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San
Juan Capistrano
Little Chapters
Chapter II
Little Chapters About San Juan Capistrano
Chapter II: The Establishment
The establishment was not, as many suppose, a monastery;
it was the headquarters for the Indians in the work of civilizing
them, -teaching them the Christian religion and useful industries.
There were never more than two padres at a time stationed
at the Mission and these had full charge of the administration,
both of the Christian instruction and industrial training.
A glance over the place will show how admirably it was planned
for its purpose. Besides the church for instruction and worship,
and the living rooms of the padres, and the guests' rooms,
there were storehourses for provisions and shops for the various
craftsmen. While a few servants and workmen lived in the Mission,
the great body of Indians, of whom in 1768 there were already
544, lived in small adobe houses which clustered about the
plaza of the pueblo in front of the buildings. The large rooms
at the north side of the patio and in the north-east corner
were the storehouses for wheat, barley, hides, tallow and
other provisions. In the nortwest corner were located the
shops in which soap, candles, blankets, hats, harness and
shoes were made. In the southwest corner, near the quarters
where the children were housed, there was a large, flat roof
for the drying of fruit, such as apples and grapes, but nothing
now remains of it. In the front building was situated the
kitchen of the padres and other occupants of the Mission building,
with its vaulted roof supporting the old chimney which still
stands as the quaintest and most attractive object at the
Mission. Next to the kitchen, to the east, was the pantry,
or dispensa, where the old hand-hewn shelves made of hard-wood,
and the gallery still stand in place. The tule and rawhide
construction of the ceiling may be seen in this room. The
passage-way next to the pantry is called the Saguan, which
is now the principal entrance to the patio within, but the
main entrance, of which only tradition now remains, was situated
at the southwest corner just beyond the end of the broken
arch.
Next: Chapter III
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