The Spanish in the Southwest . for theIndians fell into ruin. Some of the priests returned toMexico or Europe ; the Indians were scattered, the ani-mals killed or taken by strangers or left to run wrild;the gardens and orchards were overrun by weeds andunderbrush, and thousands of acres were claimed by new-comers. A description of San Carlos in 1840, only sixyears after secularization, speaks of the mission as de-serted. The once busy courts and Indian quarters wereovergrown with grass, the looms were silent, the shopswere closed, the once open doors of the church werelocked, and only a few In
The Spanish in the Southwest . for theIndians fell into ruin. Some of the priests returned toMexico or Europe ; the Indians were scattered, the ani-mals killed or taken by strangers or left to run wrild;the gardens and orchards were overrun by weeds andunderbrush, and thousands of acres were claimed by new-comers. A description of San Carlos in 1840, only sixyears after secularization, speaks of the mission as de-serted. The once busy courts and Indian quarters wereovergrown with grass, the looms were silent, the shopswere closed, the once open doors of the church werelocked, and only a few Indian huts were left near the 164 The Missions of Alta California group of now gloomy buildings. Where all had been lifeand action there was only solitude. The last event in the history of the missions may besaid to have occurred in 1845. Pio Pico, the governor,issued a proclamation which was intended to close up theaffairs of the missions of Alta California. Five of themissions and the estates belonging to them, besides parts. Ruins of San Fernando of four others, were to be sold; four were to be rentedto the highest bidders; the remaining six were also to berented as soon as their affairs could be straightened outlegally. The missions as a part of the active life of Alta Cali-fornia were dead. They passed out of existence, and thestreams of the new life in California flowed over theirruins with hardly a ripple to tell of what lay beneath. Secularization 165 The only people who were seriously affected by theirdestruction were the Indians. The mission Indians seemed to dwindle out of existence, \to melt away into nothingness. Where there had beenhundreds and even thousands of neophytes, they were soonto be counted only by tens. In 1839, at San Luis Rey,five hundred were left; at San Juan Capistrano, about
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