8^4 



MISSTOlSr VALLEY MISSIONS 



ts. A. fi. 



of their lands and property or had squan- 

 dered them, and were living in a hope- 

 less condition. Their numbers decreased 

 rapidly, so that to-day in the region be- 

 tween San Francisco and Santa Barbara 

 there are probably fewer than 50 Indians. 

 In s. California the decrease has been 

 less rapid, and there are still about 3,000 

 of what are known as Mission Indians; 

 these are, however, all of Shoshonean 

 or Yuman stock. The decrease of popu- 

 lation began even during the mission 

 period, and it is probable that the 

 deaths exceeded the births at the missions 

 from the tirst, though during the earlier 

 years the population was maintained or 

 even increased by accessions from uncon- 

 verted tribes. At the time of seculariza- 

 tion, in 1834, the population of many 

 missions was less than a decade earlier. 

 The total number of baptisjns during the 

 65 years of mission activity was about 

 90,000, and the population in the terri- 

 tory subject to mission influence may be 

 estimated as having been at any one time 

 from 35,000 to 45,000. At this propor- 

 tion the population of the entire state, 

 before settlement l)y the whites, would 

 have been at least 100,000, and was prob- 

 ably much greater. See California, In- 

 dians of, with accompanying map, also 

 Mission^; Population. (a. l. k. ) 



Mission Valley. The local name of a 

 band of Salish of Fraser superintendency, 

 Brit. Col.— Can. Ind. Aff. 1878, 79, 1879. 



Missions. From the very discovery of 

 America the spiritual welfare of the na- 

 tive tribes was a subject of concern to the 

 various colonizing nations, particularly 

 Spain and France, with whom the Chris- 

 tianizationand civilization of the Indians 

 were made a regular part of the govern- 

 mental scheme, and the missionary was 

 frequently the pioneer explorer and dip- 

 lomatic ambassador. In the English 

 colonization, on the other hand, thework 

 was usually left to the zeal of the indi- 

 vidual philanthropist or of voluntary 

 organizations. 



First in chronologic order, historic im- 

 portance, number of establishments, and 

 population come the Catholic missions, 

 conducted in the earlier period chiefly by 

 Jesuits among the French and by Fran- 

 ciscans among the Spanish colonies. The 

 earliest mission estal)lishments within the 

 present United States were those begun 

 by the Spanish Franciscan Fathers, Pa- 

 dilla, Juan de la Cruz, and Descalona of 

 the Coi'onado expedition, among the 

 Quivira (Wichita), Pecos, and Tigua in 

 1542. Three years later the work was 

 begun among the Texas tribes by Father 

 Olmos. A century thereafter the first 

 Protestant missions ( Congregational ) were 

 founded tiy Mayhew and ICliot in Massa- 

 chusetts. From that period the work 



was carried on both N. and S. until almost 

 every denomination was represented, in- 

 cluding Orthodox Russian in Alaska and 

 the Mormons in Utah. 



The Southern States. — All of this re- 

 gion, and even as far N. as Virginia, was 

 loosely designated as Florida in the earlier 

 period, and was entirely within the sphere 

 of Spanish influence until about the end 

 of the seventeenth century. The begin- 

 ning of definite mission work in the Gulf 

 territory was made in 1544 when the 

 Calliolic Franciscan Father Andres de 

 Olmos, a veteran in the Mexican field, 

 struck northward into the Texas wilder- 

 ness, and after getting about him a consid- 

 erable body of converts led them back into 

 Tamaulipas, where, under the name of 

 Olives, they were organized into a regular 

 mission town. In 1549 the Dominican 

 Father Luis Cancer with several compan- 

 ions attempted a beginning on the w. coast 

 of Florida, but was murdered by the In- 

 dians almost as soon as his feet touched 

 the land. In 1565 St Augustine (San 

 Agustin) was founded and the work of 

 Christianizing the natives was actively 

 taken up, first by the Jesuits, but later, 

 probably in 1573, by the Franciscans, 

 who continued with it to the end. Within 

 twenty years they had established a chain 

 of flourishing missions along the coast 

 from St Augustine to St Helena, in South 

 Carolina, besides several others 6n the 

 w. Florida coast. In 1597 a portion of 

 the Guale tribe (possibly the Yamasi) on 

 the lower Georgia coast, under the leader- 

 ship of a rival claimant for the chieftain- 

 ship, attacked the neighboring missions 

 and killed several of the missionaries 

 before the friendly Indians could gather 

 to the rescue. In consequence of this 

 blow the Avork languished for several 

 years, when it was taken up with greater 

 zeal than before and the field extended 

 to the interior tribes. By the year 1615 

 there were 20 missions, with about 40 

 Franciscan workers, established in Florida 

 and the dependent coast region. The 

 most noted of these missionaries is Father 

 Francisco Pareja, author of a grannnar 

 and several devotional works in the Ti- 

 mucua language, the first books ever 

 printed in any Indian language of the 

 United States and the basis for the estab- 

 lishment of the Timucuan linguistic 

 family. In the year 1655 the Christian 

 Indian population of n. Florida and the 

 Georgia coast was estimated at 26,000. 

 The most successful result was obtained 

 among the Timucua in the neighborhood 

 of St Augustine and the Apalachee around 

 the bay of that name. In 1687 the Ya- 

 masi attacked and destroyed the mission 

 of Santa Catalina on the Georgia coast, 

 and to escape pursuit fled to the English 

 colony of Carolina. The traveler Dick- 



