 The Romance of the Ranchos San Gabriel 1771 mission San Gabriel found it San Gabriel 1781 settlers moved to San Gabriel mission San Gabriel 1821 Christmas Celebrated at Completed Mission The title insurance and trust company of Los Angeles presents the romance of the ranchos dramatically dramatization of the events and people who made early California history so colorful and adventurous Our Wandering Vicaro Frank Graham returns tonight with a story of a Christmas long ago in the days of the dawn The most reassuring factor in this high-speed hectic and just now very troubled world is the permanence of most of the really important good things of life The permanence, for example, of Christianity and Christmas the durability of character and the primary virtues the fact that right somehow continues to triumph and that man's progress, however temporarily set back in the long run is always forward and upward History proves these statements and here in Southern California it is comforting to look back and see the hardships and trials that have been surmounted the battles that have been won against great odds the defeats that have been suffered and later retrieved by those who have gone before us Title insurance and trust company of Los Angeles urges you when listening to these broadcasts of the true events of the Southland history to keep these thoughts in mind the sponsors will feel more than repaid if these programs can help to strengthen faith and confidence in the future of our community and our country And here is our Wandering Vicaro Frank Graham to tell us the story Buenos noches, señoras y señores Tonight we're going to tell you the true story of the founding of one of the greatest civilizing influences in the history of our section of Southern California The mission San Gabriel and the story of Pedro the Indian which is purely fictional illustrating how Christmas might have been celebrated there of great many years ago I'm sure that you will find it a story filled with the romance of the Ranchos It was about the year 1770 in Mexico City when the great Franciscan friar, Junipero Sierra Padre President of the College of Missionaries announced a decision to one of his brothers We're afraid that you might be ill No, no my son I'm not ill, far from it But this petition, it is very important and I wish to get it to the vice-roy as soon as possible Important? See, my son Upon the success of this, my life work Must not take it, your life work Padre But I am about the California friar of a chain of missions stretching from the one at San Diego to Monterrey What? That wilderness? Wilderness? But according to the diaries of our brother Juan Crespi it is a beautiful land, rich and fertile but devoid of towns of any civilization nothing but great empty plains and heathen Indians It would be a miserable place to live But Padre, it is not for ourselves that we go into the desert It is not for our comfort that we must think It is those heathen Indians who call us I know, think of them thousands of heathen savages thousands of souls searching for salvation We can, we must bring it to them so that they too may know the peace and the wonder of faith It is the most worthy ambition Padre But such a tremendous task Do you think it possible? Padre, the members of our order have always accomplished what they set out to do in the service of God We cannot fail in this and we will not But it will take many men much money See, that is why I pen my petition to the viceroy With his help I will have the money And the men are coming A boat with twenty new friars is even now on the seas coming from Spain See, my brother, we will not be long before we shall plant the banner of the Virgin Madre on the soil of Alta, California and bring civilization and God to that beautiful country Junipero Sarra's great dream of a chain of missions stretching the length of California was to be realized The viceroy authorized the construction of the first five and plans were started And so it was that early in September of 1771 two Padres, Pedro Benito Gamboan in Angel Sumera arrived with their founding party at what had been chosen as a suitable site for the fort in the series of California missions close by the banks of what is now the river Sangabriel They can Put more brush against the side here, Sergeant Say, Padres, we will have a finish very soon That's way no It is not a very imposing building for a mission, is it? Not very But if the best we can do in so short a time tomorrow we can begin on a more permanent home See, but in the meantime this house, made of the good earth and brush will serve as the house of God In it, we can begin our task of bringing the word of the Lord to these poor savages That looks like it may be a pretty big job They don't seem so friendly Look at them, just standing around at a distance watching us I wish I knew what they were talking about over there regards, nutmen, seas they bring with them great animals bigger than the deer made upon their backs The animals are their friends Do as they tell them It is black magic They must be bad gods I say we should destroy them Now, for they mean to stay here They build house of brush But they do not look fearsome Perhaps they are good spirits Come to help us No, the crow has spoken truly These strange men with their animals must be destroyed Why not approach and speak to them learn why they come No, listen The gods of the mountain are not poor They shake the earth It is an omen Those strangers bring disaster The gods bring disaster Padre, Padre, the earthquake It will be over in the moment, sergeant Have no fear You see, it fades away even now Padre, I don't like this There is nothing to fear It can do us no harm See, it does not even disarrange the twig of our house But maybe the next one Come, come Let us kneel down and thank the lord for our safe journey May he shower his blessings on this venture which we here found The mission sang Gabriel Archangel Come Come, pray with me, my brothers And so was founded the first site of the missions and Gabriel The Padres started to work on a more permanent building And for a time, the Indians offered no opposition Then one day, provoked by some incident I don't like it, Padre Look at them, there must be two hundred and they're advancing slowly on us They're painters and they have weapons This is the attack we have feared I'm afraid it is Wait, sergeant, wait There must be another way But Padre, we can't just stand here and do nothing If we are to die, we can at least die fighting Life, not death is our mission There is another way There must be We better find it quickly They're coming closer in a minute they will charge Let me see, what would impress these simple-minded schools I might try the banner The banner of the church The banner on which is pictured the Virgin, Padre I'm a religious man The banner means much to me But to these naked savages it will mean nothing That we cannot say, my son The power of the Lord is manifest in many ways Just the same, I would rather trust my life to the musket, not the banner Please, let me fire on them No, not until there is no other way Not until I give the order Look out then, here they come They're running now They'll start shooting their arrows in a minute Then my son pack away the banner And throw it, soul There Padre, they stop They stop and stand gazing at the picture of the Virgin See, my son The power of the Lord is mysterious But it is with us protecting it I cannot believe it Look, they are falling down on their knees Before the picture See, throwing down their arms And placing beads and ornaments Incredible, incredible Not incredible, my son Or do we not do the same This is more than a symbol of good, my son This banner of our church is an act of powerful good And it will prove the salvation of these poor barbarians And bring success to our venture Thank the old lord Charmed by the lovely picture of the Virgin Mary The Indians were subdued more easily And for a time the task of the Padres was proceeding toward fulfillment Many of the Indians were baptized They began to learn the language and the arts of living which the Padres taught They made plans for more permanent mission buildings But when the winter rains came it became apparent that a new sight would have to be found Padre, the water was coming up fast It will watch the cutaway in no time See, I had no idea that this peaceful little stream could be turned into a raging cold Move to higher ground It'll be over in a few days and we can come back No, sergeant, we will never come back All it can be the same every year No, we must look for a new sight for the mission You mean, all the plans we have made these huts, all are to be abandoned? See, it will be better so Madadios, months of work But we must build on firm ground where our handiwork may stand in safety for years centuries if need be You are right, but the months of work Never mind, my son We must be prepared to face discouragement and start again Always we must have the courage to start again See, I will tell the others to get ready And so we say goodbye to the first mission, San Gabriel Only to build a new and greater one And they did build a new and greater mission, San Gabriel upon the present site First a small house in which the Padres kept their uncomfortable quarters started, around it clustered the homes of the Indian new fights and later the Spanish settlers who came from Mexico, laboriously the work was carried on, and slowly the great mission took shape Then, one day in 1797 Ah Padres, when is this? How is the work proceeding today, Sergeant? Very badly Padres, I don't know what is wrong Only this handful of the workmen have appeared the rest I cannot find I know they will be late, they are holding an election today An election? See, for Alcalde of the mission Padres, what does this mean? It means the Governor Navy has had his way He claims that we were not meant to have jurisdiction over the Indians, that they must govern themselves Yeah, but it is well known that they are not able to govern themselves Only a few years ago they were naked savagery I know, but the Governor has had his way and today they hold their first election Padres, I don't like it It'll mean trouble, already they are too unruly See, oh, here come some of them now the election must be over Well, they better watch out I will stand for a little bit Padres, Buenos Dias Buenos Dias, my son, you are finished See, now can go to work building hut for beautiful lady in picture A beautiful lady You remember the beautiful lady's picture on the banner, Sergeant? Oh, see Padres here understands that the church we are building is for worship of her and her son See, hut for beautiful lady Well, if you ever want to finish you'd better not waste time in elections Get busy and build it Go on, get to work, my son You must not be harsh with these simple children Padres, I know you like this one especially because he's named after you but he's one of the worst of the lazy wretches He never gets his quarter of work finished Sergeant You must remember to watch how well he works and not worry about how long it takes him Pedro makes each brick with loving care Here's is the work of a craftsman and it is good work That is more important than speed I might have known you would excuse him He's just lazy, he in his fence one And you are impatient, my son Too impatient And where is your fence one, Pedro? One no work today What? What do you mean he won't work today? He not feel good But who told him he didn't have to report here anyway? Me, me tell him Pedro, what do you mean? How can you tell one he doesn't have to work today? You have not that authority? Yes, me tell him Me, Alcalde now Electuré Why you, I'll put you both in the stock No, no Law says no touch, Alcalde Me chief here now No can touch Is that so? Just for that you'll get the life No, no my son He is right You law exempts the Alcalde from our punishment We can do nothing You mean we must say nothing? Our authority is gone? See, perhaps it is for the best I cannot say No, nothing but evil will come from this You wait and see And the effects of Governor Navy's new law Was to bring evil to the mission But the Indians were not ready for self-government Under a strange and foreign civilization They became unruly and insolent And as more white settlers poured into the land The simple Indians were easily corrupted and debauched But work proceeded at the mission In spite of handicaps The buildings sprang up Fields and orchards bore fruit Heads of cattle multiplied and fragged The Indians learned the arts of the white man Filling the soil Carrying for cattle Waving, sowing Making soap and grinding meal But as time went on Friction between soldiers and Indians and settlers Caused periodic bad feeling It was at one such time Padre See, my son My Pedro Sergeant Why do you have Pedro bound? I just wanted you to know that your favorite here Is not so righteous as you think I'm about to give him the lash What has he done? He struck one of my soldiers It was lucky he was not killed in return Is this true, Pedro? I am inclined to believe My Pedro struck your soldier He had good reason to Padre I mean it Those men of yours have been unnecessarily harsh toward the Indians I cannot approve of it My men are harsh only when these savages try their Insulin tricks They have become impossible since they have their own elections I cannot agree with you And I am not pleased by this action of yours That can't be helped Padre He gets the lash nevertheless Sergeant Padre In the spirit of that great anniversary Let him go We must be punished Padre Or soon we will have no authority at all No, no, me go away Out here, step, you even come back here Pedro, Pedro, come back Don't run away, come back Well, Sergeant What do you find? At last you learn the truth about your precious Pedro You'll be sorry to hear that he's no better than the worst of them You have found him I know he's gone alright But I know where he is In the mountains See, my men have definite word That he joined the band of renegade Indians in the mountains The very tribe that is always robbing us So, you see I see But the wayward son will return, Sergeant I know that he will come back And I will welcome him Pedro, Pedro She Why you, sir, sit There is fire like dead man Son Gabriel Son Gabriel? No more home You'll never go back They kill you But soldiers Pedro Pedro, you feel better when you ride with us Out on raid Oh, that good You no feel good sitting at campfire Staring I know like ride on raid It's not right Chief say right Chief better man than Padre No, I think Padre better man He say not right I feel not right You feel different when you try You try once, then see Pedro They no want Indian at son Gabriel They say you bad You forget son Gabriel Can never go back You bad Indian now So You like us You stay here Go on raid, feel better Come Come see what things took on last raid Come to campfire with riders Look I stay here Come look Riders raid son Gabriel Bring many things Bring many things Come look I come look Look much food Sticks of gold That picture paint on skin On roll One That picture of beautiful lady From church son Gabriel That beautiful lady Build up for Riders take it son Gabriel Bring here No cannot take Must take back son Gabriel Pedro you loco keep here No beautiful lady take back son Gabriel Must take Padre say she great lady Must be in great hut Me take back Chief want you no take She me take Pedro chief no like kill you Me take me take son Gabriel Give No stop Pedro Pedro come back you'll be killed Pedro Down from the mountains ran a solitary Indian A vengeful brothers For the mission of son Gabriel he ran For the little settlement or even then The Padre prayed Bless these children of yours Keep them safe and happy And bring them the peace and good will You promised for us all And for the wayward Bring them back to the fold For this great celebration This Christmas Eve It was Christmas Eve that son Gabriel And the Indians joined In celebration with the white settlers Great was the rejoicing For after attending Mass at the church The whole population reveled In games and dancing The favorite sport of the children and grown ups are like Was to join in performing the pastores Or pastoral play In which the players went from door to door Acting out the story Of the nativity for each family at home The children followed along With their own version Replete with the devil chasing the poor travelers The performers, young and old Were then invited inside for refreshment Dancing was the main feature Of any Spanish fiesta And music in live and every gathering A great fiesta of Christmas brought dancers From the whole countryside To join in the celebration Beautiful clothes, dark-eyed maidens With flashing eyes All made the great hall A rainbow of merry color And in another part of the settlement Another party gathered for a game A great pile of candy and nuts Was tied into a sack Hung from the rafter Then, one by one, the young men Blindfolded, swung at it with a stick It was a Christmas version of Blind man's bluff called And great fun for everybody Once the bag was struck Its contents were spilled out upon the floor And a mad scramble took place Ah, you take it in What's the matter? Why does everyone suddenly stop? It's the Indian Pedro Mother of the duels Covered with blood Pedro, what is the matter? What has happened? Take to Padre Senior, he's hurt He looks hurried To Padre See, right away, Pedro Make way there, make way It's Pedro, the Indian Pedro, my son Yeah, place him here on the car See, he looks badly hurt, Padre Blood Let me see, no thank goodness I don't think it's as serious as it looks He's probably suffering more From exhaustion than from the blow Padre, Pedro See, my son, what is it? Me, sorry It's all right, Pedro You shouldn't have run away, but Must come Bring beautiful lady Beautiful lady He was carrying this, Padre It's a banner of the virgin To stone Beautiful lady In great hut Safe See, Pedro, safe And she will keep you safe too In her great hut Me, not bad Indian If all of us trade no farther From the path than you This world would be far happier My children Let us all kneel And give thanks for the return Of a lost lamb to the poor On this happy Christmas Eve To all of us, Christmas is And will remain even through the most Difficult times ahead A day of reverent celebration An occasion for the expression Of sincere goodwill toward our families And fellow citizens In the spirit of the season, each member Of the entire title insurance and trust company Organization joins tonight With his fellows in extending to you The best wishes for a merry Christmas As a personal expression Of this wish, the title insurance And trust company's men's chorus A group of 24 employees of the company Under the direction of Charles Monroe Presents the Christmas Carol Joy to the world Ladies and gentlemen, by transcription This is the address of the title insurance And trust company of Los Angeles Next week we recreate something Of the fascinating story of the Rancho Buenos Aires The land on which the truly modern cities Of westward village and westward hills And the campus of UCLA stand Be sure to hear it And now, this is your wandering Barquero Frank Graham saying Feliz Pasquale Merry Christmas to each And every one of you And until next week Merry Christmas The romance of the Ranchos A presentation of the title insurance And trust company of Los Angeles Featuring Frank Graham as the wandering Vecchero is dramatized by John Duckle And produced by Ted Bliss With special music arranged by Irwin Yew Bob LeMond speaking and wishing You all a very merry Christmas This is the Columbia Broadcasting System