On a warm day in August, a priest in the city of Cadíz in Spain

Transcription

1 3 The Apostle of California A Missionary s Story On a warm day in August, a priest in the city of Cadíz in Spain sat down to write a painful letter. This priest had just come to Cadíz from his island home of Mallorca. All his life he had lived on Mallorca, but he had left it. And he knew he would never see it again. His two aged parents lived in the town of Petra on Mallorca. So did his sister, her husband, and their three children. When he left Mallorca, he did not tell his family where he was going. Maybe he thought they would try to stop him. Maybe he feared it would hurt them too much if he told them himself. Maybe he worried that it would be too hard for him to say, I will never see you again. He loved his family very much. In his letter, this priest told his father and mother that he would miss them very much. But, he wrote, he was leaving them because of his love for God. God had asked him to leave Mallorca, to leave Spain to go to distant lands across the ocean. In these lands, he would tell people who had never heard about Jesus or the Catholic Church all that Jesus had done for them. He asked his parents to be happy for him, for he was doing what God wanted him to do. And he told them that if they all worked hard to be holy, they would see each other again in heaven. The priest told his father and mother to pray for him. He said that if they understood why he left them, they would encourage him. They would tell him to go forward and never turn back. Little Miquel The priest who wrote this letter was a small man, only a little over five feet tall. He had dark skin, dark eyes, and dark hair. The day after he was born, on November 24, 1713, he was baptized and given the name Miquel. His family, the Serras, were farming folk who lived in the town of Petra. 35

2 36 A JOURNEY ACROSS AMERICA: California Petra, Junípero Serra s home city on the island of Mallorca Franciscan: the name of an order or group of priests and brothers who follow the way of St. Francis of Assisi vow: to make a serious promise superior: a person of higher authority, especially in a religious order like the Franciscans martyr: a person who suffers for what he believes, especially for the Catholic faith Junípero: hoo-nih-pehroh Miquel, too, would have become a farmer like his father. Instead, he decided to become a priest. In September 1729, he went to the city of Palma and began his studies for the priesthood. A little over a year later, he entered a Franciscan convent in Palma. He was then only 16 years old. The Franciscans call themselves the Order of Friars Minor, or Little Brothers. They follow the teachings and rule of St. Francis of Assisi, a holy man who had lived and worked in Italy in the 12th century. Franciscans vow to obey their superiors and to live like the poor and be celibate never get married. Like other Franciscans, Miquel took on a new name when he became a friar he was called, not Miquel, but Junípero, after one of St. Francis s close friends and followers. During his early days in the Franciscan convent in Palma, the young Fray Junípero Serra read the lives of Franciscan saints and heroes. He was especially interested in the stories about the Franciscan missionaries who went to teach people in far-off countries about Christ and the Church. Such men lived heroic lives, and some even became martyrs for their love for Christ. Such stories inspired Fray Junípero to become holy. He thought he might even shed his blood to bring the message of Christ to those who had never heard of him. Junípero s Franciscan superiors, however, had other plans for him. Three years after he was ordained a priest, he began teaching at the university in Palma. He was a teacher for the next eight years. He also preached in the city s churches, convents, and monasteries, and lived like a good Franciscan should. Yet, he never forgot the dream he had to become a missionary.

3 Chapter 3 The Apostle of California 37 The cloister of the Franciscan convent in Palma, Mallorca Finally, in 1749, he decided to volunteer to serve as a missionary in one of the far-off lands Spain ruled in America or Asia. During Lent that year, he learned that he had been chosen. That was why Junípero was in Cádiz, writing a farewell letter to his parents. In August 1749, he and his friend, Fray Francisco Palóu, boarded a ship. It would take them across the ocean to Veracruz in the far-off land of Mexico. Serra in Mexico When Serra and Palóu s ship sailed into Veracruz on December 2, 1749, they still had a long way to go. They had to travel to Mexico City, which was about 250 miles from Veracruz. The road to Mexico City crossed low, swampy lands and high mountains. It was a very long and difficult road, even for men on horseback. But Fray Junípero did not go on horseback. Instead, he and another Franciscan walked the entire way to Mexico City. In Mexico City, Junípero and Palóu joined the College of San Francisco, where they would learn to become missionaries. But Junípero did not stay long at the college. Not long after he arrived there, he learned that missionaries were needed in the Sierra Gorda, a mountain range in Mexico. When the superior at San Fernando asked who wanted to go, Junípero spoke out. Here I am, he said, send me. The superior did send him to the Sierra Gorda. There, Fray Junípero worked as a missionary among the Pame Indian people. As a missionary, Palóu: pah-loo Pame: PAH-may

4 38 A JOURNEY ACROSS AMERICA: California The outside and inside of the Church of Santiago in Jalpan, in the Sierra Gorda in Mexico. Serra took part in the building of this church. novice: a new member of a religious order he did not just teach the Indians about Christ, say Mass, and offer the sacraments he did all these things, and more. The king of Spain wanted his missionaries not only to help Indians become Christian but good Spaniards as well. To do this, Junípero and other missionaries started farms at their missions. They taught the Indians how to grow crops and do other tasks, such as carpentry, blacksmithing, and weaving. Fray Junípero lived and worked in the Sierra Gorda for eight years. Then for nine years, he was at the College of San Fernando. There he led the choir, directed the novices, and traveled around Mexico as a home missionary. Home missionaries go from church to church, preaching to people who are already Catholic. They encourage Catholics to live good and holy lives. Then in 1767, the College of San Fernando offered Fray Junípero a new adventure. The king of Spain wanted the Franciscans to take over missions to the Indians in the far-off lands of Baja California. Fray Junípero was to lead a group of Franciscans to Baja California. He himself would be their president. As ever, Junípero gladly did what his superiors asked him to do. But Fray Junípero Serra did not stay long in Baja California. After only a year, he learned that the Spanish government had given him a new task to do. It would be a far more difficult task, too. Before, he had worked in missions others had started. Now, he had to start new missions for people who had never heard of Christ in a land the Spaniards knew very little about. This was the land the Spaniards called Alta California.

5 Chapter 3 The Apostle of California 39 The Settlement of Alta California It had been over 160 years since Sebastián Vizcaíno had explored Alta California. In all that time, Spain was not interested in the place. Then, in the 1760s, it looked like Great Britain and Russia might be interested in taking Alta California for themselves. To keep this from happening, the Spanish king, Carlos III, decided it was time for Spain to settle Alta California. It was Count José de Gálvez who came up with the idea about how to settle Alta California. Instead of sending Spanish settlers there, he would send missionaries. Soldiers would go to Alta California, too, but only enough to protect the missionaries and to man a presidio or two. The missionaries task was to teach the Indians of California about Christ and to make them good subjects of King Carlos. The missionaries would preach, baptize, and teach, but also train the Indians to be farmers and craftsmen. As we learned in Chapter 2, California Indian life was very different from Spanish life. Most of the natives were hunters and gatherers, not farmers. The missionaries had to teach the Indians to be part of a very different culture from what they were used to. Count Gálvez decided the expedition into California would have two parts. One part of it would go by sea from Baja California. The other part would travel by land. Both parts of the expedition, however, were to look for the bay of San Diego. The commander of the whole expedition was the soldier, Gaspar de Portolá. Portolá led the expedition that went by land. With him went Fray Junípero Serra, who was the Father President of the new missions he would found in Alta California. The journey to San Diego was long and hard. The lands of Baja California that Portolá and Serra crossed were mostly barren desert, with very little or no water. Fray Junípero suffered greatly on this journey. A large sore he had on his leg and foot caused him much pain so much pain, that it looked like he could not walk. But he prayed to God to help him, and then asked the muleteer to take care of him as if Junípero were one of his mules! The man spread something on Junípero s leg the kind of medicine he would give to his mules if they had sores. The next day, Junípero s leg was better. He could walk the whole 650 miles to San Diego. On July 1, 1769, the land expedition at last reached San Diego. Two ships, the San Carlos and the San Antonio, were there waiting for them. presidio: a Spanish word meaning fortress culture: the beliefs, customs, arts, etc. of a people, nation, or group. The personality of a people, nation or group. muleteer: someone who takes care of mules Fray Junípero Serra California Saved Fray Junípero was very happy with what he saw in San Diego. The hills around the bay were not rocky like the hills of Baja California. San Diego had grassy plains, where cattle could graze. It had a river that could supply Portolá: pohr-toh-lah

6 40 A JOURNEY ACROSS AMERICA: California a mission with water. This was important, because California does not get much rain in the summer. Most of California s rain falls in the winter. The fields around San Diego looked very fertile; Junípero thought his mission could grow grains, vegetables, and fruit trees on that land. He was very pleased, too, that so many grape vines grew in the area, as well as a beautiful flower that he called a Rose of Castile. It was really the Wild California Rose. But all was not well at San Diego for the Spaniards. Most of the sailors on the two ships were very sick. Many of them and a few of the soldiers had died. A third ship had not arrived, so there was not enough food for everyone to eat. Portolá sent the San Antonio back to Mexico to get more supplies; but it would take months for the ship to return to San Diego. Then Portolá decided to leave San Diego and go north in search of the bay of Monterey. Most of the soldiers went with him. Only a few soldiers were left at San Diego. All these problems, however, did not discourage Fray Junípero. His motto was still go forward and never look back. He founded the first mission in California at San Diego and eagerly waited for the San Diego natives to come to it. But months passed by, and no Indians came to the mission. The natives that did visit the Spaniards were not at all friendly. They stole cloth from the Spanish camp. They bothered the sick men and laughed at them. Then, on August 15, 1769 (the Feast of the Assumption of Mary), the natives attacked the Spanish camp. Arrows flew into the camp, while the few Spanish soldiers fired at the attackers. The power of the guns frightened the Indians, and they fled back into the hills. When Portolá returned to San Diego in January, he was not at all happy. He had not found Monterey Bay. (Portolá however did discover a much better bay San Francisco Bay.) When Portolá saw how bad things were at San Diego, he decided it was time to leave Alta California and return to Mexico. When Fray Junípero heard that Portolá wanted to leave California, he begged him to stay. Without the Spaniards, the California natives would never hear of Jesus and the Church! Portolá agreed to stay until March 19, the feast day of St. Joseph. If a supply ship did not come by that time, he said, the expedition would return to Mexico. A happy and hopeful Fray Junípero began to pray a novena to Saint Joseph. Every day, Junípero climbed a hill from which he could see the bay of San Diego. He hoped he would see a supply ship on the ocean. Every day, however, no supply ship appeared. At last came the feast day of St. Joseph. Fray Junípero said Mass in the morning, preached a sermon, and then once again climbed the hill. Alas, he could see no ship! The fog was too thick. But then, at about three o clock that day, he again climbed the hill, and out on the ocean he saw a ship. It was the San Antonio, returning from Mexico with supplies for San Diego. The expedition to Alta California had been saved.

7 Chapter 3 The Apostle of California 41 A California Journey Almost a month after the San Antonio sailed into San Diego Bay, Fray Junípero and Portolá set out on the long journey to find Monterey Bay. Serra sailed on the San Antonio, while Portolá and several others traveled by land. With Portolá went Fray Juan Crespí, who took notes on the expedition. Portolá and Crespí never went very far from the coast on their journey. After leaving San Diego, they passed over dry, hilly lands. To the west of these lands rose higher hills and mountains. Shallow rivers flowed down Crespí: cres-pee The Great Bay of Saint Francis One of the strangest facts about the early Spanish explorers of California is that none of them had discovered the great San Francisco Bay. Both Cabrillo and Vizcaíno sailed past the Golden Gate, but neither of them saw it. Neither did Francis Drake. The bay that Vizcaíno wrote most about was Monterey Bay the bay that Portolá just could not find (though it was right there in front of his nose!) When Portolá and his men did not find Monterey, they kept going north. Perhaps they had not reached it yet! It was a difficult journey, for many of the men were sick with scurvy. Some of the men had died. The hills were very rugged to climb, and it was hard to find food (though friendly Indians gave the Spaniards tamales made with black seeds). Then, on the Feast of All Saints, one of the soldiers, Sergeant Ortega, climbed to the top of a ridge of hills. Below him, in the east, stretched a large body of water, like an arm of the sea. Ortega must have been astonished, for he did not expect to see such a wonder. He was looking at what later was called San Francisco (St. Francis) Bay. The Spaniards soon came to learn just how big San Francisco Bay is. Between the bay and the Pacific Ocean is a long peninsula, like an enormous thumb. North of this peninsula lies the Marin Peninsula. Between these peninsulas is a strait, called the Golden Gate. When one sails through the Golden Gate, he sees a large body of water that lies before him and to the south. This is San Francisco Bay. If he goes north, he will sail into San Pablo Bay. If he sails west from San Pablo Bay, he will enter Suison Bay. The San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers, which come from the great Sierra Nevada mountain range, flow into this shallow bay. Flat lands with streams and wetlands form a delta to the east of Suison Bay. Today, San Francisco Bay is one of the greatest ports in the world. The San Francisco Bay area Golden Gate: the strait that is the entrance to San Francisco Bay scurvy: a disease caused by not eating enough fruits and vegetables that contain Vitamin C delta: lands where rivers split into smaller rivers before flowing into the sea

8 42 A JOURNEY ACROSS AMERICA: California from these hills and emptied into the ocean. The Spaniards followed one of these rivers into a valley that was filled with Wild California Roses. They called the valley San Juan Capistrano, after a Franciscan saint, Saint John Capistran. North of San Juan Capistrano, the Spaniards entered wide lands. As they were crossing a river, they felt the earth tremble and shake. They named the river Río de Los Temblores (River of Earthquakes). Later, it was called the Santa Ana River. In the same wide lands, they discovered another river, which today we call the Los Angeles River. The city of Los Angeles later rose on the banks of this river. North of these wide lands or plains stretched a line of very high and rugged mountains. These mountains, which run from west to east, are called the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains. The Spaniards did not climb these mountains. Instead, they followed a river (later called the Santa Clara River) into a valley that pointed down toward the ocean. The Santa Clara River flows into the ocean in the area where Chumash villages stood. From this region, the Spaniards followed the coast to where Santa Barbara is today. In some places, the mountains came down almost to the sea. It was easy to follow the coastline from Santa Barbara to the valley where the city of San Luis Obispo is today. But it was difficult to cross the rugged Santa Lucia Mountains that stretch all the way to the sea. Crespí said that even goats and deer would have a hard time crossing these mountains. So it was that Portolá, Crespí, and their men were very happy to climb down into the gentle valley where the Salinas River runs. They followed this valley all the way to the Monterey peninsula. There, for the first time, they recognized Monterey Bay. A few days later, they saw the San Antonio, with Fray Junípero aboard sail into the bay. Junípero Serra offers Mass at Monterey after he and Portolá claimed California for the Church and Spain Río de Los Temblores: REE-oh day lohs tem- BLOHR-ays

9 Chapter 3 The Apostle of California 43 The California Missions Pentecost is the Sunday on which we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Church (Acts 2). Fray Junípero and Portolá chose this day in 1770 to claim Alta California for the Church and the king of Spain. Near the oak tree where the Carmelites had said Mass when Vizcaíno had come to Monterey, the Spaniards raised a large cross and placed it in a hole in the ground. Fray Junípero blessed the fields around the cross with holy water. Everyone cried out, Long live the Faith! Then Portolá set up the standards of King Carlos III, while his men shouted, Long live the king! Fray Junípero then said Mass, after which everyone sang the Salve Regina ( Hail, Holy Queen ) before a statue of the Virgin Mary. When these and other ceremonies ended, Alta California belonged to the Church and the king of Spain. Monterey became the capital of Alta California. There, Portolá built a presidio to guard the bay, and Fray Junípero founded his second mission. But Serra did not keep the mission at Monterey; instead, he moved it to the Carmel River, at the bottom of the Monterey Peninsula. He named the mission San Carlos de Borromeo de Carmelo (Saint Charles Borromeo of Carmel). Carmel Mission as it is often remembered today, became the chief mission in California. Fray Junípero was very eager to found new missions. With two other friars, he founded his third mission in California on a river south of Carmel. Near this river, Serra hung a bell from a great oak tree and began to ring it. Come, Gentiles! he cried out. Come to the Holy Church. Come and receive the faith of Jesus Christ! Fray Junípero s new mission was called San Antonio de Padua (Saint Anthony of Padua). San Diego, San Carlos de Borromeo, and San Antonio de Padua were Serra s first three missions. But he and his Franciscan missionaries founded six more in his lifetime. A year after Serra founded San Antonio, Fray Pedro Benito Cambón and Fray Angel Fernandez Somera y Balbuena founded Mission San Gabriel Arcángel (Saint Gabriel the Archangel) in southern California. San Gabriel became one of the richest missions in California. In 1772, Serra founded Mission San Luis Obispo (Saint Louis the Bishop) on the Central Coast. A California Martyr Not all California natives, of course, joined the missions. Most natives continued to live in their villages and practice their ancient customs. The missionaries called these natives gentiles. Some of the gentiles were friendly toward the Spanish; others were not. Among the unfriendly natives were those who lived near Mission San Diego, a people called the Kumeyaay. standard: a flag used in special ceremonies gentiles: a word that comes from the Latin word, gentes, which means the nations. Jews called all non-jews gentiles, and the Spanish missionaries called non-christian American natives by the same name. Angel Fernandez Somera y Balbuena: AHN-hel fer- NAHN-dez soh-may-rah ee Bahl-boo-AYN-ah Pedro Benito Cambón: PAY-droh beh-nee-toh cahm-bohn Kumeyaay: KOO-meh-yie

10 44 A JOURNEY ACROSS AMERICA: California Martyrdom of Fray Luís Jayme flog: to beat or whip; a form of punishment arroyo: a dry creek or stream bed Fray Luís Jayme: loo- WEES HIGH-may Amar a Dios, hijos: ah- MAHR ah DEE-ohs, EE-hos Why were the Kumeyaay so unfriendly? Perhaps it was because they had been badly treated by the Spanish soldiers. Kumeyaay shamans, too, were not happy that so many Indians were not following the ancient ways of their people because of the mission and the friars. Of course, the Kumeyaay had been troublesome to the Spaniards right from the very beginning. Maybe the natives were just upset that people from far away were settling on their land. Two Indians who had joined the mission started all the trouble. In the fall of 1775, these Indians, named Carlos and Francisco, stole seeds and fish from some old native women. Afraid that the friars would flog them for this, Carlos and Francisco went to the gentile villages and encouraged the Kumayaay to attack Mission San Diego. About 600 native warriors joined Carlos and Francisco, and on the night of November 4 they surrounded the mission. The warriors attacked the mission and set fire to several buildings. The crackling of the flames awoke one of the missionaries, Fray Vicente Fuster. Smelling smoke, he awakened others in the mission, and together they ran to the guardhouse. One of those awakened was Urcelino, the mission s carpenter. To protect the friars and himself, he grabbed a musket; but, before he could fire it, he was struck by an arrow. He cried out, Ha, Indian, you have killed me. God forgive you.

11 Chapter 3 The Apostle of California 45 Fray Luís Jayme was the other missionary at San Diego. Fray Luís had been a good missionary and deeply loved the Indians. Instead of running for cover, Fray Luís approached the attackers and greeted them as he always did. Amar a Dios, hijos! ( Love God, children ), he said. But the Indians did not return his greeting. Instead, they dragged him to an arroyo outside the mission. They tore off his clothes, shot him full of arrows, and beat him with stones and clubs. Fray Junípero thanked God when he heard that Fray Luís had died a martyr. Not only was the priest now in heaven, but God would use his suffering and death to draw more Indians to Mission San Diego. When Serra heard that the Indian Carlos had been captured, he asked the viceroy not to execute him. Let him live, Serra wrote, in order that he should be saved which is the very purpose of our coming here. An Intrepid Explorer Fray Junípero wanted the missions to supply all the food and clothing the friars and the Indians needed. But this was not possible in the early years. It would take some time before the mission farms could raise enough crops and cattle to take care of their needs. In the meantime, they had to get supplies from Mexico. It took a long time to send supplies from the port of San Blas in Mexico to California. The only way was by ship, and it was a long voyage from San Blas to San Diego. Ships, too, might sink at sea, and all the supplies would be lost. These difficulties made Serra ask the viceroy to open up a supply route that did not go by sea. Pack trains carrying supplies could go from Sonora in Mexico, through New Mexico, and across the deserts to California. The viceroy approved of Serra s idea and chose an explorer named Juan Bautista de Anza to find such a route. Anza was probably the best choice for this task. He was an intrepid explorer and a friend to the Indians. With him went Fray Francisco Garcés, an exploring Franciscan missionary. Garcés, too, was highly respected by the Yuma Indians, who lived on the Colorado River. Juan Bautista de Anza, by Ira Diamond Gerard Cassidy, El Paso Museum of Art

12 46 A JOURNEY ACROSS AMERICA: California league: an old measure of distance running from about 2.4 to 4.6 miles Making friends with the Yumas would be important, since they were very warlike, and the trail from Sonora to California had to pass through their lands. Anza and Garcés began their journey from Tubac, in southern Arizona. Their trail pointed north for many miles, until they came to the Gila River. They followed this river westward to where it flows into the Colorado River. The Colorado River rises in the Rocky Mountains. For many leagues, it flows toward the west and then turns south until it runs into the Gulf of California. On the banks of the Colorado, Anza and Garcés gave gifts to the Yuma Indians and so became their friends. From the Yuma villages, the explorers passed into the dry and barren Colorado Desert. It was good they were traveling in the winter, for the summer can be bitterly hot in these lands. Eventually, they climbed into the San Jacinto Mountains. The higher slopes of these mountains are covered with thick pine forests. From the mountains, the explorers climbed down into the dry valleys where such cities as San Bernardino and Los Angeles sit today. Finally, in March 1774, Anza and his party reached Mission San Gabriel. This was not the last time Anza passed over this trail. In October 1775, he again set out, but this time with 38 families, 40 soldiers, and hundreds of horses, pack mules, and beef cattle. The expedition reached San Gabriel in January 1776 but did not stop there. Instead, Anza and the settlers continued up the coast until they came to San Francisco. There they established a presidio and a mission named San Francisco de Asís, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. Anza had opened up Serra s supply route from Sonora, Mexico to California. El Camino Real: [el cah- MEE-noh ray-ahl] the broad road that connected California s missions from San Diego to San Francisco Jacinto: hah-sihn-toh The Man Who Never Turned Back Junípero Serra was a man who never rested. Though he lived at his mission in Carmel, San Carlos de Borromeo, he would visit all the missions, traveling hundreds of miles on El Camino Real ( The King s Highway ) to do so. He preached the Gospel and offered the sacraments to Indians and Spaniards alike. During his time in California, Serra founded nine missions. Eventually, more Spanish settlers came to California and founded towns, called pueblos. The first pueblo in Alta California was San José de Guadalupe. It was founded in 1777 near Mission Santa Clara de Asís. This was the beginning of the modern city of San Jose. The second pueblo, founded in 1781, had a very long name. It was called El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula (the Pueblo of Our Lady, Queen of the Angels of Porciuncula. Porciuncula was then the name for the Los Angeles River.) This was the beginning of the modern city of Los Angeles.

13 Chapter 3 The Apostle of California 47 Serra wanted Spanish settlers to come to California, but they caused some problems for him and the missions. He had to fight to protect the Indians from settlers who wanted mission lands or to force Indians to work for them. Serra insisted that the king of Spain had given the mission lands to the Indians and to no one else. Sometimes he had to oppose the Spanish governors, who had ideas that Fray Junípero thought were bad for the Indians. The ideas of one Spanish governor ruined Fray Junípero s plan to supply the missions. In 1781, the governor placed Spanish settlers in a pueblo on the Colorado River, near where the Yuma Indians lived. This did not please the Yuma chief, Salvador Palma; he wanted a mission for his people, not a Spanish pueblo! When the Spanish settlers came and began pushing the natives off their lands, the Yuma fought back. They attacked the pueblo and killed all the men in it. They made the women and children slaves. Even the Franciscan missionaries, Francisco Garcés, Juan Barraneche, and José Moreno were killed. The Spanish army was able to rescue the women and children, but they were not able to make friends with the Yuma again. This meant that supplies could no longer pass from Sonora to California. If the missions were to get supplies, they had to come by ship. But Junípero Serra never let disappointment stop him from doing God s work. Even when he became sick, he continued to preach, say Mass, and visit the missions. But in the summer of 1784, he began to feel pains in his chest. Feeling that he soon would die, he called his friend, Fray Francisco Palóu, to come to Monterey. When Palóu arrived, he could not believe Serra was so sick for he was working as hard as ever. But on August 28, 1784, Palóu found that his friend had died peacefully in his sleep. Fray Junípero was 70 years old when he died. Both Spaniards and Indians came to Fray Junípero s funeral. So loud was the weeping of the Indians that one could hardly hear the Franciscans singing the prayers for the dead over the body of their father, brother, and friend. Chapter 3 Review Summary Junípero Serra was born on the island of Mallorca in He came from a farming family, but he decided to become a priest. When he was 16, he entered a Franciscan convent. After he was ordained a priest, Fray Junípero taught in the university in Palma. In 1749, he volunteered to become a missionary and was sent to Mexico. As a missionary, Fray Junípero worked among the Pame Indians in the Sierra Gorda. He then worked as a home missionary. Then in 1767, the College of San Fernando asked Fray Junípero to lead a group of Franciscans to Baja California. Fray Junípero went to Baja California, but after only a year, he learned that the Spanish crown wanted him to start new missions in Alta California.

14 48 A JOURNEY ACROSS AMERICA: California Chapter 3 Review (continued) The leaders of the expedition to Alta California were Fray Junípero, who would serve as Father President of the missions, and Gaspar de Portolá, who commanded the soldiers and was to serve as governor of Alta California. Fray Junípero traveled by land; another part of the expedition went by sea. The ships arrived first at San Diego Bay, where the land expedition arrived in July Initially, all did not go well with the California settlement. With sickness among the soldiers, a lack of supplies, an Indian attack at San Diego and his own inability to find Monterey Bay, Portolá decided to abandon Alta California. Only when a supply ship arrived, following a novena to St. Joseph, did Portolá agree to Serra s request to stay. Subsequently, Portolá found Monterey. Fray Junípero founded the first mission at San Diego and the second mission, San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, at Carmel on the Monterey peninsula. The third mission, San Antonio de Padua, was followed by six other missions. In all, Serra founded nine missions in California. In 1775, the Kumeyaay attacked and set fire to the San Diego mission. One of the missionaries, Fray Luis Jayme was killed by the rebels. Serra called his death a martyrdom. Juan Bautista de Anza was a Spanish explorer chosen by the viceroy to find a route from Sonora to California. Serra hoped that such a route would open up another supply line to Alta California. Anza found such a route that crossed the Colorado River and passed through the dry Colorado Desert and ended at Mission San Gabriel. In a second expedition, Anza brought settlers to San Francisco Bay and established a presidio there. During Serra s lifetime, the Spanish government established four presidios in California: at San Diego, Monterey, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara. Eventually, more Spanish settlers came to California and founded pueblos: San José de Guadalupe, founded in 1777 near Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula (the Pueblo of Our Lady, Queen of the Angels of Porciuncula), founded in Junípero Serra died on August 28, Chapter Checkpoint 1. Junípero Serra, born Miquel Serra, had a father who was a farmer in Mallorca. Why didn t little Miquel become a farmer as well? 2. With whom did Fray Junípero Serra first work in the Sierra Gorda mountains of Mexico? 3. When settling Alta California, Spain sent missionaries, settlers, and soldiers. Which of these groups was the most important in the settlement? Why? 4. Describe two problems faced by Gaspar de Portolá s expeditions when they reached San Diego. 5. What important bay did Portolá s expedition accidentally find while looking for Monterey Bay? What famous strait leads into that bay? 6. What is a delta? 7. What was the significance of the ceremonies performed by Fray Junípero and Gaspar de Portolá s men on Pentecost Sunday 1770 in Monterey? 8. How were the deaths of Fray Luis Jayme and Fray Francisco Garcés similar? Please explain. 9. Why was Fray Francisco Garcés a good companion for Juan Bautista de Anza on his search for an overland supply route from Mexico to California? 10. What was El Camino Real? Chapter Activities 1. In Luke 14:26 Jesus said, If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Jesus meant that a disciple s family must take second place to his or

15 Chapter 3 The Apostle of California 49 her absolute dedication to following Christ. Who is someone from Chapter 3 that embodies that dedication? How does this inspire you in your own Christian walk? 2. Form groups based on interest in various missions mentioned in Chapter 3. With your group, research your chosen mission, and using your research, create a model of the mission. This could be a model of the mission church, or could include other buildings in the mission complex. Plan to present your mission model to the rest of the class.

16 Fort Ross Cascade Mountains 21 San Francisco Presidio 20 6 San Jose Sacramento River Sacramento Valley Nueva Helvetia Sonoma 14 8 Sierra American River American River Nevada ALTA CALIFORNIA SPANISH MISSIONS IN CALIFORNIA San Diego de Alcalá San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo San Antonio de Padua San Gabriel Arcángel San Luís Obispo de Tolosa San Francisco de Asís San Juan Capistrano Santa Clara de Asís San Buenaventura Santa Bárbara La Purísima Concepción Santa Cruz Nuestra Señora de la Soledad San José San Juan Bautista San Miguel Arcángel San Fernando Rey de España San Luis Rey de Francia Santa Inés San Rafael Arcángel San Francisco Solano 12 Monterey Bay Monterey Presidio San Joaquin River San Joaquin San Joaq uin River Mountains Death Valley 3 16 Valley Tulare Lake P a c i f i 5 Santa Maria 11 Santa Lucia Mountains Santa Bárbara Presidio Santa Barbara Channel 9 Los Angeles San Gabriel Mountains 17 4 Mojave River El Cajón Pass San Bernardino Mountains San Jacinto Mountains Mojave Desert C o l o r a d o R i v e r Map of Spanish and Mexican Alta California c O c e a Channel Islands n Santa Catalina Island 7 18 San Diego Presidio 1 Colorado Desert BAJA CALIFORNIA