SANTA INÉS
"Beautiful for situation" was the spot selected for the only Mission
founded during the first decade of the nineteenth century,--Santa Inés.
Governor Borica, who called California "the most peaceful and quiet
country on earth," and under whose orders Padre Lasuen had established
the five Missions of 1796-1797, had himself made explorations in the
scenic mountainous regions of the coast, and recommended the location
afterwards determined upon, called by the Indians _Alajulapu_, meaning
_rincon_, or corner.
The native population was reported to number over a thousand, and the
fact that they were frequently engaged in petty hostilities among
themselves rendered it necessary to employ unusual care in initiating
the new enterprise. Presidente Tapis therefore asked the governor for a
larger guard than was generally assigned for protecting the Missions,
and a sergeant and nine men were ordered for that purpose.
The distance from Santa Barbara was about thirty-five miles, over a
rough road, hardly more than a trail, winding in and out among the
foothills, and gradually climbing up into the mountains in the midst of
most charming and romantic scenery. The quaint procession, consisting of
Padre Presidente Tapis and three other priests, Commandant Carrillo, and
the soldiers, and a large number of neophytes from Santa Barbara, slowly
marched over this mountainous road, into the woody recesses where
nestled the future home of the Mission of Santa Inés, and where the
usual ceremonies of foundation took place September 17, 1804. Padres
Calzada, Gutierrez, and Ciprès assisted Presidente Tapis, and the two
former remained as the missionaries in charge.
The first result of the founding of this Mission was the immediate
baptism of twenty-seven children, a scene worthy of the canvas of a
genius, could any modern painter conceive of the real picture,--the
group of dusky little ones with somber, wondering eyes, and the
long-gowned priests, with the soldiers on guard and the watchful Indians
in native costume in the background,--all in the temple of
nature's creating.
The first church erected was not elaborate, but it was roofed with
tiles, and was ample in size for all needful purposes. In 1812 an
earthquake caused a partial collapse of this structure. The corner of
the church fell, roofs were ruined, walls cracked, and many buildings
near the Mission were destroyed. This was a serious calamity, but the
padres never seemed daunted by adverse circumstances. They held the
usual services in a granary, temporarily, and in 1817 completed the
building of a new church constructed of brick and adobe, which still
remains. In 1829 the Mission property was said to resemble that at Santa
Barbara. On one side were gardens and orchards, on the other houses and
Indian huts, and in front was a large enclosure, built of brick and used
for bathing and washing purposes.
When Governor Chico came up to assume his office in 1835 he claimed to
have been insulted by a poor reception from Padre Jimeno at Santa Inés.
The padre said he had had no notice of the governor's coming, and
therefore did the best he could. But Presidente Duran took the bold
position of informing the governor, in reply to a query, that the
government had no claim whatever upon the hospitality of unsecularized
Missions. Chico reported the whole matter to the assembly, who sided
with the governor, rebuked the presidente and the padres, and confirmed
an order issued for the immediate secularization of Santa Inés and San
Buenaventura (Duran's own Mission). J.M. Ramirez was appointed
comisionado at Santa Inés. At this time the Mission was prosperous. The
inventory showed property valued at $46,186, besides the church and its
equipment. The general statistics from the foundation, 1804 to 1834,
show 1372 baptisms, 409 marriages, and 1271 deaths. The largest number
of cattle was 7300 in 1831, 800 horses in 1816, and 6000 sheep in 1821.
After secularization horses were taken for the troops, and while, for a
time, the cattle increased, it was not long before decline set in.
In 1843 the management of the Mission was restored to the friars, but
the former conditions of prosperity had passed away never to return. Two
years later the estate was rented for $580 per year, and was finally
sold in 1846 for $1700, although in later times the title was declared
invalid. In the meantime an ecclesiastical college was opened at Santa
Inés in 1844. A grant of land had been obtained from the government, and
an assignment of $500 per year to the seminary on the condition that no
Californian in search of a higher education should ever be excluded from
its doors; but the project met with only a temporary success, and was
abandoned after a brief existence of six years.
In 1844 Presidente Duran reported 264 neophytes at Santa Inés, with
sufficient resources for their support. When Pico's order of 1845 was
issued, the Mission was valued at $20,288. This did not include the
church, the curate's house or rooms, and the rooms needed for the
court-house. This inventory was taken without the co-operation of the
padre, who refused to sign it. He--the padre--remained in charge until
1850, when the Mission was most probably abandoned.
At Santa Inés there were several workers in leather and silver whose
reputation still remains. In various parts of the State are specimens of
the saddles they made and carved and then inlaid in silver that are
worthy a place in any noteworthy collection of artistic work.
Only ten arches remain at Santa Inés of the long line of corridor arches
that once graced this building. In the distance is a pillar of one still
standing alone. Between it and the last of the ten, eight others used to
be, and beyond it there are the clear traces of three or four more.
The church floor is of red tiles. All the window arches are plain
semicircles. Plain, rounded, heavy mouldings about three feet from the
floor, and the same distance from the ceiling, extend around the inside
of the church, making a simple and effective structural ornament.
The original altar is not now used. It is hidden behind the more
pretentious modern one. It is of cement, or plastered adobe, built out,
like a huge statue bracket, from the rear wall. The old tabernacle,
ornate and florid, is still in use, though showing its century of
service. There are also several interesting candlesticks, two of which
are pictured in the chapter on woodwork.
Almost opposite the church entrance is a large reservoir, built of
brick, twenty-one feet long and eight feet wide. It is at the bottom of
a walled-in pit, with a sloping entrance to the reservoir proper, walls
and slope being of burnt brick. This "sunk enclosure" is about sixty
feet long and thirty feet across at the lower end, and about six feet
below the level to the edge of the reservoir. Connected with this by
a cement pipe or tunnel laid underground, over 660 feet long, is another
reservoir over forty feet long, and eight feet wide, and nearly six feet
deep. This was the reservoir which supplied the Indian village with
water. The upper reservoir was for the use of the padres and also for
bathing purposes.
[Illustration: MISSION SANTA INÉS.]
[Illustration: MISSION SAN RAFAEL ARCÁNGEL. From an old painting.]
[Illustration: MISSION SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO, AT SONOMA.]
The water supply was brought from the mountains several miles distant,
flumed where necessary, and then conveyed underground in cement pipes
made and laid by the Indians under the direction of the padres. The
water-right is now lost to the Mission, being owned by private parties.
The earthquake of 1906 caused considerable damage at Santa Inés, and it
has not yet been completely repaired, funds for the purpose not having
been forthcoming.