, 1840, the tower fell, and a number of tiles were carried
off, a kind of premonition of the final disaster of 1851, when the walls
fell, and treasure seekers completed the work of demolition.

The community of the Mission was completely broken up in 1841-1842,
everything being regarded, henceforth, as part of Brancifort. In 1845
the lands, buildings, and fruit trees of the ex-Mission were valued at
less than $1000, and only about forty Indians were known to remain. The
Mission has now entirely disappeared.

CHAPTER XXII

LA SOLEDAD

The Mission of "Our Lady of Solitude" has only a brief record in written
history; but the little that is known and the present condition of the
ruins suggest much that has never been recorded.

Early in 1791 Padre Lasuen, who was searching for suitable locations for
two new Missions, arrived at a point midway between San Antonio and
Santa Clara. With quick perception he recognized the advantages of
Soledad, known to the Indians as _Chuttusgelis_. The name of this
region, bestowed by Crespi years previous, was suggestive of its
solitude and dreariness; but the wide, vacant fields indicated good
pasturage in seasons favored with much rain, and the possibility of
securing water for irrigation promised crops from the arid lands. Lasuen
immediately selected the most advantageous site for the new Mission, but
several months elapsed before circumstances permitted the erection of
the first rude structures.

On October ninth the Mission was finally established.

There were comparatively few Indians in that immediate region, and only
eleven converts were reported as the result of the efforts of the first
year. There was ample room for flocks and herds, and although the soil
was not of the best and much irrigation was necessary to produce good
crops, the padres with their persistent labors gradually increased their
possessions and the number of their neophytes. At the close of the ninth
year there were 512 Indians living at the Mission, and their property
included a thousand cattle, several thousand sheep, and a good supply of
horses. Five years later (in 1805) there were 727 neophytes, in spite of
the fact that a severe epidemic a few years previously had reduced their
numbers and caused many to flee from the Mission in fear. A new church
was begun in 1808.

On July 24, 1814, Governor Arrillaga, who had been taken seriously ill
while on a tour of inspection, and had hurried to Soledad to