On the walls, the wainscot line is set off with the sinuous body of the serpent, which not only lends itself well to such a purpose of ornamentation, but was a symbolic reminder to the Indians of that old serpent, the devil, the father of lies and evil, who beguiled our first parents in the Garden of Eden.
In the ruins of the San Fernando church faint traces of the decorations o£ the altar can still be seen in two simple rounded columns, with cornices above.
At San Juan Capistrano, on the east side of the quadrangle, in the northeast corner, is a small room; and in one corner of this is a niche for a statue, the original decorations therein still remaining. It is weather-stained, and the rain has washed the adobe in streaks over some of it; yet it is interesting. It consists of a rude checkerboard design, or, rather, of a diagonal lozenge pattern in reds and yellows.
There are also a few remnants of the mural distemper paintings in the altar zone of the ruined church.
CHAPTER XXXVI
HOW TO REACH THE MISSIONS
SAN DIEGO. From Los Angeles to San Diego, Santa Fé Railway, 126 miles, one way fare $3.85; round trip $5.00, good ten days; or $7.00, good 30 days, with stop-over privileges at Oceanside, which allows a visit to San Luis Rey and Pala (via Oceanside) and San Juan Capistrano. Or steamship, $3.00 and $2.25; round trip, first class, $5.25. The Mission is six miles from San Diego, and a carriage must be taken all the way, or the electric car to the bluff, fare five cents; thence by Bluff Road, on burro, two miles, fare fifty cents. The better way is to drive by Old Town and return by the Bluff Road.