New-York tribune., 1890-04-28
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
THE MISSION FATHERS.

The old Californian days chosen for the Theme
of Mr. Steele's book those concerning "hich
the least certain and detailed knowledge mas colhe
down TO us-the days Of the Missions, III met Inc
view taken in this volume is to some eN'eh'
novel the authors theory being that whe rellgious
and prosecuting sentiment was at ule pou"m vi
the movement which set the Caliiorhiah 4Nssione
on foot, the unexpected ease with whlch 'he
Snan;sb monks obtained dominion over the natives
and the seductions of the climate coHiplheu 10
emascuate the original purpose of the establish
rrents and GRADUALLY converted them into seals
and centres of production and stock-raising, whch
,vere carried on upon a grand scale through Inc
services of the so-oaled Mission Indians As to
the relations these Indians occupied toward 'he
Padres Mr. Steele has been able to ma no
evidence which does not tend to strengthen 'he
conclusion that these aborigines were virtually
slaves There are, however. two serious dlih-
entities in this theory. 1t remains 10 be shown
how the Mission Fathers contrivcd TO induce
thirty or forty thousand free Indians 10 submit
TO slavery without effort at resistance ana
il needs also be explained how the Indians
were kept at work, which must have been as
odious to them as forced labor is TO all nomads
Now nobody has so much approached rational
solution of these two difficulties; for II is NOT
q rational solution 10 assume thai 'he raures
ACCOMPLISHED the subsection OF the indians so~N
by exciting their supfrsttious Tears. be'o'"
this can be believed it has 10 be taken for granted
that all these Mission Indians had understood ana
accented the Christian scheme OF theology; It" !
assumption in way warranted ny H'nins
known concerning the intellectual equipment OF
those Indians. or by their ultimate fate ii 1neS
had been truly Christianzed it is not credible
that the secularzation of the Missions would as
il did. have thrown them back at once ana 'oi-
ever into heathenism.
Tho question is very interesting. but cNceeuinR-
" diffcult II wonld almost seem thst 'hese
oId Mission friars must have had some secret
for the tanning of Indians which has esc"peu 'no
researches of all the rest of the world. vi course
one most important factor in the case Is 'hc pc
culiar mildness and tractability OF the ihui"nS
themselves They were of an eX'remeN 10"
order of intelligence though that would not ac-
count for their docility for as rule. the ieas'
intelligent races are the most lntrac'aoe anu
fierce rs. for instance. the Bushmen of Africa
and the Blackmcn of Australia. BESIDES 'hs'
no severer test can he put 10 a peoples endur-
ance than their reduction TO forced l"hOr' ana III
this case that test was unnuestionapN appi~"'
and not less certainly. the Indians stood II. why
did they submit 10 slavery They klew-theN |
could not help knowng-that all the phN@lcai !
force was with them. In the rare instances vi
risings and revolts at The Missions the 'a'he'S
were obliged to overlook what happened oeca"s'
they were not strong enough 10 punish IT, in'N
were but q handful and the Spanish soldiers with /
them were but a handful The Indians couid ~
anv time for sixty years have swept them al
into the Pacific Ocean. Yet. in fact. 'h'N m""e
no concerted effort 10 break lhelr pohuS an"
scores of thousands of them lived and died in This
strange voluntary servitude IL is really qmtc an /
ogpravating mystery. But the Missions prospercd |
S,,ir became
and their ecclesiastical character faded more ana
moro as the wears went on. To have practically !
unlimited population al their disposal for any .
labor without wages was too much for the oid
Padres. and they doubtless abused their advan- !
tages But after all. they only occupied the
front of the stage while the scenes were beihg
shifted behind for a new act. III which they were !
not to appear.
In duc time came revolution, secnlarizalon'
and, as a natural sequence, coniscation Inc
Pious Fund was too strong a temptation for I'M
pecunious Santa Anna, and when the poor fadres I
had lost their Indian converts and their capital /
and their great herds of cattle and horses, ana
finally their loved acres. and the irrevercnt and
irrepressible AngloSaXons came swarmng I'M" /
California from, across the mountains. they per- I
haps thought that the end of everything was at
hand 1t was at hand for them. There was 10 |
longer place or occupation for them, and when |
they converted all their available property INTO !
cash, and turned their backs upon the smiling
peaceful scenes they had done much 10 make !
attractive and fertile. it must have been with the
bitter realization that all the long and painful /
work of their order had been wasted and thrown |
away: that the Indians among whom they had |
gone in the spirit of martyrs bad slipped out Of
their hands and reverted with mOrifying f9cilitv |
20 their original paganism: that the buildings
and inn optc md rieIo
three generations would go to ruin speedily; that |
race Of hereto aliens had seized the beautiful |
land, and that opposition TO the conquest had |
proved futile. But there help for IT, ,
The dreamers. the indoent bcnciciaries Of servilc
labor. could not cope with the spirit. conid +
not adapt themselves TO il at ALL in fact. 50 the
Missions were mostly deserted and fell into decay
and to-day, though the name Of the great organ !
izer Of them, Father JuniperO Sierra, still lives,
point ont the spot where he lies
buried. somewhere under the chancel of the San
Carlos Mission Church.
Mr.. Steele has sought out and described with
sympathy and i'll picturesque and attractive
manner sundry examples Of the old Spanish
Inhabitants of California There are yet a good
many of them and those who reside in and about
the old Mission towns like San Gabriel, Monterey.
etc, carry with them all the atmosphere of by
gone times. These people do not prosper They
have not the money getting faculty. What they
do have is a native dignity and instinct for pro-
priety derived, Of course, from the old proud
hdalgo blood through many dcsccnts, and which
diferentiatcs them sharply from a large percent
age of their more energetic fellow-eitizens. Pow
crty deccncy and sclf-respect go together with
these Californian Spaniards. They are never
squalid, they never discourteous. It. is true
that a certain element among them has in the
past displayed a notable fitness for brgandage
and that some of the leading brigands have been
cruel and bloodthirsty. instance Tiburcio and
Vasquez Other native Californans like Pico
however, have been found 10 hunt down these
scnnrrcs nd nerhaus the is We