PLACES
 
 

Sunday, August 20.-From this canyon we went to the Pueblos de la Isla, distant some three leagues from La Laguna, over a road on level ground between the range and some low hills that lay along the coast. We came in sight of a long, bare point of land; on the eastern side of it a large estuary enters through two different mouths (as some said, because all the men did not see both), half a league, more or less, distant from each other. The estuary surrounds a small hill and a tongue of land of moderate length-this was affirmed to be an island by those who declared that they had seen the two mouths of the estuary,and it must have been so if there were two mouths. On this hill, whose verdure and trees gave very great pleasure to the eye, there stood a very populous Indian town containing innumerable houses, so that someone asserted that he had counted more than one hundred. The estuary spreads over the level country towards the east, forming marshes and creeks of considerable extent, and on their banks there are two other towns, less populous than the Pueblo de la Isla. We passed through one of them to reach the watering-place, near which we pitched our camp. After a short time, the natives of the three towns came with roasted and fresh fish, seeds, acorns, atole or gachas, and various other foods,earnestly inviting us to eat, and showing in their faces the pleasure that our presence gave them. We treated them all kindly,and gave them glass beads, ribbons, and other trifles, in exchange for which we received various curios, such as baskets, furs, and plumes.

All the land that we examined, along the road as well as from our camp, is exceedingly pleasing, with an abundance of pasture, and covered with live-oaks, willows, and other trees, giving indications of fertility and of [a capacity] to produce whatever one might desire to sow.

The natives, not content with making us presents of their eatables, wished, furthermore, to give us a feast, thus manifesting the mutual rivalry and contention between the towns to excel each other in gifts and festivities, in order to merit our approval and praise. In the afternoon the leaders and caciques of each town came, one after the other, adorned according to their custom-painted and decked with feathers, having in their hands some split canes with the motion and noise of which they marked time for their songs, and the rhythm for the dance, so regularly and so uniformly that there was no discord.

The dancing continued all the afternoon, and we had hard work to rid ourselves of [our visitors]. Finally we sent them away, earnestly recommending them, by means of signs, not to come back during the night to disturb us; but in vain. At nightfall they returned with a large retinue of clowns or jugglers, playing whistles, the noise of which grated upon the ears. It was to be feared that they would stampede our horses, and, for this reason, the commander, with his officers and some soldiers, went out to receive them. These gave the natives some glass beads, and intimated to them that if they came back to disturb our sleep, they would no longer be our friends and we would give them a bad reception. This was a sufficient measure to cause them to retire and to leave us in peace for the remainder of the night.To the Pueblos de la Isla, 3 leagues. From San Diego, 82 leagues.

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