Tl,e Province of Texas in I762
II
cattle, four thousand sheep and goats, one hundred and forty-five saddle horses, eleven droves of mares, and nine donkeys in the ranch. The mission pueblo consisted of three tiers of stone and mortar houses ranged around three sides of a rectangle. Here lived the Indians of the mission, each family being supplied with the necessary furniture, pots and pans, and other utensils. At this time there were fifty-two families, numbering two hundred and seven persons of both sexes and all ages. But since the founding of this mission eight hundred and fifteen had been duly baptized and five hundred and thirteen had receivetl Christian burial. The nations represented by the neophytes were the Pacao, the Borado, and the Mesquite. Fray Jose Ignacio Maria Alegre and Fray Tomas Arcayos were in charge of the mission at this time. 5 i11ission Slln Jose. This mission, founded by the saintly Margi1, was under the care of the College of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe of Zacatecas. Although it was established two years after Mission Valero (present Alamo), it was just as flourishing and perhaps more beautiful. Before the end of the century it was to be acclaimed the finest mission in all New Spain. As early as 1758, when Governor Jacinto Barrios y Jauregui made his first inspection, San Jose had already attained an enviable stage of development and was recognized as the best organized and best defended of the five missions in San Antonio. At that time it had two hundred and eighty Indians of both sexes and all ages. Of these one hundred and thirteen were capable of bearing arms. Besides the old men, there were seventy-six women and ninety-two boys and girls. Since its establishment nine hundred and sixty-four had been baptized and four hundred and sixty-six had been given Christian burial. One hundred and forty-five had been married in facie ecclesiae. A good stone and mortar church had been built, with its tower, its transept, and a single nave with vaulted roof. This was not, however, the present building, whose corner stone was not laid until 1768, but a more simple one. It was, nevertheless, ample enough to accommodate two thousand persons, according to the report of the not-too-friendly governor. In the tower it had a good chime of bells and in the sacristy it had a fine supply of ornaments and vestments of excellent material and exquisite workmanship. The church had many beautifully carved statues at the main altar and in two chapels at either end of the transept. Next to the church stood the friary, well built of stone and mortar, with
SJbid., 171-173.
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