They formed a treaty,
and entered into the most amicable relations with the natives, then
numbering from twenty-five to thirty thousand souls, and gained a hold
upon their affections, and a control over their minds, that effected
a complete change in their condition. They built eleven missionary
establishments in the various valleys of the peninsula, which formed
rallying places for the surrounding savages, where they gathered
together as sheep into the fold, and surrendered themselves and their
consciences into the hands of these spiritual pastors. Nothing, we are
told, could exceed the implicit and affectionate devotion of the Indian
converts to the Jesuit fathers, and the Catholic faith was disseminated
widely through the wilderness. The growing power and influence of the
Jesuits in the New World at length excited the jealousy of the Spanish
government, and they were banished from the colonies. The governor, who
arrived at California to expel them, and to take charge of the country,
expected to find a rich and powerful fraternity, with immense treasures
hoarded in their missions, and an army of Indians ready to defend them.
On the contrary, he beheld a few venerable silver-haired priests coming
humbly forward to meet him, followed by a throng of weeping, but
submissive natives. The heart of the governor, it is said, was so
touched by this unexpected sight, that he shed tears; but he had to
execute his orders.
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