
the street, ia part of the old garden OF
orchard. This is in charge of an old
Mexican, who takes pleasure flor con
sideration) in showing visitors through |
the grounds. One OF the wonders of |
the place is a date palm seventy feet
high and one hundred and twenty years
old. 1t is almost MS much OF a curiosity |
as the old man himself, who looks M
though he could beat the palms record |
by a score OF years. 1t is quite novelty
to eat the fruit from this orchard, though |
it may be only imagination that invests
il with a century old flavor.
The walls of the guard house, which
has existed until recently in fair degree
of preservation, fell down few days
ago, and the building is now in ruins.
In this place justice was meted ont 10
the unruly Indians incarcerated for mis-
demeanors. A small portion of one of
the glist mills is also standing near the
railroad track, One of them was cou-
verted some years ago into beautiful |
and artistic residence and still bears the |
musical Spanish title of III Molino (The |
Mill.
Rambling around the Mexican settle
ment in the vicinity of the church one |
secs many objects of interest," not the
least of which are the duenas and the
black eyed, rosy checked children of the |
Mexican residents. The people who |
live in these adobe dwellings around the |
church are in general indolcut aud iamo- |
rant Their houses are far from cleanly |
and are guiltless of any attempt at orna-
mentltion. Very few of them SPEAK !
English. They have no desire to learn |
and are utterly indifferent TO all around |
them and only seem waiting for the in
esitable wave of American progress that
will sweep them into oblivion. Little
by little they are being crowded out OF
their resting place and one by one tue
adobes are falling into ruins or giving
way to the thrifty homes of the Ameri-
cans. There is certainly pathetic e'e
ment in this gradual decay, which ap-
peals largely to our sympathies, yet it
would be false seniimentality to sigh |
over the sorrows of a people whose time
has gone by and who are too ignorant to
know how completely their interests are
being annihilated.
A few of the old Spanish families of
Los Angeles are Of different pattern.
They are wealthy, refined people, cul.
tured and full of nobility. Their inter.
course with Americans is marked by a |
warm eordiality, and their entertain.
ments are of the most lavish aud mag
niiicent kind. From the lips of refine
ment the liquid accents Of the Castilian
language falls musically, and their fea-
lures and bearing are marked by the
proud grace Of noble lineage. Poor or
rich, these descendants of the Spanish |
soldiers who founded their city in the
name Of "Nuestra Sonora dc Los Ange