the further spread of the general system; and then, with the planting of
two relatively unimportant settlements in a district thentofore
unoccupied the tally was brought to a close.

The missions which thus represented a slight and temporary revival of
the old spirit of enterprise, were those of San Rafael Arcángel and San
Francisco Solano. The former, located near Mount Tamalpais, between San
Francisco de Assis and the Russian military station at Fort Ross, dates
from the 17th December, 1817; the latter, situated still further north,
in the Sonoma Valley, from the 4th July, 1823. Some little uncertainty
exists as to the true reasons and purposes of their foundation. The
commonly accepted version of the story connects them directly with
problems which arose out of the course of affairs at San Francisco. In
1817 a most serious epidemic caused great mortality among the Indians
there; a panic seemed inevitable; and on the advice of Lieutenant Sola,
a number of the sick neophytes were removed by the padres to the other
side of the bay. The change of climate proved highly beneficial; the
region of Mount Tamalpais was found singularly attractive; and a
decision to start a branch establishment, or asistencia, of the mission
at San Francisco was a natural result. The patronage of San Rafael was
selected in the hope that, as the name itself expresses the "healing of
God," that "most glorious prince" might be induced to care "for bodies
as well as souls." While considerable success attended this new venture,
the condition of things at San Francisco, on the other hand, continued
anything but satisfactory; and a proposal based on these two facts was
presently made, that the old mission should be removed entirely from the
peninsula, and refounded in a more favorable locality somewhere in the
healthy and fertile country beyond San Rafael. It was thus that the name
of San Francisco got attached from the outset to the new settlement at
Sonoma; and when later on (the old mission being left in its place) this