Morning journal and courier., 1889-06-07

they were written on half sheets of note pa
 per. Extracts of more than three or four lines in length which he intended to quote in support of his statements were usually
 written on similar half-sheets and separate ly numbered, and were carefully placed on the table by the side of the hat. His annual speeches to his constituents rarely extended over less than an hour, and they as rarely exceeded an hour and five minutes. But the sheets of notes varied greatly in number, sometimes he had only four or five, some times eight or nine, and I think that occa- sionally he had still more."
 GoLD-LOvING PADRES.
 Discovery of the Mines that they used
 to Work fin CaIffornia-StorIes of
 Their Creed.
 [san Francisco Cronicls.l
 The discovery of the old gold mines near the San Bernardino mission recalls the tra- ditions the Indians tells of tho priest and friars who brought civilization to California, and who reared the cross in it's fertile valleys and on smiling hillsides ere the stars and stripes had been borne across the mountains Though full of the divine grace that scorned scrip and purse, these avant-cou- riers of Christianity failed not to seek and
 
 river beds yielded. And 50 it is that to this day the mines of the missions and the treas- ure trove of the forgotten padres are eager ly sought for by the descendants of those who first heard the stories of their existence from aborigines long since gone to the happy hunting-grounds.
 Nearly every mission in the State has it's legend of hidden gold and mines concealed by the hand of time. For years the people about San Bernardino searched with never failing hope for the treasure that tradition told of, and last week the toilers were re- warded, and rich veins of gold quartz were found. Twenty miles east of the town trail was discovered up the canon. Every evidence was there of Mexican road, up which the padres and the peons had gone to
 work the mines, and down which they had come loaded with the gold that had embel-
 lished the altars and enriched the general church or made wealthy the God-fearing
 priest. It seems strange that the trail es-
 capped the notice of the searchers so long.
 Three-quarters of mile from it's origin, a
 canon branches off at right angles, and 8 few hundred yards further on the first of the old mines is in view. A tunnel twenty feet into the mountain proves that the padres did not spend all their time at prayers. The moss and great tress growing in the excava- 5ions show the time that has elapsed since
 the original possessors worked the claims.
 A few blows of the pick, ,displacing the moss and fungi, have revealed @ rich vein of gold quartz that will make the second owners
 wealthy.
 Some time ago the tunnel of the mine that had been worked by the padres of the San Luis Obispo Mission was discovered. The
 vein extended through the Sugar Loaf peak,
 in the Santa Lucia Range. A great oak
 barred the mouth of the tunnel, but did not deter the eager hunters from making their way inside. They were rewarded by finding
 rich ore, containing silver in paying quanti- ties. When the secnlarization of the State began, the priests returned to Spain, carry ing with them gold worth fabulous sum. A Mexican woman, who is in the house. hold of rich Spanish family of San Luis Obispo, tells the story of @ young padres who staggered under the weight of the bullion he was carrying away. He called her in one day and had her make lining for his coat; metal. At different times during the work of quilting the ambitious padre tried on the coat, to try wether he could bear the weight. When he was unable to rise under it, he urged the woman to put in more gold, say ing that ''under the burden of our sorrows we were likely to faint, but burdens of joy forth and walked bravely on board the ship that was to bear him to his home, where possibly he gave up his golden fleece to the Church, and where probably he did no such | thing.
 The traditions that were told of the gold ! about the missions of Santa Barbara, San Juan Capistrano, San Gabriel, San Diego, and San Francisco have kept many men busy | for years, and Capt. Kidds chests have not | been sought for with more eagerness than are those mines and hidden treasures. Every \ one knows the story of the mine of the mis- sion of San Francisco. It is located between { &ba ofT aDI ho spot unknown.
 There was a good reason for the efforts the priests made to conceal their wealth. Hsedless of the curse of the Church of Rome, with regard for the laws of meum ct tuum, the desperadoes who had been driven from civilization by the strong hand of the law sought to take from the missions what the inmates had gathered by toll and sacri- flee The Mission San Gabriel, in Los Ange- les County, was the scene of many bloody foray, It was in the midst of country ! where might was right and where the strong I did no work that would make the same re- 1 turns as those that might be taken from the l rich Time and again was San Gabriel's pill l lagsd by the desperadoes. But one night | the rufians were slaughtered iu ambush and peace reigned until another band arose. | The mission was reputed the richest in the | Territory, and the robbers determined to | raid it. Twenty of them left Los Angeles | one night their destination the adobe hous- | es, the ruins of which still show near the mouth of the San Timoteo canon. They ar rived the night of the second day, met and l defeated the Indians and servants of the priests, and footed the mission. In the morning they started back on the road to Los Angeles, but they never reached that settlement. The Indians who had been de- | feated the night before stirred up their conn., ! panions, and an ambush was made in a ! narrow detile. One man escaped the slaugh- | ter The plunder was recovered and re- ! turned to the mission. A short time later | the padres heard of another expedition I against them, and they determined to con- | ceal their treasures where they would be safe | until the troubles were over. All the valu- ! ables were loaded on burros, and, accom- panied by couple of peons, one of the mis-
 sion officers started for a high mesa over- looking the Santa Ana River, where the l treasure was to be buried. A hole was dug | in the locality known es the "greeR spot, "
 and into 1t was placed the gold and silver. Then the leader told his men to lie down and | rest, as their walk had been far and weari-
 some They slept, and the tradition that tells the story says they awoke no more, and only the officers knew the hiding-place of | the wealth. The attack was made on the ! mission; the men who had the secret of the l treasure fell, and there are many who yet 1 search for the precious metals. It is quite | likely the mines of the missions with all be | discovered, and with them the treasure ! frova of San Gahrial haaidea uhjch may he