An Extract of a Memoir, concerning the Discovery of a Passage by Land to California; With a Map and Description of That Country. Presented to the Royal Council of Guadalaxara in Mexico, by Francis Maria Picolo. Taken from the Letters of the Missionary Jesuits, Printed at Paris

there was no viewing it with your Eyes, without raising a Sadness in your Heart. VII. An Extract of a Memoir, concerning the Discovery of a Passage by Land to California; with a Map and Description of that Country. Presented to the Royal Council of Guadalaxara in Mexico, by Francis Maria Picolo. Taken from the Letters of the Missionary Jesuits, printed at Paris. Guadalaxara, February 10, 1702. My Lords, In Obedience to the Orders you some Days ago honoured me with, I shall give you an Exact and Faithful Account of the Discoveries and Settlements, that Father de Salvatierra and my self have made in California, for these five Years past, that we have been in this large Country. We embarked in October 1697, and passed the Sea that separates California from New Mexico. As soon as we set Foot on Land, the People being ignorant of our Design, (as not understanding our Language, or we theirs) imagining that we came to take from them their Pearl Fishery, as had been attempted several times before by others, came in great Multitudes against us, who had but an inconsiderable Number of Spaniards to defend us. The Violence with which they attack’d us, and multitude of Darts and Stones they threw at us, our Soldiers sustained so vigorously, that they beat ’em back with Success, and soon put them to flight. Those These Indians, after this Defeat, became more tractable; and seeing they could not gain anything on us by force, deputed some amongst 'em to come and Treat with us. We receiv'd them very friendly, and soon learned of them enough of their Language, to let 'em know the reason of our coming into their Country. These Deputies undeceived the rest; so that being satisfied of our good Intentions, they came to us in great Numbers, and shew'd a great deal of Joy to see that we were willing to instruct them in our Religion. This happy Disposition encouraged us to study throughly the Monqui Language; in which, and in instructing the People, we spent two Years. After this we thought of discovering other Nations; which that we might do more successfully, the Father de Salvatierra, and myself, resolved to separate, and take two different ways: He went to the North, and I to the South and West. By this means Father de Salvatierra, by little and little, discover'd all those Habitations, that, at present, compose the Missions of Loretto, Concho, and St. John of Londo; and I, all that Country, at present, call'd the Mission of St. Francis Xavier of Biaundo, which extends itself to the South Sea. In proceeding each of us his way, we observed several Nations of different Tongues mixt together: Some of them spoke the Monqui, which we understood; and others the Laymon, which we yet knew nothing of. This obliged us to learn the Laymon, which is of greater Extent than the Monqui, and seems to be Universal in this Large Country. We apply'd ourselves so close to the Study of this second Language, that we learn'd it in a little time, and began to Preach indifferently in either. Since our second Discoveries we have divided all this Country into four Missions. The first is that of Concho, or our Lady of Loretto. The second, that of Biaundo, of St. Francis Xavier. The third, that of Todivinegge, or our Lady of Grief. And the fourth, which is not yet founded, or so well establish'd as the other three, is that of St. John of Londo. Every Mission contains several Towns: That of Loretto-Concho, has nine belonging to it; viz. Liggige, two Leagues from Concho; Jetti three Leagues; Tuidda four Leagues: These three lie to the North, and the six following to the South: Vonu two Leagues distant; Numpolo four Leagues; Chuyenqui nine Leagues; Liggui twelve Leagues; Tripue fourteen Leagues; Loppu fifteen Leagues. There are eleven Towns in the Mission of St. Francis Xavier of Biaundo, viz. Quimiauma, or the Guardian Angal, at two Leagues distance; Lichu, or the Mountain of the Knight, at three Leagues; Yenuyoma at five Leagues; Undua at six Leagues; Enulaylo at ten Leagues; Picolopri at twelve Leagues; Ontta at fifteen Leagues; Onemaito at twenty Leagues: These eight lie to the South, the two following to the North; Nuntei at three Leagues, and Obbe at eight Leagues: Caiivuco, or St. Rosalia, at four Leagues distance towards the East. The Mission of our Lady of Grief comprehends only Unubbe, on the North; Niumqui, or St. Joseph; and Todivinegge, or our Lady of Grief, which gives Name to the whole Mission. Niumqui and Todivivegge are two Towns very well Peopled, and near one another. Lastly, the Mission of St. John of Londo contains five or six Towns. The principal are Teupnon, or St. Bruno, three Leagues distant to the East; Anchu, at the same distance, to the North; Tamonqui, at four Leagues; and Diutro at six, both towards the East: Besides Trippue and Loppu, two Towns to the South, lately discovered. Having given you an Account of the State of Religion in this New Colony, I shall proceed to answer, as well as I can, those other Articles you did the Honour to to ask me; and shall relate what we observed concerning the Customs and Dispositions of these People, their manner of Living, and the Product of their Country. California is pretty well placed in our common Maps. The Heats in Summer are very great along the Sea-Coasts; and it seldom Rains: But the Air of the Inland Countries is more temperate, and the Heats not so excessive. It is the same in Winter proportionally. In the Rainy Season there are Floods; but when that is over, instead of Rain, the Dew falls in such plenty every Morning, that one would think it had Rained; which renders the Earth very Fruitful. In the Months of April, May and June, there falls with the Dew a sort of Manna, which congeals and hardens upon the Leaves of Reeds, from whence they gather it: It is as sweet as Sugar, tho' not altogether so White. The Climate must needs be Healthy, if we may judge of it by ourselves and those that were with us. For during the five Years we were in this Kingdom, we continued very well in Health, notwithstanding the great Fatigues we underwent: And of the other Spaniards there died but two; one of which was a Woman, who occasion'd her own Death, by imprudently bathing herself when she was near Lying-in. There are in California (as in the most beautiful Countries in the World) Large Plains, Pleasant Vallies, Excellent Pastures, at all time, for great and small Cattle; fine Springs of running Water, Brooks and Rivers, with their Banks cover'd with Willows, Reeds, and Wild Vines. In their Rivers they have plenty of Fish, especially Crayfish, which they keep in a kind of Conservatories, till they have occasion for them: Three of these Conservatories I have seen, that were very large and beautiful. There is also plenty of Xicames, of a better Taste than those of Mexico. So that we may conclude California to be a very fruitful Country. On the the Mountains there are all the Year long Mescalés, a Fruit peculiar to this Country; and in most Seasons, large Pistachio's of several sorts, and Figs of different Colours. The Trees are very beautiful; and amongst others, that which the Chinos (who are the Natives of the Country) call Palo Santo, bears a great deal of Fruit; from this they draw Excellent Frankincense. As this Country abounds in Fruit, it does no less in Grain; of which there are fourteen sorts that the People feed on. They use the Roots of Trees and Plants, and among others, those of the Tyaca, to make their Bread of. There are Excellent Skirrets; a sort of red Strawberries, of which they eat plentifully; and Citrons and Water-Melons, of an extraordinary size. The Land is so good, that most Plants bear Fruit three times a Year: So that with some labour in cultivating it, and skill in managing the Water, they render the Country extremely fertile. Nor is there any sort of Fruit or Grain, but what they gather in great abundance; which we experienc'd ourselves: For bringing with us from New Spain Corn, Indian Wheat, Pease, Lentils, &c. we sowed them, and had a very plentiful Increase, tho' we had not any Cattle or proper Instruments to Till the Ground. Besides several sorts of Animals that we knew, which are here in plenty, and are good to eat, as Stags, Hares, Coneys, and the like; we found two sorts of Deer, that we knew nothing of: We call them Sheep, because they somewhat resemble ours in make. The first sort is as large as a Calf of one or two Years old: Its Head is much like that of a Stag; and its Horns, which are very large, like those of a Ram: Its Tail and Hair are speckled, and shorter than a Stags: But its Hoof is large, round, and cleft as an Oxes. I have eaten of these Beasts; their Flesh is very tender and delicious. The other sort of Sheep, some of which are White, and others Black, Black, differ less from ours: They are larger, and have a great deal more Wool, which is very good, and easy to be Spun and Wrought. Besides these Animals, that serve for Food, there are Lyons, wild Cats, and many others of the like, as in New Spain. We brought to California some Cows, and store of small Cattle, as Sheep and Goats; which would have increased very much, had not the Necessity we were once in, obliged us to kill the greatest part of them. We likewise brought with us Horses and Colts to stock the Country, and began to breed up Hogs; but as these do a great deal of damage in the Villages, and the Women are afraid of them, we have resolved to extirpate them. As for Fowls, there are in California all that are in Mexico and New Spain; as Pigeons, Turtle-Doves, Larks, Patridges of an exquisite Taste, and in great Quantities, Geese, Ducks, and many other sorts both of River and Sea-Fowls. The Sea affords great Plenty of very good Fish: They take Pilchers, Anchovies, and Tunnys; which last they catch with their Hands on the Shoar. We often see Whales, and all sorts of Tortoises. The Shoars are fill'd with Heaps of Shells, larger than those of Mother of Pearl. The Salt that they have, is not from the Sea, but out of Pits: It is as bright as Crystal, and so hard that they are often forced to break it with Hammers. It is a very good Commodity in New Spain, where Salt is scarce. California has been known near these two Centuries; and its Coasts are famous for the Pearl Fishery, which has made the Europeans so desirous of establishing a Trade here. It is certain, if the King would erect a Fishery here at his own Charge, he might draw great advantage from it. Nor do I doubt but that there are Mines to be found in several places, if they were sought for; since the Country is under the same Degree as the Provinces of Cinalao and Sonora, where there are very rich ones. Tho' Heaven has been so bountiful to the Californians, and the Earth brings forth of it self what it does not produce elsewhere without a great deal of Labour and Pains, yet they make no esteem of the Plenty and Riches of their Country; contenting themselves with what is only necessary for Life, they take little care for the rest. The In-land parts of the Country are very Populous, especially towards the North: And tho' there is scarce a Town, but what has 20, 30, 40, or 50 Families in it, yet they have no Houses; but defend themselves from the heat of the Sun in the daytime under the Shade of the Trees, and of their Leaves and Branches make a fort of Roof against the Inclemency of the Night. In the Winter they shut themselves in Caves in the Earth, and live there together little better than like so many Beasts. The Men go naked; at least all were so, that we saw. They wear about their Head, a fine linnen Fillet, or sort of Network; and about their Neck, and sometimes about their Arms, for Ornament, Mother of Pearl in divers Figures, very finely wrought, and prettily intermixt with little round Fruits, somewhat like the Beads of a Chaplet. They have no other Arms than Bows and Arrows, and a sort of Javelin, which they always carry in their Hand, either to kill their Game, or defend themselves from their Enemies; for their Towns often make War upon one another. The Women are somewhat more modestly cloathed, wearing from their Waste down to their Knees a kind of Apron, made of Reeds very neatly wrought and matted together. They cover their Shoulders with with the Skins of Beasts, and wear about their Heads, like the Men, a very curious kind of Net-work; which our Soldiers find so convenient, that they make use of them to tie up their Hair with. They, as well as the Men, have Necklaces of Mother of Pearl, mixed with the Stones of some sorts of Fruit and Sea-shells, hanging down to their Waste; and Bracelets, in like manner of the same. The common Employment of both Men and Women, is Spinning. They make their Thread of long Plants, which serve them instead of Hemp and Flax; or else of a Cotton-like Substance found in the Shell of some sorts of Fruit. Of the finer sort of Thread, they make the Ornaments abovementioned, and of the coarser, Fishing-Nets, and Sacks or Bags for several Uses. The Men moreover, of certain Plants, whose Fibres are very close and thick set, and which they are very well skilled in working, employ themselves in making Dishes, and other Kitchin Necessaries, of all Fashions and Sizes. The smaller Pieces serve for drinking Cups; those that are larger, for Plates and Dishes, and sometimes for Umbrello's for the Women; and the largest sort for Baskets to gather Fruit in, and sometimes for Pans and Basins to dress their Meat in: But they take care to keep them continually moving, while they are over the Fire, for if the Flame catch them they are soon burnt. The Californians have a great deal of Liveliness, and are naturally addicted to Rallery; as we found when we began first to instruct them: For if we committed any Error in their Language, they jeered and made Sport at us. But after we were grown better acquainted and more familiar with them, if we committed any Faults, they civilly advised us of them. And if at any time we explained any Mystery, or Point of Morality, not conformable to their Prejudices and Errors, they waited for the Preacher after Sermon, and disputed against him with a great deal of force and Wit: If we could give them good Reasons for it, they listen'd very attentively; and when at last convinced, submitted, and did accordingly. We have not found among them any Form of Government, Religion, or Regular Worship. They adore the Moon, and cut their Hair, (as I remember) in her Decrease, in Honour of their Deity; which they give to their Priests, who employ it to several Superstitious Uses. Every Family makes Laws as they please, which is plainly the reason that they are so often at War with one another. VIII. De