Our Catholic H eritagc in T cxas
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or alms assigned to the missions. All they knew was that the College of La Santa Cruz of Queretaro sent each year a train of supplies for the mission pueblos, which brought only the bare necessities for the mis- sionaries, and consisted chiefly of supplies for the Indians such as implements for the farms, household goods for the Indians, and such things as woolen and cotton cloth, rosaries, blankets, tobacco, salt, knives, shirts, hats, and other articles of dress. It is a source of wonder how with only the royal grant made by the king to the missionaries, they can maintain all that is required for divine cult with such decency, keep up the necessary tools and implements used by the pueblos, and dress so many naked Indians. . "Fifth. They declared that the missionaries had always administered the missions with the care expressed and that by this means they had succeeded in raising the mission pueblos in a few years to the present status. Following the practice observed by the old missionaries, they have taken care that the pueblos harvest their crops, look after their cattle and stock, and keep up all the other temporal goods, because if the Padres did not look after the temporal welfare with the solicitude evident to everyone, the missions would not only have failed in showing such a copious fruit of souls saved, but would have failed in establishing the temporal welfare they now enjoy. Being in charge of the temporal welfare, if by chance there has been at times a surplus of corn raised by the different pueblos, and supplies have been needed by the soldiers of the Presidio of San Antonio, its captain has taken the surplus corn from the missionaries to whom he has given an order for its payment, which they have sent to the College of Queretaro in order that through the Sindico [legal representative] of the College such amounts may be converted into those things most needed for the pueblos whose good fortune it was to furnish the supplies, and they have received an added amount of goods in the annual train of supplies [sent by the College]. "Sixth. They declared that it was public knowledge how exacting the missionaries had been in the fulfillment of the duties of their institute and the tireless zeal they have always displayed in the conversion of the gentiles and the improvement of the customs and conduct of the Christians. They testified how the missionaries had always tried to live most exemplary lives. At all times they tried to secure legal evidence to report to His Excellency, the viceroy, the progress of the missions, and to protect the rights of the mission Indians, granted to them by the king, our lord, not permitting harm or vexations to their persons or
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