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Our Catholic Heritage in Texas
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the arrival of the missionaries in East Texas most of the Indian tribes that made up the Asinai confederacy were out hunting or gathering their scattered crops, each Indian family or group living in its own rancleo. They welcomed the Spaniards and were friendly enough to them, but they were not ready to be congregated at this time. Sickness also dimin- ished the actual number of missionaries who were able to work effectively, as it did the garrison. Father Hidalgo was one o~ the first to be stricken with illness. From his description of the ai.lment it seems to have been malaria, for he refers to "chills and fever." From July until almost October, he was unable to do much, and no sooner did he get on his feet than F_ather Castellanos, left in charge of the spiritual needs of the gar- rison, fell ill. The Indians, he declared, were friendly but they were idol- worshipers and had special temples where they kept up perpetual fires. The regular teaching of the doctrina had not been started as late as October because the houses of the Indians were so far apart. Efforts were being made to induce them to move nearer to the missions, but before this could be accomplished three idols and their temples would have to be destroyed and this could not be done in safety, nor could the natives be made to acknowledge the sovereignty of the king, without at least a garrison of one hundred men. To the north there were numerous other nations among whom the French were actively working and it was essential that more soldiers and missionaries be sent, if the occupation of the ·province of the Tejas was to· be permanent. 61 Such were the conditions facing the discouraged missionaries and the greatly reduced number of soldiers, who had established their presidio about a quarter of a league from the Mission of San Francisco de los Tejas, in the fall of 1716. The Indians had reported the presence of tember I, 1717, stated he had helped to found two missions, one named San Miguel and the other whose name he had forgotten, and although he does not say when, it is evident from the context it was before his departure for Mobile. Father Margi!, who gives the most detailed account ( February 1 3 1 1718) relates that the missions were founded on the first visit of Ramon to Natchitoches on the return trip, mentioning the establishment of San Miguel as having taken place before that of Nuestra Senora de los Dolores, indicating clearly they were coming from Natchitoches to Concepcion Mission. It is to be doubted that St. Denis had any- thing to do with the founding of these two missions, as neither Ramon in his letter to Alarcon of May :a 1, 171 7, nor Father Margit in his more detailed account of February 13, 1718, mention him. Father Margi! would certain have mentioned this fact as he was anxious at this time to help clear St. Denis. 61Father Hidalgo to Father Mesquia, October 6, 1716. Provincias lnternas, Vol. 181, pp. :115-218.
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