mss142-vasilevShishmarev-i4-019

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leathers are used by the Spaniards for footwear instead of
bootlegs. Women spin and weave wool for blankets, ponchos (a
sort of mantle about an arshin in width with a longitudunal
hole in the middle through which they put their heads so that
the ends hang down on the chest and the back, leaving the
hands free) and cloth, which they dye blue, black, and red.

New-California, or, otherwise, New-Albion, is situated on
the western shore of North America. It extends from 25⁰ north
latitude to undetermined borders to the north. At that time
it constituted a province of the Mexican Vice-Kingdom, was
ruled by a governor having his residence in Monterey, in the
same kind of "presidio" as in San Francisco, according to the
Spaniards, and was divided into eleven missions. In each of
these missions were two, three, or five
Franciscan monks, who had, according to the size of the mission,
military cavalry protection, nowhere exceeding, however, 40
soldiers, so that the whole garrison of California consisted
of only 500 men of this kind of troops. In addition, in San
Francisco and Monterey, where there were forts, there were
about 150 men of the infantry and artillery. The number of
Indians settled near the missions amounted to about 10,000
persons, of whom only the smallest number voluntarily entered
the settlement, and all the rest were caught by force by the
cavalrymen who captured them like animals with lassos and
brought them to the missions. There, gradually, they became
accustomed to a settled life, and were always treated very
kindly and well. When an Indian accustoms himself he is