Page:History of California, Volume 3 (Bancroft).djvu/707

Rh time the mission had no resident minister, Padre Mercado of San Antonio having charge of its spiritual interests and making occasional visits from the Estévan de Echabarris, near Bilbao, at which latter town he became a Franciscan in Nov. 1733, serving at his convent as lector de filosofía for laymen, maestro de estudiantes, and lector de artes de religiosos. He left Cádiz in June 1804, and after four years' service at the College of S. Fernando, he was sent to California in 1809. His missionary service was at S. Cárlos in 1809-29, and at Soledad in 1829-33; that is, these missions were his headquarters, he being absent much of the time on official tours. ''Autobiog. Autog. de los Padres, MS.; Sarria, Inf. sobre Frailes, 1817, MS., 76-7; Payeras, Inf., 1820,'' MS., 134-5, in which latter report he is highly praised, as of the most distinguished merit and ability, fitted for the highest positions, and one who might with advantage be entrusted with a needed manual for Franciscans. In 1813-19 Sarría held the office of comisario prefecto of the missions – the highest in the province – and again filled the position in 1823-30, or perhaps a little longer, being also president in 1823-5. In the discharge of his official duties he proved himself as prelate the worthy successor of Serra, Lasuen, and Tapis, and associate of Señan and Payeras. Readers of my chapters on mission annals are familiar with his acts and views and writings, which space does not permit me to recapitulate here. In my list of authorities some half-a-dozen of his more notable productions appear, among which is a curious volume of manuscript sermons in his native Basque. He was a scholarly, dignified, and amiable man; not prone to controversy, yet strong in argument, clear and earnest in the expression of his opinions; less disposed to asceticism and bigotry than some of the earlier Fernandinos, yet given at times to fasting and mortification of the flesh; devoted to his faith and to his order; strict in the observance and enforcement of Franciscan rules, and conscientious in the performance of every duty; yet liberal in his views on ordinary matters, clear-headed in business affairs, and well liked by all who came in contact with him. As prefect, no Californian friar could have done better, since in the misfortunes of his cloth he never lost either temper or courage. Declining as a loyal Spaniard to accept republicanism, P. Sarría was arrested in 1825, and his exile ordered; but his arrest, which lasted about five years, was merely nominal, and the order of exile, though never withdrawn and several times renewed, was never enforced. In ''S. Antonio, Doc. Sueltos,'' MS., 83-4, is a letter to the padre from his nephew in Spain, 1820, on family poverty and misfortunes. After 1830, old and infirm, but still actively engaged in local missionary duties, he lived quietly at Soledad, which he declined to leave in 1834 when the northern missions were given up to the Zacatecanos, especially as no resident minister was assigned to this mission. Thus he was the last of the Fernandinos in the north, dying just before the secularization which put an end to the Franciscan régime. He died suddenly, perhaps fell while saying mass at the altar, on May 24, 1835, without receiving the final sacraments. Padre Mercado declared that his 'muerte violenta' was due to 'escasez de alimentos.' ''S. Antonio, Doc. Sueltos,'' MS., 120; and the tradition became somewhat prevalent that he died through neglect of the administrator. Mrs Ord heard this version; see also Mofras, Explor., i. 389-91; E. C., in Revista Cientif., i. 328; ''Vallejo, Hist. Cal''., MS., iv. 93. By these writers the death is dated 1838, and Wofras names the month as August. Vallejo says Sarría's death was caused by neglect on the part of the Mexican friars. The truth is, probably, that the aged friar, childishly insisting on remaining alone with his Indians, overtasked his strength and shortened his life, circumstances rendering suitable care impossible. I do not credit Mercado's charges, or believe that there was an administrator in Cal. who would have maltreated a missionary so widely known and loved. His body was carried to S. Antonio and buried in the mission church, on the epistle side of the presbytery in the