Our Catholic Heritage, Volume IV

The Mission Era: The Passing of the Missions, 1762-1782.

OUR CATHOLIC HERITAGE IN TEXAS 1519,1936

PREPARED UNDER THE .-\'l"SPICES OF

THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS OF TEXAS PAl'L ]. Fou-:, C. S. C., Pn. D., Editor

THE MISSION ERA:

THE PASSING OF THE MISSIONS

CARLOS E. CASTANEDA, PH. D.

VOLUME IV

AUSTJS, TEXAS Vox DOECKMASN-Jo:-rns COl\lPA.SY 1939

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JV I II I L OB S TA T

P.-\TRICK J. l-1.-\GGERT\", C. S. C.

President. St. Edward's L'ni,·crsity Austin, Texas Censor Drputatus

I :11 PR I :11 A T UR

+ ARTHUR J. DROSSAERTS, D. D., LL. D . .'\rchbishop of San Antonio + CIIRISTOPilf::R E. BYRNE, D. D.. LL. D. Bishop of Galveston + JOSEPH P. LYXCH, D. D., LL. D. Bishop of Dallas + E'.\DIA::--CEL n. LErWIX.-\, D. D .• LL. D. Bishop of Corpus Christi + ANTHONY J. Scm:LER, S. J .. D. D .. LL. D. Bishop of El Paso + Ronr::RT E. Lc.:cEY, D. D., LL. D. Bishop of Amarillo + MARI.-\~O S. GARRIGA, D. D.. LL. D. Co-adjutor Bishop of Corpus Christi

TEXAS KNIGHTS OF COLU:\IBUS HISTORICAL CO:\BHSSION

l/011orary Chairman of the Commission

THE MosT REv. ARc11ms1-1or ARTHl'R J. DROSSAERTS, D. D., LL. D.

E:cccuth:e Committee

REV. PAUL J. Fon,, C. S. C., PH. D., Chairman RIGHT RE\'. l\fo:..s1G:..OR JOSEPH G. O'Do:..oHOE, LL. D., Secretary MOST REV. BISHOP MARIA:,(0 s. GARRIGA, D. D., LL. D. Ho:... JosEPH I. DRISCOLL, LL. D., K. S. G., Past State Deputy Ho:s. CHARLES K. WALSH, LL. D., State Deputy RIGHT REV. Mo:sstG:..oR PETER Gt:ILDAY, PH. D., LL. D.

Diocesan Historians

:\losT RE,·. B1sHor l\L-\RIA:..o S. GARRIGA, D. D., LL. D., Representing the Archdiocese of San Antonio REv. JoHx S. l\'luRrHY, LL. D., Diocese of Gah'eston RtGHT REV. Moxs1G:..0R JosEPH G. O'DoxoHOE, LL. D., Diocese of Dallas REv. DA:..IEL A. LANIXG, Diocese of Corpus Christi

REV. DANIEL J. QUIGLEY, Diocese of El Paso REV. ARXOLD A. BoEDIXG, Diocese of Amarillo

Historiogra,p/,er

CARLOS Eou.uoo CASTAXEDA, PH. D.

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PREFACE

The increasing wealth of unused sources has made the period covered in the present volume shorter than originally planned. \Vhile many of the incidents and e,·ents described and portrayed have pre,·iously been treated in part or in whole, nevertheless, they are here presented with many additional details gleaned from new sources now aYailable. The withdrawal of the missionaries of the College of Qucretaro from the Texas field has rccei,·cd heretofore only passing mention. It is treated fully here for the first time. The same is true with regard to the first attempt at secularization of :\fission Valero, a significant episode ignored until now. An earnest effort has be~n made to present the complete picture of social, economic, and political conditions and to portray realistically the personal considerations :md human emotions that often determine the course of history. The author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to the Knights of Columbus, under whose auspices the study was carried out; to Rev. Dr. Paul J. Foik, C. S. C., of St. Edward's Uni,·crsity, Austin, for his valuable guidance and constant encouragement; to Dr. Charles \V. Hackett, Dr. Eugene Barker, Miss Winnie Allen, l\Iiss Maurine T. \Vilson, and !\Ir. 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 uncomplaining endurance in checking details. C. E. CASTA~EDA, Latin-American Librarian, The Unh·ersity of Texas.

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER I The Pro,·ince of Texas in 1 i6:2. . .. . ... ... . . . . ... ... .. .. . .. ... . .... ... . .. ... .. ... . .. . I

CHAPTER II

Occupation of the Trinity Rh·er, 1746-1772........... .. .... ... ..... ..... ....... .. 46

CHAPTER III

Aftermath of the San Saba Massacre.................................................. 99

CHAPTER IV

Return of Rahago and the Founding of the Caii.6n Missions. .......... 148

CHAPTER V Plans for the Reorganization of the Frontier...................................... 20.:>

CHAPTER VI

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uerctaran :,· 1ss1onanes rom exas........... ..:............ 259

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CHAPTER VII Abandonment of East Texas ...................................... :.5...:....... .. .. .... .. 273 CHAPTER VI I I The Beginnings of Present Nacogdoches.............................................. 303

CHAPTER IX

Beginning of Secularization in San Antonio......................... ............. 344

Bibliography .... 357 Index ...................................................................................................... 379

ILLUSTRATIONS AND i\lAPS

Padre Isidro Felix de Espinosa, 0. F. M., missionary and first historian of the missions of Texas. From an original painting ..... ................... ........................... .... ... . . Frontispiece , Presidio San Luis de las Amarillas or San Sabi, general view and main gate. Reconstructed on original site near l\Ienard. Courtesy of Menard Chamber of Commerce ................................................................... Facing page 112 . Typical Taovaya or Wichita Indian village. Repro- duced from Randolph B. Marcy, Exploratio1t of the Red Rh,er of Louisiana in t/1e year of 1852. The ,·illage at Spanish Fort was similar............... Facing page 128- Governor O'Reilly takes formal possession of Louisiana for Spain, August 18, 1769. Original drawing by Sister l\I. l\farietta, C. S. C., B. F. A., St. Mary's Academy, Austin, Texas ........ ....... .. ... ... .. ..... ......... ... Facing page 208 Kicolas de la Fora's l\fap of the Rubi inspection, 1767- 1768. From a copy made in 1816, now in the Library of Congress, with inscription in Spanish....F acing page 240. Title page of "New Regulations" for Presidios, printed first in Madrid in 1772. This is a rare and im- portant source for the history of the Spanish Southwest ................................................................... . Facing page 298 . The Trek to San Antonio. From an original drawing of the abandonment of Los Adaes by Sister l\I. Marietta, C. S. C., B. F. A., St. !\Iary's Academy, Austin, Texas ..... ..... .. ........... ....... .................. ...... ...... Facing page 314. Map of Texas tracing routes of expeditions and explora- tions, 1745-1777, and the inspection of Rubi ......... Facing page 410-

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THE PASSING OF THE MISSIONS

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CHAPTER I

THE PROVINCE OF TEXAS IN 1762

On the eve of the Louisiana cession to Spain, the Province of Texas had aroused the concern of the officials in Mexico. Largely through the per- sistent efforts of the tireless missionaries an extension of the actual domain of Spain had been attempted since 1740 but with doubtful results. The continued menace of French enterprise, constantly carried forward into the Indian territory occupied by the unsubdued Apaches and Comanches, and the rele_ntless advance of the English frontier towards the Mississippi had determined the Spanish officials on more than one occasion to support the zealous efforts of the missionaries in extending their endeavors to the unconquered tribes. As a result, the general situation had been improved in spite of apparent failures. San Antonio, the center of Spanish power, had continued to develop slowly. La Bahia had now two missions, and the garrison of the presidio had been increased by ten men. Conditions at Los Adaes had been improved and the illicit trade with the neighborin~ French post of Natchitoches had grown in spite of stringent regulations and repeated investigations. A fruitless attempt had been made to occupy the lower Trinity by authorizing the establishment of a mission for the Orcoquisacs and a garrison of thirty men. Several missions and a presidio had been established at La Junta de los Rios, present Presidio. The El Paso region had been given liberal support and the missions in the vicinity of present El Paso were active and making progress. The San Xavier River enterprise had proved a dismal failure and led to a futile attempt to bring the fierce Apaches under Spanish influence, which in turn had come to a tragic end through the aroused enmity of the northern tribes. The most formidable attempt of Spanish arms, under Colonel Ortiz Parrilla, to chastise these Indians had resulted in the most shameful defeat at the hands of the natives in the annals of frontier warfare. But the continued efforts of the officials in Mexico and the undaunted missionaries in Texas in the face of apparently insurmountable obstacles had forced the extension of the missionary field to the upper Nueces River, where new missions were temporarily founded for the faithless Apaches. This experiment, however, only helped to maintain the hostility of the already embittered northern tribes. The details of some of these activities and incidents have been given in [1]

Our C aeholic Heritage in Texas

the previous volume of this history. Before taking up the interrupted thread of our narrative, it will be well to survey conditions in Texas in 1762. With this as a background the new policies of the viceregal aovernment and the activities of the zealous missionaries during the 0 closing quarter of the eighteenth century will be better understood. The mission system had been founded under numerous handicaps and at the cost of great sacrifices in the early part of the century. It had heroically stood the trials and tribulations of the early years in an untrodden and unconquered wilderness and in the face of unmerited opposition of unsympathetic and selfish officials. In the years that followed, it had grown and developed inspired by human sacrifice and the blood of innocent martyrs, who toiled with undying faith to plant deep the roots of civilization and bring the comforts of religion to the untutored hordes that roamed the vast wilderness. But like other frontier institutions, the mis·sions were to continue until their work was done. Not till then were they to pass on even as the frontier itself. It is this last phase that will form the major portion of the present volume. It would be misleading, as Bolton, the great pioneer historian of Spanish Texas, has so aptly said "to leave the impression that all the Texas missions in this period had the same disastrous career as those on the San Xavier, the Trinity, the San Saba and the Nueces Rivers." 1 Fortunately the industrious and painstaking friars have left us a detailed and illuminating report of the progress, both spiritual and temporal, made by the missions up to the year 1762. An impartial examination of the record of material and spiritual progress attained by the missions offers a striking contrast to the wretched and precarious existence of the civil settlers in Texas. But the success of the missions had not been at the expense of the civil settlements. It was the result of the intelligent and disinterested direction of the mis- sionaries, the paternal care, the burning zeal, and the unselfish labors of that remarkable group of men who took the uncivilized denizen of the wilds, and in order to bring to him the comforts of religion, initiated him into the industrious habits of civilized men, leading the neophytes gently but firmly in their daily tasks and inclining them by slow degrees to sustained and persistent effort. This was, truly, a labor of love and genuine civilization. The realization that the civil settlement of Texas and the establishment of Spain's claim to this vast province were due to the ~ of the missionaries more than to Spanish arms, dawns with 1 Bolton, T,ras in Ike Afiddle Ei;:ltteenilt Cenlur,y, 95.

T lee Province of Texas in I 76.2

irresistible force upon the student of the mission era. It was, in fact, the missions that supplied food to the settlements in their want; it was the mission Indians that saved San Antonio on more than one occasion. It was the missions that offered greater protection against the attacks of hostile tribes than the poorly built and run down presidios in Texas. Lastly, it must be recognized that the officials themselves admitted the fact that only the influence of the missionaries kept the numerous Indian nations, who far outnumbered the Spanish soldiers and settlers, from destroying the Spanish outposts in Texas and driving the Spaniards out. It has been asserted, without any foundation and with but little thought, that the missions in Texas were a grand failure. Unfortunately the asser- tion has been repeated by Catholics and non-Catholics alike to the point where it has become an admitted and undisputed fact. But this conclusion is unfounded and merely the result of a deduction from a false premise. It has been deduced that since the missions disappeared and only their silent and romantic ruins stand today before the gazing crowds, they failed. But the fundamental fact is ignored, that the mission in the Spanish system was a transitory frontier institution designed as a stage in the progress of the extending frontier, like the military posts them- selves, which moved on to new frontiers or were abandoned when the settlements became self-supporting and the need for protection had ceased. Just as the stagecoach, the covered wagon, the trading post, and the thundering herds of the buffalo have passed away, so did the missions of the Spanish frontier give way to a new age for which they had labored so faithfully. Each served its purpose in the development of the frontier. each made possible in its own way a new era. The missions, however, like the zealous austere pilgrims of the Atlantic coast, carried into the wilderness the elements of a new civilization, but with greater love and sympathy for the native, whom they tried to convert and civilize and in whom the missionary recognized another fellow-being. By no standards can it be said that the Texas missions failed. Temporally and spiritually they succeeded admirably, as the records plainly show. They accomplished their task well and unselfishly held high the torch of civilization. The repeated accusations by unscrupulous officials and envious neighbors, that they prospered at their expense, is the begrudging admis- sion of their uncontested success. It is the despairing cry of those who fail. Had the missions failed, had they had no material goods, had the Indians lived under their protection and care as wretchedly as the

011, Catl,olic Heritage in Texas

impoverished and indolent soldiers and settlers, there would have been no outcry against them. By 1762, this m1ss10n had become a prosperous Indian community under the watchful care and paternal guidance of the devoted missionaries of the College of La Santa Cruz of Queretaro. Located about two gunshots distance from the San Antonio River, on its eastern bank, stood the monastery or friary, which was the heart of the mission. This was a building fifty varas square, with its upper and lower cloisters flanked with ample archways. There were cells for the missionaries, a refectory, a kitchen, and offices. All these rooms were decorously furnished with all the things necessary for the admin- istration of the mission and to supply the needs of the neophytes. The cells of the Padres, the offices, and all the other rooms were decorated with good taste and breathed a spirit that reflected the fervent faith of the founders. Back of the monastery was a large hall, where there were four looms. Here cotton and woolen cloth and blankets of various kinds were woven to supply all the needs of the mission. Adjoining the looms were two rooms in which the wool, the cotton, the combs, cards, spools, and other spinning accessories used by the Indians in the daily tasks were kept. Both the wool and cotton used were raised by the mission. The church, begun in 1738, had been completed before this date (1762) with its tower and sacristy, but the structure was poorly built and caved in soon after its completion. With characteristic industry and determination a new church was now being built out of stone and mortar, much more solidly and much better designed. A word should be said here about the childish tradition, sentimentally repeated by credulous folklorists and uncritical historians, that the mortar used was mixed with the milk of asses or goats. No reference to any such practice has been found in the available records. In the meantime a hall, thirty-five varas long, built to serve as a granary, was being used for religious services. An altar with its platform had been erected at one end of the long room. Over it, in a niche, a carved image of Saint Anthony, one vara high, had been placed. There were also an image of Christ crucified, one and a third varas long, a carved image of Our Lady of Sorrows, and a similar one of Saint John. The last two were artistically clothed. Above a second altar was an image of Our Lady of Sorrows, one vara high, with its a11das, and two lovely dresses. This image was taken out every week by the Indians in a procession which they held in connection with their tl/ission San Ant<mio de Valero.

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Tlte Province of Texas in 1762 s devotion to the rosary. It had a pallium of Persian silk. Above a third altar, which was set up in the choir, there was a beautiful image of the Nazarene and several pictures. Along the sides of the choir were built-in benches for greater comfort. There were also two benches, two confes- sionals, a fountain for holy water, a baptismal font made of copper with its cover, a set of altar bells, candlesticks and four large bells. The sacristy was a well furnished room with drawers and closets in which the ornaments were kept. There were three chalices with their patens, four cruets, a mounted crucifix, a censer, and three anointers, all of silver. For the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice and other liturgical functions there were fourteen complete sets of vestments, some of Persian silk and some of damask, besides four copes. There were also twenty surplices and fifteen sets of altar cloths. The mission had three missals, two rituals, and all the things necessary for the adequate celebration of the various religious festivals. The pueblo proper consisted of seven tiers of houses made of stone arranged about a square. Through the center of this ran a waterway shaded by willows and various fruit trees which were cultivated for the benefit of the Indians. As a precaution against a siege, a good well had been dug to provide the inmates with water. The entire mission and pueblo were surrounded by a wall with a fortified gate, over which there was a turret, where three cannons were mounted. On either side were loopholes for its defence. Each house was provided with doors and windows and each one had high beds and chests with drawers. Each family had its metate (grindstone), its comal ( flat iron to cook corn bread), its pots and pans, and all the necessary utensils. These things were regularly supplied to the neophytes from the common warehouse. For the cultivation of their crops, which were chiefly corn, beans, chile, cotton, and some vegetables, the mission had forty yokes of oxen fully equipped, thirty plows and the necessary plowshares and harrows; twelve carts to transport supplies, stone, and timber; fifty axes, forty hoes, twenty-two bars, and twenty-five scythes. For carpentry they had all the necessary instruments and tools, such as planes, saws, vices, hammers, files, formones (chisels), and braces. They also had a well-equipped blacksmith shop to repair their tools, sharpen their instruments, and shoe their stock. In the granary, which was a large stone building, the supplies were kept. Here there was room to store as many as eighteen hundred bushels

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Our Catliolic Heritage. in Texas

of corn and several hundred bushels of beans, which were the annual harvest raised by the mission Indians. The mission also had a ranch with a rock house twenty-five varas long and an arcade. The building had three rooms, where the families, who took care of the stock, lived. There were in the ranch one hundred and fifteen saddle horses, eleven hundred and fifteen head of cattle, twenty- three hundred sheep and goats, two hundred mares, fifteen donkeys. and eighteen mules. The ranch had its stone chapel, eleven varas long, with a stone cross two varas high on its altar, which was also adorned with several carved images and some paintings. In the chapel two sets of vestments were kept for the celebration of Mass. Such was the physical plant of Mission San Antonio de Valero forty- four years after its establishment. During this time, while gaining in temporal goods, it had baptized fifteen hundred and seventy-two Indians. Of these twelve hundred and forty-seven had received Christian burial and four hundred and fifty-four had been married by the church. In 1762 there were seventy-six families living at the mission, who together with the orphans and widowers, made a total of two hundred and seventy- five persons. They were of the Xarame, Payaya, Zana, Lipan, Coco, Top, and Karankawa nations. Of these, thirty-two were gentiles who were being instructed to receive the Sacrament of Baptism. The mission was administered at this time by Fray Mariano Francisco de los Dolores, Fray Jose Lopez, and Brother Juan de los Angeles. 2 Mission Punsima Concepcion. This mission, which was originally founded in East Texas in 1716, was moved to San Antonio in 1730. It was located about one league (two and one-half miles) south of Valero. Its church, which had now been completed, was thirty-two varas long and eight varas wide, built of stone and with a dome. It had two towers with bells. Above the main altar there was a fresco of the Cinco Senores. Its tabernacle was gilded, and over the main altar, in an oval-shaped 1 Fray Mariano Francisco de los Dolores and companions to Fray Francisco Xavier Ortiz, March 6, 1762. A. G. M., Historia, Vol. 28, ff. 162-183. This important and detailed report was made by order of Fray Manuel de Naxera, Commissary General of Missions In New Spain, given on October 16, 1761, and transmitted to the San Antonio missionaries on October 28 of the same year by Fray Ortiz. The contents were summarily given by Bolton In his Texas in i/1e Middle Eighteenth Centm·,y, 96-101, but the details concerning each mission have never been cited. They con- stitute an Invaluable source for a graphic picture of the missions in San Antonio in 1762 that should be made available. In the present description liberal use of the report has been made.

The Province of Texas in 1762

niche, was an elegantly sculptured image in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Pilar. The church was furnished with two confessionals, several benches and a pulpit. Beneath the two towers there were two small chapels: one dedicated to Saint Michael, with a very pleasing altar, and the other used as a baptistry. Here there was a baptismal font of copper with its cover, three anointers, and a silver shell. The sacristy was a room with an arched ceiling twelve varas square and was fitted with closets and drawers, where three chalices with their patens were kept. together with a ciborium, cruets, a tray, and a censer, all made of silver. There were also several missals, twelve complete sets of vestments made of Persian silk and ten of damask, three copes, a good supply of altar cloths and various ornaments for the celebration of the different feasts of the Church. The friary had the necessary cells for the missionaries and other rooms for offices and storage. It was one-story high with a pleasing archway along the side. All the rooms and cells were decorated with good taste. Adjoining the living quarters of the missionaries was a large hall, where the looms of the mission were installed. It also had two storerooms. Here woolen and cotton cloth of various kinds were woven for the use of the mission inmates. Blankets, too, were made here. In the adjoining store- rooms the wool and cotton used were also stored together with the combs, cards, spinning wheels and other equipment. The granary was in a separate building, where sixteen hundred bushels of corn and one hundred bushels of beans were kept. For the cultivation of the fields the mission had forty-five yokes of oxen and the necessary number of plows, plowshares, hoes, and other tools. Its blacksmith shop was fully equipped with its anvil, bellows, hammers, tongs, and sledge hammers. The mission was also well provided with all the tools necessary for carpentry and cabinet making, which were used by the Indians in keeping their houses and the entire mission property in repair and in making the furniture required for their needs. The Indian pueblo proper was arranged in two tiers of stone houses on either side of the church and monastery, all enclosed within a rectangular wall for its protection. Each Indian family was provided with the neces- sary pots and pans, its grindstone for corn, and a flat iron for cooking their tortillas (corn cakes) over the coals. The cultivated fields were fenced and irrigated by a ditch that led the water from the river, where a stone dam had been built. The mission owned a ranch, where it had several houses for the caretakers who looked after the two hundred mares, one

Our Catlrolic Heritage i1i Texas

hundred and twenty horses, six hundred and ten head of cattle, and twenty-two hundred sheep and goats. According to the records of the mission it had baptized seven hundred and ninety-two persons since its establishment, of whom five hundred and fifty-eight had been given Christian burial. At this time there were fifty- eight families living in the mission, who together with the orphans and widowers, made a total of two hundred and seven persons of both sexes and all ages. They were chiefly members of the Pajalat, Tacame, and Sanipao nations. In charge of the mission were Fray Guadalupe de Prado, and Fray Pedro de Parras.' Mission San Juan Capistrano. This mission was located a little less than three leagues (seven or eight miles) from San Antonio de Valero, almost due east, and had not made as much progress as the others because the land allotted to it was not sufficient for its cattle and horses and the raising of the required crops. No separate church had as yet been built, religious services being held in a large room twenty-five varas long in th~ monastery. Adjoining this room was a smaller one used as the sacristy. The room used as a chapel had three altars: one of the Nazarene, one of San Juan Capistrano in the center, with a beautiful gilded tabernacle, and one of Our Lady of the Rosary. Each one of the three had an unusually well carved image of their respective saint. Furthermore, each altar was graced by a number of good oil paintings. In the sacristy there was a baptismal font with its silver shell, two anointers, twenty- two candlesticks, two censers, six small silver bells, a copper crucifix mounted on a staff, two chalices with their patens, and a ciborium, all of silver, three missals and three manuals for the administration of the sacraments. For the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass it had twenty-one vestments of silk and damask, two copes, twelve surplices, fifteen pair of altar cloths, and many other ornaments needed for the. ·observance of the various religious feasts and rites. All these things were kept in the sacristy in closets and drawers. There was also a beautiful statue of Our Lady of Sorrows with its costly tunic and a silver crown and sword. The monastery or friary had several cells and two rooms for offices or storage, besides the two that served for the chapel and sacristy already described. Each one was furnished with taste and devotion. The gallery that ran along the side was flanked by a graceful arcade. As in the other

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The Province of Texas in 1762

three missions already described, there was a separate hall where woolen and cotton cloth and blankets of various kinds were woven in three looms for the use of the mission Indians. All the cotton and wool employed for this purpose were produced by the mission. Its weaving and spinning room was well equipped with everything needed for the work. Being much more exposed to the frequent attacks and raids of the enemy, the mission had not made as much progress as the others. The neophytes sitll lived in adobe huts thatched with grass or hay, but these were neatly kept. Plans had already been made, however, to replace them with more durable structures of rock and lime, for which purpose the mission ·had twelve carts ready to transport the necessary materials. Each family was provided with pots and pans, grindstones, and other household utensils. To repel the not uncommon attacks of the Apaches the mission had several swivel guns and twenty arquebuses with the corresponding ammunition. In the granary, which was a large and well constructed building of stone and mortar, the mission had room to store as many as two thousand bushels of corn and beans for the maintenance of the Indians. For the cultivation of the fields it had a supply of plows, hoes, plowshares, harrows, and other farm implements. It also had a good supply of carpenter and blacksmith tools, as well as trowels and other instruments for masonry. The chief crops cultivated by the neophytes of this mission were corn, beans, chile, various vegetables, and cotton. The mission owned about one thousand head of cattle and thirty-five hundred sheep and goats. To care for these it had one hundred saddle horses and four hundred mares which were pastured in eleven droves. According to the records of the mission the good Padres had baptized eight hundred and forty-seven persons, young and old, and they had given Christian burial to six hundred and forty-five. At this time there were living in the mission fifty-one families with a total of two hundred and three persons of both sexes and all ages. The chief nations represented were the Orej6n, the Sayopin, the Pamaque, and the Piguique. The mis- sionaries in the mission were Fray Benito Varela and Fray Manuel Rolan.' Mission San Francisco de la Espada. This was in some respects the most exposed of the San Antonio missions founded by the College of Queretaro. It was located about a quarter of a league (less than a mile) south from San Juan Capistrano, but over three leagues from San Antonio

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Our Cat/,o/ic Heritage in Texas

de Valero and the Presidio of San Antonio de Bejar. The foundations for a church had been laid several years before, but the building had not been completed because of the scarcity of adequate materials. A new quarry, however, had been recently discovered nearby and work had been resumed with the intention of finishing the church as soon as possible. It must be kept in mind that the Indians worked slowly and irregularly at their various tasks in a mission. They were not used to sustained effort and their aversion to systematic labor had to be overcome with patience. In the meantime a large room in the friary had been fitted out as a chapel. Here two altars were built. One was dedicated to Saint Francis, whose carved image was placed over the carefully carved and gilded tabernacle. This was further decorated with other beautifully carved and painted images tastefully arranged. The other altar was that of Our Lady of the Rosary. In the chapel there were two confessionals and several benches. In the sacristy in closets and drawers were kept the ornaments, vestments, candlesticks, and censers. It had four anointers, three silver chalices with their patens, an ostensorium, two pairs of cruets, with their respective trays, a ciborium, a procession crucifix, altar bells, and two silver crowns. It had two missals and five manuals for the administration of the sacraments. In the friary proper, which had two stories, there were four cells on the second story and three on the ground floor. Here also were the looms and the spinning wheels in a special room. There were three looms and all the necessary accessories. On this floor were also the offices and the kitchen. The friary had its arcade and was adequately supplied with all the things needed by the missionaries and the Indians. The granary, like the monastery, was built of stone and mortar and was a large and spacious building. Here were stored over two thousand bushels of com, one hundred and two of beans, and a good supply of chile. salt, cotton, and wool for the use of the neophytes. To cultivate the fields it had thirty-seven yokes of oxen, forty harrows, the necessary plows, fifty-eight hoes, forty-six axes, ten scythes, and sixteen bars. There were also the necessary tools for carpentry, masonry, and blacksmithing. For defense against the enemy the mission had two swivel guns and sixteen firearms with a corresponding supply of ammunition. The mission owned a ranch where its cattle and stock were kept. This had a good stone house where the ranch hands lived comfortably, supplied with all they needed. There were twelve hundred and sixty-two head of

Tl,e Province of Texas in I762

cattle, four thousand sheep and goats, one hundred and forty-five saddle horses, eleven droves of mares, and nine donkeys in the ranch. The mission pueblo consisted of three tiers of stone and mortar houses ranged around three sides of a rectangle. Here lived the Indians of the mission, each family being supplied with the necessary furniture, pots and pans, and other utensils. At this time there were fifty-two families, numbering two hundred and seven persons of both sexes and all ages. But since the founding of this mission eight hundred and fifteen had been duly baptized and five hundred and thirteen had receivetl Christian burial. The nations represented by the neophytes were the Pacao, the Borado, and the Mesquite. Fray Jose Ignacio Maria Alegre and Fray Tomas Arcayos were in charge of the mission at this time. 5 i11ission Slln Jose. This mission, founded by the saintly Margi1, was under the care of the College of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe of Zacatecas. Although it was established two years after Mission Valero (present Alamo), it was just as flourishing and perhaps more beautiful. Before the end of the century it was to be acclaimed the finest mission in all New Spain. As early as 1758, when Governor Jacinto Barrios y Jauregui made his first inspection, San Jose had already attained an enviable stage of development and was recognized as the best organized and best defended of the five missions in San Antonio. At that time it had two hundred and eighty Indians of both sexes and all ages. Of these one hundred and thirteen were capable of bearing arms. Besides the old men, there were seventy-six women and ninety-two boys and girls. Since its establishment nine hundred and sixty-four had been baptized and four hundred and sixty-six had been given Christian burial. One hundred and forty-five had been married in facie ecclesiae. A good stone and mortar church had been built, with its tower, its transept, and a single nave with vaulted roof. This was not, however, the present building, whose corner stone was not laid until 1768, but a more simple one. It was, nevertheless, ample enough to accommodate two thousand persons, according to the report of the not-too-friendly governor. In the tower it had a good chime of bells and in the sacristy it had a fine supply of ornaments and vestments of excellent material and exquisite workmanship. The church had many beautifully carved statues at the main altar and in two chapels at either end of the transept. Next to the church stood the friary, well built of stone and mortar, with

SJbid., 171-173.

Our Catholic Herjtage in Texas

ample room and graceful archways. On the ground floor were the offices, kitchen, refectory, and several cells, while on the second story only one cell had been built at this time. This commanded an unusually good view of the surrounding country. There were four other buildings of stone and mortar. The soldiers' quarters, designed for the mission guards, were opposite the church. Then there were a carpenter shop, a granary, and a spinning and weaving room. Each of these was adequately supplied with the tools and equipment necessary for the work done by the Indians. There was also a place where sugar cane was made into brown sugar and molasses. The whole area was surrounded by a well constructed wall in the shape of a square. Arranged along the wall, which formed the back, were eighty-four stone houses where the neophytes lived. The houses had flat roofs and loopholes from which to fire upon the enemy when attacked. Each house had a bedroom and a kitchen, and each family was supplied with a cooking flat iron, a grindstone for com, a water jar, a bed, a chest of drawers. and a clothes closet. For t}:le convenience of the Indians there were several baking-ovens built at intervals, and, wonder of wonders, there was a swimming pool ( alberca) for the neophytes. The water was brought from the river by means of a gravity canal that flowed along the houses, hence into the pool and out into the adjoining fields. Near the building that served as the military quarters there was another swimming pool for the soldiers. Everything was so well arranged that the governor frankly admits it caused one to marvel to find a mission so well planned and constructed with such meager means as the Padres had. But the degree of civilization attained by the Indians of this mission causes even greater wonder and is the best proof of the success of the missionaries in converting the natives from wild heathens to civilized Christians. The governor explains that the Indians selected their own governor, cabildo (governing council), alcaldes (judges), fiscales (over- seers), and captains, managing all their civil and military affairs under the good-natured and sympathetic supervision of the missionaries, who acted as counselors and umpires in the novel game of self-government so ably played by the neophytes. Those who failed to attend prayer or to perform their assigned task were tried and punished by their own officials. That the system had succeeded is evident, says the governor, because the mission had no jail or detention room, nor any chains or stocks. All the Indians seemed to be happy and contented. They were

Tlee Province of Texas in I762

well dressed, had an ample supply of food, and each performed his assigned task willingly. In the granary there were twenty-five hundred bushels of corn and beans. They had thirty yokes of oxen and a11 the necessary implements and tools for the cultivation of the fields. These were all irrigated. It is of interest to note that sugar cane was being cultivated and that here was the first place in Texas where it was made into sugar by the Indians. The mission owned fifteen hundred head of cattle, all branded, after having lost in recent years over two thousand killed or stolen by the Apaches. It had thirty-two hundred sheep, eighty mares, and almost a hundred saddle horses. Six bulls were killed weekly at the mission for consumption by the neophytes, who when sick were fed chicken broth and lamb chops. The heart and soul of the mission was Father Fray Ildefonso Jose Marmolejo, to whom much of the progress was due. 6 Unfortunately the report made in 1762 in response to the order of the Commissary General of Missions is rather meager and too general to compare the progress of San Jose with the missions of the Co1lege of Queretaro already described. 7 But by 1768, the inspector of missions for the College of Zacatecas, Fray Jose de Solis, was so impressed with the progress made that he exclaims, "This mission is in such a flourishing condition, both spiritually and materially, and so beautiful that I cannot find words or figures of speech with which to express its beauty." Behind a square wall, six hundred and sixty feet on each side, rose the monastery and buildings of the mission, guarded by two turrets placed on diagonal corners of the square to protect the gates and two adjacent wings respec- tively. The former church had been pulled down to construct a new and better one, whose corner stone was laid this year. This is the building that is standing to this day, a peerless example of mission architecture at its best, proclaimed the finest in New Spain ten years later in the pristine beauty of its inauguration. An arched hall that led from the former church to the friary had been walled in order to use it as a church. This was large enough for the purpose. Here there were several chalices, a ciborium, and a monstrance of wrought silver, besides many vestments of exce1lent material and fine workmanship. It had its silver oil stocks, silver sprinkler, and a holy 6 Informe de! Gobernador Barrios y Jauregui sobre la Mi:-ion de San Jose. May :.z3, 1758. San Francisco el Grande Arc/,ive, Vol. 12, pp. 59-61. 7 For the description made in 1762 by Fray Simon Hierro, Guardian of the College of Zacatecas, which the writer has been unable to find, see Bolton, op. cu., 99-100.

Our Catl1olic Heritage in T e:xas

water pot. There was a baptismal font of copper with its silver shell. The friary had been enlarged by the addition of cells on the second story. The granary, too, had been enlarged by adding two more naves. In the workshops there was now, in addition to the carpenter shop, the blacksmith shop, and the forge, a tailor shop, where the Indians made their clothes with the cotton and woolen cloth woven in the mission. There were also a lime and brick kiln. The extensive fields under cultivation covered more than a league, all being fenced and irrigated by a large canal through which so much water flowed that it resembled a small river in which fishing was actually done by the natives. Corn, beans, lentils, vegetables, chile, melons, potatoes, and sugar cane were raised. Besides these, the Indians had an orchard in which they cultivated peaches which weighed as much as a pound apiece. Supplies were furnished by the prosperous mission not only to the Presidio of San Antonio but to those of La Bahia, Orcoquisac, and Los Adaes. Ten or twelve leagues away the mission had a ranch called Atascosito. Here it had ten droves of mares, four droves of asses, fifteen hundred head of cattle, and five thousand sheep. In the ranch, as well as in the mission proper, the Indians did all the work and looked after everything. They wove the cloth, made the dresses, planted and harvested the crops, cared for the stock, managed the carpenter shop, the forge, and the quarry, burned the brick and lime in the kilns, and ran the small sugar mill, first in Texas, that made all the piloncillo (brown sugar) consumed by the mission. No Spanish overseers were needed any longer for the various tasks performed, all being done now by the neophytes, who had become accustomed to continued labor and industry. There were living in the mission three hundred and fifty Indians, young and old, men and women. Since its foundation one thousand and fifty-four baptisms had been performed and recorded, three hundred and fifty-nine had received Christian burial, and two hundred and eighty- seven couples had been married by the church. The natives represented were the Pampopa, Mesquite, Pastia, Canama, Tacame, Cana, Aguasalla and Xaraname. The neophytes lived in stone houses along the walls that surrounded the mission and each family had all the things necessary for the convenient administration of a well regulated household. 8 Let Father Solis describe the appearance and manners of the neophytes on his visit. "All the men and women," he says, "are very polite, they

1 Fray Jose de Solis, Diario y derrotero, A.G. Al., Historia, Vol. 27.

The Province of Te:xas in I762

are well instructed in the truths of Christianity, and all know the catechism and the mysteries of our holy faith. With the exception of such as were already old when they came to the mission, and who are still uninstructed and ignorant, all of these Indians speak Spanish, have been baptized, and know their prayers. Most of them play some musical instrument, the guitar, the violin, or the harp. All have good voices and on Saturdays, the 19th of each month, and on the feasts of Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin, they recite the rosary outdoors and a choir of four voices, soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, with musical accompaniments, sings so beautifully that it is a delight to hear them. The procession moves along within the walls and is protected on either side by a double file of warriors. Outside the wall are posted sentinels on horseback to watch against attack by unfriendly tribes. Both the men and women sing and dance just as the Spaniards, and they do so, perhaps, even more beautifully and more gracefully. They dress with decency, being provided with two suits or dresses, one for week days and another for feast days. The men arc not bad-looking, and the women, except an occasional, coarse-featured one. are graceful and handsome. The able-bodied men attend to the manual labor, the old men make arrows for the warriors, the grown-up girl,; weave cloth, card wool, and sew, the old women catch fish for the Ptuires, and the younger boys and girls go to school and recite their prayers." 9 Before describing the conditions of the Presidio of San Antonio de Bejar and the Villa de San Fernando it may be well to summarize briefly the progress of the missions. All but one of the five missions had stone or rock houses for the neophytes and all h~d stone and mortar friaries, granaries, and protective walls, being supplied with adequate means of defense and arms sufficient to equip the neophytes to repel the enemy. Some of them even had swivel guns to safeguard the main gates. In their granaries the five missions had a grand total of nine thousand nine hundred bushels of corn and over seven hundred bushels of beans, besides chile, salt, potatoes, cotton, and other supplies in varying amounts. On the farms they cultivated and raised all the products enumerated besides lentils, vegetables, melons, sugar cane, and peaches. In their ranches they had a total of five thousand four hundred and eighty-seven head of cattle, seventeen thousand sheep and goats, over six hundred saddle horses, almost one thousand breeding mares, over one hundred donkeys, and almost as many mules. The wool produced by the sheep was woven

9 P. P. Forrestal, The Solis Diary of 1767, in Preliminary Sludus, Texas Catholic Historical Society publications, Vol. 1, p. 6, pp. 20-21.

• I I l.

Our Catholic Heritage in Texas

into cloth, as well as the cotton, in sixteen looms, and in one instance they had a regular tailor shop. Spiritually the five missions had baptized five thousand one hundred and fifteen natives. They had given Christian burial to three thousand three hundred and twenty-two, and they had married seven hundred and forty-one couples. There were living in the missions at this time twelve hundred and forty-two Indians, representing twenty-three different nations or tribes: The Xaraname, Payaya, Zana, Lipan, Coco, Top, Karan- kawa, Pajalata, Tacame, Xarame, Sanipao, Pacao, Borrado, Mesquite, Orej6n, Sayopin, Pamaque, Piguique, Parnpopa, Pastia, Canana, Cana, and Aguasalla. Many of these tribes lived over a hundred miles away and had to be brought from their native haunts to the missions and induced to stay there. These figures and facts bear eloquent testimony to the success which attended the labors of the zealous and unassuming friars, who .worked incessantly for the welfare of their beloved but wayward children of the wilds. Presidio San Antonio de Bejar and Villa de San Femando. When the Bishop of Guadalajara visited Texas at the close of 1759 he was greatly disappointed with the conditions he found prevalent throughout the entire province. He was particularly impressed with the inadequacy of its defence and the wretched conditions of the civil settlements. In a letter to the viceroy he declares that there were, in fact, no presidios in Texas properly speaking, and that the few settlements were truly diminutive and totally defenseless. "There is not even a poor bulwark or breastwork," he exclaims, "behind which to entrench a cannon. The four or six swivel guns of the Presidio of San Antonio de Bejar arc lying on the ground without a carriage." The Villa de San Fernando was not much better. The whole settlement consisted of about sixty families, so poverty-stricken and wretched that they subsisted only by the grace of God. In the opinion of the bishop two hundred Indians armed with guns could put the entire settlement to flight. Such conditions could not be allowed to continue, the good bishop remonstrated, because the site of this struggling settlement was the most important in the entire province and the best suited for the development of a large town. The most urgent need, it seemed to him, was to build a respectable fort that could furnish the settlers the security and safety required for the development of a prosperous community. The garrison of five men, all that were left in the presidio after the assignment of

Tl,e Province of T c:xas in 1 762

three guards to each one of the five missions, was totally inadequate, especially since the presidia was a fort only in name. First of all the presidia should be rebuilt out of strong timber at least, for at present it was a group of miserable huts roofed with grass, exposed to being set on fire by a lighted arrow. It had neither a wall nor a stockade. The settlers were justified in feeling uneasy with the persistent rumors of a contemplated attack by northern tribes. The bishop explained that he had obtained information of the danger that threatened San Antonio not from its commander or the settlers but while sojourning in La Bahia and other places and while talking with the older and more experienced pioneers of other sections. The truth was that the country from Monclova and San Juan Bautista in Coahuila to San Antonio was practically uninhabited and infested by hostile bands of Indians. In his opinion the Apaches constituted a serious menace, and under the circumstances, since they could not be effectively resisted by force, it would be wise to tolerate them and to court their friendship. He sagely pointed out that if this nation was alienated under the existing conditions it might cause the loss of the entire province to France or England. 10 The discouraging picture so vividly painted by the bisb,p in his sincere anxiety for the safety of the forlorn outpost is corrobuated by the optimistic Fray Mariano, whose faith in the Apaches appears to have been shaken by the recent tragedy of San Saba. In a letter to the viceroy he expresses the fears entertained both by the settlers and the missionaries early in 1760. It seems that in January of this year a group of Tonkawas had come to San Antonio to solicit peace. These Indians had warned the Spaniards that the Taovayas, Quitseys, and Tawakonis were planning a combined attack "when the trees bud again," aided by a large force of Comanches. The friar reminded the viceroy that these northern tribes no longer fought with bows and arrows but used firearms which were furnished them by the French. San Antonio could muster eighty men at the best, including soldiers and settlers. This force could not repel an attack such as was expected. Many of the men were incapacitated for vigorous service and some lived in ranches twenty-five leagues away, so that little dependence could be placed on them in case of a sudden or unexpected attack. Although it 10 Bishop of Guadalajara to the Viceroy, December 26, 1759. In Testimonio de los autos fhos. a consulta del Coronel Diego Ortiz Parrilla. A.G. /., Audie11cia de ,llixico, 9 2 ·6-n (Dunn Transcripts, 1759-1762), pp. 197-200.

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