CHAPTER VII. 



THE Mission of San Fernando is situated on a small 

 river called Las Animas, a branch of the Los Martires. 

 The convent is built at the neck of a large plain, at the 

 point of influx of the stream from the broken spurs of 

 the sierra. The savana is covered with luxuriant 

 grass, kept down, however, by the countless herds of 

 of cattle which pasture on it. The banks of the creek 

 are covered with a lofty growth of oak and poplar, 

 which near the Mission have been considerably thinned 

 for the purpose of affording fuel and building materials 

 for the increasing settlement. The convent stands in 

 the midst of a grove of fruit-trees, its rude tower and 

 cross peeping above them, and contrasting pictur- 

 esquely with the wildness of the surrounding scenery. 

 Gardens and orchards lie immediately in front of the 

 building, and a vineyard stretches away to the upland 

 ridge of the valley. The huts of the Indians are scat- 

 tered here and there, built of stone and adobej, some- 

 times thatched with flags and boughs, but comfortable 

 enough. The convent itself is a substantial building, 

 of the style of architecture characterising monastic edi- 

 fices in most parts of the world. Loopholes peer from 

 its plastered walls, and on a flat portion of the roof a 



