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 savanna is covered with 

 luxuriant grass, kept down, however, by the countless herds of cat- 

 tle 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 peep- 

 ing above them, and contrasting picturesquely with the wildness 

 of the surrounding scenery. Gardens and orchards lie immediate- 

 ly in front of the building, and a vineyard stretches away to the 

 upland ridge of the valley. The huts of the Indians are scattered 

 here and there, built of stone and adobe, sometimes thatched with 

 flags and boughs, but comfortable enough. The convent itself is 

 a substantial building, of the style of architecture characterizing 

 monastic edifices in most parts of the world. Loopholes peer 

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

 mounted gingall or wall-piece, carrying a two-pound ball, threat- 

 ens the assailant in time of war. At one end of the oblong build- 

 ing, a rough irregular arch of sun-burned bricks is surmounted by 

 a rude cross, under which hangs a small but deep toned bell — the 

 wonder of the Indian peones, and highly venerated by the frayles 

 themselves, who received it as a present from a certain venerable 

 archbishop of Old Spain, and who, while guarding it with rever- 



