means of
communication between the Missions of Santa Clara, San Jose and San
Francisco was by water on the Bay of San Francisco, the padre and
soldiers at San Francisco had no boat or vessel of any kind. Langsdorff
says of this: "Perhaps the missionaries are afraid lest if there were
boats, they might facilitate the escape of the Indians, who never wholly
lose their love of freedom and their attachment to their native habits;
they therefore consider it better to confine their communication with
one another to the means afforded by the land. The Spaniards, as well as
their nurslings, the Indians, are very seldom under the necessity of
trusting themselves to the waves, and if such a necessity occur, they
make a kind of boat for the occasion, of straw, reeds, and rushes, bound
together so closely as to be water-tight. In this way they contrive to
go very easily from one shore to the other. Boats of this kind are
called _walza_ by the Spanish. The oars consist of a thin, long pole
somewhat broader at each end, with which the occupants row sometimes on
one side, sometimes on the other."

For the next Mission two sites were suggested; but, as early as June 17,
Corporal Ballesteros erected a church, missionary-house, granary, and
guard-house at the point called by the natives _Popeloutchom_, and by
the Spaniards, San Benito. Eight days later, Lasuen, aided by Padres
Catala and Martiarena, founded the Mission dedicated to the saint of
that day, San Juan Bautista.

Next in order, between the two Missions of San Antonio de Padua and San
Luis Obispo, was that of "the most glorious prince of the heavenly
militia," San Miguel. Lasuen, aided by Sitjar, in the presence of a
large number of Indians, performed the ceremony in the usual form, on
July 25, 1797. This Mission eventually grew to large proportions and its
interior remains to-day almost exactly as decorated by the hands of the
original priests.

San Fernando Rey was next established, on September 8, by Lasuen, aided
by Padre Dumetz.

After extended correspondence between Lasuen and Governor Borica, a
site, called by the natives _Tacayme_, was finally chosen for locating
the next Mission, which was to bear the name of San Luis, Rey de
Francia. Thus it became necessary to distinguish between the two saints
of the same name: San Luis, Bishop (Obispo), and San Luis, King; but
modern American parlance has eliminated the comma, and they are
respectively San Luis Obispo and San