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The Beginnings of Missionary Acth 1 ity, I670-1676
welcomed them. Among these were ten Indian chiefs of as many nations, who lived farther to the northeast of the Sabinas River. Since the officials in Saltillo had promised that they would send a captain to place them in possession of the new lands, the friars immediately began to teach the Indians. But hardly had they settled down to this work, when they learned that an epidemic of smallpox had broken out among the nations living farther north. They naturally hastened to give relief to the stricken people. On January 23, 1674, they arrived in San Ildefonso "fourteen leagues north of the Rio de las Sabinas and twenty leagues south of the Rio Grande." 18 As the zealous missionaries came in sight of the rancheria, where Father Larios had evidently labored before, they were met by the Boboles, the Guyquechales, the Tiltiquis, and the Mayhuams. Each tribe came out led by its chief, bearing a large cross. There were over five hundred natives in the group. The sight touched the humble missionaries deeply. Instinctively they began to chant the Te Demn Lattdanms, as the memory came to their minds, perhaps, of the scene of their farewell in Analco, less than two months before. Surrounded by the grateful natives, who were genuinely glad to see the Padres, they all marched into the rancheria singing. Great was the surprise of Father Larios and his companions, when they saw that a temporary shelter had been built for them out of reeds, in front of which stood a cross. Under the direction of Brother Manuel de la Cruz, the Indians quickly built a chapel out of brushwood and on the following day, Fray Juan Larios had the pleasure of celebrating Holy Mass in the presence of the Indians.1 9 Smallpox epidemic. The missionaries now turned their attention to the care of th~ sick. Sergeant Rodrigo Morales, an eyewitness, has left us a graphic description of the havoc brought about by the epidemic and of the labors of the Padres during their first days in San Ildefonso. "Here," he declares, "a great epidemic of smallpox broke out, during which I witnessed and assisted at the baptism of more than three hundred persons, adults and children, who were in danger of death from the disease. The number of people was very great. Here I saw the friars going about, consoling the sick and serving them. Their habit was so tattered that it reached only to the knees, and from the roughness of 11 S teck, o,P. cit., 1 o. 19 Letters of Juan Larios of January 23, February 26, and March 2, 1674, in Autos de la entrada que hizo el Capitan Francisco Elizondo la tierra adentro, MS., San Francisco El Grande Archive, I, 63-78, 82-85, III•II3 ,
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