After Two Circuits,
We Stopped Our Horses, And Saw, At Last, A Man Show Himself In
Front Of One Of The Small Buildings.
We rode up to him, and found
him dressed in the common dress of the country, with a silver
chain round his neck, supporting a large bunch of keys.
From this,
we took him to be the steward of the mission, and addressing him
as "Mayordomo," received a low bow and an invitation to walk
into his room. Making our horses fast, we went in. It was a plain
room, containing a table, three or four chairs, a small picture or
two of some saint, or miracle, or martyrdom, and a few dishes and
glasses. "Hay algunas cosa de comer?" said I. "Si Señor!" said he.
"Que gusta usted?" Mentioning frijoles, which I knew they must
have if they had nothing else, and beef and bread, and a hint for
wine, if they had any, he went off to another building, across the
court, and returned in a few moments, with a couple of Indian boys,
bearing dishes and a decanter of wine. The dishes contained baked
meats, frijoles stewed with peppers and onions, boiled eggs, and
California flour baked into a kind of macaroni. These, together
with the wine, made the most sumptuous meal we had eaten since we
left Boston; and, compared with the fare we had lived upon for
seven months, it was a regal banquet. After despatching our meal,
we took out some money and asked him how much we were to pay.
He shook his head, and crossed himself, saying that it was charity:
- that the Lord gave it to us. Knowing the amount of this to be
that he did not sell it, but was willing to receive a present,
we gave him ten or twelve reals, which he pocketed with admirable
nonchalance, saying, "Dios se lo pague." Taking leave of him,
we rode out to the Indians' huts. The little children were
running about among the huts, stark naked, and the men were not
much better; but the women had generally coarse gowns, of a sort of
tow cloth. The men are employed, most of the time, in tending the
cattle of the mission, and in working in the garden, which is a very
large one, including several acres, and filled, it is said, with the
best fruits of the climate. The language of these people, which is
spoken by all the Indians of California, is the most brutish and
inhuman language, without any exception, that I ever heard, or that
could well be conceived of. It is a complete slabber. The words
fall off of the ends of their tongues, and a continual slabbering sound
is made in the cheeks, outside of the teeth. It cannot have been
the language of Montezuma and the independent Mexicans.
Here, among the huts, we saw the oldest man that I had ever seen;
and, indeed, I never supposed that a person could retain life and
exhibit such marks of age. He was sitting out in the sun, leaning
against the side of a hut; and his legs and arms, which were bare,
were of a dark red color, the skin withered and shrunk up like
burnt leather, and the limbs not larger round than those of a boy
of five years. He had a few grey hairs, which were tied together
at the back of his head; and he was so feeble that, when we came
up to him, he raised his hands slowly to his face, and taking hold
of his lids with his fingers, lifted them up to look at us;
and being satisfied, let them drop again. All command over the
lid seemed to have gone. I asked his age, but could get no answer
but "Quien sabe?" and they probably did not know the age.
Leaving the mission, we returned to village, going nearly all the
way on a full run. The California horses have no medium gait,
which is pleasant, between walking and running; for as there are
no streets and parades, they have no need of the genteel trot,
and their riders usually keep them at the top of their speed until
they are fired, and then let them rest themselves by walking.
The fine air of the afternoon; the rapid rate of the animals,
who seemed almost to fly over the ground; and the excitement and
novelty of the motion to us, who had been so long confined on
shipboard, were exhilarating beyond expression, and we felt willing
to ride all day long. Coming into the village, we found things
looking very lively. The Indians, who always have a holyday on
Sunday, were engaged at playing a kind of running game of ball,
on a level piece of ground, near the houses. The old ones sat
down in a ring, looking on, while the young ones - men, boys and
girls - were chasing the ball, and throwing it with all their
might. Some of the girls ran like greyhounds. At every accident,
or remarkable feat, the old people set up a deafening screaming
and clapping of hands. Several blue jackets were reeling about
among the houses, which showed that the pulperias had been well
patronized. One or two of the sailors had got on horseback,
but being rather indifferent horsemen, and the Spaniards having
given them vicious horses, they were soon thrown, much to the
amusement of the people. A half dozen Sandwich Islanders,
from the hide-houses and the two brigs, who are bold riders,
were dashing about on the full gallop, hallooing and laughing
like so many wild men.
It was now nearly sundown, and S - - - and myself went into a
house and sat quietly down to rest ourselves before going down to
the beach. Several people were soon collected to see "los Ingles
marineros," and one of them - a young woman - took a great fancy to
my pocket handkerchief, which was a large silk one that I had
before going to sea, and a handsomer one than they had been in
the habit of seeing.
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