ion of the
American continent. Many were the fruitless results of the Spanish
adventurer--numerous were the statements of his toil and labour, till
at length a formidable attempt, under the patronage and direction of
Don Gaspar de Portala and Father Junipero Serra, successfully achieved
the desired object for which it was planned and executed.

At San Diego, where, a century and a half before, the primitive
navigators under Cortez communed with the rude and unsophisticated
native--there, where the zealous devotee erected his altar on the
burning sand, and with offerings of incense and prayer hallowed it to
God, as the birthplace of Christianity in that region--upon that
sainted spot commenced the spiritual conquest, the cross was erected,
and the holy missionaries who accompanied the expedition entered heart
and soul upon their religious duties. Successful in all they undertook,
their first establishment in a short time was completed, and drawing
around it the converted Indians in large numbers, the rude and
uncultivated fields gave place to agricultural improvement--the arts
and sciences gradually obtained foundation where before all was
darkness, and day after day hundreds were added to the folds of the
holy and apostolic church. Thus triumphantly proceeded the labours of
the Spanish conquerors! In course of time other institutions were
founded at Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Francisco, where at each
place a military fortress was erected, which served for their
protection, and to keep in check such of the natives who were
disinclined to observe the regulations of the community.

The natives formed an ardent and almost adorable attachment for their
spiritual fathers, and were happy, quite happy, under their
jurisdiction. Ever ready to obey them, the labour in the field and
workshop met with ready compliance, and so prosperous were the
institutions that many of them became wealthy, in the increase of their
cattle and great abundance of their granaries. It was no unusual sight
to behold the plains for leagues literally spotted with bullocks, and
large fields of corn and wheat covering acres of ground. This state of
things continued until the period when Mexico underwent a change in its
political form of government, which so disheartened the feelings of the
loyal missionaries, that they became regardless of their
establishments, and suffered them to decline for want of attention to
their interests. At length, civil