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addressed a formal letter to Fray Mariano, who was in San Xavier at the time, requesting that Fray Pinilla be replaced by Fray Joseph Gonzalez Lopez as chaplain of the presidio. Fray Mariano replied promptly that he could not accede to the request without the statement of the cause for the desired change. In his reply he took occasion to inform Captain Rabago that he was fully aware of the fact that he (Rabago) had undertaken a secret investigation to prove that the site of the missions on the San Xavier was ill-chosen, taking care to keep this fact from the missionaries. 42 Discouragement and disillusionment of the missionaries. One mis- understanding had led to another and the situation at San Xavier was rapidly approaching a crisis. The missionaries fully realized that unless the commander of the presidio could be made to see the light, their efforts to carry on the work of conversion among the natives were useless. On January 12, 1752, all the padres wrote a touching letter to the authorities of the College of Queretaro. There is a note of despair in the plaintive pleading for relief from their continued moral sufferings as a result of the sordid and malignant persecution of the perfidious Rabago. They had tried in vain to win the good will of this man, they had passively submitted to many of his absurd requests, they had over- looked many of his shortcomings, but all to no avail. All efforts at conciliation and harmony had proved useless and the breach between them had only grown wider. They cited how they had overlooked the Ceballos affair for a long time and even now they were ignoring the violent seizure of the man from Mission Candelaria. They had offered to move to the San Marcos, if such a measure was thought best; they had vacated the site of one of the missions and moved it to a new location in order that Rabago might place the presidio in the spot he had thought was best, but nothing had availed them in winning the friendship and confidence of Rabago, who was suspicious of them and misinterpreted all their actions. They warmly begged the College to recall them, or to use its influence to check the excesses of Captain Rabago. "The indecent - '2Many details and authentic data concerning the episodes that led ultimately to the murder of Father Fray Jose Ganzabal are found in the official investigation entitled Testimonio de los Autos fhos. sobre haver representado el Theniente de Capn. y Soldados de la compania de S. Xa~ier de_ <?igedo a el Capitan Don Phelipe Rabago y Theran, que el R. P. Fr. Miguel Pmilla P~rroco de el Precidio les havia quitado publicamente el Credito a ellos Y sus mugeres, m _A· G. I. Audiencia de Mexico, 91-3-2 (Dunn Tr. 1750-1751) 122-314. Hereafter this document will be referred t.o as Testimonio de los Autos fhos.
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