, Witltdrau,al of Queretara11 11/issionaries from Texas
267
Father Fray Manuel Carrasco, minister of Mission San Antonio de Valero, undertook such a mission and brought back eight apostates. He might have returned with all of the runaways, if he had been given an adequate escort, as had been done in the past." 11 It fell to the lot of Governor Baron de Ripperda to witness the transfer of San Antonio de Valero, San Juan Capistrano, San Francisco de la Espada, and Concepcion to the representatives of the College of Zacatecas, which took place early in 1773. The order of July 28, 1772, instructing the officials to proceed with the transfer arrived in San Antonio in October of that year and the Queretaran missionaries were requested -to prepare the inventories of all the property of each mission and to make lists of the Indians living in each pueblo. The exact date of the transfer cannot be ascertained from the available documents. Probably Father Fray Diego Jimenez, who was president of the missions on the Rio Grande and San Antonio, must have come to San Antonio after he finished the transfer of San Bernardo. At any rate, on March 10, 1773. the viceroy informed the Governor of Texas that he had received certified copies of the inventories lists. and other papers concerning the transfer of the four missions tc the College of Nuestra Senora de Zacatecas. A good idea of the state of development of these missions may be gathered from the detailed description given in the present volume. 12 "The materials of their houses, the churches, and the missionaries' quarters are not only of the best quality but of the best construction known to the Spaniards in the entire province," declared Pacheco. "All this was directed from its very beginnings by the Padres. The silver ornaments and sacred vessels of each one of the missions are such as would grace the best church in any city. The farms, ranches, and irrigation ditches of these missions are the best and most successfully operated in the province. The herds of cattle, flocks of sheep, and other stock are the most numerous, with the exception of their horses, which have been stolen by the enemy in recent years."u In summing up the work of the missionaries from Queretaro in Texas, 11 Ynforme echo al Exmo Senor Virrey por el Capitan Pacheco sobre el nuevo metodo de Govno. Espl. y tempi. November 8, 1772. A. G. I., Aud;e,rcia d11 Guada- lajara, 104-6-20 (Dunn Tr., 1767-1772), pp. 121-129. The report was transmitted to the king by the viceroy on November 26. 11 Vlceroy to the Governor, March Io, 177 3; Governor to the Missionaries, October, 1772, Bexar Arcnives: Arrldvita, Cronica S11rafica, 440-441. 11 Martinez Pacheco to the Viceroy, November 8, 1772. A. G. /., Audilffcia de Guadalajara, 104-6-20 (Dunn Tr., 1767-1772), pp. 127-128.
Powered by FlippingBook