As in all of the mission communities of Alta California, the intention at San Francisco
was to have the missionaries Christianize the natives and then, through seculariza-
tion, make them subjects of King Carlos III of Spain. What the process meant for the
Ohlone Indians was the surrender of their rights and the end of their former way of
life. Once they accepted baptism they were treated as if they had “taken an eternal
vow.”,& They could not leave the mission to which they were assigned. If they at-
tempted to run away they were forcibly returned by Spanish soldiers. Whippings and
shackling were common. The people were given Spanish names and not allowed to
speak their native language or participate in their old religious traditions. Their activi-
ties were rigidly controlled. Working life was strenuous. The women combed wool
and then spun and wove it into cloth; they washed clothes and prepared meals. The
men tilled the soil, planted crops, butchered cattle and learned some manual skills like
carpentry, blacksmithing, tanning, turning tallow into soap and making adobe bricks.
In some places this included mining rock. Mission Indians operated the calera at Mori
Point to produce lime from limestone. Unmarried females and males were mostly
separated. Girls and single women were not allowed to go out alone at nigh