Page:History of California, Volume 3 (Bancroft).djvu/705

Rh 50 per cent before 1834, except sheep, in which there was a small gain; but by the end of the decade cattle and horses had lost another 50 per cent, and sheep arr. wool; crops in good condition. Hartnell, Diario, MS., 27; ''St. Pap. Miss.,'' MS., viii. 30. Debts $499, including those to José M. Águila, clerk, and Manuel Lopez, ex-llavero. ''Pico, Pap. Mis.,'' MS., 47-51.

Statistics of 1771-1834. Total of baptisms 4,456, of which 1,761 Ind. adults, 2,587 Ind. children, 1 and 107 gente de razon; annual average 68. Total of deaths 3,772, of which 2,000 Ind. adults, 1,763 Ind. children, 5 and 4 gente de razon; annual average 58; average death rate 7.66 per cent of pop. Largest pop. 1,296 in 1805; males always in excess of females, notably so after 1805; children ⅓ to ⅕ and in the last years ⅛. Largest no. of cattle 8,000 in 1828; horses 1,030 in 1831; mules 82 in 1832; sheep 11,500 in 1816; goats 293 in 1790; swine 150 in 1817; all kinds 20,118 in 1818. Total product of wheat 99,713 bush., yield 10 fold; barley 12,097 bush., 11 fold; maize 19,591 bush., 85 fold; beans 2,514 bush., 15 fold; miscel. grains 4,500 bush., 21 fold.

Summary of events, etc. 1831. Status under Echeandía's decree, never put in execution, Antonio Castro being appointed comisionado. This vol., p. 306-7. 1833. Duran favors partial secularization. Id., 335. Lat. and long. by Douglas. Id., p. 404. 1834. Rumors of colony plots. Id., 281. S. Antonio to be a parish of the 2d class under the reglamento. Id., 348. 1835. Secularization by Manuel Crespo as comisionado in June, with Mariano Soberanes as majordomo till Sept., when he turned over the estate to José M. Ramirez, R.'s appointment being on Aug. 16th. Id., 353-4; ''St. Pap. Miss.,'' MS., vi. 16; xi. 30-3; ''Leg. Rec.,'' MS., iii. 4, 8, 9. Florencio Serrano was employed as teacher. June 22d, P. Mercado complains that all his efforts for the good of the Ind. are rendered futile by the persons in authority, who commit adultery openly and other excesses. The gov. orders an investigation. ''St. Pap. Miss.,'' MS., xi. 32-7. Aug. 12th, the debt of P. Pedro Cabot to the mission, $808, was annulled on account of his poverty. Vallejo, Doc., MS., iii. 48-9. Ramirez declares that on his taking charge there was no money, no cloth, no table furniture; the shops closed, only a few poor and dying horses, very little other live-stock; the year's yield of hides and tallow estimated at $1,500; and expenses over $2,500. Dept. St. Pap., B. M., lxxxi. 73-4. Dec. 28th, P. Mercado writes to the gov. on the unjust and even inhuman treatment of the Ind., who are beaten and starved in defiance of the laws under Ramirez' management. He also claims that their spiritual interests are neglected, because the admin. will not provide horses for the padre, and the Ind. are allowed to live at S. Lorenzo and other distant points; moreover he cannot collect his pay as minister. Id., 57; ''Leg. Rec.,'' MS., iii. 3-6. Dec. 31st, Mercado's report to same general effect; heathenism gaining on christianity; Ind. naked and starving, and two thirds of them absent in quest of food not to be had at the mission. ''S. Antonio, Doc. Sueltos,'' MS, 120-1. 1836. Ramirez succeeded by José María Andrade on Sept. 7th, and the latter by José Ábrego on Dec. 30th. ''St. Pap. Miss.,'' MS., viii. 27, 29, 38. P. Mercado continued his charges of mismanagement and cruelty against Ramirez, declaring that the Ind. had passed from their former condition of minors under guardianship to that of slaves under inhuman and irresponsible masters. He cited several instances of excessive punishment. In March an investigation was ordered by the gov., José M. Cosio being the fiscal. Many witnesses were examined, including Mercado, Ramirez, and several neophytes. The testimony indicates that the padre, angry because the admin. could not pay him all his salary, had greatly exaggerated his charges of cruelty; and that Ramirez, a comparatively efficient manager, had resorted to the lash in accordance with Figueroa's regulations, as the only means of controlling the vicious and lazy Ind., whose complaints it suited the padre's purposes to