Expanded Diary of Father Pedro Font
Colonizing Expedition, 1775-1776
Saturday, June 1 SP -- We set out from El Llano at five o'clock in the morning, and at eight arrived at the presidio of San Miguel de Orcasitas, having traveled four leagues to the east-southeast or almost due east -- Four leagues.
At the ford of the river we came to the road which we had taken on going. On setting out from camp we saw dust on the road near the pass which they call Puerto del Boladero, and with the report of the trail seen yesterday we presumed might be enemies who were awaiting us at the pass. Therefore, putting the men in order, and train remaining with the rear guard, the commander and some soldiers went to the place with arms in their hands. We felt this fear at first sight willed that there should be no occasion for it, for they met only some pack trains which were on the way to La Cieneguilla.
On our arrival we were visited at once by the governor, Don Francisco Antonio crespo, the curate, and other gentlemen of San Miguel, and the governor took Señor Ansa and me to dine at his house. A little before we entered San Miguel Señor Ansa told me to go and dismount at his house while he went to salute the governor, as in fact I did; but I soon saw how little favored I was at the house of Señor Ansa. Having passed the first compliments they lodged me in a little room without light and full of things, together with the commissary, Don Mariano, because Señor Ansa's house was very small. In view of the inconvenience of the house, I said to Señor Ansa after siesta that if he approved I would go to Casa Monteagudo, since his wife Catharina had offered me the room in which I lodged the other time, and where I was entertained during the days while I was here before beginning our journey. But I added that even so I would not say goodbye to his house, for I would come to dine, and would remain at the presidio all the time that he might wish, since it was not necessary for me to go at once to my mission; and that I was at his disposition according to his pleasure, for I planned to go to Ures only when he might decide, for indeed I only desired not to molest him any more than necessary.
Señor Ansa agreed to everything, not urging me in the least, even out of politeness, to remain to rest a few days, and said that as to my going to Ures there was no objection to my going whenever I wished, and that he would furnish me with saddle animals. I therefore decided to go thither immediately, and so I did on the 5th, in the afternoon, arriving at that mission at ten o'clock at night. I suggested to him also that in the morning we should chant the Mass of the Most Holy Trinity as an act of thanksgiving for our arrival, and for having finished our journey successfully; but because the church was being repaired and Mass was said in the arbor of the house of the governor, and especially because Señor Ansa was not pleased with this, he paid no attention to me, nor did he accept my proposal, offering the pretext that the governor might be offended.
June 2, Sunday of the Most Holy Trinity SP -- At a proper hour I went to the house of Señor Ansa to salute him and ask him if he had decided anything concerning my proposal of yesterday regarding the singing of Mass. He replied that I might very well go to say Mass if I wished, and that he would go later to hear that of the curate. Therefore, I went to say low Mass to the Most Holy Trinity, doing whatever I could on my part. I remained at the presidio, and at midday I observed its latitude, finding it without correction to be in 29° 28' and with correction in 29° 30', and so I say: at the presidio of San Miguel de Orcasitas, June 2, 1776, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 82° 34'.
As soon as I finished the observation I turned over to Señor Ansa the key of the instrument which he had delivered to me at the mission of San Gabriel, as I said on January 6. Handing it back to me, he said that if I wished to carry the instrument to Ures to observe there or anywhere else I might keep it. I replied that since he had not delivered the instrument to me at the beginning, and since we had now concluded our journey, and consequently my principal task of making observations in the course of it, I did not wish to take charge of it now, for he was not giving it to me but only lending it to me. And so he kept both the instrument and the key.
It is certain that the viceroy ordered the astrological quadrant delivered to me so that I might observe on the way. But Señor Ansa, desirous of making himself the author of the observations, immediately took charge of it and did not wish to deliver it to me. I saw this the first time we met and talked together, which was on the 23d of May, last year, when he arrived at my mission. Since I knew that he was carrying this instrument to be delivered to me, I wished to see it as soon as he arrived, and seeing that the day was passing without his mentioning it to me, I asked him about it, and he replied that it was coming behind with the packs. There upon I said,
Well, Señor, I wished to see it in order better to discharge the obligation which my father guardian places upon me in the name of the viceroy regarding the observations which are to be made on the journey.
Well, he replied, "your Reverence shall see it and you will see something fine, because it is the best instrument that was to be found in Mexico. It belonged to the Señor Conde de Jales, who was so enamored of his quadrant that he did not wish to part with it; and when the viceroy ordered him to turn it over, the Señor Conde did so saying that he was not selling it, but was yielding it only on condition that his Excellency should order another like it brought for him from Paris or London."
He now took out a notebook of instructions which he carried for his information and told me to wait. Then calling his commissary he ordered him to permit me to see the quadrant when the packs arrived, saying to him
The father wishes to see it because apparently he understands it a little, and perhaps he will aid us to make observations on the way.
Well then, on May 26 the packs arrived with the people of the expedition. I saw the quadrant, and next day they carried it with the packs to San Miguel, where Señor Ansa already was, and I kept the notebook of instructions. But a few days afterward he sent for it, saying that I must send it because he needed it in order better to post himself. And so he had this also. Afterward I went to the presidio of San Miguel to join Señor Ansa and the people, and on the 17th of September I told him that I wished to make an observation. He agreed to this, brought forth the quadrant, and invited the curate and other gentlemen to watch him and see how he did it. And so the observation was made, but it was of no account because it consisted only of looking at the sun through the glass to see what color it was, the invited gentlemen this inspection in turn. In the conversation Señor Ansa said that on the way he had made observations at Sinaloa, Culiacán, and other places; but when I asked him in what latitude he had found those places, he replied that he did not remember because he had not recorded the observations. It is to be noted that he neither had tables nor knew how to make the calculation.
They asked him how much the quadrant might have cost, and where it had been obtained. Señor Ansa replied that it had not cost anything, for it belonged to the secretary of the viceroy, Don Melahor Peramás who, in order to see if he could avoid delivering it, resorted to the stratagem of saying that it was not his, but that it belonged to Conde de Jales (I do not recall his name with certainty), who had loaned it to him; but that his Excellency ordered him to deliver it no matter whose it might be.
At the pueblo of Santa Ana, on account of the observation which I made there on the 7th of October, there was occasion to speak of the quadrant, and Señor Ansa said to his brother-in-law, Don Francisco Serrano, that the quadrant was his, that he had bought it in Mexico with his own money, and that it had cost him I do not know how much.
At the mission of San Gabriel, because of the complaint which I made to him and which I noted on January 6, when he delivered to me the key of the quadrant, he told me that the reason why he had not given it to me at the outset was that when they delivered it to him in Mexico they took a receipt for it, which they ordered him to give, since he was obliged to account for the instrument in Mexico and restore it on his return; but that if I wished to take charge of it I should give him a receipt, and there upon he would deliver it to me, I being responsible for its restitution and to account for it whenever he might ask me to do so. But to this I did not wish to agree.
At San Diego, because of the observation which I made there on February 2, there was occasion to speak of the quadrant, and one of the fathers asked me if it was mine. I replied, "No," and that Señor Ansa brought it from Mexico. They continued talking about how well it was made and of its value, and one of them said it must be worth fifty pesos, to which Señor Ansa replied,
I am a poor man, but I would very gladly give five hundred pesos for it if they would sell it to me, a statement which I thought was directed toward making it difficult to deliver it to me, or to give it to me, as if giving me to understand that the viceroy would not order so precious a treasure entrusted to me, and from here forward he called it the quadrant of the expedition.
Finally, the journey being over, he had the quadrant in his possession, and I was informed that he wished it in order to return it to Mexico. With this understanding, when afterward he went to Mexico and passed through my mission of San Joseph de Pimas, which was on August 20, 1776, I asked him for the quadrant, because I wished to observe the latitude of that mission in my charge; but Señor Ansa replied that he did not have it with him. I said to him that I was surprised that he did not have it, for now that he was going to Mexico I supposed that he would take it to restore it, especially in view of what he had said to me at San Gabriel, to the effect that when they gave it to him they required him to give a receipt. He replied that this was a fact, but that he was not taking it because he did not know to whom he was to deliver it. I then said to him,
You are not ignorant of the fact that you ought to have delivered it to me, for you know very well the office with which I went on the expedition. However, I am not saying this in order to have you deliver it to me, for the occasion is already passed; and even if you should give it to me now I would not accept it. But since you did not deliver it to me it is natural that you should know who is the owner who loaned it in Mexico, in order that it may be restored to him.
To this he replied to me that he had left it at San Miguel because, since the viceroy had destined it for this expedition he thought that perhaps the instrument might better serve the king in this country than in Mexico, where there are others; for if another expedition were to be made, the head of it would find the quadrant in that presidio, making it unnecessary to bring it from Mexico, and without causing the king new expenses. As for his not having delivered it to me, he said he had done as he had seen done by the Marqués de Rubí, who, when he came to inspect all the presidios of the frontier, brought in his care the instruments for making observations (in this he was mistaken for he did not bring them in his care, for they were his own), and only delivered them to the experts that they might use them.
That is very well, Señor, I said to him, "but you did not do even this with me, for you did not deliver the instrument to me so that I might use it and fulfill my obligation."
And so Señor Ansa went to Mexico and I remained entirely out of favor with him because I had spoken plainly. Afterward I learned that he had left the quadrant at Casa Monteagudo, with the intention of seeing if he might be able to keep it; for if in Mexico they did not ask him for it he would regard it as a sign that they had given it to him, and if they did ask for it, he would excuse himself by saying that he had no way to bring it or that he had forgotten it, to see if in that way he might manage to remain in possession of this treasure. This I learned in these very terms, from the mouth of the governor, Don Francisco Antonio Crespo. I have noted all this down here in order to keep in mind what prestige is lost by one who prides himself on being a man of honor and yet commits such meanness for a mere bagatelle.
At night there was a party at the house of Señor Ansa, including a fandango held to celebrate his successful return. I was at Casa Monteagudo when an invitation came that the gentlemen should go there. But since no invitation came for me, and I was not told anything about such a thing, although Señor Monteagudo urged me to go, I did not wish to do so, and I remained there. Shortly afterward the commissary came to look for me, telling me that I ought to go, and that Señor Ansa would be very much pleased to have me take part in the merrymaking. I excused myself with some explanations, and even told him that I did not believe that Señor Ansa very greatly wished my presence. To his urgings I finally said,
I would have keen present at the fandango, and I would go without making any fuss, since all the people assembled there are honorable people, for I, too, am happy that we have completed our journey with such success; but since my proposal to sing Mass this morning was depreciated, in which I wished to say to the public a few words thanking God and the most Holy Virgin for our successful journey, in order that all might know the reasons which we have for being happy, it does not appear to me proper nor do I wish now to take part in that merrymaking and worldly joy without having first publicly given thanks to God.
The commissary now departed and I remained alone at Casa Monteagudo. I did not think it best to go to the fandango, lest by my presence I should sanction this worldly merrymaking, when Señor Ansa did not approve the church fiesta which should have come first and which I had proposed to him by singing the Mass of the most Holy Trinity as an act of thanksgiving for our safe arrival, as I desired.
In this Mass I had planned to say something to make known the favors which God so clearly showed in so long a journey, through our principal patroness, the most Holy Virgin of Guadalupe, to whose glory I had thought to combine the three gospels, that of yesterday and the two of today, taking these three themes: Surgens Jesus de sinagoga, introivit in domum Simonis (Luc. cap. 4, v. 38) of yesterday when we arrived; Data est mihi omnis potestas in caelo, et in terra (Math. cap. 28, v. 18) of the feast of today; and Estote ergo misericordes, sicut et Pater vester misericors est (Luc. cap. 6, v. 36) of the present Sunday, and concerning these to say what God might prompt me.
After briedy recounting the journey, the difficulties and the successes achieved in it, I wished to reduce it all and end the discourse with the reflection which I had made concerning the time we spent in the expedition from the 29th of September to this day, the 2d of June inclusive, which were 248 days, numbers of a geometrical progression with which the divine mercy of God manifested to us the blessing which during this time He gave us, multiplying them in proportion as were multiplied the days of the marches. These were 145, a number in which are expressed the three patrons who in them favored us, number 1 representing our principal patroness, unique among creatures, the most Holy Virgin, María de Guadalupe; number 4, the Prince San Miguel, whom the church calls Standard Bearer or Chief of Souls, whom he guides with the standard of the cross, which has four points, since his care extends to all four parts of the earth because the redemption which he effected on the holy cross extends to all; and number 5, our Father San Francisco under the symbol of his five prodigious wounds.
And finally the whole time comprised eight months and three days, very mysterious numbers representing an enigma. It was that the most Holy Trinity, represented by the number 3, granted us a safe return, and today her feast, by means of our patroness the Virgin of Guadalupe, represented by the number 8, alluding to the number 8 which between the paintings and flowers of her garments was discovered in Mexico by the perspicacity of the celebrated and famous painter, Cabrera, not many years ago.
Concerning this, various persons have held various opinions, but I, in the present discourse, wished to call her the Virgin of Eight, for the eight months during which she as our principal patroness go plainly favored us. But now that I was not able to say this in public I note it down here in order that I may not forget it, and that I may always be thankful to so merciful a mother, universal patroness of America, and since she deigned to appear in the shape and color of an Indian woman, more especially the principal patroness for the promotion of spiritual conquests. And with this I bring this diary to a conclusion at the end of this 2d day of June, 1776.
At this presidio of Sam Miguel de Orcasitas, from which the expedition set out, our journey of going and coming ended, and on the 5th of June I went to the mission of Ures, where I wrote out the diary which I sent to the Holy College, consisting of nine sheets containing the principal part of this diary; and also I drew the map to accompany it which I likewise sent, finishing it on June 23, 1776. Afterward I went to my mission of San Joseph de Pimas where I arrived on July 24 of the same year. This mission was delivered to the Observant Fathers of the province of Xalisco on the 10th of the following September, and I went to Ures where I joined other friars, and together we went to Pimería Alta, arriving at the mission of San Ygnucio on the 14th of the following October. Here it was decided that I should remain at the pueblo of Santa María Madalena, a visita of that mission, to which I went on the 29th of the same month. Here, on the 16th of the following November, the hostile wild Piatos and Serys, together with some Apaches, swooped down upon and destroyed and burned the pueblo, and I saw myself dead in their hands; but I came out alive and from their ferocity God delivered me through His infinite mercy. Therefore I withdrew to San Ygnacio and to Ymuris and finally to this mission of Tubutama, where I arrived on the 31st of the following December, in the morning before daybreak.
At this mission I have remained since that time, and finding myself here without any special occupation or destination, I have dedicated myself to making a fair copy of this diary, which is exactly the same as the diary or borrador which I wrote on the way, with the difference that one consists only of twenty sheets, whereas this is longer because I have written here some items of that one with some extension and clarification.
As a conclusion of this diary I protest and give assurance that in all that I say in it I have tried to tell the truth as far as is permitted by human honesty and my limited understanding. I also assert that the events and incidents which I relate, naming persons, I have not included in order to defame any person or that they may serve as a basis for complaint. Indeed, I have written them solely that they may serve for enlightenment in similar cases, to me or to any other person who may happen to read this diary, and in order that we may understand that Nihil sub sole novum. And with this caution I conclude this diary at this mission of Tubutama, today, the 11th day of May, 1777.