St. Juan or St. John is beautifully situated on the banks of a small creek in a rich level plain, about 20 miles from the coast and about the same distance from Monterey, containing from six to seven hundred inhabitants – all of whom are Indians, with the exception of the Priests and 15 or 20 people, who are occupied in teaching and instructing these heathens in the ways of religion and truth; besides giving them instructions in the art of farming and rendering the soil productive – with the hope that they will eventually succeed in inculcating into the minds of the savages such a knowledge of agriculture as will greatly conduce to the amelioration of the red man's condition. Their habitations are simple in construction – mostly such as may be found in the wildest parts of the mountains. But those of the Missionary establishment are quite different, amp; plainly show the superiority of the white man over the Indian, both as regards comfort and convenience. This station much resembles a fort or garrison. The part which is called the Church, forms one side or end. The other three sides are divided into different departments like cells, each cell sheltering so many Indians, and covers near half an acre of ground, with the door of each cell opening to the inside. These buildings are the same as if they were under one roof, with the exception of a gate at each corner of the square. The buildings are constructed of brick, the principal part of which are dried in the sun. – The walls are built thick and strong when built of this kind of brick. For rafters they use poles tolerably well shaped, and for lathing they make use of poles of a smaller size. The roof is generally composed of a kind of cane grass which is carefully laid on the rafters and then covered with earth; for which purpose they generally have the roof nearly flat in order to hold the earth. But the church, or principal building, is built of handsome brick, and is well finished, being covered with tile. For the instruction of these Indians there is four hours of each day devoted to education and prayer, and the balance of the day is occupied in teaching them the rudiments of agriculture and the mechanical arts. The females are carefully instructed in the art of sewing, and other accomplishments of housewifery. Every thing in this station is under the control amp; management of the Priests, who exercise the authority of Governor, Judge, amp;c., being privileged to try and condemn all criminal acts.
On the first evening we spent in our new encampment, we were shown the manner in which the Spaniards take wild cattle, which was quite a different practice from that used by the Indians of the Rocky mountains in taking buffaloe, amp;c. Never less than two goes at a time, who are always on the back of their fleetest horses, each provided with a strong cord with a noose fixed on one end. When the animal is started they give chase and the rider that overtakes the game first, throws the noose round its neck or horns, and begins to draw the noose tight. When the noose is found to be secure he gives the cord several winds round the pummel of the saddle, (which is made strong for this purpose) and stops his horse all of a sudden which throws the animal to the ground and frequently breaks its neck. If the animal is thrown without injury, the other hunter comes forward with his noose and fastens it round its hind foot, which enables them to manage the stoutest and most ferocious bulls. Having thus captured their object of pursuit, they sometimes have great trouble in getting them home alive. The one with the cord round the animals head goes before while he with the cord fastened to the hind foot stays in the rear. If their prisoner becomes refractory and refuses to advance, the man in the rear commences whipping, while he in front uses many devices to provoke the brute, until it in a fit of rage makes at him, when he puts off at full speed, and sometimes run two or three miles in this way without stopping. In this manner they brought a large handsome cow into our camp this evening which we purchased, and found to be good beef.
Although they exhibit a great degree of dexterity in taking these wild beasts, their mode of killing them is far different. – When they want to butcher their beef they make the horse with the noose round the neck pull a different way from the one with the noose round the foot, until the animal is thrown on the ground, when they dismount and cut its throat with large knives.
They appear to do most of their work on horse-back. If they want wood they repair to the forest, ride along until they find a log to suit them, when they drop their noose round the end of it; and thus drag it to their homes. They are very expert on horseback, nor could it be otherwise, for they are constantly riding amp; never appear so well satisfied as when they are seated on a prancing steed.
On the first of December, Capt. Walker returned from Monterey, where he had met with a hospitable reception by the Governor and principal people in and about the Capital, and where he also again met with Capt. Baggshaw, who served as an interpretor for Capt. Walker and the Governor, as he was fully capable of fulfilling such an office. With the Governor, Capt. Walker succeeded in every thing he desired, having obtained permission to remain in the country during the approaching winter, to hunt and kill as much game as would support our company, and to trade as much with the Spaniards as we pleased, but were forbid trapping in the Indian lands or trading with the natives. The Spaniards manifest a warm friendship for the Indians under their jurisdiction, as those who were friendly towards us were constantly reminding us of the danger of wronging the Indians.
Here we remained until about the 18th of December, without anything occurring except the daily visits we received from the Spaniards and Indians, who were curious to know how we lived, and all about us. They however, only found that we lived like they did themselves, any more than they lived in habitations built of wood, brick, mortar, amp;c. while we lived in huts made of skins of animals. About this time Capt. Walker proposed to me to take a tramp through the settlements for the purpose of taking a view of the country, and the manners and customs of the inhabitants. This was precisely what I had long been wanting. Accordingly, Capt. W., two others and myself left the camp and steered to the south-east, intending to return through Monterey. The country thro' which we passed contained rich soil, tolerably well timbered, but thinly inhabited with a few Spaniards and Indians, who appeared to live there because they were not permitted to live any other place. These people, generally, are very ignorant and much more indolent – have little or no ingenuity – and only seem to enjoy themselves when engaged in the chase. This is the only occupation of the wealthier portion of Spaniards. Their habitations are built of sun-dried brick, some of which appear well enough on the outside, but the inside shows no kind of mechanism – there being no floor, partition, or work of any kind except the bare walls. Their floors are made smooth by taking a large beetle and hammering the surface of the ground until it becomes perfectly level – thus they never fail of having a solid foundation! – They have a small fire-place in one corner of the house, with a chimney extending only a little above the mantle. Their beds and bedding generally consists of blankets spread upon a large hide layed on the ground, and after rising in the morning these beds are rolled up in one corner, where they answer the purpose of seats. Their diet is generally composed of beans and meat made into a kind of soup, with but little bread. Most of them are entirely destitute of cooking utensils, and, were it not that they are all provided with knives, their manner of cooking and eating would be equally as inconvenient as the wildest savages of the Rocky mountains. But the wealthy, who, it may be supposed, constitute the aristocracy of this country, appear to live at ease, surrounded with all the comforts of life, are entirely independent and unconnected with the common people. They carry on farming to a considerable extent in some districts, the principal labour of which is done by the Indians from the missionary station. The principal productions are wheat, corn, and beans. They also have many vine-yards, and manufacture a large quantity of wine – which is their principal drink. Their mode of preparing the soil for grain is of an awkward and rather novel nature. When they want to plough, they repair to the woods and get a sapling with a knot or branch jutting out on one side, which they make sharp, hitch two or more teams of oxen to it and then proceed to score out the ground – which is generally done in wet weather, when the ground is moist. Another method, no less novel, however, is to get a crooked log, much the shape of a sled-runner, fix a piece of iron in front which answers for a coulter, then sharpening the log they make a furrow similar to the track of a sled. As a substitute for a harrow, they use a brush, and by laying a weight on it, some times scratch the ground in tolerable style. This manner of tilling the soil could not be done with such success in any other country where the soil is less mellow and tender than here.