HARRINGTON ] HISTORY OF BURTON MOUND 55 
MENTION IN THE GOYCOECHEA REPORT, 1796 
Tn 1796 Syujttin was still extant and its chief still living, for in the 
report of Captain Felipe de Goycoechea,'? under date of March 12, 
1796, it is given as “ Yuctu (at the presidio),” its captain “ Yano- 
nali,” 1*@ its population estimated at 125. During the first decade or 
two of the nineteenth century the ancient site of Syujttin evidently 
became completely depopulated of Indian inhabitants. 
Hisrory SuBsEQUENT TO THE ABANDONMENT OF THE SITE BY THE 
NATIVES 
The abandoned beach at the site of Syujttin was commonly spoken 
of in Spanish as El Puerto, or La Playa. It was there that vessels 
visiting Santa Barbara landed; the cove of sandy beach in front of 
the village had been used in earlier times as the landing place of 
Indian canoes and a few of these craft were still used by the Indians 
who were detailed to fish for the padres. The Indian jacales were 
probably burnt or otherwise destroyed by the Indians themselves when 
they abandoned their homes. They stood in the vicinity of the foot 
of Chapala Street and about the adjacent Burton Mound. The tract 
was acquired by the Church as a part of the great mission lands. 
ALFRED ROBINSON DESCRIBES A VISIT TO SANTA BARBARA IN 1829 
Alfred Robinson, in his book published in 1846,1° describes the ap- 
pearance of Santa Barbara as seen from the ship in 1829 and, while 
saying nothing of the Burton Mound, tells of fording the Mission 
Creek northeast of the mound. He also furnishes the earliest extant 
picture of Santa Barbara, as seen from the ship, showing the Burton 
Mound in the foreground, reproduced in this paper in Plate 2, a. 
From the Mission, we stood over for some small and rocky islands at the 
southeast point of Santa Cruz; and on the following morning, close under our 
lee, we beheld the beautiful vale of Sta. Barbara. e 
See from the ship, the ‘ Presidio” or town, its charming vicinity, and neat 
little Mission in the background, all situated on an inclined plane, rising 
gradually from the sea to a range of verdant hills, three miles from the beach, 
having a striking and beautiful effect. Distance, however, in this case, 
“Jends enchantment of the view,’ which a nearer approach somewhat dispels; 
for we found the houses of the town, of which there were some two hundred, 
in not very good condition. They are built in the Spanish mode, with adobe 
walls, and roofs of tile, and are scattered about outside of the military de- 
partment; shewing a total disregard of order on the part of the authorities. 
A ridge of rugged highlands extends along the rear, reaching from St. Bona- 
ventura to Point Conception, and on the left of the town, in an elevated position, 
stands the Castillo or fortress. 
2 Engelhardt, Santa Barbara Mission, San Francisco, 1923, p. 448. 
“a Here with the final t omitted. 
18 Alfred Robinson, Life in California before the Conquest, New York, 1846, pp, 41-43 
and 46, 
