Arizona republican., 1902-12-21

resigned his professorship and crossed | the sea to Mexico and eventually be
 came the one who. as a missionary, ac-
 companied that last expedition. He
 was a German by birth and his name
 in his native land was Kuhn, but the
 Spaniards have recorded it as Father
 Enubio Francisco Kino. Father Kino
 had become strongly impressed in his visit to the country with the feasibility
 of plan by which the land might be | taken possession of and held
 | His object was not the conquest of
 kingdom, but the conversion of its in habitants and the saving of souls. His
 plan was to go into the country and
 teach the Indians the principles of the
 Catholic faith, educate them to sup
 port themselves by tilling the soil. and | improvement through experience of the
 advantages to be obtained by industry the end of all being to raise up a
 Catholic province for the Spanish
 crown and people paradise with the
 souls of converted heather.
 The means'to be employed in accom-
 plishing this were the priests of the
 order of Jesuits. protected by a small
 garrison of soldiers, both sustained by
 contributions from those friendly to | the enterprise. The mode of applying
 the means was first to occupy some
 favorable place in the country where
 protected by small garrison a store | house and a church could be erected
 that would render the fathers life and
 maintenance comparatively secure. | This would give them an opportunity
 to win the confidence of the Indians by
 a patient. long continued, uniform sys-
 tenn of affectionate intercourse and just
 dealing and then use their appetites as
 the means by which to convert their
 souls.
 It is difficult for us of the twentieth
 century to appreciate the grand con-
 ception, to realize the magnitude of the
 task undertaken by that monastic
 Hercules. With a heart that loved hu-
 manity because it had soul, with a
 charity that forgave all things except
 death in sin. unfolding with affection ] all the images of the Creator, with a
 tongue that made the nearer listen for
 the voice of angels, with a faith in
 success like enc of the chosen twelve.
 he became an enthusiast, and was to
 this country what John the Baptist
 was to Christianity-the forerunner of
 a change to come.
 1 With an outlook unfriendly. uncheer- !
 except beyond the grave, with a pros
 pect of defeat, and a probability of martyrdOm as a result, Father Kino
 in 1886 started to travel over Mexico.
 and by preaching urge his views and hopes of the enterprise He soon met
 a congenial spirit, then another, and still another, and by their united ef- | forts sufficient funds and a warrant | from the king, for the order of Jesuits to enter upon the conquest of the coun- ! try for the benefit of the crown The | outcome of this enterprise was that in | 16SI Father Kino and another pious pioneer established a mission in Ari- zona some thirty miles south of Tucson | It IS supposed that San Xavier del Bac and Tumacacori were established at this time. Father Kino and his com panion pushed north and were the first | to preach the doctrines of Christianity
 to the Indians living along the Gila. | One of the oldest missions established | by the Jesuit fathers was that of St | Gertrude de Tubac, forty-five miles south Of Tucson. in 1890.
 | In 1895 an effort was made to estab- fish mission at Casa Grande, but was | frustrated by an uprising of the h. dians. who assassinated some of the ! fathers and compelled the others to | flee. In 1899 Father Kino visited the Yumas ard Maricopas, but no perma- nent missionary establishments were made at this time.
 In ITO there were eight missions in the territory of Arizona Many rich silver mines near the missions were worked extensively
 In 1720 there were twenty-nine mis- sions and seventy-three Christian h. dian pueblOs in charge of the Jesuit fathers in Arizona and Sonora In 1721 the Indians were in rebellion, killed many priests and destroyed many mis- sions. From this blow they never en- tirely recovered.
 In lf5l there was an outbreak of the Pima and other Indians. who destroyed missions and killed priests In May. lI6S, fourteen Franciscan fathers came to take the place of the expelled Jesu- its and after many failures they sue ceeded in establishing two missions on the Gila and Colorado. It is very prob able that the mission of San Augustine in Tucson was one of the first founded by the Franciscans. The erection of the present mission church Of San Xavier del Bac was commenced in l76S on the site of one of the same name  which had gone to decay. It was com pleted in 119S with the exception of one of the towers. Its dimensions are ll5x7O feet. The style of architecture is commingling of the Moorish and the Byzantine. The outside is casteI- lated, and surrounded by one dome and two minarets. The foundation walls are of brick with a fine coating of cement. The outside walls are of brick. also cemented. The inside walls are of stone and cement, plastered and stuc- coed. and the interior has the form of the Latin cross. The church fronts to the south and the front center is coy cred with beautiful scroll work. hav- Ing also the coat of arms of the Fran clscan monks, which is a cross with a rope coil above, and two arms below. one or which represents that of Christ. and is naked; the other that of St. Francis de Assist. and is partially clothed, St. Francis de Assist being the patron saint of the church.
 liie-size bust of St Francis Xavier