The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967 Page: 150

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Southwestern Historical Quarterly

sions of Texas and to make available for his contemplation color
reproductions of original paintings of these six missions. The
paintings by Granville Bruce of Irving, Texas, were commissioned
by Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Godfrey of Austin to, preserve the Texas
missions on canvas. On completion they were presented to the
Texas State Library, where they are presently on display. Six
different authors wrote the accompanying stories: the Alamo by
Lon Tinkle of the Dallas Morning News; La Bahia, encompass-
ing the mission of Espiritu Santo de Zufiiga and the presidio
of Nuestra Sefiora de Loreto, both at the old town of La Bahia,
present Goliad, by Joe B. Frantz, professor of history at the
University of Texas; Concepci6n by the late Joseph W. Schmitz,
professor of history at Saint Mary's University; San Francisco de
la Espada by Dorman H. Winfrey, director of the Texas State
Library; San Jos6 by James Day, archivist of the Texas State
Library; and San Juan Capistrano by Ben Procter, professor of
history at Texas Christian University.
To paint these visible remains of Spanish Texas and put their
true stories on paper was a noble project. The four-color plates,
like the originals, are beautiful, not so sharply realistic as Gentilz'
but idyllic and pleasing to the eye. Facts have been well assembled,
and the stories are told with an individual style and approach
that makes for interest and diversity in spite of the similarity of
time, place, and circumstance. The zeal and devotion of the
missionaries are unanimously acclaimed while opinions differ in
regard to their success. It is agreed, though, that the mission era
in Texas was utterly fantastic; but as Procter says, "it happened,"
and we have the impressive historical and architectural monu-
ments before us, a constant delight to the knowledgeable observer
and to the casual or sophisticated tourist as well. It is agreed too
that fear of the French caused the Spanish government to estab-
lish the missions. First it was La Salle's short sojourn in Texas,
and then Saint Denis who, according to Vito Alessio Robles,
tricked the Spaniards into playing his game from the beginning.
In the end, the East Texas missions, west of the French fort at
Natchitoches, much nearer by water to Mobile than to the pre-
sidio of Rio Grande and Saltillo, dependent on Saint Denis for
supplies, and at the mercy of the Indians whom he had armed,

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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967, periodical, 1967; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101199/m1/168/ocr/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

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