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16
LIFE IN THE MISSIONS.
in the mission were assembled for prayers; next they
heard mass and a lecture. Each one then went to his task,
some toiling in the field, others working on the massive
stone chapels, which were to take the place of the wooden
structures. In the afternoon they had religious services;
and at night services again. On going to their huts to
sleep, they were locked in to prevent their escape. In re-
turn for this labor they were well fed and clothed, cared
for in sickness and old age, besides being carefully in-
structed in religious doctrines. As the savages had ever
lived as free as the birds of the air, such a life of confine-
ment told severely upon them. How they longed once
more to mount the fiery mustang and gallop away over
the boundless prairies, to again let fly the arrow in the
chase, to be once more on the war-path, uttering such
fiendish whoops as should make all the welkin ring
When one tried to escape-and many did so-soldiers
were sent out to capture him; on his return he received
severe punishment. As the supply of converts came in
too slowly for the work the priests wished to accomplish,
the most trusty Indians were sent out to bring in others
of the tribe. In this way a sufficient force was obtained
to irrigate the land for miles about the mission, to till the
soil until the country smiled like a garden, and to erect
the great buildings which are still the pride of every
Texan's heart.*
* To each mission was given by the government a tract of land amounting in
some cases to 625 square miles. As the missions were widely scattered it became
necessary to keep garrisons of soldiers at the most important points; a large pre-
sidio frequently required 250 soldiers, hence the expense of keeping up the mis-
sions was very great.
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Pennybacker, Anna J. Hardwicke. A new history of Texas for schools : also for general reading and for teachers preparing themselves for examination, book, 1895; Palestine, Tex.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2388/m1/28/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.