TRAVELS IN THE CALIFORNIA S. 
349 
of Monterey, situate on Monterey Bay, Latitude 36° N, em¬ 
bracing the Missions, San Louis Obispo, San Miguel, San 
Antonio, Nuestra Senora de la Solidad, San Carlos, San Juan 
Bautista, the Pueblo of Monterey, and the villa of Brauciforte; 
the Presidio de San Francisco, situate on the San Francisco 
Bay, Latitude 37° N., having under its jurisdiction the Mis 
sions Santa Cruz, San Jose, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San 
Rafael, San Francisco Solana, and the Pueblos, Yerba Buena 
and San Jose de Guadelupe. 
The structures of these Presidios consist of walls of unburnt 
brick, twelve feet in height, enclosing an area of about one 
thousand square yards, within which are the house of the 
Commandante , and the barracks of the troops. 
At a short distance from the Presidios are what are called 
Castillos , the forts, where the cannon, powder-house, &c., are 
situated. 
Within four or five leagues of the Presidios are certain 
farms called rancliios , which were assigned for the use of the 
garrisons, and as depositories of the cattle and grain which 
the crown was expecting to receive, as taxes from the Missions* 
Each of these Missions had allotted to it by the old Spanish 
Government fifteen square miles of ground ; and the priests 
having the right of choosing the sites, selected the very best 
soil, and in other respects the finest locations in the country. 
On these have been erected buildings of various plans and 
sizes, according to the taste of the priests and the number of 
Indians to be accommodated. Some are built around a square; 
the buildings themselves forming an enclosing wall on three 
sides, and a wall and gateway supplying the other side: the 
church, the priest’s house, and Indian dwellings, workshops, 
granaries, and prisons, all fronting upon the enclosed area. 
Others are surrounded by a high wall ; others are built on 
the open plain, the church in the centre, and the Indian huts 
leading off from it in rows, forming streets. And still others 
have the church, the granaries, magazines, jail, &c , enclosed 
