The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-11-30
THE PRIEST AND THE RUINS.

OF HetrlZ de Crusate, ex-governor OF New Mexico
was commissioned to accompany Father Kino on
his visits to the Indian tribes and his exploring ex
petitions, and to report in writing what he saw
and learned. Mango Joined the great priest at MS
mission of Our Lady of Sorrows on February Z,
1894; they crossed the Sierra del Comedio, and
on the 18th reached the coast, first of white men
from Pimeria Alto-from the east-to look out
upon the waters of the great gulf. At Turbutana,
Mango left the priest for a time and went up the
Colorado river to a rancheria named Cups, so called
from a smoking, rocky cave in the neghborhood.
Returning he joined Kino at Caborca, bringing
of famous ruins said to exist on the banks of
a river entering into the Colorado River of the
Immaculate Conception, as Kino christened it
This the first intmation, writes Elliott Coues
the Spaniards had of these remarkable buildings
The party now returned to the mission of Our Lady
of Sorrows, Sonora. While here some Indians,
Pimas from San Xavier on the Santa Cruz, Ari-
IONA, came on a visit to the priest who questioned
them the existence of the prehistoric ruins
the ella river. They informed him that these
wonderful ruins were standing the desert, but
of their origin they knew nothing.
DISCOVERY OF THE CASAS GRANDES.
Francis Xavier Saeta as missionary at Caborca,
where he murdered by the Yumas April g 1895,
Leaving Saeta at this mission, Father Kino now set
out alone on expedition to the Casas Grandes.
He reached the ella, camped for the night, and on
the morning of November 80 entered the region of
the ruins and in the largest of the three buildings
otfred up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass Mango
page % of his published report in Spanish, gives
the whole history and bestows great praise Kino.
The priest the first white man who saw
and accurately described these now famous pre-
Columbian ruins This wonderful priest trampcd
the valley of the Santa Cruz to the ella. Passing
down the ella to its mouth, after exploring the
country, he retraced his steps, penetrating the land
north of the ella river for some distance and as
cended the Salt river and other northern branches
of the ella. His explorations did not end here
Proceeding east he explored the valley of the San
Pedro and its branches, then the ella to the MINI
bres, and to the Rio Grande and the Messila
valley. He went from Yuma, crossed the Colorado
desert and traced the river to its mouth. He Wis
tied sixty-three tribes, sub-tribes and families
studying the wars, customs, traditions folklore
and habits of the Indians. He founded missions
built churches, made maps and tracings, took obser
vatlons and left us mass of valuable information
on the botany, geology and temperature of the
country. His map was in his time and long after
his death the best delineaion of Sonora, southern
Arizona and the gulf coast of southern California
His life unparalleled record of devotion, he
roism and dauntless courage. OF him we may re-
peat what Bacon wrote of Plus v, to whom Chris
tendon is indebted for the victory of Lepanto Il
od Al
canonized this great man.
This was the who, Mr. Haskins tells US,
"chanted mass in the Casa Grande, when he was
crossing the desert as penance for his sins"
Nothing but the deplorable darkness of Protestant
readers on Catholic subjects saves men like Mr..
Haskins from RELOCATION to the scrap heap.
LAST DAYS OF A GREAT PRIEST.
On February 5, 1902 Father Kino, accompanied
by Father Gouzalez (the same missionary who was
with Kino his excursion to the mouth of the
Colorado started a missionary expedition 10 the
ella Indians and went from tribe to tribe till he
arrived at the mission of ST. Ignatius Oh the Colo
RADIO river. Here Father Gouzalez, worn out with
hardship and Illness lay down and died After Civ
ing Christian burial to his priesty companion the
great priest returned to his mission in Sonora His
report of this entrada or expedition bears the date
April 2, 1902. He never again the Colorado
or ella He was growing old and his strong con-
stltutlon was beginning to give way under the
weight of years, and the wear and tear of mission
airy travel and missionary labor. His last and, in
a sense his most extended journey was made to-
ward the north during the autumn of 17O6. He
left his mission late in October, and swinging
around by way of Remedies made his wonderful
tour to the Santa Clara mountains, preaching to
and evangelizing the tribes his way. From the
summit of Santa Clara he looked out for the last
time the waters of the Gulf of California not
ing the continuity of Lower California from Pr
meria the main land, and fixing for all time its pen
insular character. This was the last, long earthly
pilgrimage of the great jesuit and typical mission