DAWN AND THE DONS 68
combination of great ability, an indomitable will, religious zeal, ceaseless vigilance and untiring industry could have wrought the remarkable results achieved by this extraordinary man. A striking picture of Serra is that by Chapman, who after referring to the Serra of poetry and romance, adds: “The real Serra was, indeed, a remarkable man. Already at an advanced age when he came to Alta California, he nevertheless possessed the traits which were most needed in the pioneer. He was an enthusiastic, battling, almost quarrelsome, fear-
less, keen-witted, fervidly devout, unselfish, singlehanded missionary. He subordinated everything and himself most of all, to the demands of his evangelical task as he understood it. Withal, his administration as
Father-President was so sound, and his grasp of the needs of the province so clear that he was able to exercise a greater authority than would ordinarily have been permitted. Though he fought with local Governors, he won the confidence of Bucareli, who preferred his judg-
ment to that of either Fages or Rivera.” Serra died in 1784, at the age of seventy-one, and was buried in the sanctuary of the Mission Chapel at Carmel. One hundred and forty years later, in 1924, a notable celebration was held at Monterey called “The Serra Pilgrimage.” There was much of pageantry, and old time ceremonials, concluding with a pilgrimage from Monterey over the intervening hills to the old Mission, where was unveiled a lasting tribute in bronze to the founder of California’s civilization.
