St Ignatius College - Ignatian Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

Page 9 text:

Hatha nf Thr lgahrva , HE long solitude of the centuries in Cali-- X ,I ,X fornia, the early explorations through its fm il, trackless canyons and parched hills, the 1 foundation of the rude and simple mis- sions, the rule of the Spanish military - governors, the revolt against Spanish do- minion, the romance and happy idleness of the Mexican era, the unique lilear Flag Republic, the hauling down of the Bear Flag at Monterey and the raising of the Stars and Stripes, the days of forty-nine, the development of a prosperous State! Do we under- stand it all? Do we appreciate the past glory of Cali- fornia? Ask the Oriental, squatting dreamy-eyed with his fuming pipe, to describe his poppy-dreams. For us also the California poppy has an inliuence-a tyrannous de- licious spell-unless we are of those who motor luxur- iously up and down the State, or travel in commercial haste along the city streets, unashamed of our ignorance of the past, feeling never a desire to learn of the men, the modes, the manners that were once realities upon the same landscapes, beneath the same California skies. The laudable effort, now being made to restore and P1'6S61'VS the California Missions is an encouraging symp- tom. Piut let us not be satisfied with mere 1'omance. Poetry and rambling phrases concerning the missions have been fed up to us even to surfeit. There are those who see in the missions nothing' but Himsy charm. For all other purposes they were stupid, crude attempts at civilization by a mediaeval, old fashioned church when no other means for civilization were at hand. There are those who look upon the missions as mere resting places for chattering tourists. mere models of a unique

Page 8 text:

T 1 Silrnt, silrnt is gnur tnnp, illlliaainn Evlls! Stillvh th: hvnrts that than hast knnmu, Mission Erlls! Silvnt, stillrh as is the thrnny, Zifhat hrnrnth thy uvaprr army, Ahh thy rrumhliny turrvtn, lnuy Silent hmrllaz All fnryni thv tnil :mb tears, lIlHhmrr gum' fahiny ylnry rrars, what the utury nf the yvara, Softly trlla. liiinrrnt william iinllinan

Page 10 text:

5 Tl-Ili lG.N'.J7'lflN architecture. Rather, let us recognize in the missions the wisdom and adaptability of a wonderful institution. The narration of the years of slow progress, of the untold hardships, the discouraging failures, the painful journeys, the perilous voyages experienced and endured before the final establishment of the missions is CalCula'C6d to awaken in us a knowledge of what the missions rep- resented in the development of the VVest3 to suggest to us the cost of California in effort, in life and in goldl to impress us with the realization that California was not only the cradle of Pacific civilization but also the culmi- nating point of two centuries of military toil and mis- sionary progress. Truly we may with some appropriateness apply to the missionary era in California what the poet of Mantua sang of the foundation of Rome. Ta1ztae molis eraf R0- lllfl11rlIl'l1f conderr g81'Lf6111.n It was through Mexico and the trails of Sonora and Lower California that the ever advancing line of missions and missionaries found a way into the mountains and valleys of California. Mexico was first discovered in l5ll, nineteen years after the discovery of America by a Spanish navigator. At that time Mexico was the seat of the famous and magnificent empire of Montezuma. lVe first learn that the conversion of the natives was an object of the Mexican conquest, when we read in the re- port of Cortez to the emperor, dated 152-l, the following: I have sent to supplicate Your Imperial Majesty that you have the goodness to provide for this end religious persons of good life and example. fn advancing the pale of civilization from coast to coast in Mexico and in founding the pueblos of the new country, a padre always accompanied the explorers. Although it had always been the intent of the Spanish authorities in Mexico to explore and colonize California, even as late as 1768 the sea coast and valleys of our state