Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-03-08
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10 protect the priests, the Iatter 49,
about - busy protesting the Indian.
convert or heophyte from being muir.
Edsred or rattshed BY the soldiers of the
king - they were whipping chrdstiap-
ity into them with the lash ana the
kindest Of eighteenth century chris
tian purposes.
In the prime the missions became
great patriarchal estates, repeating the
days OF Abraham with az many -
$4,000 head Of cattle grazing upon mil
lions Of acres Of land belonging to 4
single mission. and - many a. 1,7oo
converted Indians at one misaion-all
wearing clothes, building mission
churches out OF sun dried brick. and
growing grain. When the Mexicans
revolted from Spain and established
their republic. the padres, Spanish
born, stood pat. for their sympathies
were with the mother country much %
some OF our hyphenated Americans of
today. The Mexican politicians con-
nscated or unchurched the missions.
the cattle were killed. the Indians
zs1tt,t: INTO ts.o iett;e...e, - ~ work in
the vineyards. get drunk and die. and
the mission buildings were for t.o
most part destroyed.
Sentimentalists revel in the romance
Of the missions. They furnish ruins 70
interest the tourist who might other
wise 60 sightseeing TO Europe, and the
railway interests, with the town boost
ers. have Joined in capitalizing the
ideas Of literary and romantic men into
the wonderfully interesting and charms
ing Mission Inn at Riverside and the
Mission Play at San Gabriel, both OF
which are attractions wen worth seeing
in California.
Mission Inn at Riverside.
The Mission Inn ID q hotel covering
a square block of ground in the BUSH
ness center Of Riverside. With tho
utmost fidelity 1t has attempted to
reproduce the Spanish color Of the early
missions. The east elevation resembles
the San Gabriel mission, around the
north side runs the facade or front OF
the Santa Barbara mission, surmounted
on one corner by the dome Of the Car
mel mission. Upon entering one passes
under the colonnade OF arches Of the
San Fernando and San Juan Capistrano
missions and the auto stops almost In
front Of the campanile OF the San
Gabriel mission. One wing IL given
over to the cloister or music room. with
q reproduction Of Catholic church OF
the seventeenth century. and thruout
the building is 80 completely filled and
furnished with rare old pieces OF armor,
furniture, draperies and other articles
as to constitute museum which would
consume q weeks time to examine in
detail.
Riverside In an old town almost de.
void OF modern architecture In ita
homes which has made other California
towns so beautiful. but the
inn draws its throngs thruout the tour-
list season and no excursion Il complete
without one night at the Inn. The
wealthy and leisurely tourist remains
there for weeks.
The Mission Play.
The Mission play was originally con-
ceived as an added attraction to the
Inn. but when the usual financial back
ing was sought it was located at San
Gabriel. near Los Angeles. fifty miles
away. and 1t now requires two trips
and two fares to see them both where
It might have taken only one.
The curtain rises upon q scene Of San
Diego bay and Point Iona. The char
acter OF Junipero Sierra, the sanity
monk who presided over all the mis-
the desert along his 800 miles Of mis-
sions. Is presented by an actor whose
charm Of personality and musical voice
fairly thrills tourist down to his very
pockets when. in cadences and rhythm.
the actor repeatedly mentions the sun
kissed bay Of San Diego and the roses
Of Castle that are to be found in
beautiful California" The story Of the
first expedition sent north to find the
bay Of Monterey. which viscaino wrote
up 20 luridly when he was promoting
his colonixing scheme. IL portrayed and.
true to history. Portola returns, having
failed to recognize anything that
measured up to the Viscaino promotion
But he had pushed on to
q land locked harbor which Father
Junipero then and there names San
Francisco. for st. Francis. The authors
Of the play did not intend II to be 90.
but this incident Of over. advertising
the bay of Monterey was the originator
of all California descriptive writing.
The second act pictures the neo-
phytes or converted Indians. enjoying
mass, hard work and life inside the
with touch of tragedy in the
black visaged villain who sought tho
half Spanish, half-Indian maiden only
to be thwarted by the protecting arm
of Father Junipero. Its place In the
play 10 occasioned by the historical
incident Of the founding Of the mission
of San Gabriel when 1t took years for
the good fathers to get the Indians to
come anywhere near them because.
when the savages mad welcomed tho
strangers with presents of seeds and
food they were rewarded by ruffian
soldier who outraged the wife of the
chief and later shot the chief because
he sought revenge.
In the third act the ruin Of the mis-
Bions is portrayed, and there Is plenty
Of pathos and thrill in the loyalty OF
the starving Indians who were driven
from the missions and the self-sacrthc-
Ing padre who starved with them. An
emotional appeal IL made that the
Americana in his great strength may
restore the power of the mission. but
the poor Indian IL no more. Mission
records show that the California Indian
could not stand civilization. Living In
houses caused six out OF every seven
who came within the missions to die.
while those who refused to be converted
were killed or by the soldiers. The
Indian would have disappeared had the
missions lived.
The museums, the Inn and the
mission play are worth seeing In Cali-
fornia because 1t was the padres Of the
missions who planted the olive. the
lanov, fho rra re- the manner tree. and