168 
CALIFORNIA. 
of his men, were embarked, and ordered to be landed at Cape San 
Lucas, the southern point of' Lower California. 
Thus in a few days were the authorities changed, without a single 
gun being fired but the one above spoken of, and without any blood¬ 
shed whatever. At the time of despatching the Clementine, Alvarado, 
with the advice of Cosme and Ramierez, purchased a small schooner, 
and sent her at once to a port in Mexico to inform the supreme govern¬ 
ment of every thing that had taken place, adding that they were willing 
to remain in allegiance, if they were allowed to choose their own 
officers. In the mean time they sent commissioners to demand that 
the other presidios should be given up, and that the inhabitants should 
acknowledge the authority of those who had overturned the govern¬ 
ment. This the officers and inhabitants refused to do, upon which 
Alvarado marched against Santa Barbara with his rancheros, for the 
hunters had, for the most part, left him. He was met by a superior 
force, commanded by a former deputy, named Castillo; but the schooner 
returned previous to hostilities being commenced, bringing not only 
confirmation of the appointment of Alvarado and the others, but with a 
supply of arms, ammunition, and clothing for the troops, to the amount 
of ten thousand dollars. When this became known, Castillo and 
Alvarado became friends, the former acknowledging the authority ot 
the latter, while Alvarado, it is said, took the oath of allegiance to 
the central government. 
Alvarado now returned to Monterey, where, feeling himself more 
firmly established in his new office, and having been by this caprice of 
fortune raised above his deserts, he became arrogant to his countrymen, 
and alienated the foreigners by whom he had been assisted. 
It will scarcely be necessary to say, that by this time the missions 
had lost all their control over the community. The government had 
seized upon their lands, and appointed an administrador to take charge 
of the property (which had been decided under an old Spanish law to 
belong to the government), as well as to rule over the Indians. From 
the priests were thus removed all further responsibilities and duties, 
except those strictly clerical. This act brought about the ruin of the 
missions. The moral and religious usefulness of the priests had been 
destroyed before, and now the property that was still left became a 
prey to the rapacity of the governor, the needy officers, and the ad¬ 
ministrador, who have well-nigh consumed all. Some of the missions, 
that had from forty to eighty thousand head of cattle, are now left with 
less than two thousand, and are literally going to ruin. They are no 
more what they once were, the pride of the padres, and the seat of the 
wealth and prosperity of the country. Moreover, this state of things 
