LIFE IN THE FAB WEST J89 



met a man of that nation who was a good sort of fellow, 

 and who had made him a present of tobacco, of which he 

 was particularly fond. Finding this hint did not take, 

 he said that the horses and mules belonging to the 

 Mission were innumerable " like that," he added, 

 sweeping his hand to all points of the compass over the 

 plain, to intimate that they would cover that extent ; 

 and he could point out a large herd grazing nearer at 

 hand than the Mission, and guarded but by three 

 vaqueros. Regaled with venison, and with a smoke of 

 his coveted tobacco, he rode off, and made his way to 

 the Mission without delay, conveying the startling 

 intelligence that a thousand Americans were upon them. 



The next morning the thirteen doughty mountaineers 

 quietly resumed their journey, moving leisurely along 

 towards the object of their expedition. 



It will not be out of place here to digress a little, in 

 order to describe the singular features of the establish- 

 ments formed in those remote regions by the Catholic 

 Church, as nuclei round which to concentrate the 

 wandering tribes that inhabit the country, with a view 

 to give them the benefit of civilised example, and to 

 wean them from their restless nomadic habits. 



The establishment of Missions in Upper California is 

 coeval with the first settlement of Southern Mexico. 

 No sooner had Spanish rule taken a firm foothold in the 

 Aztec empire, than the avowed primary object of the 

 military expedition began to be carried into effect. 

 "To save the souls" of the savage and barbarous 

 subjects of their most Catholic majesties was ever 



