History of Texas: From Its First Settlement in 1685 to Its Annexation to the United States in 1846, Volume 1 Page: 57
This book is part of the collection entitled: From Republic to State: Debates and Documents Relating to the Annexation of Texas, 1836-1856 and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries Special Collections.
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TREATMENT OF INDIANS AT THE MISSIONS.
listed of the church, dwellings for officers, friars, and soldiers,
with storehouses, prisons, &c. The size of the square depended
on the population, the strength of the force intended to be sta-
tioned there, and also upon the extent of the district dependent
on the presidio. Huts were erected at a short distance from
the principal edifices, for the converted Indians. 'The unmar-
ried of either sex were placed in separate huts, and at night
locked up by the friars, who carried the keys. They encour-
aged chastity among the Indians, and punished its violation by
public or private whipping, as the offender was a male or a
female.*
Forts were erected near the presidios, and sometimes the
church was fortified. The civil and military authority was
united in the commandant, which, in some matters, was subor-
dinate and in others superior to the ecclesiastical power. The
principal duty of the military was to repel the invasion of the
wild Indians, and to suppress the rebellious spirit of the con-
verts. The Indians were well fed, clothed, and cared for ;
their labors were not heavy ; and, in these particulars, they
could not complain. But they were compelled to perform cer-
tain religious ceremonies before they could understand anything
of their meaning. Sundry rules were laid down for their every
motion, a departure from which was severely punished. It was
this tyranny over the minds and bodies of the Indians that en-
feebled and wasted them. They were willing to forego the
food and raiment of the missions, for the sublime scenery of
the vast prairies, the liberty of roaming unmolested over them,
and chasing the buffalo and the deer. Freedom, dear to all,
is the idol of the Indian. He worships the liberty of nature.
* Kennedy, vol. i., p. 224, et seq. Forbes, in his history of California, is too
severe upon the Franciscans. Compared with the cruelty of the Spaniards and
Dominicans in South America and Mexico proper, the discipline of the Francis-
cans was tolerable.' . .
, ,. , _.57
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History of Texas: From Its First Settlement in 1685 to Its Annexation to the United States in 1846, Volume 1 (Book)
Book describing Texas history up to the time of annexation to the United States of America. This first volume is broken into 22 chapters covering the start of European immigration (roughly 1685) through the establishment of the Republic of Texas in 1835, with a number of appendices containing supplementary information.
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Yoakum, H. (Henderson K.), 1810-1856. History of Texas: From Its First Settlement in 1685 to Its Annexation to the United States in 1846, Volume 1, book, 1855; New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2385/m1/65/: accessed May 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.