nd of
that they carried off more than half. In 1838 the poor padre complained
bitterly of his poverty and the disappearance of the Mission property.
There is no doubt but that here as elsewhere the Mission was plundered
on every hand, and the officers appointed to guard its interests were
among the plunderers.

In 1844 Presidente Duran reported that San Miguel had neither lands nor
cattle, and that its neophytes were demoralized and scattered for want
of a minister. Pico's 1845 decree warned the Indians that they must
return within a month and occupy their lands, or they would be disposed
of; and in 1846 Pico reported the Mission sold, though no consideration
is named, to P. Rios and Wm. Reed. The purchasers took possession, but
the courts later declared their title invalid. In 1848 Reed and his
whole family were atrociously murdered. The murderers were pursued; one
was fatally wounded, one jumped into the sea and was drowned, and the
other three were caught and executed.

The register of baptisms at San Miguel begins July 25, 1797, and up to
1861 contains 2917 names. Between the years 1844 and 1851 there is a
vacancy, and only one name occurs in the latter year. The title-page is
signed by Fr. Fermin Franco de Lasuen, and the priests in charge are
named as Fr. Buenaventura Sitjar and Fr. Antonio de la Conception.

At the end of this book is a list of 43 children of the "gentes de
razon" included in the general list, but here specialized for reference.

The registry of deaths contains 2249 names up to 1841. The first entry
is signed by Fr. Juan Martin and the next two by Fr. Sitjar.

The old marriage register of the Mission of San Miguel is now at San
Luis Obispo. It has a title-page signed by Fr. Lasuen.

In 1888 some of the old bells of the Mission were sent to San Francisco
and there were recast into one large bell, weighing 2500 pounds. Until
1902 this stood on a rude wooden tower in front of the church, but in
that year an incongruous steel tower took its place. Packed away in a
box still remains one of the old bells, which has sounded its last call.
A large hole is in one side of it. The inscription, as near as I can
make out, reads "A. D. 1800, S.S. Gabriel."

In 1901 the outside of the church and monastery was restored with a coat
of new plaster and cement. Inside nearly everything is as it was left by
the robber hand of secularization.

On the walls are the ten oil paintings brought by the original foun