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Our Catlzolic Heritage in T e:xas
that followed the arrival of Captain Felipe Rabago y Teran. The verdant fields of the San Xavier Missions were now strewn with brambles, the river was almost dry, deep pools of stagnant water that emitted a fetid odor marked its course. Most of the Indians had fled. Those who remained looked sickly and emaciated. Pestilence had decimated their ranks and reduced the garrison to impotence. The missionaries had likewise suffered from the prevalent illness that infected the area. An ominous gloom hung over the site. Mysterious and portentous signs had been observed and furtive glances betrayed the apprehensive fears of troubled con- sciences. The ultimate result was to be the abandonment of the missionary field where Fray Mariano de los Dolores and his zealous companions had labored so long and so faithfully under such adverse conditions. The supreme sacrifice made by one of their number for the propagation of the faith was to prove a burning incentive for renewed efforts among the fierce and hated Apaches.
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