San Antonio, Texas - History (part 3 of 3)

Considerable opposition to the foundation of the mission was aroused, as the Indians mentioned above were bitter enemies of the Indians at the Mission San Antonio de Valero and it was thought that the mission as proposed was too close to the villa of Bexar and Mission San Antonio de Valero for such rival tribes. On February 23, 1720, a petition ''signed by the alcalde, all the cabildo, and Father Olivares of Mission San Antonio de Valero, was presented to Juan Valdez, lieutenant general and alcalde major of the presidio and villa of Bexar," asking him not to give possession of the lands to the missionaries of the College of Zacatecas for the founding of the mission ; stating that in the first place all the land in the vicinity had already been given to the College of Queretero for their Indians, but aside from that fact that the Indians for whom the mission of San Jose was designed were "ab initio" enemies of the Indians at Mission San Antonio de Valero, and trouble was sure to result and not only ruin the work of the missions but involve the whole community.

It was impossible for Valdez to refuse possession of the lands to the new mission as he had orders from his superior officers to see that the new foundation received its proper quota, so the petition was without results. He arranged for the survey of the property and invited the missionaries of both colleges to be present at the formal giving of possession of the lands to the Fathers of the College of Zacatecas for Mission San Joseph y San Miguel de Aguayo, and detailed Captain Alonzo de Cardenas and his company of eighty men, his sergeant, Nicholas Flores y Valdez, and Captain Lorenzo Garcia to be present as witnesses. The show of arms was likely, not only a part of the formalities, but was also probably intended to overawe the new Indian wards and incline them to docility and peace.

The baptisms begin September 1777, and extend to 1824. The entries begin with No. 832, and extend to 1211. The first book, which has disappeared, evidently contained 831 entries. 1067 of the baptisms recorded in the existing book were entered before the end of 1803. After this date most of the baptisms were performed for Spaniards, mestizos* and mulattoes.

The marriage entries cover the years 1778 to 1822. The first entry is No. 335, showing No. 334 to have been contained in the first book. 395 marriages were recorded by the end of 1796. Very few records after this date were of Indians.

The burial records are for the years 1781 to 1824. The first entry is No. 847 and the last one No. 1837. After 1804, there were few burials of Indians, showing as do the other records the presence of Spaniards, mestizos, and mulattoes, in the pueblo, but almost no Indians.

The day of the completion of Mission San Jose- March 5, 1731, was celebrated by the laying of the cornerstones of Missions La Purisima Concepcion de Acufia, San Juan de Capistrano, and San Francisco de la Espada, in the valley of the San Antonio.

Mission San Jose, at the height of its activity was wonderfully prosperous and, in fact, was said to have had "no equal in all New Spain." It was the residence of the Presidents of the Texas missions, and this famous "pearl of the missions" was visited by all the prominent people who came to the Province of Texas in those days.

Captain Don Rafael Martinez Pacheco, a prominent figure in Texas in 1764, refugeed for a time at Mission San Jose, and created no little stir, as he had had quite a serious disagreement with the then governor of the Province. Captain Pike visited San Jose in 1807, and

Mlnature Plan. The dotted lines represent art-lies or abutments for arches. The shaded part is the wall that fell in Dec. 1868. D. is door. W. window. The front walls are 5 feet thick .other 3 1-2 and 2 1-2 feet. Material, istone laid in mortar, quarried at Mission Conception. The river, running south of east is about 3-4 of a mile to the north.

The famous historian, Padre Juan Morfi, who accompanied the first commandant general, Don Theodore de Croix to Texas, in 1778, gives a very interesting description of Mission San Jose as follows : ' i San Jose de Aguayo, which is situated a little more than half a league from the preceding one, (Mjission la Purisima Concepcion) has from its erection been under the care of the fathers of the College of Zacatecas. It is truly the finest mission in this America and might well be called the queen of all the others; nor has the king in all his line of forts a better constructed or more easily defended stronghold. It forms a very beautiful plaza two hundred and sixteen varas square, with four uniform gates on each of the four sides. A bastion has been erected at each of these gates in order to defend them, and embrasures have been made so that the guns may be fired from shelter in case the gates are stormed. Besides all this, opposite the Church' there is a fifth gate which may be raised. It is the one most commonly used and opens out on a great plain which was cleared of timber in order to prevent the enemy from surprising the mission. In short, it is so well fortified, that even if the Indians were able to begin a siege, they would gain nothing by it, as the mission has within its granaries enough provisions to last a year and plenty of good water in its wells. The Church which is almost finished is a large and handsome structure with three arches and a very pretty cupola, although decorated with bold carvings. From its size and beauty it might well be the parish Church of a large city.

"The whole building is well proportioned and constructed of very strong calicanto (mixture of lime and gravel) and a rough, sand granite, very light and porous, which in a few days solidifies with the mixture, and is therefore very suitable for building purposes. It is secured from the quarry of Concepcion Mission. The facade is a very costly piece of work on account of the statuary and engraving on it. It is formed of a white stone easily carved. Above the main door a large balcony was built, and it would have a more majestic appearance if a door had been made to correspond to the window which gives light for the choir. No one would believe that such delicate workmanship could be found in such a desert. This proves how much these people can accomplish, and the advantages that would be derived by the State if they were disciplined, their talents put to use, and their laziness cured in an effective manner.

"The residence of the fathers is of two stories, with two very spacious corridors. The upper one leads to the roof (azotea), which gives them great pleasure. There they have erected two vertical quadrants, very well constructed out of a chalky stone of much consistency, but so soft that when it is taken from the mine it may be worked with a plane like wood. When exposed to the air it acquires a polish that is very much like marble. The railing of the stairs is of the same kind of stone, as well as a statue of Saint Joseph, which has been placed in a niche at the landing. The railing has been made .very beautiful owing to the ease with which this stone may be carved.

"From the roof one may hunt without danger, with ease, and with great success; for I saw in a near-by field so many ducks, geese and cranes, that they covered the ground and were so near the house that it would be impossible to miss them. There are enough rooms for the fathers and for the use of guests. Besides the general offices of the mission, there are private ones for the fathers, as well as a capacious and well arranged kitchen, a refectory, etc. There is also an armory, where the guns, bows and lances are kept with which the Indians of the mission are armed, when in case of an attack or when a campaign is organized they are. utilized as auxiliaries. There are large, well-built stables, although they are little used, owing to the cruel custom prevalent throughout all this country of putting the horses in the fields at all times of the year. The sacristy of the new Church, where all Divine services are held, has an entrance leading from the house of the fathers. It is an arched room, well lighted, very pretty, nicely decorated and well supplied with many rich and decent ornaments, such as duplicates of sacred vessels required for all services. I repeat, that there is no mission to equal it in all New Spain. It has reached such a flourishing state through the care of the Rev. Pedro Ramirez, of the College of Zacatecas, chief minister,

Mission San Jose is still worth travelling miles to see although the celebrated carvings on this mission have been ruined, and the entire structure more or less destroyed by relic hunters and other vandals. More damage has been done by these vandals than by all the accidents of war or the work of time and the elements. Kendall testifies, in 1842, as to the regard of the Texas troops for this work of art and that though they were quartered there for some time they were so careful of the property that nothing was injured.

Corner truly says, "The hand that chiseled the wonderful facade at the main entrance of the Church, the doorway, the window and pillar capitals of the smaller chapel was one of marvelous cunning. The facade is rich to repletion with the most exquisite carving. Figures of virgins -and saints with drapery that looks like drapery, cherutis, heads, sacred hearts, ornate pedestals and recesses with their conch-like canopies, and cornices archway is a simple wreath of acanthus-like curves and conchoids of surpassing workmanship. The south window of the baptistry is considered by good judges to be the finest gem :of architectural ornamentation existing -in America today. Its curves and proportions are a perpetual delight to the eye, and often as the writer has seen and examined it, it is of that kind of art which does not satiate, but ever reveals some fresh beauty in line or curve." Its *'reja" or wrought iron grating should be particularly noted.

The walled square of this mission has entirely disappeared. The roof and one side of the great Church has fallen, but th^ beautiful front, the graceful arcades of the residence of the fathers, the towers, the baptistry chapel, or sacristy with its serrated enclosing walls and triple domed roof, and the large granary with flying buttresses and stone arched roof, still remains. These with the well, store rooms, refectory, kitchen, almoner's room with its window, "of the voices," the kitchen, cells, and corridors are a delight to antiquarian and student.

The belfry tower is about sixty feet high. It has four lookout windows and a pyramidical stone roof. The unique circular tower built for the winding stair- way, of solid hewn steps of heart oak, leading to the second story of the tower was placed in the angle made by the belfry tower and the south wall of the Church. From the second story leading to the upper lookout of the tower are peculiar stairways or ladders, curiously notched, made of solid cedar trunks or branches and dressed and hewn with an axe.

One stormy night in December, 1868, a large part of the north wall of the Church with the beautiful dome and cupola fell in with a great crash, a result of the work of treasure hunters who had a few days before undermined the wall. A number of persons imagined that there were valuables buried about the mission and for many decades after Texas became a State of the Union, with the influx of new people there were naturally many undesirables. Some of these made excavations in and out and about Mission San Jose seeking these imaginary treasures. No valuables were ever found, but great damage was done to the buildings and walls by these idle and usually worthless fellows who dreamed of getting rich quick. The baptistry chapel, or sacristy, is entered now only by the east door through a wing of the cloisters. There is also a door entering from the Church on the north side, but this is now nailed up. This door has been entirely wrecked and carried off piecemeal. The arch and side stones of the east door are beautifully sculptured, and of the wonderfully carved cedar double doors enough still remains to give an idea of the beauty of the Church and mission in its palmy days.

Services are still held in the little chapel occasionally. The wall behind the altar is decked with a hanging of patchwork of Mexican design ; and other attempts at beautifying by the simple folk thereabout are in evidence. There are three very old pictures that were brought from Spain, and were once valuable, they arc now mildewed, torn and ruined. One a picture of the Infant Saviour has been pronounced by good judges to be unmistakably, a Corregio. The others, "The Flight into Egypt," and "The Visit to Saint Elizabeth" when first seen by the writer were still beautiful. The fanlike fluted canopies of the south window and recesses are very effective. .The cloisters and cells of two stories are quite extensive with a double series of arches. The outside arches are plain, wide, semi-circular arches. There are pointed Gothic arches inside and on the second floor. Part of the residence near the Church was once of three stories. The mission well is close to the kitchen, within the mission walls. The remains of irrigating ditches may still be seen throughout the valley and plain surrounding the mission. One ditch originally flowed close to the walls of the north and east sides. The north end of the granary is of two stories and was used as a dwelling, the upper story being entered by way of omof those peculiarly hewn, upright stairs, or ladders above described.

Before the Civil War, in 1859, the Benedictines from St. Vincent 's Abbey, Pennsylvania, hoped to establish at Mission San Jose a college and seminary. They made some few repairs, but the unsettled conditions of the country, and the mutterings of war caused them to hurry back to their home college and the project was abandoned.

F. Flying buttresses, material, rough stone laid in mortar, quarried at Mission Concepcion. The adobe wall is not part of the original. The river is toward the north.

Texas, have expended several hundred dollars in repairs on this mission. They have propped up the beautiful front doorway to keep the arch from falling, repaired the roof of the sacristy, and tried to retain all stones and woodwork in place. The De Zavala Daughters and the Texas Historic Landmarks Association have given much publicity to a call for funds for the missions and hope later to be able to raise a fund to restore the circular tower and place in full repair this work of art, Mission San Jose, or to inspire some one with both appreciation and funds to do so.*