1894 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



(54!> 



BAUBLE 114. 



THK Ol.n Ml'ANI.SII .MI.«ISI()X.S, ETC. 



By Ranililer. 



From our pleasant camp on the "Lucky" 

 Baldwin ranch we moved on as soon as we had 

 disposed of onr morning meal, washed our tin 

 dishes, etc. No fragile crockery is used in this 

 tonr. The lightest and most substantial cnli- 

 nary utensils are the best. We found that fif- 

 teen minutes was snttieient to pack our whole 

 outfit into the wagon, and we were ready to 

 take any direction. The direction this time 

 was toward the San Gabriel Mission, with its 

 outlying borders flanked by a few Me.xican 

 adobes. 



Tlii'se old missions have a special interest to 

 the traveler, as they were the pioneer points of 

 a new era for all of this sunset country. From 



KHK) to 1830 these missions were industriously 

 planted. The Spanish '• Padres " came hereto 

 subdue the soil and the Indian. The olive and 

 the vine were planted in the valleys, and thou- 

 sands of cattle roamed the hills The intract- 

 able Indian was approached with food in one 

 hand and the cross in the other. The influence 

 thus brought to bear upon soil and man was 

 salutary. The Indian sooa learned that lifting 

 hair was not the chief end of his existence, 

 is a fact, however, that, after several hundred 

 years' effort, the ordinary "greaser" is the 

 product; and it is questionable whether the 

 improvement is much bettfr than the original 

 native. The settlement of Spaniards, and the 

 extension of their power, has had the far greater 

 and more lasting influence. The missions have 

 in a great measure served'their day, and are 

 now falling to ruins; and but for the hands 



put forth by those who love thecquainl and ancient landmarks 

 their adobe walls would soon crumble to dust, and the world 

 would know them no more. It is not an unusual sight to see 

 some old-mission bell hanging to the limb of a decaying tree, 

 tongueless and mute, while the spot upon which stood the mission 

 is marked only by an unsightly weed-covered mound. 



We reflect, with a tinge of sadness in our minds, that this same 

 mute bell, in times past, called the worshipers from over the-hills, 

 and was a potent factor in their daily lives. The old burying- 

 ground near by, with its wooden crosses, marks the place where 

 the body has been tolled to its final resting-place, and no doubt 

 the now mute old bell has lent its musical tones to festal and 

 marriage scenes. 



The more pretentious missions have several bells. They are 

 tied with rawhide ropes to the beam above, and a hammer strikes 

 the bell; thus the chimes of the bells are sweet to listen to in the 

 evening hour. With the artisfs aid I present a photo of r ne of 

 these decaying landmarks known as the San Fernando Mission, 

 in San Fernando Valley. Only one small room is now us(d for 

 religious purposes, while the other rooms are used for the junk 

 from a large ranch. 



From San Gabriel we made a rapid drive to Los Angeles. We, 

 and especially our team, fresh from the free and untrammeled 

 air of the country, entered Los Angeles, and tried, as well as we 

 could with our nondescript outfit, to appear somewhat " cityfied,"' 

 but it was out of the question; for Reina bolted as though in fear 

 the tall buildings would fall upon her, and in various ways our 

 ponies betrayed their country^breeding and Indian blood. The 



