“Thus we lived among the woods until merciful God
freed us of these miseries
through Father Peyri
and seven Spanish soldiers.
In the Mission, the Fernandino Father is like
a king. He has his pages,
majordomos, musicians,
and horses by the thousand.
They made a church, a high tower with five bells
and a cemetery with a crucifix
for all who die here.
No one can dance without permission
of the elders. The garden is full of fruit trees,
but none of the neophytes
can enter the garden.
A great many crows arrive in the evening.”