Every point having been arranged, I received my final instructions, and
letters for the Governor of Monterey, to which was added a heavy bag of
doubloons for my expenses. I bade farewell to the Prince and my father,
and with six well-armed Indians and the Padre Marini, I embarked in a
long canoe on the Buona Ventura river, and carried away by the current,
soon lost sight of our lonesome settlement.
We were to follow the stream to the southern lakes of the Buona Ventura,
where we were to leave our Indians, and join some half-bred
Wachinangoes, returning to Monterey, with the mustangs, or wild horses,
which they had captured in the prairies.
It was a beautiful trip, just at the commencement of the spring; both
shores of the river were lined with evergreens; the grass was luxuriant
and immense herds of buffaloes and wild horses were to be seen grazing
in every direction. Sometimes a noble stallion, his long sweeping mane
and tail waving to the wind, would gallop down to the water's edge, and
watch us as if he would know our intentions. When satisfied, he would
walk slowly back, ever and anon turning round to look at us again, as
if not quite so convinced of our peaceful intentions.
On the third night we encamped at the foot of an obelisk, in the centre
of some noble ruins. It was a sacred spot with the Shoshones. Their
traditions told them of another race, who had formerly lived there, and
which had been driven by them to the south. It must have been ages back,
for the hand of time, so lenient in this climate, and the hand of man,
so little given to spoil, had severely visited this fated city.
We remained there the following day, as Padre Marini was anxious to
discover any carvings or hieroglyphics from which he might draw some
conclusions; but our endeavours were not successful, and we could not
tarry longer, as we were afraid that the horse-hunters would break up
their encampments before we arrived. We, therefore, resumed our journey,
and many were the disquisitions and conjectures which passed between me
and the holy father, as to the high degree of civilization which must
have existed among the lost race who had been the architects of such
graceful buildings.
Four days more brought us to the southern shore of the St. Jago lake. We
arrived in good time, dismissed our Indians, and having purchased two
excellent mules, we proceeded on our journey, in company with the
horse-hunters, surrounded by hundreds of their captives, who were loudly
lamenting their destiny, and showed their sense of the injustice of the
whole proceeding by kicking and striking with their fore-feet at
whatever might come within the reach of their hoofs. Notwithstanding the
very unruly conduct of the prisoners, we arrived at Monterey on the
sixth evening.
The reader will discover, as he proceeds, that my adventures are about
to commence from this journey to Monterey; I therefore wish to remind
him that I was at this time not eighteen years old. I had a remembrance
of civilization previous to my arrival among the Indians, and as we
enjoyed every comfort and some luxuries at the settlement, I still had a
remembrance, although vague, of what had passed in Italy and elsewhere.
But I had become an Indian, and until I heard that I was to under-take
this journey, I had recollected the former scenes of my youth only to
despise them.
That this feeling had been much fostered by the idea that I should never
again rejoin them, is more than probable; for from the moment that I
heard that I was to proceed to Monterey, my heart beat tumultuously and
my pulse was doubled in its circulation. I hardly know what it was that
I anticipated, but certainly I had formed the idea of a
terrestrial paradise.
If not exactly a paradise, Monterey is certainly a sweet place; 'tis
even now a fairy spot in my recollection, although sobered down, and, I
trust, a little wiser than I was at that time. There certainly is an air
of happiness spread over this small town. Every one is at their ease,
everybody sings and smiles, and every hour is dedicated to amusement
or repose.
None of your dirty streets and sharp pavements; no manufactories with
their eternal smoke; no policemen looking like so many knaves of clubs;
no cabs or omnibuses splashing the mud to the right and to the left;
and, above all, none of your punctual men of business hurrying to their
appointments, blowing like steam-engines, elbowing everybody, and
capsizing the apple-stalls. No; there is none of these at Monterey.
There is a bay, blue and bottomless, with shores studded with tall
beautiful timber. There is a prairie lawn, spread like a carpet in
patterns composed of pretty wild flowers. Upon it stand hundreds of
cottage-built tenements, covered with the creeping vine. In the centre,
the presidio, or government-house; on one side the graceful spire of a
church, on the other the massive walls of a convent. Above all, is a sky
of the deepest cobalt blue, richly contrasting with the dark green of
the tall pines, and the uncertain and indescribable tints on the horizon
of these western prairies.
Even the dogs are polite at Monterey, and the horses which are always
grazing about, run up to you and appear as if they would welcome you on
your arrival; but the fact is that every traveller carries a bag of salt
at his saddle-bow, and by their rubbing their noses against it, it is
clear that they come to beg a little salt, of which they are very fond.
Everybody and every animal is familiar with you, and, strange to say,
the English who reside there are contented, and still more strange, the
Americans are almost honest. What a beautiful climate it must be
at Monterey!
Their hospitality is unbounded. "The holy Virgin bless thee," said an
old man who watched our coming; "tarry here and honour my roof." Another
came up, shook us by the hand, his eye sparkling with kind feelings. A
third took our mules by the bridles and led us to his own door, when
half-a-dozen pretty girls, with flashing dark eyes and long taper
fingers, insisted on undoing our leggings and taking off our spurs.
Queen city of California! to me there is poetry in thy very name, and so
would it be to all who delight in honesty, bonhommie, simplicity and the
dolce far niente.
Notwithstanding the many solicitations we received, Padre Marini went to
the convent, and I took up my quarters with the old governor.
All was new to me, and pleasant too, for I was not eighteen; and at such
a time one has strange dreams and fancies of small waists, and pretty
faces, smiling cunningly. My mind had sometimes reverted to former
scenes, when I had a mother and a sister. I had sighed for a partner to
dance or waltz with on the green, while our old servant was playing on
his violin some antiquated en avant deux.
Now I had found all that, and a merry time I had of it. True, the sack
of doubloons helped me wonderfully. Within a week after my arrival, I
had a magnificent saddle embossed with silver, velvet breeches instead
of cloth leggings, a hat and feathers, glossy pumps, red sash, velvet
round-about, and the large cape or cloak, the eternal, and sometimes the
only garment of a western Mexican grandee, in winter or in summer, by
night or by day. I say it was a merry time, and it agreed well with me.
Dance I did! and sing and court too. My old travelling companion, the
missionary, remonstrated a little, but the girls laughed at him, and I
clearly pointed out to him that he was wrong. If my English readers only
knew what a sweet, pretty little thing is a Monterey girl, they would
all pack up their wardrobes to go there and get married. It would be a
great pity, for with your mistaken ideas of comforts, with your love of
coal-fire and raw beef-steak, together with your severe notions of what
is proper or improper, you would soon spoil the place, and render it as
stiff and gloomy as any sectarian village of the United States, with its
nine banks, eighteen chapels, its one "a-b-c" school, and its immense
stone jail, very considerately made large enough to contain its whole
population.
The governor was General Morreno, an old soldier, of the genuine
Castilian stock; proud of his blood, proud of his daughters, of himself,
of his dignitaries, proud of everything--but withal, he was benevolence
and hospitality personified. His house was open to all (that is to say,
all who could boast of having white blood), and the time passed there in
continual fiestas, in which pleasure succeeded to pleasure, music to
dancing; courting with the eyes to courting with the lips, just as
lemonade succeeded to wine, and creams to grapes and peaches. But
unhappily, nature made a mistake in our conformation, and, alas! man
must repose from pleasure as he does from labour. It is a great pity,
for life is short, and repose is so much time lost; at least so thought
I at eighteen.
Monterey is a very ancient city; it was founded in the seventeenth
century by some Portuguese Jesuits, who established a mission there. To
the Jesuits succeeded the Franciscans, who were a good, lenient, lazy,
and kind-hearted set of fellows, funny, yet moral, thundering against
vice and love, and yet giving light penances and entire absolution.
These Franciscans were shown out of doors by the government of Mexico,
who wished to possess their wealth. It was unfortunate, as for the kind,
hospitable, and generous monks, the government substituted agents and
officers from the interior, who, not possessing any ties at Monterey,
cared little for the happiness of the inhabitants. The consequence is,
that the Californians are heartily tired of these agents of extortion;
they have a natural antipathy against custom-house officers; and, above
all, they do not like the idea of giving their dollars to carry on the
expenses of the Mexican wars, in which they feel no interest. Some
morning (and they have already very nearly succeeded in so doing) they
will haul down the Mexican flag from the presidio, drive away the
commissaries and custom-house receivers, declare their independence of
Mexico, and open their ports to all nations.
Monterey contains about three thousand souls, including the half-breeds
and Indians acting as servants in the different dwellings. The
population is wealthy, and not having any opportunity to throw away
their money, as in the eastern cities (for all their pleasures and
enjoyments are at no expense), they are fond of ornamenting their
persons, and their horses and saddles, with as much wealth as they can
afford. A saddle of 100_l_. in value is a common thing among the richer
young men, who put all their pride in their steeds and accoutrements.
The women dress richly and with an admirable taste; the unmarried girls
in white satin, with their long black hair falling upon their
shoulders; their brows ornamented with rich jewels when at home, and
when out, their faces covered with a long white veil, through which
their dark eyes will shine like diamonds.
The married women prefer gaudy colours, and keep their hair confined
close to their head, by a large comb. They have also another delightful
characteristic, which indeed the men share with them; I mean a beautiful
voice, soft and tremulous among the women, rich, sonorous, and majestic
among their lords. An American traveller has said: "a common
bullock-driver on horseback, delivering a message, seemed to speak like
an ambassador to an audience. In fact, the Californians appear to be a
people on whom a curse had fallen, and stripped them of everything but
their pride, their manners and their voices."
There is always much amusement in Monterey; and what betwixt
cockfighting, racing, fandangoing, hunting, fishing, sailing, and so
forth, time passes quickly away. Its salubrity is remarkable; there has
never been any disease--indeed sickness of any kind is unknown. No
toothache nor other malady, and no spleen; people die by accident or
from old age; indeed the Montereyans have an old proverb, "El que quiere
morir que se vaya del pueblo"--that is to say, "He who wishes to die
must leave the city."
While remaining there I had rather a perilous adventure. I had gone with
some of my friends to a great fishing party at the entrance of the bay,
which, by-the-bye, is one of the finest in the world, being twenty-four
miles in length and eighteen in breadth. The missionary, Padre Marini,
not being very well, had an idea that the sea-air would do him good, and
joined our company. We had many boats; the one in which the Padre and I
embarked was a well-shaped little thing, which had belonged to some
American vessel. It was pulled with two oars, and had a small mast
and sail.
Our fishing being successful, we were all in high glee, and we went on
shore to fry some of our victims for our afternoon's meal. During the
conversation, somebody spoke of some ancient ruins, fifteen miles north,
at the entrance of a small creek. The missionary was anxious to see
them, and we agreed that our companions should return to Monterey while
he and I would pass the night where we were, and proceed the next
morning on an exploring expedition to the ruins. We obtained from
another boat a large stone jug of water, two blankets, and a
double-barrelled gun. As soon as our companions quitted us, we pulled
the boat round to the northern point of the bay, and having selected
proper quarters for the night, we made a kind of shelter on the beach
with the oars, mast and sail, and lighted a fire to make ourselves more
comfortable. It was one of those beautiful mild evenings which can be
found only in the Bay of Monterey; the gentle and perfumed breeze softly
agitated the foliage around and above us, and as night came on, with its
myriads of stars and its silvery moon, the missionary having, for some
time, raised his eyes above in silent contemplation, reverted to scenes
of the past, and of other climes.
He spoke of Hurdwar, a far distant mission in the north of India, close
to the Himalayas. The Hindoos call It the "City of a Thousand Palaces;"
they say it was built by the genii on the very spot where Vishnu had
reposed himself for a few weeks, after one of his mystic transmutations,
in which he had conquered Siva, or Sahavedra, the spirit of evil. Though
not so well known, Hurdwar is a place still more sacred than Benares;
people assemble there once a year from all parts, and consecrate several
days to their ablutions in the purifying waters of the Ganges. In this
noble city is also held one of the greatest fairs of India, indeed of
all the world; and as its time is fixed upon the same month as that in
which the Hindoo devotees arrive at the city, numerous caravans from
Persia, Arabia, Cashmere, and Lahore, repair to the spot, and erect
their bazaars along the banks of the river, forming a street of many
miles. The concourse collected at these times has been ascertained to
number more than one million of souls.
There the Padre Marini had remained as a missionary for some years, all
alone. His flock of converts was but a small one; he had little to do,
and yet his mind could not be arrested by the study of all the wonders
around him; his heart was sad; for years he had had a sorrow which
weighed heavily upon him, and he was wretched. Before he had embraced
the solitude of a monastic life, he had with him a younger brother, of
whom he was very fond. The young man was a student in medicine, with
fair capacity and an energy which promised to advance him in his
profession. When Marini entered the convent, his brother went to Turkey,
where men of his profession were always certain of a good reception,
and for a long time was never heard of. At last, when the missionary was
ready to start for a distant mission, he learned that which proved so
destructive to his peace of mind. From Constantinople, his brother had
gone to Persia, where he was residing in easy circumstances; but,
ambitious of advancement, he had abjured the faith of his fathers and
become a follower of Mahommed.
It was a melancholy intelligence, and many were the tears of the good
monk. The first year of his arrival at Hurdwar, he met with a Jewish
merchant who had accompanied a Persian caravan. That man knew his
brother, the renegade, and informed the Padre that his brother had
fallen into disgrace, and as a punishment of his apostacy, was now
leading a life of privation and misery.
Deep and fervent were now the monk's prayers to heaven; he implored
forgiveness for his brother, and offered penance for him. Poor man! he
thought if he could but see him and talk to him, he would redeem him
from his apostacy; but, alas! his duty was in Hurdwar, he was bound
there and could not move. One day (it was during the fair) he had
wandered at a distance from the river, that he might not witness the
delusions of paganism, and his mind was intensely absorbed in prayer.
Anon, unusual sounds broke on his ears; sounds well known, sounds
reminding him of his country, of his beautiful Italy. They came from a
little bower ten steps before him; and as past scenes rushed to his
memory, his heart beat tremulously in his bosom; the monk recognized a
barcarole which he had often sung in his younger days: but although the
air was lively, the voice which sung it was mournful and sad. Stepping
noiselessly, he stood at the entrance of the bower. The stranger started
and arose! Their separation had been a long one, but neither the
furrowed cheeks and sallow complexion of the one, nor the turbaned head
of the other, could deceive them; and the two brothers fell in each
others arms.
On its return, the Persian caravan had one driver the less, for the
apostate was on his death-bed in the humble dwelling of his brother.
Once more a Christian, again reconciled to his God, he calmly awaited
his summons to a better world. For two weeks he lingered on, repenting
his error and praying for mercy. He died, and in the little jessamine
bower where he had met with the Mussulman, the monk buried the
Christian; he placed a cross upon his grave and mourned him long; but a
heavy load had been removed from his breast, and since that time he had
felt happy, having no weight on his mind to disturb him in the execution
of his sacred ministry.
Having narrated this passage in his history, the Padre Marini bid me
good night, and we prepared to sleep. I went to the boat, where,
stretching myself at the bottom, with my face turned towards the
glittering canopy above, I remained pensive and reflecting upon the
narrative of the monk, until at last I slept.