CHAPTER VI
THE ORGANIZATION OF MISSION LIFE, 1722-28
After thirty-two years of untiring and persistent efforts, in spite of numerous vicissitudes and frequent French intrusions, the missionaries of the two colleges of Propaganda Fide of Queretaro and Zacatecas saw their dream realized at last. In 1722, when the Marquis of Aguayo left Texas, the missions were permanently established under adequate pro- tection for the first time. Upon his retirement from Texas in 1694, Father Massanet, disillusioned and truly saddened by his experiences with the fickle nature of the natives, was forced to admit that missionary endeavors without proper military backing were useless. But it had taken twenty- eight years and the French threat of 1719 for Spanish officials to come to a realization of this fact. The Franciscans had consistently urged that a sufficient military guard should be provided to command respect by the Indians. Now the Presidio of San Antonio had a garrison of fifty-four men to protect the Missions of San Antonio de Valero, San Jose, and San Fran- cisco Xavier; the Presidio of Nuestra Senora de Loreto at La Bahia had ninety soldiers under the sway of Captain Jose Domingo Ramon, to safeguard the new mission of Nuestra Senora del Espiritu Santo; the Presidio de los Tejas had twenty-five men to afford adequate protection to the Missions of San Francisco de los Neches, Concepcion, and San Jose de los Nazonis; and the new Presidio of Nuestra Senora del Pilar de los Adaes counted on a garrison of one hundred men with which to defend the Missions of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, Nuestra Senora de los Dolores, and San Miguel. It is true that the purpose of these gar- risons was not solely the protection of the missions from foreign aggres- sion which was the particular objective of the military posts placed at La Bahia and Los Adaes. The chief duty of the soldiers, however, was to cooperate with the spiritual authorities in the vicinity in congregating, converting, and civilizing the Indians. The officials of Mexico, as well as those of Spain, fully realized the importance of winning the friendship of the natives and were unquestionably moved in the establishment of these presidios by an ardent desire to help the zealous Franciscans in their worthy endeavors. The early misunderstandings between the various commanders and the missionaries during the period under discussion was [ 171 ]
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