- ,
Our Catholic Heritage in Texas
were suddenly attacked by a group of about fifty Apaches, who killed a woman and carried away a young child. The rest of the party fortunately escaped with their lives, but lost'their baggage and many of their horses and pack animals. 2 The failure to take reprisals emboldened the Apaches, who shortly afterwards entered the Mission of San Antonio de Valero, in the very shade of the Spanish Presidio of San Antonio de Bejar, and drove away fifty burros belonging to the Indians. This easy success only whetted their insatiable appetite for plunder. A few days later, while the mis- sionary of one of the new missions recently moved to the San Antonio was away trying to secure supplies for the newly congregated Indians. the Apaches swept down upon the frightened neophytes, put them to flight. and carried away practically all the horses of the mission. nut they did not confine their depredations to the missions. On April 1 5. a gro~1p of eighty Apaches attacked a large drove of horses belonging to the presidio, which were being taken by a group of soldiers to the Rio Grande. The attack took place at the same spot where the two mission- aries and their party had been surprised on January 9. The esrnrt was shamefully put to flight and all the horses captured. Again on June 25, while Father Fray Benito de Santa Anna and Brother Este,·an Zaes Monge were being escorted by five soldiers from Mission Valero to the Rio Grande, they were attacked by a group of Apaches who killed two soldiers, almost wounded Brother Estevan, who was miraculously saved by his leather shield, and carried away all the horses and baggage. 3 Adequate escort for missionaries provided and campaign aut/1orized. These outrages were cited by Father Perez de Mezquia as evidence of the insufficiency of the escort provided for the missionaries on their ine,·itable journeys to and from the Rio Grande and the need of mission guards, both of which had been practically suppressed by the adoption of the recommendations of Rivera after his inspection. As usual, the viceroy referred the matter to Rivera himself, who, convinced by the facts presented, no.w recommended that the missionaries be furnished an escort of eight soldiers and a corporal to accompany them on their trips to and from the Rio Grande. Fully aroused to the danger which the growing boldness of the Apaches represented to the infant settlement, he added that since it was essential to the safety of the missions that 2fray Pedro Perez de Mezquia to the Viceroy, May 4 and August 8, 1 7 31, Provincias /nlernas, Vol. 236, Pt. J. 3/bid., Provincias /nlernas, Vol. 236, pt. J.
I I
...I
Powered by FlippingBook