The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 15, July 1911 - April, 1912 Page: 189
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Missionaries A mong the Apaches
of the Apaches, no decisive action was taken by the authorities.
In 1745 Father Santa Ana renewed his petition, and now pro-
posed to place presidios on the San Saba, Pedernales, Salado, and
Colorado Rivers, by which action he was convinced that not only
the Apaches but also the Comanches themselves would be con-
verted. Several requests for missions had, indeed, already been
made by the Apaches, but the military authorities at San Antonio
declared that this friendliness was only a ruse by which to regain
their captive kinsmen taken in various campaigns. The mission-
aries continued to believe in the sincerity of the Indians, how-
ever, and succeeded in inducing the captain of the presidio to pur-
sue a conciliatory policy. In March, 1749, messengers from the
Apaches assured the Spaniards that they wished to be friends and
would no longer trouble the settlement. True to their word, dep-
redations did cease, and even the soldiers were forced to believe
that the Indians intended to keep their promises. The continued
friendly intercourse led at length to the very important step of re-
leasing the captives, who were freed in the latter part of November.'
2. The Guadalupe River Plan.2-On September 24, 1749, a
party of Apaches who constituted a portion of the Indians with
whom the missionaries had been treating since August, visited San
Antonio, and asked to be allowed to live in the missions there.
Father Mariano de los Dolores, who, in the absence of Father
Santa Ana, was in charge of Mission Valero, was convinced that
the time for definite action had arrived. Although, on account of
lack of provisions and fear of the consequences that might follow
from the association of the converted with the unconverted In-
dians, he could not accede to this particular request, he was unwill-
ing to postpone the matter further, and resolved to attempt an
establishment, if only a temporary one, upon the Guadalupe River.
The idea of founding a mission on this stream now became a pet
scheme cherished by Father Dolores for many years and for which
'Autos of Urrutia, November 28, 1749, in "Memorias de Nueva Espana,"
XXVIII, ff. 122-213. Domingo Cabello fixes the date of the release as
August 18, but subsequent investigations have shown that this was a mis-
take, and that the prisoners did not receive their freedom until Novem-
ber 28. (See THE QUARTERLY, XIV, 261-262.)
'The documents on which this paper is based are in the private col-
lection of Dr. Herbert E. Bolton.189
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 15, July 1911 - April, 1912, periodical, 1912; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101056/m1/194/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.