Excavations at the Alamo Shrine [page 5]

mission and to establish a Spanish settlement at a convenient place on the Camino Real between the Rio Grande and the east Texas missions. To place a mission on the Rio San Antonio, at the place the Indians called "Yanaguana," had been a dream of the Franciscan friars for many years, ever since friars Massanet and Hidalgo had made a brief visit there i-n 1691 with the military expedition and had marveled at the beauty of the place and the abundant willing souls ready for harvest. Now at last the dream would come true.

In April 1718, an expedition lead by Martin de Alarcon, governor of Coahuila and Texas, and including Fray Antonio Olivares, left San Juan Bautista on the Rio Grande and journeyed north into Texas, arriving at the San Antonio River on May 1. They camped on the west bank of the river near San Pedro Springs; and on the same day, Fray Antonio, by permission of Governor Alarc6n, established Mission San Antonio de Valero, naming it after St. Anthony of Padua and the Viceroy of New Spain, the Marques de Valero (Weddle, 1968:14g). Just four days later, and a short distance downstream from the mission, the governor founded the Presidio and Villa de Bejar, a small settlement which one day would become the City of San Antonio (Barker, 1929: 36-38).

Shortly after the founding of the Mission San Antonio de Valero on the west bank of the San Antonio River, somewhere-near the present Robert B. Green Hospital, it was moved to the east bank of the river, opposite the Presidio and Villa, which was evidently a more suitable location. This second location was about where the Chamber of Commerce building is now, across Commerce Street from Joske's. The mission buildings are described as consisting of a small fortified tower for the friars and crude huts for the mission Indians (Barker, 1929:36-38; Fox, Bass, and Hester, 1976:2). In September 1720, Fray Antonio retired from the mission to return to the College of Santa Cruz at Queretaro. He was succeeded by Father Francisco Hidalgo, an old friend and colleague.

Problems continued to follow the mission, and in 1724 a terrible hurricane demolished the houses of the Indians and did the mission great damage (Barker, 1929:36-38). The storm was devastating, and preparations were again made for another move. This time the move was slightly upstream, on the east side of the river but still opposite Presidio and Villa de Bejar. At this final location of San Antonio de Valero, where the mission church (the Alamo) still stands, the architectural complex and settlement developed to its ultimate degree.

By 1727, the construction of a permanent mission complex was well underway, and there were 70 families (about 280 persons) representing three Indian groups in residence. These included the Payayas, Xarames, and the Yerebipiamos. The Payayas were the largest group represented. A convento (friary), granary, and other structures of stone and adobe, including Indian housing and workshops, were built or were under construction (Barker, 1929:36-38; Fox, Bass, and Hester, 1976:3). An adobe church was also being constructed, but there were plans to eventually build a large stone structure when qualified masons were-available. The mission church will be discussed in detail later.

An epidemic, probably smallpox, struck the mission in 1739 and greatly decimated the Indian population, reducing it to about 46 families (184 individuals); but by 1740, with the conversion of the Tacamanies Indians, the mission population increased to 260 persons (Chabot, 1931:62; Fox, Bass, and Hester, 1976:3). By 1744, when the cornerstone for the new church was laid, the mission Indian

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