The First Place We Went To Was The Old
Ruinous Presidio, Which Stands On A Rising Ground Near The Village,
Which It Overlooks.
It is built in the form of an open square,
like all the other presidios, and was in a most ruinous state,
with the exception of one side, in which the commandant lived,
with his family.
There were only two guns, one of which was spiked,
and the other had no carriage. Twelve, half clothed, and half starved
looking fellows, composed the garrison; and they, it was said, had
not a musket apiece. The small settlement lay directly below the
fort, composed of about forty dark brown looking huts, or houses,
and two larger ones, plastered, which belonged to two of the "gente
de razón." This town is not more than half as large as Monterey,
or Santa Barbara, and has little or no business. From the presidio,
we rode off in the direction of the mission, which we were told was
three miles distant. The country was rather sandy, and there was
nothing for miles which could be called a tree, but the grass grew
green and rank, and there were many bushes and thickets, and the
soil is said to be good. After a pleasant ride of a couple of miles,
we saw the white walls of the mission, and fording a small river,
we came directly before it. The mission is built of mud, or rather
of the unburnt bricks of the country, and plastered.
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