Catholic priests ventured out into California to create missions in the 18^th century from their Spanish bases in the Bajio of Mexico. Priests accompanied soldier-explorers who themselves were trying to duplicate the earlier exploits of Cortés, the brothers Pizzaro and many others. Fame and even more importantly, riches of untold amounts tempted them to push into the desert unknowns. But even as temporal gains pushed the main efforts, the spiritual mission remained an important sub context – natives to convert and to control. Here is an example at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel.