The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 89, July 1985 - April, 1986 Page: 26
610 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwesternl Historical Quarterly
was one of the wealthiest men in the community. While representing
Texas at the national Congress in 1822 he lobbied for the final secu-
larization of the Texas missions; he was later to have considerable hold-
ings of former mission lands. Hie was also one of the largest owners
of livestock in Bexar. An inspection of parish records and finances in
early 1825 showed carelessness and negligence in the running of the
parish and considerable impropriety in the handling of its funds by lay
administrators. As one prominent historian has noted, Father de la
Garza "and his equally worldly assistant, Jos6 Dario Zambrano, both
sadly neglected their spiritual duties-Saying Mass only occasionally,
never preaching, and seldom, if ever, visiting the sick or comforting the
afflicted." "
While the Church might have neglected the spiritual life of the com-
munity, the San Antonio River Valley was blessed by nature with a mild
climate, fertile soil, and abundant water. Its economic horizon, how-
ever, was seriously limited by physical isolation, sparse population, In-
dian hostilities, and chronic lack of specie. Poverty and exposure to
frontier dangers were constant themes of Bexar memorials and peti-
tions throughout the 182os. Tejano leaders understood that in order
for the region to prosper it must be populated, linked with other cen-
ters in the region, and freed from heavy government controls of its
economy.
By the 182os San Antonio had developed only a modest agrarian
economy that centered on subsistence farming, with few profits and
little surplus for export. Most cultivators worked small family plots,
while many others worked as tenant farmers or day laborers. The
wealthier farmed enough land to provide a small surplus for the local
market, which consisted largely of the impoverished military sector.
These wealthier landowners gradually increased their holdings during
this period, especially in the lands of the former missions. Many Be-
xarefios also participated to some degree in the cattle industry, already
a century old. Ranching at this time consisted less of cattle raising than
of cattle chasing, since large herds of branded and unbranded cattle
and horses, dispersed by storms, Indian raids, and other agents, ran
wild through the brush country around Bexar. The elite landowners
supplied beef to the local market and occasionally exported cows or
horses to Coahuila or Louisiana. The livestock export business, how-
52Census for tax on dulas at the San Antonio missions, [1824]; census of Barrio del Norte,
July 19, 1829; Castafieda, Our Catholic HeIltage, VI, 307 (quotation), 314-316, 319-321.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 89, July 1985 - April, 1986, periodical, 1985/1986; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117151/m1/52/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.