Our Catholic Heritage, Volume III

The Mission Era: The Missions at Work, 1731-1761.

OUR CATHOLIC HERITAGE IN TEXAS 1519-193 6

PREPARED UNDER THE Al'SPICES OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS OF TEXAS PAUL J. ForK, C. S. C., PH. D., Editor

THE MISSION ERA:

THE MISSIONS AT WORK

CARLOS E. CASTANEDA, PH. D.

VOLUME III

Austin, Texas VO:-J BOECKIIIANN-jONES Co. 1938

AUSTIN

NIHIL OBSTAT

PATRICK J. HAGGERTY, C. S. C.

President, St. Edward's University Austin, Texas Censor Defmtatus

IMPRIMATUR

I + ARTHUR J. DROSSAERTS, D. D., LL. D. Archbishop of San Antonio + CHRISTOPHER E. BYRNE, D. D., LL. D. Bishop of Galveston + JOSEPH P. LYNCH, D. D., LL. D. Bishop of Dallas + EMMANUEL B. LEDVINA, D. D., LL. D. Bishop of Corpus Christi + ANTHONY J. SCHULER, s. J ., D. D., LL. D. Bishop of El Paso , + ROBERT E. LUCEY, D. D., LL. D. Bishop of Amarillo 1,·+ MARIANO s. GARRIGA, D. D., LL. D.

Co-adjutor Bishop of Corpus Christi

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TEXAS KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS HISTORICAL COMMISSION

Honorary Cl,airman of the Commission THE MosT REv. ARCHDISHOP ARTHUR J. DRossAERTS, D. D., LL. D.

E%ecutive Committee

hv. PAUL J. FoIK, C. S. C., PH. D., Chairman vRIGHT REv. MONSIGNOR JosEPH G. O'DoNOHOE, LL. D., Secretary MosT REv. BISHOP MARIANO S. GARRIGA, D. D., LL. D. HoN. JosEPH I. DRISCOLL, LL. D., K. S. G., Past State Deputy HON. CHARLES K. WALSH, LL. D., State Deputy RIGHT REv. MONSIGNOR PETER GuILDAY, PH. D., LL. D.

Diocesan Historians

MosT REv. BISHOP MARIANO S. GARRIGA, D. D., LL. D. Representing the Archdiocese of San Antonio REV. JOHN S. MURPHY, LL. D., Diocese of Galveston RIGHT REV. MONSIGNOR JOSEPH G. O'DoNOHOE, LL. D., Diocese of Dallas

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REv. DANIEL A. LANING, Diocese of Corpus Christi REv. A. G. DECORME, S. J ., Diocese of El Paso REv. ARNOLD A. BOEDING, Diocese of Amarillo

Historiographer

CARLOS EDUARDO CASTANEDA, PH. D.

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PREFACE

The period covered by the present volume is better known than that of the two preceding ones, thanks to the excellent study of Dr. H. E. Bolton, Texas in tlze }Jtfiddle Eigliteentle Century. But much additional information has been gathered from many sources not available hereto- fore, particularly with regard to the history of that ignored area from present Presidio to El Paso. It had not been even suspected that several missions were actually established in the vicinity of Presidio in 1715, one year before the Ramon expedition of 1716 that resulted in the permanent occupation of East Texas. New light is also thrown upon the history of the Lower Rio Grande Valley where Spanish settlements were actually established on the northern bank of the Rio Grande by 1753. Here for the first time are also presented the details of the first exploration of the Gulf coast from the mouth of the Guadalupe River to the mouth of the Rio Grande, below Corpus Christi Bay, first called Bahia de San Miguel. An attempt has been made to give a fuller picture of life in Texas. The slow growth of the Spanish settlements and missions, the gradual extension of the frontier into central and western Texas, the increasing influence of the French among the northern tribes, and the first glimpses of English designs on the province of Texas have been brought out as fully as space has permitted. The history of the Orcoquisac mission and presidio although falling chronologically within the present volume has been omitted because it fits better with the subsequent narrative. The author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to the Knights of Columbus who have made possible the present study; to Rev. Dr. Paul J. Foik, C. S. C., of St. Edward's University, Austin, for constant advice and encouragement; and to Dr. Charles W. Hackett, Dr. Eugene C. Barker, Miss Winnie Allen, Miss Maurin T. Wilson, and Mr. E. W. Winkler of the University of Texas for useful suggestions, friendly advice, and continued cooperation in checking materials and sources; and to Elisa, his wife, for her endless patience in reading the manuscript. C. E. CASTANEDA, Latin American Librarian, University of Texas.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I The Field and Its Workers.................................................................. 1 CHAPTER II Handicaps to Mission Development, 1731-1750.................................. 35 CHAPTER III The Beginnings of Civilized Life in Texas, 1731-1745.................... 75 CHAPTER IV Escandon and the Settlements of the Lower Rio Grande, 1738-1779 130 CHAPTER V Explorations and Settlements along the Rio Grande from San Juan Bautista to El Paso, 1735-1765.............. ..... ......... ....... ................. 197 CHAPTER VI Establishment and Early Progress of the San Xavier Missions, 1745-1750 ··· ········ ·· ······· ·· ············· ······················· ······· ··· ·········· ····· ···· · 241 CHAPTER VII The Destruction of the San Xavier Missions...................................... 292 CHAPTER VIII Missionary Activity among the Apaches: The San Saba Mission, 174J- 1758 ········ ········· ······ ··········· ············ ········ ······· ······· ········ ······ ··· ··· 339

Bibliography .. .. .... .......... .......... .... ..... ...... .... ..... .... ... ...... ......... ...... .. ..... .. ... 41 I

Index ...... .... .... .... ............. ..................... .... .. ..... ........ ......... ....... .. ......... ...... .. 441

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ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

Padre Fray Alonso Giraldo de Terreros, O. F. M., mar- tyred at the Mission of San Saba de la Santa Cruz, near Menard, Texas, on March 16, 1758........ ............... Frontispiece, Colegio de la Santa Cruz de Queretaro, where Francis- can Missionaries were trained for the Propagation of the Faith in Texas. Founded by Reverend Padre Fray Antonio Linaz de Jesus Maria, 0. F. M., in 1683.... ......... .. ............ .......... ....... .... ........................Facing page 16, Colegio de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de Zacatecas as it is today. Here Franciscan Missionaries were trained for the Propagation of the Faith in Texas. Founded by royal decree in 1706 with Reverend Padre Fray Antonio Margil de Jesus, 0. F. M., first President in capite....................... .. ... ...... .... .. ... . F acing page 32 • Padre Fray Jose Ganzabal, 0. F. M., martyred at the door of the friary of the Mission of Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria on the San Gabriel River, near present Rockdale, Texas, on May 11, 1752 ..... .... .. ... Facing page 320. Map of Southwest Texas, New Mexico, and Nueva Vizcaya showing area from present Presidio, Texas, to Santa Fe and beyond. Original sketch drawn and colored in 1746. Published now for the first time from the W. B. Stephens Gollection........ ......F acing page 336 · Padre Fray Jose Santiesteban, 0. F. M., martyred by Comanches at the foot of the altar in the Mission of San Saba de la Santa Cruz near present Menard, Texas, on March 16, 1758............. ...........................Facing ,pag, 404 • Map of Texas tracing routes of expeditions and explora- tions showing the expansion of missionary activity and giving locations of more recent missions and presidios from 1731-1761........ .. .... ........ .. ...... ....... .... .Facing page 474.

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THE MISSIONS AT WORK

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CHAPTER I THE FIELD AND I TS w ORKERS

Fifteen years of tireless endeavor on the part of the missionaries had definitely established the claim of Spain to the vast empire of present-day Texas. During this time it had been the devoted sons of Saint Francis who hacl continually called the attention of officials to the clanger of French encroachments in their fervent desire to carry the comforts of religion and the blessings of civilization to the countless tribes of Indians who roamed the boundless plains and lived along the fertile valleys. Repeated failures had served only to heighten their desire and steel their determination in spite of official blunders, native ingratitude, incredible obstacles, and untold hardships. Thus by 1731 the permanent capital of the new province had been established at Los Aclaes, where a military post had been erected by the Marquis of Aguayo in 1721, approximately fifteen miles from Red River, facing the French outpost of Natchitoches. Half a league away was the Mission of San Miguel de Linares de los Adaes, under the care of missionaries from the College of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de Zacatecas. To the west, near the Angelina River, was the Mission of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de los Nacogdoches, and on Ayish Bayou, half way between the two, was Nuestra Senora de los Ais, likewise under the care of Zacatecan friars. The other three missions originally estab- lished by the College of La Santa Cruz de Quer;taro in east Texas had been removed to the San Antonio River as a result of the suppression of the Presidio de N uestra Senora de los Dolores de los Tejas at the recom- mendation of Brigadier Rivera. 1 The Presidio of Nuestra Senora de Loreto, generally known as La Bahia, originally founded on Garcitas Creek, not far from the head of Lavaca Bay, had been removed in 1726 to the Guadalupe River and reestablished on a site near the present city of Victoria. Here, too, was now the Mission of Nuestra Senora del Espiritu Santo de Zuniga. These two establishments formed the second nucleus of Spanish influence designed to civilize the cannibalistic tribes of the coastal plain and to prevent a recurrence of foreign invasion from the Gulf of Mexico. 1 For details concerning the establishment and removal of these missions see Castaneda, Tile Wi1111ing of Texas, Chapter VII.

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Our Catholic Heritage in T ezas

But the real seat of Spanish power in the new province was the Presidio de San Antonio de Bejar, on the site of the present city of San Antonio, founded in 1718 by Alarcon. That same year the zealous Father Antonio Olivares had established by its side the Mission of San Antonio de Valero, destined to become immortalized as the Alamo. Along the river, to the south, for a distance of twelve miles there were four other missions; namely, Concepcion, San Jose, San Juan Capistrano, and San Francisco de la Espada, located in the order named. Of these San Jose had been founded by the saintly Father Margil de Jesus, of the College of Zacatecas, and the other three had been removed by the Queretaran missionaries from east Texas in 1731. Near the recently founded presidio and the Mission of San Antonio de Valero stood the newly established Villa de San Fernando de Bejar, settled by Canary Islanders, reenforced by a few families from the garrison who had pre- viously made their homes in the vicinity. This little community of civil settlers proudly enjoyed the distinction of being the first municipality in Texas. Between the settlement and missions on the San Antonio River and the presidio and Mission of Nuestra Senora del Espiritu Santo on the Guadalupe cattle ranches were beginning to dot the land. By the middle of the century their small herds were to multiply and grow into thousands of steers, the forerunners of our cattle industry. Heretofore the advance of the Spanish frontier from Mexico had been stimulated chiefly by the hope of discovering and working rich mineral deposits. The lure of gold and silver mines account in great part for the expansion northward. But in the case of Texas it was the earnest desire to convert the native tribes to Christianity on the part of the missionaries, and the determination to prevent the French from gaining a foothold on the part of the officials of New Spain that were responsible, in the- final analysis, for the ultimate occupation of this vast territory. By 1731, therefore, the claim of Spain had been established beyond a doubt to most of the region and the general outlines of the province drawn. Conditions were, however, far from being settled. "At the close of the first third of the eighteenth century Texas was distinctly a buffer province. The two principal factors which made it worth while at the time to occupy the district were its French neighbors and its native inhab- itants."' The former were the main preoccupation of Spanish officials while the latter were the chief interest of the missionaries. But in the struggle for supremacy, the control of the Indian tribes became the

1 Bolton, Teras ;,. Ille Middle Eiglileenlls Cenlur,y, 4.

The Field and Its Workers

determining factor. Consequently in order to understand the work of the missionaries during the next fifty years, it is essential to summarize briefly the character of the various groups of Indians who inhabited the province and to describe their respective stages of civilization. Only in this manner can the labor of the faithful padres be understood better and the fruit of their unselfish sacrifices fully appreciated. The Indians of Texas. Along the coast from Padre Island to the east as far as the mo4th of the Red River, hence north and then west along this stream, various groups of Indians, now fairly well identified, formed a half moon that encircled the present province of Texas in its southern, eastern, and northern frontiers. They were an outer fringe of ~ative tribes facing the Gulf of Mexico and the French settlements of Louisiana on one side and the Spanish advance on the other. Behind these frontier tribes that divide themselves into a number of distinct groups, representing widely different cultures, there were other nations that may be considered separately and very aptly called the inner group. 3 The struggle for the extension of influence over both of these groups by Spain and France constitutes the chief aim of all activities in Texas during most of the eighteenth century. In this work the missionaries played an important role with no ulterior motives. For them it was a question of saving the souls of the untutored children of the forest, of instructing them in the tenets of our Catholic faith, and of teaching them the arts and habits of civilized life. The Karankawa. Chief among the native tribes that inhabited the Gulf coast and the neighboring islands were the Karankawas. Occupying the coastal area from perhaps Saint Joseph Island near Aransas Pass to the vicinity of Galveston Bay, were found various members of the Karankawa group. Its principal tribes were the Cujanes, Carancaguases, Guapites or Coapites, Cocos, and Copanes. Closely related, these tribes spoke a similar dialect which bears a strong resemblance in many respects to that of the Pakawa group, which included the Pakawa, Comecrudo, and Cotonam tribes, identified as part of the Coahuiltecan family. These lived farther to the south along the coast and roamed inland along the R~o Grande as far as Coahuila. With the exception of the last named group, the Karankawa represented the lowest grade of native society in all Texas. "They were fierce cannibals, were frequently at war with the interior tribes, and were from their first contact with the Europeans

1 Bolton, Athanase de Mezieres, I, 18.

Our Catltolic Heritage in Texas

to the end of the Spanish regime, regarded as particularly dangerous to mariners on that perilous coast, not a few of whom succumbed to their savage attacks."• The men were tall and well formed, the women shorter and fleshier. Their hair was very coarse and the men usually wore it long, reaching sometimes as low as their waist. Being nomads, who spent most of the time going from the main coast to the islands, they did not practice agriculture, depending for their food supply on fish, oysters, crabs. clams. game, and roots during the winter. Their appetite for human flesh is attested by all those who came in contact with them from the time of Cabeza de Vaca to as late as the Anglo-American period of colonization. "Head flattening and tattooing were practiced to a considerable extent," declares Hodge, and adds that little is known concerning their tribal government. 5 "The Karankawa nation," says Morfi, "is vile, cowardly, treacherous, and very cruel." 6 Little wonder that it was not until the close of the eighteenth century that a part of this tribe was at last reduced to mission life. Tlze Bidai, Arkokisa, and A ttacapa. Along the coast from Gah·eston Bay to the mouth of the Sabine River and slightly beyond, occupying the region between the Hasinai Confederacy and the Gulf coast. were the Bidais, the Arkokisas (Orcoquisas, Orcoquisacs), the Deadoses, and the Attacapas. The first three of these lived mainly on either side of the lower Trinity, while the last mentioned tribe had its habitat chiefly on the lower Neches and Sabine Rivers, extending to the east into present Louisiana. These tribes were formerly thought to be of Caddoan stock, but more recent studies have definitely established that the Bidais, Deadoses and Arkokisas form a distinct group.7 The Arkokisas lived chiefly along the lower Neches and Trinity Rivers. They were given mainly to fishing and hunting, knew little or nothing about agriculture, and the general level of their culture was but slightly 4 8olton, Atlzanase de Mezieres, I, 19-20. 5 Hodge, Handboolt of A1,urican Indians Nortl,, of Mexico, part I, 657-58. 6 Castaiieda, e'cl. Morfi's History of Texas, in Quivira Society Publication!>, Voi. VI, part 1, 79. For additional details concerning this group of Indians see Gatschet, "The Karankawa Indians," in A rclzaelogical and Etlmological Papers, I, no. 2, 1 891 (Peabody Museum Publications); Chabot, ed. Indian Excerpts from the Memorias 'by Morft; Rivet, "Les Indiens des Texas et !es expeditions Francaises de 1720 et 1722 a la Baie Saint Bernard'' in Journal de la Societe des Americanistes de Paris,

nouvelle serie, XI, 1914-1919, pp. 433-442. 7 8olton, Atl,anase de Me•ieres, I, 20, note 4.

The Field and Its Workers 5 above that of the Karankawas. Their friends and allies were the Attacapas, the Aranames (Xaranames), and the Bidais. In 1756 the Presidio of San Agustin de Ahumada was founded in their midst and the mis- sionaries endeavored to gather them in missions, but to no avail.' The Bidais lived mainly along the Trinity from the lands of the Hasinai Confederacy to its mouth. In this area there is to this day a small creek that still bears the tribal name. Claiming to be the oldest inhabitants in the country where they lived, the tribe maintained its identity in spite of having been practically surrounded by a superior group of Caddoan stock. The Spaniards considered them indolent and treacherous and suspected them of being the means through which the French supplied arms and ammunition to the Lipan Apaches. Unlike the Arkokisas. they cultirnted the soil to some extent and had fixed habitations. In due season they were accustomed to hunt the buffalo that ranged through their territory. 9 The Attacapas ranged from east of the Sabine in present Louisiana west as far as the Neches. Primarily a Louisiana tribe, the close friendship and comradeship that existed between them and the Arkokisas entitled them to a place among the Texas Indians. The name is said to be of Choctaw origin, made up of two words liatak "man" and apa "eats" which would mean "man eaters" or cannibals. Little above the Karankawas in general culture, they do not appear to have cultivated the soil and seem to ha\'e depended for their subsistence mainly on the buffalo, fish, game, and the spoils from shipwrecks along the coast, the survivors of which they were in the habit of murde"ring and devouring. 10 Tlie Hasinai Confederacy. Extending west from Sabine River and occupying the valleys of the Angelina and upper Neches was a close union of Indian nations known as the Hasinai (Asinai, Cenis, Tejas or Texas) Confederacy, which consisted of ten or more tribes. The best known of these were the Hainai, Nacogdoche, Nabedache, Nasoni, Nadoco, and Neche. Tejas or Texas seems to have been a common word 8 Bolton, I bid., Chabot, Indian Excerpts, 3-4, Hodge, op. cit., part I, 87-88; Castaneda, Morfi's History of Texas, part I, So. 9 Hodge, op. cit., part I, 145, Castaneda, op. cit., part I, 81-82; Chabot, op. cit., 4. 18 Hodge, op. cit., part I, 114; Castaneda, op. cit., So; Chabot, op. cit., 2. Dr. John R. Swanson has added much information concerning this and other tribes of southwestern and western Louisiana in his splendid study Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi Valley a11tl adjacent coast of the Gulf of Mexico in Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin no. 43.

Our Catliolic Heritage in T e:cas

of greeting, meaning "friend," by which the members of the confederacy addressed each other. Unaware of this fact at first, the Spaniards, misled by the false rumors of the Great Kingdom of the Texas, applied this name to the tribes in this area, when they first came in contact with them in 1689. But the industrious and painstaking missionary Father Fray Francisco de Jesus Maria Casanas, a close and intelligent observer, soon discovered the mistake and in his long report to the viceroy on the Indians of this region, he clearly pointed out that they did not constitute a kingdom, that the chief called "governor" by the Spaniards was not the head chief, that the correct name of the group of tribes was not Texas, that this word meant friend, and that the proper name of the confederacy among whom the missions had been founded was Aseney or Asenay. 11 But the original name persisted and although it was first applied to the limited area between the Sabine, the Angelina, and the upper Neches, in time it came to designate the entire province with its changing boundaries and ever increasing area. This confederacy, however, did not at any time extend their range or habitat as far as the Trinity River as some have erroneously supposed, but confined the western limits of their rancherias to the upper Neches River. Their language and culture has definitely established them as a branch of the Caddoan stock. The Asinais or Hasinais, at the time when the Spaniards first met them, were a settled people who appear to have been established a long time in the place, where they were found by La Salle in 1687. They are the Cenis of the French accounts. They lived in large conical grass lodges, in scattered agricultural villages, and raised good crops of maize, beans, pumpkins and sunflowers. They varied their diet with small game, bear, and deer found in the neighborhood, and by buffalo from the plains beyond the Brazos, where they were in the habit of hunting at certain seasons. This group of Indians constituted by far the most highly civilized of those encountered by the Spaniards in Texas and it was among them that the first missions in east Texas were established. But an inherent aversion to being congregated in missions and the close proximity to and consequential relations with the French proved insur- mountable obstacles to their final conversion to Christianity and the ways 11 Carta de Fray Francisco de Jesus Maria Casanas to the Viceroy, August 1 5, 1691. This Interesting letter has been published by Mrs. Mattie Austin Hatcher in translation under the title "Description of the Tejas or Asinai Indian, 1691-1722," Quart1rly, Volume 30, pp. 206-219; 283-305; Vol. 31, pp. 50-63; 130-150. The original MS. was acquired by A. & M. College and later given to the University of Texas, where it ls kept In the Archives.

The Field and Its Workers

of civilized living. The persistent and fervent efforts of the missionaries proved vain in the end.u The Caddo. To the northeast of the Hasinai Confederacy, along both sides of the Red River, extending from the present city of Natchitoches, Louisiana, to a point above the great bend of this stream, lived another group of tribes of Caddoan stock, generally designated by the Spaniards as Cacldodachos ( Kadohadachos, Grand Caddos). The principal and best known of this group were the Kadohadachos or Caddos proper, the Petit Caddos, the upper and lower Natchitoches, the Adaes, the Yatasis, and the Natsoos. 13 "The Cadodachos," declares Morfi, "speak the same lan- guage as the Nasonis, Nacogdoches, Hasinais, and Natchitoches." 14 This seems to prove conclusively that the two groups were branches of the great Caddoan linguistic stock. It seems that these Indians were visited first by Cabeza de Vaca and later by De Soto. Although after this incidental contact with the Spaniards they had no further relations with Europeans until the advent of La Salle, they appear to have been familiar with horses by that time. La Salle and his companions declare that they found many horses among these natives. In their pueblos the French found also many objects of Spanish origin which seem to have been brought as trophies from raids made on more distant Spanish outposts. They were heard of by De Leon and Father Massanet, and Teran visited them in accord with his instruc- tions in November, 1691. The Cadodachos received the Spaniards kindly and the Padres "were well impressed with the country and attitude of the Indians and declared their intention of returning at some later date to establish missions among these natives." 15 But this intention remained an unaccomplished desire, for the influence of the French among the 12 For details about the characteristics, life, and customs of these Indians to whose faulty name the state owes its present designation, see Hatcher, op. cit., Quartn-ly, Vols. JO and JI; Chabot, iJforfi's Indian Excerpts; Espinosa, Cl,ronica, Libro V, Chapters IX-XIII; Bolton, "Native Tribes about the East Texas Missions," Quar- terly, Vol. 11, pp. 249-277; Castaneda, Morfi's History of Te:ras, Quivira Society Publications, VI, pt. I, Chapter II; and article in Hodge, Handbook of American Indians. 13 Bolton, De Mezieres, I, 22. He points out that Mooney in his "Caddo and Associated Tribes," Bureau of American Ethnology, Fourteentl, Annual Report, fails to distinguish clearly between the Caddo proper and the Hasinai through a failure to use Spanish sources. 14 Castaneda, Morfi's History of Te:ras, part I, 88. Bolton, o;. cit., I, 22. 15 Castaneda, The Finding of Te:ras, (Our Catliolic Herilage in Te:ras, Tlie Misswn Era, I, 369-370.)

Our C at/10/ic Heritage in Texas

members of this group continued to be paramount until the time of the cession of Louisiana to Spain. 16 The Caddos cultivated the fields about their villages, being semiseden- tary in their habits. "Their dwellings were conical in shape, made of a framework of poles covered with thatch of grass, and were grouped about an open space which served for social and ceremonial gatherings. Couches covered with mats were ranged around the walls inside the houses to sen 1 e as seats by day and beds by night. The fire was built in the center. Food was cooked in vessels of pottery, and baskets of varying sizes were skillfully made. Vegetable fibers were woven, and the cloth was made into garments; their mantles, when adorned with feathers, were very attractive to the early French visitors ... Besides having the usual ornaments for the arms, necks, and ears, the Caddos bore the nasal septum and inserted a ring as a face decoration . . . Tattooing was practiced ... There is evidence that cannibalism was ceremonially prac- ticed in connection with captives." 17 All the members of this group were friendly to the French, and although not antagonistic to the Spaniards, the influence of the former prevented the missionaries from making progress among them in their evangelical endeavors. Both the Hasinais and the Caddos had common enemies in the Osages of the Arkansas and Osage Rivers, and the Apaches of the west, which made them natural allies. The traditional enmity between these nations resulted in constant hostility. The Spaniards, as well as the French, took advantage of these conditions, which determined to a large extent their respective policies of tribal balance. In the execution of their designs the French depended largely upon the trader, while the Spaniards relied chiefly on the missionary. The Tonkawa Tribes. This group, generally designated by the Spaniards as Tancaguas, Tancahuas, or Tancaguases, appear to have had a wide range in east-central and northeastern Texas. From the sources available it seems that they had their northeastern limits at one time on the upper waters of the Sabine, extending thence to the south- west as far as the San Gabriel and Colorado Rivers, above the San Antonio Road. "Their favorite headquarters," says Bolton, "were about halfway between Waco and the Trinity crossing of the San Antonio 16 For a more detailed account of the Caddo and associated tribes, see articles under Kadohadacho and Caddo in Hodge, Handbook of American /11dians. The confusion of this group with the Hasinai Confederacy is quite evident in these articles. 17Hodge, o;. cit., part I, 179-180.

T lie Field and I ts Workers

road near an eminence known to the natives as the Turtle." 11 The group included the Tonkawa, the Yojuane, the Mayeye, and the Yerbipiame or Ervipiame. In 1719 Du Rivage found Tonkawas and Yojuanes living on the Red River, some seventy miles above the Cadodachos. At the same time there were tribes of this group living in central Texas near the Colorado. The entire group seems to have been forced to move slowly to the southwest, but they cannot truly be called a southwest Texas tribe. By 1770 they ranged mainly between the Trinity and the Colorado Rivers, with the exception of the highly mixed band of the Ervipiames, who were found below the Camino Real along the Colorado and the Brazos. It was for these Indians that the San Xavier missions were founded in part. Among the tribes gathered in these establishments by the faithful Franciscans were listed the Tonkawa, the Mayeye, and the Yojuane. While living in these missions they were often molested by the raids ma.de by Apaches. Discouraged by this circumstance and a severe epidemic of smallpox, they deserted the missions and joined the Hasinais in a raid against the Apaches. As a result of this, they almost got the Spaniards into serious trouble by selling Apache captives to the Hasinais. \Vhen the San Xavier missions were discontinued and a new one estab- lished on the San Saba River for the Apaches, the Tonkawa group naturally joined the Hasinai and other traditional enemies of the hated Lipan-Apaches and took part in the sanguinary destruction of the San Saba Mission in 1758. Speaking of the character and customs of these Indians, Morfi says: "They are thieves, determined, vigorous, audacious, and the principal aggressors in the destruction of the Mission of San Saba, in the death of its ministers, in the hostilities against the presidio, and in the greater part of all the Indian attacks." 19 They were cruel and warlike wanderers, who planted few or no crops, and who depended on game, particularly the buffalo for their livelihood. "Their general reputation as cannibals is borne out by concurrent tradition and history, by their designation in the sign language, and by the names applied to them by other tribes." 20 They lived in scattered villages of skin tipis, which were easily moved at will to follow the buffalo or the whim of the chief. Their weapons 18 Bolton, article on "Tonkawa," in Hodge, Handbook of the American Indians, part II, 780. 19 Chabot, iYorfi's Indian Excerpts, 6. 20 Bolton, "Tonkawas," in Hodge, op. cit., part II, 780.

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Our Catholic Heritage in Texas

consisted of firearms, bows and arrows, the spear, the leather jacket or cuera, the shield, and a cap or helmet frequently adorned with horns or gaudy feathers. Their superb horsemanship, dexterity in the use of firearms, and endurance, coupled with their cruelty, made them formidable enemies. They were generally hated by all the other tribes. The Wiclzitas. Under this group, ethnologists now include the Wichitas proper, the Taovayas, the Tawakonis (called by the Spaniards Tahuacanas or Tuacanas), the Yscanis, and the Kichais or Quitseys. Speaking of these tribes, Mooney says that they were "a confederacy of Caddoan stock, closely related linguistically to the Pawnees, and formerly ranging from the middle Arkansas River southward to the Brazos River, of which general region they appear to be the aborigines, antedating the Comanche, Kiowa, Mescalero, and Siouan tribes."Zl But the northeastern range of these tribes must now be restricted to the area about the South Canadian in the northeastern portion of the Panhandle of Texas, where the Wichitas were first encountered by Coronado in 1541 in his dash to Quivira. It was among these Indians also that Father Fray Juan de Padilla seems to have suffered his martyrdom. 11 Towards the last third of the eighteenth century, the Panis Mahas or Skiddis, disturbed by the Louisiana cession and the advance of the Osages, seem to have moved from the Missouri River into Texas, where they joined the Taovayas. The entire group, who originally lived along the South Canadian, finally came to occupy the upper Red, Brazos, and Trinity Rivers. They were first known to the Spaniards of New Mexico as the J umanos and to the French as Panipiquets (Tattooed faces) . 23 It was mostly members of this group who attacked the Mission of San Saba. "The civilization of the Wichitas was essentially like that of the Caddos and the Asinais, though they were more warlike, less fixed in their habitat, and more barbarous, even practicing cannibalism extensively. While they spoke a Caddoan dialect or dialects, their language was considerably distinct from that of the Hasinais and the Caddos. The three groups were closely allied, and had as common enemies, on the one hand, the Apaches of: the west, and on the other, the Osages of the north." 24 21Hodge, o,;. cit., part II, 947. ncastaiieda, The Finding of Teras {Our Catholic Heritage in Teras, The Mission Era, l, 105-114.) 2lFor a discussion of the range of the Jumanos in Texas in the early seventeenth century and their relations with the Spaniards, see Castaneda, op. cit., I, 200-201. UBolton, De Mezieres, I, 24.

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The Field and Its Workers

But this opinion concerning the character of the Wichitas, who gave their name to one of the tributaries of the Red River and one of the cities of the State, is contradicted by Morfi, who had access to numerous first-hand sources. Speaking particularly of the Taovayas, he says: "They are very industrious, and there is not a house in which four or five vessels filled with large quantities of beans and pumpkins are not seen. The latter they preserve from one year to the next by cutting them in long strips and weaving them curiously like mats. They also raise watermelons, melons, and tobacco in abundance .... "The government of these Indians is democratic, without the exclusion of women, and this justly so, since it is the latter who contribute most to the welfare of the republic. The women tan, sew, and paint the skins, fence-in the fields, sow the grain, care for the cornfields, harvest the crops, gather and keep the seeds, cut and fetch the firewood, prepare the food, build the houses, and rear the children ... They are cheerful, affable, and very docile in their manners, compassionate toward the sick, the orphans, and the widows, respectful to their elders, generous with strangers, kind to guests. But in general they are more resentful of injuries received than grateful for benefits conferred. They are extremely cruel with the prisoners they take in war, but this practice seems more an ill-advised reprisal than natural cruelty." 25 The Coalmiltecan Tribes. The various groups of Indian nations described heretofore, formed the outer fringe that encircled the province of Texas like a half moon from Galveston Bay to the mouth of the Sabine, hence north to the big bend of the Red River, and hence west to the headwaters of the Colorado. Behind this outer fringe there were other tribes found chiefly between the lower San Antonio River and the lower Rio Grande. Ranging from the coast inland, between the two streams mentioned, as far as the Camino Real, the main highway of the eighteenth century from the Mission of San Juan Bautista on the Rio Grande, slightly below present Eagle Pass, to the city of San Antonio, there was a remarkably large number of small and weak tribes, which are now generally designated by the common name of Coahuiltecan. Bolton has identified as many as seventy different tribes within this region. They all seem to have spoken or understood a common language, which ethnologists have called Pakawa and which Orozco y Berra, an eminent student of native languages, calls Tejano or Coahuilteco. "I call

25 Castafieda, Morfi's History of Te:ras, part I, 86-87.

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0111 Cat/10lic Heritage in T ezas

this language Tejano or Coahuilteco,'' he says, "because, according to the missionaries, it was the one most in use in the Provinces of Coahuila and Texas, being spoken from Candela to the Rio San Antonio. The tribes who used this language were known under the names of Pajalates, Orejones, Pacaos, Tilijayos, Alasapas, Pausanes, Pacuaches, lVIescales. Pampopas, Tacames, Chayopines. Venados, Pamiquis, Pihuiques. Bor- rados, Sanipaos, and Manos de Perro."? 6 But to this limited list could be added countless others, who by the middle of the eighteenth century had either disappeared or had been absorbed by others. It was from these tribes that the missions on the San Antonio River drew a large part of their neophytes. They appear to have had a culture lower even than the Karankawas, being in the main nomads, without fixed villages or rancl1er1as, who practiced little or no agriculture and depended on fish, wild fruits, roots, small game, and loot for their living. The appearance of smallpox and the introduction of measles among them, as a result of their contact with Europeans, made heavy inroads in their already exhausted ranks, which were further depleted by the drain made on them by the missionaries. But that they were capable of becoming civilized was clearly shown by the progress they made under the patient and kind leadership of the missionaries, both in the missions on the San Antonio River and in those on the Rio Grande in the vicinity of the Presidio of San Juan Bautista. When after the middle of the eighteenth century the Lipan Apaches, forced southward by the Comanches, invaded the lands of these weak tribes, the Coahuiltecos were forced to move still farther south to the coast, where the few remaining survivors were found in the latter part of the century. The Tamique, Xaraname, and otlzers. To the east of the Coahuiltecan tribes, inland from the region occupied by the Karankawas along the coast, on either side of the lower Guadalupe River lived the Xaraname (called by the Spaniards Jaraname and Araname), the Tamique, and other related bands. This group, occupying a small area between four great stocks, the Coahuiltecan, the Karankawa, the Bidai and Arkokisa, and the Tonkawa, had difficulty in maintaining its identity, and ethnol- ogists are undetermined as to their relation to either of the four groups. 26 Francisco Pimentel, lenguas indigenas de Mexico, II, 7 s ( 187 s edition); Bol- ton, Atlranase de Mezieres, l, 27. Fray Bartolome Garcia wrote a Manual para Administrar los Sacramentos, published in Mexico in 1760, in which all we know of this language is set down. This book may rightly be called the first textbook in Texas.

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T lie Field and I ts Workers

Some are inclined to think that they were closely associated with the Karankawas, who were their closest neighbors to the south, but it has been pointed out that when these Indians apostatized and deserted their mission, they took refuge with the Tonkawas, who occupied the territory immediately north of them.% 7 Speaking of the other small tribes, Bolton says, "In the same general border region, between the upper San Antonio and Colorado Rivers, there were, in earlier times, numerous other trihes or sub-tribes whose affiliation has not yet been definitely determined. Among them the Cantuna, Tojo, Toaja, Emet, and Cava, bands or tribes with some marks of Tonkawan affinity, were prominent. It is even possible that the data which has been more recently accumulated may be sufficient to establish in this region a distinct linguistic family. But by the middle of the eighteenth century most of the bands had disappeared or had been absorbed by their stronger neighbors."% 8 T lie A paclze. Beyond the confines of Texas proper were the Apaches when the curtain of history first rises, although some of the tribes of this nation frequented the great plains. The first to encounter these Indians seems to have been Coronado, during his wanderings in the vast plains of eastern New Mexico and western Texas. They were probably the Querechos or Vaqueros of his account. It was Onate, however, who first referred to them as Apaches in 1598. But the Apaches of Texas, more properly referred to as the Eastern Apaches, were a branch of the great Athapascan family, one of the most widely distributed of the North American Indians. Their name was probably derived from Apaclue, the Zuni name for enemy, applied first to the Navajos of New Mexico. They are in reality a part of the southern division of the Athapascan family, which includes three large groups: the Navajos of New Mexico, as already indicated; the Apache Carlanes, a number of tribes surrounding the Navajos; and the Texas Apaches proper, or Lipanes. Originally found in eastern New Mexico and northwest Texas, they were gradually pushed southward by their inveterate enemies, the 27 Bolton, op. cit. In the presentation of the native tribes and their grouping, the excellent analysis made by Bolton in his introduction to At/1anase De .Jle=ieres has been closely followed as the best guide. Recently, much additional material on the various Indian tribes of Texas has been made available with the publication of Picltardo's Treatise on tl,e Limits of Louisiana and Texas by Dr. Chas. \V. Hackett. For a detailed discussion see Volume II, Chapters XIII-XIX of the work cited. 28 Bolton, op. cit., I, 28.

Our Catliolic H eritag.e in Texas

Comanches, so that by the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Lipanes claimed as their habitat the area between the upper waters of the Nueces, the Medina, the Colorado, and the Red. But still hard pressed by their enemies, they began to move more rapidly southward and to extend their wide range of depredations into west- central and central Texas. By the time of the establishment of the Presidio de San Antonio de Bejar, members of this nation raided this outpost and harassed the advance of Aguayo on his march to east Texas. Thus they came to make their home successively on the San Saba, Chanas, Pedernales, Medina, Rio Grande, and Pecos Rivers. Although not as numerous as believed by the Spaniards, their habit of dividing into bands who foraged and raided vast areas, confused their enemies. "The Apache-Lipanes," says Modi, "in general are tall, straight, well formed, robust, of lordly bearing, of regular features, and of clear understanding. They are astute and bold, but false, perfidious, and enemies of all living things. One may rest assured that in their vile hearts they prefer a horse or a mule to even their own parents, children, and women. They are clean and decent in dress, but of lascivious customs; and they differ from the other Apaches only in that they eat the meat of the buffalo, venison, bear, and cattle; some corn which they sow along the river beds; and other seeds and grains produced by nature, because their laziness and wandering spirit make them enemies of cultivation." 29 Ruthless and heartless, the Apache was hated alike by all the tribes. "His hand was against every man and every man's hand was against him," says Bolton. 30 Their cruelty with captives surpassed in refinement all imagination. "When on their way," declares Morfi, "they surprise an enemy, man or woman, who is not a child, or an old man, they guard him carefully, and take him to the rancheria for the celebration of their great fiesta. The captor convokes the numerous captains of the nation, and when those who come have gathered, he delivers to them the captive, that each one may torment him at his will and in his turn.. Some throw the captives naked into the fire, from where they are soon taken out; others wound them with divers sharp pointed instruments; some cut off i piece of flesh, roast it, and eat it; some apply glowing coals to the most sensitive parts of the captive's body; but they all take care to feed the prisoners that they may not die inopportunely from this diversity of cruelties. The day assigned for the conclusion of t~e feast arrives; they

29 Chabot, Morft's India,, E:r;&erjll, 17. '°Bolton, oj. cu., I, 26.

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Tlie Field and Its Workers

carefully clean all parts of the body of the captive; then they conduct him in a procession to the place of torture, singing some military songs. They bind him securely to a tree, or stake, which they have prepared. The boys then go out and shoot arrows at him, so as to familiarize them- selves in youth with inhumanity and barbarity. When they become tired of this brutal amusement, they follow the warriors, who with arrows, pikes, lances, and knives, slowly take the prisoner's life. Immediately, and before the victim has breathed his last, they all fall upon the wretched victim, open his abdomen, take out his entrails, which they throw into the bushes, cut pieces of flesh from the body, which they keep for other feasts, or send to those who are absent, or eat immediately raw, or roasted, according to the fury or taste that dominates each of them. This infamous scene finished, they begin [to celebrate] the victory, the captains lauding the captor, to whom all the other members of the feast give something of importance, such as horses, rifles, chamois or tanned deer skins, or beautiful buffalo robes. These praises and presents stimulate a powerful desire in the others to emulate [the deeds of the captor] that incites them to refine their cunning and treachery to surprise their enemies and win similar approval." 31 It was for these Indians that the San Saba mission was founded. The attempt to befriend this cruel and fierce nation at the time, when they were being hard pressed by the combined nations of the north and the equally ruthless Comanches, was a serious mistake in the Indian policy of Spanish officials. Morfi fully realizes this fact and vigorously declared that had the Spaniards not befriended the Apaches, the missions founded for the nations of the north would have been successful. He points out that the error had its origin in the action of the citizens of Bejar, who unwittingly made presents to these Indians; that this was followed by proposals to found a mission for them; that this move was interpreted by the nations of the north as an act of hostility, which led them to attack and destroy the Mission of San Saba. But he attributes the root of the evil to no other than Brigadier Rivera. "There is little doubt," he exclaims, "that this was a result of the reforms instituted by Rivera. If the Presidio of Los Tejas had been maintained in good condition and the friendship of the nations of the north had been culti- vated from this post, the Apaches would not have dared to deceive us, nor would we have suffered the many losses we have since deplored for

' 1 Chabot, o;. cit., 18.

Our Catliolic Heritage in Texas

many years in the province."u This opinion as to the blame of Rivera is somewhat far-fetched, but the deduction as to the evils that accrued from befriending the Apaches are certainly accurate. 33 Tl,e Comanche. This tribe was an offshoot of the Shoshoni of Wyoming, who appear to have reached the region of eastern New Mexico and the Panhandle of Texas about 1700. It was a common tradition among the natives, recorded by the Spaniards, that early in the century these two warlike and determined nations had met in fierce battle on the Rio del Fierro, a stream which seems to have been the Wichita, in which after fighting desperately for nine days, the Apaches had been at last defeated and forced to retreat. From that time on, the Comanches had pursued and attacked them without mercy, forcing them continually farther to the south and west. Extending their raids into the very heart of the new province, the Comanches are said to have been seen in an attack on San Antonio for the first time in 1743. 34 After the destruction of San Saba, the missionaries became interested in founding missions for the Comanches and induced Spanish officials to make peace with them and the nations of the north. But the cession of Louisiana and the subsequent changes in the administration of Texas, changed conditions and the original plans were not carried out, although temporary peace was negotiated. 35 Such was the nature of the natives with which the missionaries had perpetually to contend. It is necessary to keep in mind the relatively low culture of even the most advanced of the groups described, which may be said to have been the Hasinai, to appreciate fully the difficulties and iabors of the tireless Padres in their faithful efforts to instruct them not only in the tenets of our faith but in the habits and customs of civilized life. Those who at the close of the century had attained the highest degree of civilization, however, were members not of the more 32 Castaiieda, Alorfi's History of Te:ras, II, 376-377. "The best and only study in English on ·Apache relations in Texas is the excellent attide by W. E. Dunn "Apache Relations in Texas, 1718-1750," Quarterly, XIV, 198-274. The best Spanish printed source on these Indians is Arricivita, Cltroni<,a Serafica y A,Postolica . .. Cf. "Apache" in Hodge, Handbook of American Indians, I, 63-67; see also Hackett, Pic/rardo; limits of Louisiana and Te:ras, II, Chap- ter XVI. 34 Castaiieda, Aforft's History of Te:ras, II, 294. 35 For details concerning the Comanches see Hodge, Handbook of American Indians, I, 327-328; Hackett, op. cit., II, Chapter XV Ill; Chabot, Morft's Indian Excerpts, 14-15.

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