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Establishment and Early Progress of San Xavier illissions
proved by the subsequent conduct of the governor but by the questions which he raised in closing his report of the first visit to the unfortunate missions. Upon his return to Los Adaes, on June 15, he declared that he found the stockade of the presidio in a deplorable condition. Although there was some timber already cut to repair it, this would prove of little use without the necessary men to do the work. The presidio was doomed to ruin without sufficient men to make the repairs, to plant, and to perform the numerous tasks of this distant outpost. So inadequate was the garrison left that he had been obliged to go out in the fields to plant corn personally. In view of all the facts presented, he wanted to know how the men at San Xavier were to be provisioned, located as they were two hundred and twenty leagues from Los Adaes and seventy-five from San Antonio on roads which were unsafe for travel. Should planting of crops and repairs be abandoned by the reduced garrison? How could a campaign against the Apaches be undertaken with the small number of men available ?' 1 Assignment of regular missionaries. In March, 1748, Father Fray Francisco Xavier Castellanos, who had served in Mission Valero some twenty years before, was elected Guardian of the College of Queretaro. On the 31st of the same month he wrote Fray Benito, President of the missions in San Antonio, to inform him of the election. He explained that the San Xavier missions would be organized as a presidency and that hf had appointed Fray Mariano de los Dolores to the superiorship. Six new missionaries would be assigned to Texas, three of which were to go to the San Xavier missions together with three of the "antiguos" (old ones) at San Antonio, who would in turn be replaced by three others. Among those named as going to Texas were Frays Alonso Giraldo de Terreros, Juan de los Angeles, and Salvador de Amaya, who had formerly served in Texas, Juan Hernandez, Mariano Anda, and Domingo de Arricivita, the noted historian. The two in charge of Valero at this time were Fray Mariano de los Dolores and Fray Diego Martin Garcia. It is to the latter that we are indebted for the preservation of the records of the San Antonio missions. These were in great confusion and not in permanent form. Fray Diego laboriously set to work to copy them into permanently bound books, after he arranged them in order. He did more. He wrote an excellent treatise on the character and customs of the Indians and the method
followed by the missionaries in instructing them.' 1 ' 1 Governor Barrio to the Viceroy, July 2 S, I 7 48. In op. cit.
'1This work remained unpublished. Dr. H. E. Dolton generously lent the writer a copy which will be utilized in the next volume of this history. The facts summarized
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