1. S T U D I E T E S T I
———————————— 517 ————————————
A HISTORY OF THE SOUTHWESTA HISTORY OF THE SOUTHWEST
A Study of the Civilization and Conversion of the IndiansA Study of the Civilization and Conversion of the Indians
in Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexicoin Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico
from the Earliest Times to 1700from the Earliest Times to 1700
by
ADOLPH F. BANDELIER
Vol. IIIVol. III
The original Text and Notes in French (1887) editedThe original Text and Notes in French (1887) edited
with English Summaries and Additional Noteswith English Summaries and Additional Notes
from MS. Vat. lat. 14111from MS. Vat. lat. 14111
by
ERNEST J. BURRUS, S. J.
in Collaboration with
MADELEINE TURRELL RODACK, PH. D.
PARTS THREE, FOUR AND FIVE
CITTÀ DEL VATICANO
BI B L I O T E C A AP O S T O L I C A VAT I C A N A
2017
4. PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Thirty years have passed since the second volume of Adolph F. Bande-
lier, A History of the Southwest. A Study of the Civilization and Conversion
of Indians in the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico from
the Earliest Times to 1700, was published by Ernest J. Burrus, S.J. Today,
finally, the complete work sees the light with the last two volumes, III and
IV, which have been in preparation for many years.
During this long period, we have never abandoned the desire to relate
the missionary activities of the Jesuit fathers in America, in the region of
today’s Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua and in Arizona and New
Mexico in the United States. With the help of archives, correspondence and
contacts, we succeeded in completing the endeavor, which involved many
people who have firmly believed in this project.
The manuscript work was carried out in 1886-1887 by the Swiss-Amer-
ican archaeologist Adolph F. Bandelier (Bern 1840 – Seville 1914) with
the explicit intention — realized afterwards — to donate it to Pope Leo
XIII Pecci (1878-1903) on the occasion of his 50th anniversary of priestly
ordination. Today it is preserved in the Vatican Apostolic Library in the
seven volumes with shelfmark Vat. lat. 14111, next to five other volumes
donated by Bandelier, which contain 502 documents between drawings,
photographs, blueprints and maps, cataloged today with the shelfmark
Vat. lat. 14112-14116.
The publication of the manuscript was prepared with great care by Fa-
ther Ernest J. Burrus, S.J. (1907-1991), known for his numerous editions
of the reports from various Jesuits operating in American territory and
kept in the European archives, especially in the Roman Archives of the
Society of Jesus. By the time he died, three books of Bandelier’s work had
been published: in 1969 an introductory volume with the catalog of all the
documents donated by Bandelier (Studi e testi, 257) and a supplement with
the reproduction of forty drawings and maps (Studi e testi, 258); in 1987
the first (Studi e testi, 325) of the three planned volumes with the complete
edition of the manuscript text of Vat. Lat. 14111, comprising parts I and II
of the seven in which the work is divided.
The care of the publication was taken over by other Jesuit fathers, who
continued with the preparation of the text for printing, revising and editing
the indexes, curating the work and carrying it on with passion and dedica-
5. 4 PUBLISHER’S NOTE
tion. First and foremost, Father Charles O’Neill S.J. (1927-2009), who led
the Jesuit Historical Institute in Rome up to 1993, from where he then re-
turned to the Jesuit community in New Orleans. A few years later, his work
was resumed by the impetus of the former Prefect of the Vatican Apostolic
Library, Reverend Raffaele Farina S.D.B., by Father Mark Lewis S.J., who
worked in the Jesuit Historical Institute in Rome from 1995 and then as
its director 1998-2004. After becoming a professor at Spring Hill College
in Alabama, the continuation of the work was again entrusted to Father
O’Neill who agreed to dedicate time to it, but was later forced to move to
the community’s infirmary in New Orleans after developing Parkinson’s
disease; despite this, he almost completed the task of reviewing the work
thanks to his “crystal clear mind” (as one of his brothers remarked of him).
Another testament to his devotion to this work was exemplified in August
2005, when the New Orleans region was shocked by the consequences of
Hurricane Katrina. During that disaster, Father O’Neill saved the corrected
drafts of the books by carrying them above his head as he crossed the com-
pletely flooded streets of the city. The last phase of the work was continued
by Father Thomas McCoog and Father Martín Morales.
To all of them we wish to express our sincere gratitude. Their work,
coupled with the excellent work of our compositor Jarek Dziewicki, who
began by working with the old lead-printed drafts and then changing them
into the computer-generated books that are being published today, scru-
pulously reviewing the manuscript to resolve any doubts still remaining.
In a time when there seems to be a tendency of building walls and not
bridges, we think that talking about the activity of the Jesuit fathers, who
from the 16th to the 17th century devoted themselves to the evangelization
of native populations in America, is right and proper. In order to be able
to make better use of Bandelier’s work, it would be desirable, after con-
cluding the edition of these two volumes, to digitize the five volumes of
maps, photographs, drawings and blueprints that accompany the text and
constitute an important complement to the work.
A. M. P.
6. INTRODUCTION
This second volume of the original French text which constitutes vol-
ume III of the entire series, contains Parts III (4 chapters), IV (12
chapters) and V (5 chapters). The diligent reader will want to make use
especially of two features of the preceding volume, the bibliographies,
and the maps of the four regions.
I [= Burrus] have followed the same system of annotations as in the
previous volume: my additional editorial information is placed in
square brackets at the foot of the respective pages. The original pages of
Bandelier’s manuscript are indicated by the numbers in square brackets
within the text. The cross references are to these pages of the manu-
script.
The text is reproduced and edited according to the norms already in-
dicated. The multilingual notes are those of the original. My additional
data in the commentary and the summaries of all the chapters are given
in English.
This volume has a useful Appendix of the Governors of New Mexico
from 1598 to 1704, and its own analytic Index to facilitate ready refer-
ence.
The four maps furnished in the preceding volume will be found
equally useful for this.
Bandelier continues in this volume the Histoire chronologically with
frequent reflections on the contents of the narrative. Here is a general
idea of the three parts that make up this volume :
Part III is the story of the vast State of Chihuahua, Mexico, during
the seventeenth century – a period of growth and consolidation –
with emphasis on the mission work of the Franciscans and Jesuits. The
energetic tribes of this region and adjacent areas were not disposed to
accept “foreign” ideas and ways of life without fierce opposition.
Part IV changes the stage from Chihuahua to New Mexico, which in
colonial times included Arizona. At this time the Franciscans extended
their mission field to include additional tribes, especially the Jumanos,
Apaches and Navahos. Much information is furnished on individual
missionaries and governors. The tragic death in 1642 of Governor
Rozas is noted. The disastrous 1680 Pueblo Revolt and the subsequent
reconquest claim a large section of the fourth part.
7. 6 INTRODUCTION
Part V studies Sonora, Mexico, in the seventeenth century with the
Jesuits holding the center stage. Kino is the towering figure working in
the homeland of the Pimas and making the evangelization of Lower
California possible – the springboard to modern California. This part
closes with a general conspectus of the Southwestern missions in 1700.
8. CHAPTER ONE
SUMMARY
Chihuahua in the seventeenth century. Its first inhabitants. The interior
of the Sierra Madre oriental. Casas Grandes.
1. Chi in the 17th century. The route from El Paso del Norte (Juárez)
to the city of Chi : an arid region, a cattle country. Chi at the coming of
the Spaniards. Similarity of Chi with S NM and Az. Few native settle-
ments. Natives, neither completely sedentary nor nomadic ; few with
fixed abode. Settlements and tribes named. Natives civilized by Church.
2. Intentions of the Church in regard to the natives. Linguistic groups
listed. Tobosos and Jumanos unclassified. Five main indigenous lan-
guages in Chi. Nomadic tribes localized and identified: Conchos, To-
bosos, Julimes, Tepehuanes, Acaxees, Mansos, Sumas, Jumanos, Tara-
humares, Janos, Pimas, Opatas, Jocomes. The first inhabitants. Interior
of E Sierra Madre country.
3. Tribes that have completely disappeared. Janos. Apaches. Lengthy
discussion of Casas Grandes; original names; civilization and culture of
area. Personal observations of author. B considers this chapter as pre-
paring the stage and presenting the actors to be joined soon by the ap-
ostolic workers.
9. 10 BANDELIER, A HISTORY OF THE SOUTHWEST — III
CHAPITRE I
Le Chihuahua au dix-septième siècle. Les habitants primitifs. Intérieur
de la Sierra Madre orientale. Casas Grandes.
1. Quiconque de nos jours traverse l’état du Chihuahua dans toute sa
longueur du Nord au Sud, depuis El Paso del Norte jusqu’au «Bolsón
de Mapimí» reste frappé de l’apparence aride des bas-fonds, et de
l’âpreté et stérilité des flancs des montagnes. Involontairement on se
demande comment l’homme à pu choisir de tels endroits pour en faire
sa demeure. Au pied de ces montagnes, repoussantes cependant dans
leur sein, comme aussi le long des rares cours d’eau permanents, il y a
beaucoup d’endroits agréables et productifs. Le Chihuahua est propre à
l’élevage des bestiaux, et il y a assez d’agriculture pour subvenir aux be-
soins de sa population d’origine européenne largement composée de
mineurs, de commerçants et d’éleveurs de bétail. A l’époque de la pre-
mière arrivée des Espagnols, les Indiens du Chihuahua formaient des
tribus errantes, car les groupes sédentaires étaient peu nombreux.
Il y a beaucoup d’analogies entre la nature du sol et du climat du
Chihuahua, et celle du Nouveau-Mexique et de l’Arizona, dans leurs
partis méridionales. Aussi y voyons-nous les mêmes phénomènes eth-
nographiques, au moins au dix-septième siècle. Les villages permanents
étaient rares, tandis que les [481] traces de populations sédentaires des
temps passés abondaient dans certaines régions1. Ces vestiges peuvent
être des preuves d’une «filtration» de tribus essentiellement sédentai-
res, dans les temps les plus reculés et à travers le pays dans une direc-
tion quelconque; ils peuvent aussi indiquer des changements dans le
degré de culture d’une ou de plusieurs tribus. L’Indien est rarement ab-
solument errant mais il n’est jamais tout-à-fait sédentaire2.
A l’époque dont nous nous occupons, on ne connaissait guère de tri-
bus à demeures fixes dans le Chihuahua actuel, même ce nom ne parait
dans les annales qu’un siècle plus tard. Cabeza de Vaca avait rencontré
des Indiens avec des maisons en terre, près du défilé de Guadalupe, à
1 Il y a des ruines presque partout excepté le long du Río Grande, et dans les parties
arides.
2 Un présage suffit pour lui faire changer de place, même au détriment de ses intérêts
personnels.
10. TROISIÈME PARTIE (PART THREE) 11
l’entrée et à l’intérieur de la Sierra Madre3. Mais on avait perdu de vue
à un tel point cette indication, que l’on cherchait ces demeures fixes
beaucoup plus au Nord parmi les «Pueblos» néo-mexicains où Cabeza
de Vaca n’était jamais arrivé. Cependant les «Jovas» qui sont une bran-
che de la grande famille des «Opatas» habitaient des villages assez per-
manents dans la Sierra Madre, au Sud de Casas Grandes et de Galsa-
na4. Toutefois, comme la colonisation commença par le Sud, et s’y ar-
rêta, on ne s’occupa guère alors de ce qui était en dehors du rayon des
mines du Parral et de la vallée de San Bartolomé. De là, le bond que fit
la colonisation espagnole, en allant peupler le Nord au Nouvau-Mexi-
que, au dépens de tout ce qui se trouvait au Sud du 35ème degré [482] et
au Nord du 27ème degré de latitude. C’était, comme je l’ai dit, un pays
peu agréable à première vue, et qui n’offrait pas de points d’appui im-
médiats aux colons entreprenants.
Barbare ou civilisé, nomade ou villageois, l’Indien fait partie du
genre humain, et comme tel, c’était le devoir de l’Eglise de s’en occuper.
C’est pour cela que dans une autre partie de ce travail, nous avons dit
en parlant du Chihuahua, que l’Eglise ne commit pas la même faute,
que tout en envoyant ses ouvriers bien avant dans le Nord, elle ne perdit
pas de vue ce qui était plus rapproché. La colonisation du Chihuahua
fut précédée dans la plus grande partie du territoire, de la «réduction»
c’est-à-dire, de la civilisation des tribus indigènes par les missionnaires.
2. Avant de parler de ces missionnaires et de leurs œuvres, il est abso-
lument nécessaire de donner un aperçu de ce qu’ils voulaient faire pour
civiliser les Indiens. Sans entrer dans trop de détails, il suffit de faire
connaître la distribution des groupes et d’indiquer à quel degré de cul-
ture en étaient arrivées ces tribus, le langage étant le moyen le plus
simple de classification. Il va sans dire que le point de départ de cet
aperçu est maintenant encore, le travail remarquable que Manuel
Orozco y Berra a fait sur les langues indigènes du Mexique5. Je dis:
point de départ et non pas la base.
3 Voyez le Chapitre I de la 2de Partie. [An obvious exception was the large trading
center of Paquimé, called Casas Grandes by the Spaniards; consult the monumental work
by Di Paso].
4 Je m’en remets aux citations qui suivront, dans le courant de ce chapitre.
5 Geografía de las lenguas y Carta ethnográfica de México, 1864.