Evening star., 1901-05-17

sons of american parents who came here
many years ago
The oldest of the Spanish missions built
by the franCiscanS were seen bv the presf-
Dental party in r. xas Mexico. New Nexi-
co. Arizona and southern California They
Were the !rst missions built by the mem
p'Fa "1 the order which was carrying civili-
Z;ttlon among the Indians Gradually the
Fr#nciscans pressed northward and built
missions at intervals of ~ or 100 miles
apart Sorc OF these arcicnt buildings
nave crnmhlod away, hut others nave been
ireSc rN"d. The one here is the Mission
S3nta Barbara Virgen Martyr The
cAurch is of stone, with massive walls
heavily buttresscd The two-story towers
with the chime Of bells, remains
Paintings Over "a Century Old.
Inside of the mission are paintings more
than one hundred years old. representing
biblical scenes The walls four to FIVE feet
thick, admit little sunshine and there is a
dampncss about the gloomy interior that
has depressing effect. The interior of
the mission is furnished most plainly, and
under the floor over which are the seats
where the congregation gathers for ser
vices are buried many brothers of the order
In the old cemetery adjoining the church,
containing not more than acre of
ground 1000 souls are buried. Thousands
are buried in tombs under the ground, and
the members of the Presidents party who
visited the place We're standing on graves
more than half the time. AS forts. the old
buildings were almost impregnab BILE to at
tack They are made of natiVe-dressed
stone and tilins. there being little wood
work except that forming the roof The
windows are small and admirably suited to
resistance by small body of men on the
inside against attack from n large body on
the outside. The Santa Barbara mission
was founded in 17S6
Oil Wells in the Ocean
Los Angeles and other points in southern
California have many oil wells which pro-
duce oil for local and outside supply. Oil
is the great fuel out this way. owing TO the
scarcity of wood and coal 1t was novelty
to some members of the party to see these
wells, but the novelty was added to when
oil wells in the Pacific ocean. at Summer
land, in Santa Barbara county. were seen
in operation.
The run of the train along the ocean was
a pretty one. For nearly two hundred
miles, in daylight. the train ran right be-
side the shore of the ocean.
Sometimes the cars We're Immediately
over the waves, on high bridges. There is
no other such ride in the United States.
The turquoise waters with their billowy
undulations, never wearied the eye. White
seagulls. brown pelicans, looms and gulls
flew away from the shore as the noisy train
disturbed them in their hunt for prey. On
one side of thc car was the delightful view
of the Pacific and on the other sometimes
almost touching the sides of the car, were
the great ranges Of shore mountains that
line the Pacific coast from thousands of
miles south to Alaska on the north. The
railroad cuts through the mountains to
keep near the shore line. At one point
long tunnel had to be dug to get through
a mountain. Unlike on the Atlantic sea-
board, the mountains rise precipitately
from the SeaShore. Although the rainfall
during the year is sometimes not greater
than eight inches. in the course of a year
the farmers bring their crops to maturity
DN means of the damn mist which baD.yS
over the earth night and morning during
May, June and July. Irrigation aids ma
ture, but there is more rainfall than In the
deserts Of the southwest, where there is no
moisture to help along.
The oil is supposed to flow down toward
the sea from the hillsides and mountains
where it is plentiful and to underlie the
bed of the ocean. At Summerland the wells
are bored right in the water. and the oil
is pumped up from there. Dozens of wells
are in operation. The machinery for secur-