Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-12
THREE CENTURIES OLD
The Interesting City Of Mon
terey, Cal.
STATES FIRST CAPITAL
THERE THE AMERICAN FLAG WAS
RAISED BY COMMODORE sLoAT.
Scene of the Labors of Father Sierra
Resort of the Wealthy at Del
Monte-Pacifc Grove.
BY WILLIAM f.. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Star and the Chicago
Record Herald.

Special Correspondence of The Star and the Chicago
Record Herald.
MONTEREY, Cal, September T. 1908.
This dear old town dates back to 1902. 1t
! is the scene of the first white settlement on
| the Pacific coast of the United States. Sc
| bastian Viscaino, a bold Portuguese mar
| iner. employed by the sovereigns of Spain.
was its first citizen, and he called it THE
| Mountain of the King He built fort
| here, and. although 1t was afterward aban-
doned for century or more. Monterey has
| always been associated with military at
| fairs and political history. The town was
| refounded in ITO by Father Junipero Sierra,
| that wonderful Franciscan who established
all of the California missions. introduced
| many Industries and really set the gait that
California has been following since his time
1 told you about him in letter from San
Diego few days ago, and it is gratifying
to find here the first recognition of his
eminent services. Mrs Jane l.. Stanford,
who was woman of good works and has
done as much in her way for California as
Father Sierra did in his, erected monu
ment of granite in his honor upon the edge
of the Bay of Monterey, as near as pos
sible to the very spot where he first cele-
brated mass upon this part of the coast,
135 years ago.
1t is a good piece of sculpture 1t repre-
sents the venerable father in priestly vest
ments. stepping from a rOwboat to a rock,
and upon smooth place in the rock has
been chiseled an inscription. which 1 quote
because one should use every means to
familiariZe the American public who know
so little, too, about him, with the achieve
ments of this great and good man:
Here 1 June 3 Ito landed Very Reverend
following missions: San Diego July 10, 1863; San
Carlos. Monterey; June g. ITO; San Antonio de
San Luis Dbispo Sept. J. 11T2; San Francisco de
los Dolores. Oct. ., l776; San Juan Capistrano,
Buenayentura, Mar. p. 1882; and died August rs,
1874, in San Carlos Mission, Carmelo Valley. AS
/ speak IL enron 18th Chap. 18th verse rse' ~
This monument erected by Jane L. Stanford in
philanthropist seeking the welfare of the hum
best. a hero daring and ready to sacrifice himself
for the good of his fellow beings. faithful servant
of his Master
This or some other monument should have
been erected by the state of California or
by the Catholic Church Neither has done
anything to perpetuate in the public men,
DRY the greatness and goodness and public
services of this modest, unselfsh, patriotic
Franciscan monk.
Most Interesting Point.
Historically. Monterey is the most inter-
esting point on the Pacific coast. Here the
American flag was raised by Commodore
Sloat of our navy, who took possession of
Alta California on July l. 1916. in the name
of the government of the United States dur
ing the war with Mexico. Fremont had
raised the flag without authority on Gavi-
land mountains on March II previous.
Monterey the first capital of Califor
MIA. On the 1st of September. 1919 con-
vention met here and framed a state con-
stltuton. under which Peter H. Burnett
was elected governor in the following De-
cember. He remained here and exercised
his duties as the first executive of the new
state. The first legislature met in the
same hall occupied by the constitutional
convention. and much of the early history
of the state was made in that building. 1t
called Cotton Hall. and was built early
in the spring of 1919 by Rev. Walter Col
ton, who has the combined distinction of
having been the first Protestant clergyman,
the first editor and the first judge of
American court in the state of California.
He was the first alcalde, or mayor of Mon
terey after the seizure of the coast by the
United States There is nothing in Monte
rey or elsewhere to remind this or future
generations of Mr. Coltons public services.
California is neglectful of her servants.
At Monterey We're erected the first brick
and wooden buildings in the state: here was
established the first post office and the
first theater; and Jenny Lind gave d con-
cert in 1917 in the old adobe building, which
is still standing and used for the same pur
pose The old fort is in ruins but the Gus
tom house upon which the American flag
was raised still stands. The guides and
hackmen show you the Spanish governors
palace, the place where General Fremont
made his headquarters, an old ramshackle
building in which Robert Louis Stevenson
and his family lived for several years; the
building in which the first court was held
in California under the laws of the United
States. and other interesting old structures
full of history. The place where Father
Sierra first stepped ashore is marked by
cross. and a tree near the monument is said
to have sheltered him while the first mass
was said.
There is another interesting historical
relic In Monterey, which few people see or
hear of. 1t is the wreck of the British soop
Natalie. whose rottlng timbers appear above
the surface of the water at low tide. 1t
was upon this ship that Napoleon the prls-
oner was transported to Elba after the fall
of the French empire. 1t went ashore here
about forty years ago.
Mission Of Del Carmelo.
One of the most interesting objects in this
vicinity and one of the most celebrated of
the California missions, is only short drive
in the Valley of Carmel. Father Sierra land
ed here June 3. 1910, and built a chapel
while the soldiers building the fort. |
Both buildings were inclosed by palisade. |
He was accompanied by Father Crispi. and
with remarkable tact and bravery they at !
tracted the savages around them. Within |
three years hundred and seventy-five !
Indians had been converted, aptized and |
received into the church, and within ten |
years the entire savage population of this |!
StCtlDN pl tlii Pldttl'oiJ dS1Spt-
ed Christianity and were making rapid |
progress in the arts and Industries of civ |
ilization under the sole instruction of those |
two devoted priests.
Wishing to remove to a more peaceful |
spot away from the noise and influence Of |
the military Father Sierra located the mis- |
sion at Del Carmeio, on the bank of a river |
of that name, where the soil is fertile and |
water for irrigation is plenty, and every one |
was at peace. He called it San Carlos ,
Borrornoe del Carmelo de Monterey, and !
intended 1t to be the headquarters of the |
Franciscan order the Pacific coast and |
the official residence of the president of |
the missions, The church has been care |
fully restored within the past few years and |
service is held there once IA month, when |
the faithful are called together by the orgl- |
nal bell. which was brought from Spain in |