Indians had a hard life back in mission days. When the padres and their helpers came to "Alta California" they brought with them new ways and diseases. Some of the local Indians near the missions got very sick and when their shaman could not cure it they would go to a near by mission to see if the padres could cure it. They thought that since they brought the disease they would know how to cure it, but most of the time they didn't. If the padres did know how to cure them, and the Indian(s) got better, they would have to stay and work. Others came to the missions because they couldn't find food or animals to hunt. The padres would teach them how to farm and raise crops. This was new to the Indians and they didn't like it very much because it was harder work that they weren't used to. Some Indians came for survival reasons but others were also by the padres and soldiers with things like glass beads, colored cloth and other things that the Indians had never seen. Most Indians did not come because of problems, they were usually forced by padres and soldiers to come and work at the missions if the padres still needed more help. Many Indians were treated cruelly and tried to runaway. Most of the time they were unsuccessful and the padres or soldiers caught them. This deserved a big punish such as whipping.

At most missions the daily routine was somewhat similar. It was usually something like this. In the mourning the ringing of bells signaled the start of a new day. It also called them to mourning church services. In the church men would sit on one side, woman would sit on the other side. Instead of sitting in chairs or on benches they sat on the cool tile floor. In church or in other classes the Indians were taught the Catholic faith. Most Indians didn't understand the Catholic rituals, like baptizing. Some just memorized the words they were told to and recited them when the padres instructed. Many Indians secretly practiced there own traditional ceremonies when they had time. After the mourning services more bells would call them to breakfast. An hour later the bells sent the Indians to work. In the work area the Indians made shoes, pressed olives into olive oil, wove cloth and blankets, or made bricks from adobe. In the fields they would do manual labor like plowing the fields, planting, or harvesting. The work loads during the day and the ceremonies were different depending on the missions. Some padres also had the Indians at their mission milk or brand cows and sheer sheep. Young children were taught where every thing was like the best grazing place for cows, how to weave, or they kept the animals away from the crops. At noon bells signaled the end of that working period and the start of lunch. For meals the Indians some times ate tortillas, a rich grain gruel called atoll, or pazole a stew made with meat and vegetables. After lunch the Indians usually had a rest time of one to two hours before they went back to work. Many Indians didn't like the daily routine and wouldn't show up for work or they would sit down on the job and not work very hard. The padres and soldiers punished the Indians that didn't obey rules and if they ran away more then once their ankles would get chained together so that they wouldn't do it again.