THE MISSION MURDERS
ROCKDALE, TEXAS
by Lois Railey
"All plots, malices,
craft and pretenses
have been outdone by Ribago ..."
(Excerpt of a letter from Father
Pinella to
the Parent College of Quere'tar
preserved in the Spanish Archives)
It was a strange beginning for the Spanish missions of San Gabriel, Texas (near present-day Rockdale). In 1721, the Marquis De Aquayo made a trip to the eastern section of what is now Texas. There he re-established missions that had been overtaken by the French. This brave conqueror left a definite account of his travels. On the way he passed through the area where the first of the so-called San Gabriel Missions would be built. He recorded severe and unusual weather on November 21, 1721. A tremendous ice storm struck. The snow was so heavy that giant trees were pulled from the ground and gigantic branches broken off. Within twenty-four hours more than two hundred trees fell inside the soldier’s camp. More than two thousand were pulled from the ground in the general area.1 A very rare event for central Texas and it preceded rare circumstances.
Twenty-three years, later, four Tonkawa chiefs heard of Spanish missions and the message of the priests. They left their home and traveled to San Antonio where they searched the missionaries and pleaded with them.2 "Come," they said, " and tell us about your God." The concern of these four Indian leaders led to the founding of the three missions near present day San Gabriel. It was a double-sided attempt, to Christianize the local tribes, and prevent French and English occupation.
The Mission San Francisco Xavier De Horcasitas was established May 7, 1748.3 In 1749 the San Ildefonso and the Nuestra Senora De La Candelaria were completed. (The San Gabriel River was named after the first mission. San Gabriel is a different name for San Xavier. )
The Indians that were involved with the missions included Mayeyes, Yerbipanes, Yojuanes, Orcoqiuisacs, Bidais, Cocos, Deadoses and Tonkanwas. The angry Lipan Apaches, who felt threatened, were in the general area. It soon became necessary to establish a presidio (Spanish fort) for the protection of the priests.
This necessity led to the downfall of the missions. In 1751, a citizen, Juan Joseph Ceballos, joined a company of soldiers on their way to central Texas. The commanding officer was Captain Felipe De Rabago Y Teran. Handsome, arrogant and disdainful of all authority, he also had an eye for attractive ladies. Before long, a raging love affair engulfed Rabago and Mrs. Ceballos. Mr. Ceballos, now a soldier, was jealous and resentful.
When the group arrived at the Mission Nuestra Senora De La Candelaria (Our Lady of Light), Ceballos publicly reproved the Captain. Rabago swiftly took action, accused the husband of threatening him. Then he had Ceballos chained and beaten.
A priest, Father Wan Jose Ganzabal met with the captain and insisted he discontinue his affair.4 The Father also insisted on the release of Ceballos. Rabago refused. Showing his contempt for the priest, he had his prisoner chained to a cell wall; a bed brought in and further violated the wife before her husband’s eyes.5
Fray Ganzabal and Fray Miguel Pinilla gathered their courage and rescued the prisoner. They hid Ceballos in the church. With his usual bravado, the captain rode his horse into the sanctuary, and without dismounting, dragged the helpless husband back to prison. This open disdain for the House of God led to the ex-communication of Rabago and eventually all of his men. Eventually, Ceballos was released to the care of the priests, but Rabago’s fury as the ex-communication still raged through him. Always paranoid, he escalated into distrust of everyone around him. When a group of Cocos entered the Mission, openly friendly, yet carrying arms for their protection and for hunting, he had them beaten unmercifully. News of the mistreatment quickly spread. And during the night the abused Cocos slipped away.
On the evening of May 11, 1752, Fathers Pinilla and Ganzabal were eating their meager supper. It was warm and the door was left open. Juan Ceballos was dining with them. Suddenly, the meal was disrupted by a gunshot. Ceballos fell from his chair, killed instantly. Father Ganzabal Bravely rushed to the open door. But instead of spotting the shooter he was shot through with an arrow.6
Rabago at once accused the runaway Cocos. Three days later, a Coco was arrested. He admitted to killing the priest, but denied the murder of Ceballos. The Indian said a soldier, Martin Gutierrez, had shot him. He said after killing the priest, he had returned to Rabago, who thanked him and gave him many gifts.7
The missionaries thought the Captain should be returned to Spain and face his crimes. But it proved to be almost impossible. The powerful Spanish Army stood behind him, and he had the support of the Viceroy of Spain. So the Captain remained in charge of the presidio. The soldiers and their leader became increasingly vicious. The young Indian women were pulled out of line as they were being driven to the fields to plant or harvest and horribly molested. The Indians were baffled and angry.
After only ten years the missions were abandoned and moved to Menard (the San Saba Mission and presidio). Prior to the move more strange weather occurred. A ball of fire appeared in the sky, terrifying everyone. It circled from the presidio to the mission and back to the presidio, where it exploded. The San Gabriel River ceased to flow, although other rivers and streams in the area remained normal. What had been a plain gradually became a thicket and huge, deep cracks changed the landscape. There was a sever drought in the land surrounding the missions, while the rest of the area received plenty of rain.8 The San Gabriel Missions ended as they had begun with bizarre weather.
The Captain did finally return to Spain to face an inquiry. But he was allowed to come back to Texas. He never stood trial or was punished. He did say his only regret was that he did not force Father Pinilla out of the mission.9
Notes
1. Scarbrough, 1973:57
2. Scarbrough, 1973:58
3. Scarbrough, 1973:59
4. Burke,1979:80
5. Burke, 1979:81
6. Burke,1979:74
7. Burke,1979:74
8. Scarbrough, 1973: 63
9. Burke, 1979:75
Sources
Land of Good Water, Clara Scarbrough, Williamson County Sun Publishers, Georgetown, Texas, 1973
A Forgotten Glory, James W. Burke, Texian Press, Waco, Texas, 1979.
Lois Railey, has lived in Milam County since 1991 and her ancestors moved to San Gabriel from Tennessee in about 1859. She competes in competitive writing, poetry (Haiku), photography. She is also a sportsperson, competing in running, race walking and horseshoe pitching. She has just completed a book, Forever Texas, about the War for Independence and is working on Rabago, an historical novel based on the life of the captain of the presidio featured in this article.
Ms. Railey is actively involved in historical preservation activities in Milam County. In 2000, she began an active effort to identify historically significant sites that would be flooded by the proposed "Cameron Lake" and she is chairperson of the historical committee of the Bell-Milam Land and Water Rights Association.