The San Francisco call., 1908-11-01
SANJUAN REDOLENT
OF MISSION DAYS
Picturesque Old Spanish Settle
ment AbIaze With Bright
COIOrs and Flags


SAN JUAN. oct sl-San Juan Is
ahan1e tonight with the banners of
Spain The yellow and red that waved
about the old mission century ago. be-
fore the coming of Fremont, deck the
adobe buildings Of the little town, and
the colors seem the brighter because
they signify, not the present; but the
past. Tor from the tall white fagstan
IN the historic plaza, fairly in the. cen
ter Of this. riot of yellow and red,
-aFaxes single flag that oyerteps them
all as IL outdoes them IN beauty-the
stars and stripes. That one banner is
The emblem of today; all else about the
old mission town is redoient OF the
days when Mission San Juan Bautista
steed young. strong and proud. The
spirit of the time when Fran ciscan
padres strolled the tagged. corridors of
the mission and when Indians ranged
The surrounding plains and hills is the
spirit that controls here tonight 1t is
fitting SO. for behind the festiyity and
gayety that reign tonight is a purpose
born Of the memories that cluster
around the old mission.
IT is the opening night OF the fiesta,
arranged for the purpose of. raising g
fund for the preservation of.the mis-
sion,-and' there is every indication that
the carnival will be a huge. success. Not
ness Of old San juan. been. dissipated as
1t has been today. Gaudy streamers of
the colors of Spain blow from the ga
5les Of the old mission itself, strings Of
banners hang. across the main street and
The famous plaza has been transformed
into a garden Of light and gayety. From
all parts OF the san Juan valley have
come the Spaniards. who knew and
loved This fertile land before the AmerL-
rene nr~e-z-el17 and yrizzled man n
can tell wondrous tales Of the early
DAYS. and with them their descendants
precsy. senoritas- in. Spanish costumes
and the young gaIants from ranch and
range. Although 1.-The carnival proper
Wiz not reach its climax until tompr-
row, the town is filled with visitors to-
night ana is very wide awake From
earliest morning the visitors. have been
trooping in. on horseback, in wagons.
and S1ggies. by train and by a1itomo-
bile, and the fun, that ls*to last until
morning, has but fairly begun. :.
ELABORATE SPANISH. DINNER
= Around the plaza modernism 'vies
N-.cA she past. for drawn up. in the. midst
of the old adobe buildings are more.
than a score of automobiles A few.
motor parties came in during the early
part eof the day. but: the greatest influx.
was at $500 o'clock. when the White
steamer squadron of 20 cars arrived
from San Frahcisco. At =: o'clock an
elaborate Spanish dinner was. served. to
nearly zoo guests on long: tables
stretched at the edge OF the plaza df-
rect3y in. front Of the old Plaza hotel.
which has stood since 1881
Japanese lanterns strung over the
tables. lighted the outdoor banquet hall,
while a stretch Of canvas at either.
end and half a. dozen big bonhres on.
the open side dispell6d the chill of
evening; huge pumpkins cat into grin
ming faces served as tie reminder thar
tonight is halloween. The supper was
served by a score OF pretty girls
gowned in yellow and red, and from
the first TO the last course the. crowd
was treated TO the choicest Spanish
dishes Immediately after the sumner
q concert was given IN the convent
ha1l. an excellent vocal and instru-
mental program being rendered Those
who participated in this feature of the
entertainment were Prof ID. Garcia
lsallury F. A. White, Professor de Hoff.
Miss Enos, Miss NJ. Nunez Miss i.
Lavagnino. Miss NJ. Matthews Mrs. I.
W. Moore, Mrs. z. J. Breen and Mss M.
Kearney.
Following the concert dancing was
begun IN Plaza hall. nearly 100 couples.
many Of them in costume; throngfng
the floor. At midnight a second Span
ish supper was served to- the dancers
at tables spread in the corridor Of the
old mission. and the dancing will con-
tInue until morning.
IMPRESSIVE OPEN AIR MASS
The most impressive event of the
entire carnival undoubtedly. will be the
open air mass to he celebrated in the
plaza at II o'clock by Father CIosa,
the padre Of the mission. assisted by
several visiting. prelates.. Earlier in
the morning there will be a baseball
game between San Juan. and Salinas,
and at noon a gigantic barbecue will
be held in the ancient. olive orchard
~ the mission grounds. The big car