The Mankato free press., 1921-03-11
OLD MISSION HISTORIC
JUDGE CRAY WRITES MOST
INTERESTINGLY
Describes Structure Located In
Santa Barbara, CAL,
In 1876

Santa Barbara, Cal, March. 1921.-To
other is the old mission. This mission
was located and the first building was
built by Padre Rupoll in December. 1856.
coast from San Diego to San Francisco
this is the only one which has be<l
occupied continuously. 1t was neariy
was soon thereafter rebuilt together
with the great stone wall which is from
three feet to fifteen feet thick and ten
to twelve feet high. surrounds the ad-
Franciscans claimed to have taken po-
session OF the entire coast in the name
Of the King OF Spain for the use. Of the
and Christianizing the coast Indians.
1t is claimed that in this missicS alone
pinety-three thousand Indians have
Building In Good Condition.
The board stone steps and large tile
porch or entrance laid in 1895 are still
in good condition. In front. Of the mis-
onal basin below which is great trough
of solid masonry where Indian women
did their washing. There are yet re-
mains of old reservoirs and aqueducts
These are now within the limit of this
city and its buildings. In the interior
of the church proper is much of the Or
In the floor Immediately in front OF
the altar are two large marbles slabs
covering crypts with the names of a
number Of Padres buried underneath
converted into a museum with ancient
relics. In show case is a large column
of commentaries on the Bible written in
United States.
In one corner are two old stones NOR
tars, with pestles made by the Indians
large lar copper 6oiler Boiler made fi IN i7ss holding I1
at least a half barrel and evidently
pounded out of one sheet, used in ma
! ing soup. for the Indians. Rawhide beds
! stretched on wooden frames. two large
millstones made in 1903. and very many
other interesting things are to be seen.
The Church suryns Ground.
in the stonewall is the burying ground
and while not to exceed one acre in ex-
| tent 1 think there are four thousand In
dians and five hundred white men bur
long trenches between stone walls built
about eight feet apart. They were
wrapped in blankets and laid away two.
trenches were filled with earth to the top
! of the stone walls which are not the
surface of the ground. The tops of the
The, yard is now grown to trees and
shrubbery. We noticed a grape vine
about ten or twelve inches in diameter
and ninety years old. There are crypts
age. A sort of mausoleum contains the
remains of twenty-five or thirty old
Padres and monks.
We stood by the. ancient grave of an
She and her young child had been on a
ship which, touched at an uninhabited
island in the sea. The ship moved on
the woman was. on board and it was
discovered that her child was left be-
hind. She urged that they turn back
but they would not. She jumped over
board to swim back. Tt was not known
whether she reached shore. Some years
later a party was sent to find her. but
they did not succeed.
Eighteen years after she was left an
other attempt to find her was success
fully made. They found her, but she
never found her child. It was either
drowned or eaten by animals. They
brought her to Santa Barbara, broken
in health and she soon died.
An old rosebush grows by her tomb
stone. IT is still claimed that this coast.
originally mission grounds. in justice
still belongs to the church in trust for
the Indians. but the early adventures
unjustly desecularized and appropriated
these lands. In fact from 1918 to 1924
there was a formidable uprising by the
Franciscans and the Indians against the
soldiers in an effort to reclaim the coun-
try. Battles were fought at the very
entrance to this mission, but all to no
avail. A boys school is conducted there
now. The people here are proud of the
old mission and hundreds OF people are
shown through II. Lorin Cray