This Was A
Good Exercise For Me, And No Doubt Taught Me More Than I Should
Have Learned By Months
Of study and reading; it also gave me
opportunities of seeing the customs, characters, and domestic
arrangements of the people;
Beside being a great relief from
the monotony of a day spent on board ship.
Monterey, as far as my observation goes, is decidedly the pleasantest
and most civilized-looking place in California. In the centre
of it is an open square, surrounded by four lines of one-story
plastered buildings, with half a dozen cannon in the centre; some
mounted, and others not. This is the "Presidio," or fort. Every
town has a presidio in its centre; or rather, every presidio has a
town built around it; for the forts were first built by the Mexican
government, and then the people built near them for protection. The
presidio here was entirely open and unfortified. There were several
officers with long titles, and about eighty soldiers, but they were
poorly paid, fed, clothed, and disciplined. The governor-general,
or, as he is commonly called, the "general," lives here; which makes
it the seat of government. He is appointed by the central government
at Mexico, and is the chief civil and military officer. In addition to
him, each town has a commandant, who is the chief military officer,
and has charge of the fort, and of all transactions with foreigners
and foreign vessels; and two or three alcaldes and corregidores,
elected by the inhabitants, who are the civil officers.
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