CHAPTER VI
ESTABLISHMENT AND EARLY PROGRESS OF THE SAN XAVIER l\•hsSIONS 1745-1750 Nine miles northwest of Rockdale is Kolb Settlement on the San Gabriel River. Almost a mile west up the river, on its south bank is a field which has long been known as "Ditch Valley Farm." Through this farm once ran an accquia, or irrigation ditch, built in 1750 to water the verdant fields of three Spanish missions founded in this region by the faithful sons of Saint Francis, the Queretaran missionaries. For eight years they labored to bring the comforts of religion to a motley crowd of Indian nations gathered here from a wide range that extended down the Trinity to the coast. In vain they tried to teach them not only the Christian faith but the customs and habits of civilized life. For a while the little valley was alive with the activity of mission life. The woods were felled, the irrigation ditch was built, the fields were tilled, mission buildings were erected. and over a thousand souls were gathered who were gently instructed by the Padres and called to their daily tasks by the mellow tones of the mission bells. But constantly harassed by the fierce and relentless Apaches, in whose main pathway to the south they stood, hounded by misfortune in the selection of unsympathetic and indiscreet military officers, and opposed by contending selfish interests of officials they were abandoned after a few years. Oblivion drew its kind mantle over the desolate ruins and shrouded them with its restful peace after the dramatic struggle of their short existence. So completely was this heroic episode in the missionary endeavors of the Franciscans in Texas forgotten, that until a few years ago little more than their generic name was known. But gradually the curtain has been lifted and the details of one of the most dramatic instances in the history of Spanish Texas have been pieced together. In the found- ing and short life of the San Xavier missions are found all the elements of heroic devotion to duty and the most fervent religious zeal curiouslv mixed with the most despicable human passions and high consideratio;s of state. Before it was over the reputation of several officials had been tarnished and one missionary had been martyred on the steps of his mission. This episode is not an isolated incident, a flash in the impen- etrable darkness, heralding the dawn of history in Central Texas. Rather
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