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VII.— THE TEJAS: THEIR HABITS, GOVERNMENT, AND 
 SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 By Mrs. Lee C. Harby. 
 
 Among the various accounts of the North American Indians 
 none is found dealing with a nation which possessed the dis- 
 tinguishing excellence of having been always friendly to the 
 white man, a people recorded in the diaries of the priests 
 who went among them as courteous and docile and with a nat- 
 ural inclination toward all that was good. 
 
 That the historian has neglected the Tejas Indian will be 
 perceived by whomsoever attempts to search for data upon 
 which to build a narrative of these tribes, agricultural in their 
 habits, living in houses, and banded together in a confedera- 
 tion. The contrast they present when compared with “ the 
 wild tribes ” which surrounded them makes this neglect the 
 more marked, rendering most valuable and important any 
 light which can be thrown upon their peculiar traits, their 
 location, and the boundaries of their domain. 
 
 Bancroft, in his Native Races of the Pacific, follows the 
 Apaches and Oomanches, with their various tribal offshoots, 
 down into Texas, yet does not name the Tejas Indians, 
 although his many other histories mention them constantly. 
 With the object of writing an account which can hereafter be 
 referred to as authority, I have searched out my data in vari- 
 ous old manuscripts, diaries, and reports made to the church, 
 corroborating the matter so found by the allusions of many 
 authors scattered through their different works. 
 
 The name Tejas had existence long before the time of the 
 generally accepted account of how Texas received its appella- 
 tion. True, the Indians cried “Tejas! Tejas!” upon seeing 
 De Leon and his soldiers, and Father Manzanet, the priest 
 who accompanied the expedition, says in his narrative that it 
 meant “Friends! friends!” But Salmeron tells us that the 
 
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 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Aixos and their kindred tribes “have much gold, which they 
 call Tejas.” 1 So the natives may have intended to convey a 
 very different idea from that with which they are accredited. 
 The origin of the name has not been ascertained, but the first 
 mention of it which I can trace is where it is said that Nuno 
 de Guzman in 1530 had as a slave one of the Tejas Indians. 2 
 From that time on every account of every expedition made to 
 the east of the Bio Grande del Norte mentioned them. 
 
 Cabeza de Yaca in 1535 passed up through what is now 
 Texas and traversed the very part where the Tejas Indians 
 dwelt. He does not give the names of the tribes in his 
 narrative, translated by Buckingham Smith, but relates many 
 things of the natives with whom he was thrown which apply 
 directly to the Tejas and harmonize entirely with the very full 
 account which I find in the manuscript of Father Francisco 
 de Jesus Maria, translated by Professor Wipprecht, then of 
 the Agricultural and Mechanical College at Bryan, Tex., which 
 translation is now deposited in the library of the State at 
 Austin, its capital. 
 
 Bandelier, in his papers of the Archaeological Institute, 
 mentions that the Tejas were known to Coronado, 3 who jour- 
 neyed through a part of their country during his expedition 
 in 1540. In 1606 Ornate penetrated to their domain. In 1626 
 Benevides, writing of what Mother Maria de Jesus Agreda 
 had done among the different nations, speaks of “the Theas 
 Indians,” saying that was not their exact name, but it had that 
 sound, 4 5 and Manzanet, in his report to lion Carlos de Siguenza 
 y Congera concerning the Tejas, mentions having a letter in 
 his possession which tells of this. s In 1650 Diego del Castille 
 penetrated “ far beyond the Nueces to the country of the Tejas, 
 where he found pearls;” 6 and in 1654 a similar expedition went 
 out under Diego del Guadeljara. In 1683 a Jumana Indian 
 from the Nueces came into the mission of El Paso with a re- 
 quest that the friars there would send priests to teach Chris- 
 
 1 Bancroft’s Northern Mexican States, page 383. 
 
 2 Relacion de Castaneda, m Ternaux Compans Voyages, IX, I. 
 
 3 “Y otranacion de gente se llaman los Tejas, todos lobrados los cuerpos 
 y rostros.” 
 
 4 Shea’s translation, Lenox Library, New York. 
 
 5 Wipprecht’s translation, State library, Austin, Tex. 
 
 6 Bancroft’s Northern Mexican States. This must have been in the 
 Llano or San Saba River, where pearls are still found. 
 
THE TEJAS — HARBY. 
 
 65 
 
 tianity to his tribe and to the Tejas, giving a report of that 
 province, which was represented “ as one of the richest and 
 most fertile in America.” 1 2 Paredes, writing of them in 1686, 
 speaks of their living by agriculture and of their being far 
 superior to the roaming Indians. We now come to the manu- 
 scripts of Manzanet, written in 1690, giving an account of re- 
 ceiving reports concerning the Tejas in 1685 and alluding to 
 the work which had already been done among them by Mother 
 Maria Agreda, the date of which Benevides 3 puts at 1620. It 
 was, perhaps, due to her ministrations that all the writers, 
 from Benevides on, speak of these tribes as being ready and 
 anxious for Christian teaching and of finding them so tractable. 
 
 LOCATION. 
 
 It is said that Capt. Herbert Martin left the Nueces and 
 went “50 leagues southeast to the land of the Tejas.” 1 Man- 
 zanet locates them in all that territory about the San Antonio, 
 Guadalupe, and San Marcos rivers, speaking of them as being- 
 scattered over enormous tracts of land. He mentions them as 
 being where it is mountainous and again almost to the seacoast, 
 near Espintu Santo Bay. This is carried out later by Father 
 Francisco de Jesus Maria, who tells of their mountainous 
 country and of their plains stretching nearly to the Gulf. He 
 says that three great rivers crossed their land, one of which 
 was the Trinidad — the Trinity. They were settled on the banks 
 of the Neelies and on the San Miguel, where this priest estab- 
 lished the second mission built in that immediate neighbor- 
 hood— the Mission of the Most Holy Name of Mary. The first 
 nine tribes he mentions occupied 35 leagues of land. He then 
 tells of twenty-one more tribes of the Tejas, the last five of 
 which constitute “ a very large province which is toward the 
 north, ” about 505 leagues 3 distant from the first nine named, 
 and with all the rest of the twenty-one scattered “ between 
 north and east.” He names eight more tribes in the direction 
 of south and west from the first named, about 80 leagues, and 
 still farther south and west he tells of ten more, giving all 
 their names. Here, then, are forty-eight distinct tribes which 
 formed the nation of the Tejas, or “ friendly Indians,” for the 
 
 1 Bancroft’s Northern Mexican States, page 383. 
 
 2 Shea’s translation, l.enox: Library, New York. 
 
 3 The translator must have written leagues, but meant miles ; the first is 
 impossible. 
 
 H. Mis. 91 5 
 
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 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 same authority says: u I observe that by the name of Tejas all 
 ot the friendly tribes are to be understood; the name belongs 
 to all of them, though their language may be different. This 
 is a general term, and because of the old friendship which they 
 entertain toward each other; it is in this way that ‘Tejas’ 
 means ‘friend.’” 1 He says, too, that the proper name of the 
 province is Aseney, “ though not one of all the tribes has that 
 name,” while Bancroft writes that the Tejas and the “Cenis” 
 or “Asenais” of the French were the same people. 
 
 Lieutenant Bonilla, writing in 1772, says: 2 “ From the Medina 
 River, where the Government of Coaliuila terminates, Tejas 
 begins, and ends at the fort of our Senora del Pilar de los 
 Adaes. The length is adjusted at about 240 leagues and her 
 breadth at about 800.” 3 This territory must have taken in 
 even more than the priest has ascribed to the nation of the 
 Tejas. 
 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The forty-eight tribes were not all united under the rule of 
 one man ; they were in leagues of from five to nine, and all 
 these leagues made a confederation. Hence, they did riot com- 
 prise a kingdom, but several provinces linked together, and hav- 
 ing one head, for Manzanet speaks of “ the chief of the Tejas” 
 in such a way as leads one to think he means the chief over 
 all the leagues of tribes; while Father Maria writes of “the 
 great xinesi” as though he were higher than the ordinary 
 ruler over the several leagues, who was called simply xinesi or 
 ineci. 
 
 By common consent a certain number of tribes came together 
 and allowed themselves to be governed in a certain way. We 
 have no record of how this was first brought about, but Father 
 Maria, who lived long in their midst, gives a full and very 
 interesting account of the manner in which their government 
 was administered. 
 
 Bach tribe had a caddi or governor who ruled over a district 
 in size according to the numbers of the tribe beneath his dornin- 
 i ion. Under every caddi were certain officials who promulgated 
 his orders ; these were called canahas. If the tribe was large, 
 
 l Fr. Jesus Maria; Wipprecht’s translation. 
 
 2 A Sliort Summary of Events. 
 
 3 The length is impossible, not the breadth. The translator, or copyist 
 who worked for him, must have confused miles with leagues. 
 
THE TEJAS HARBY. 
 
 67 
 
 there were seven or eight of these; if small, but three or four. 
 When the tribe went to war or set out on a buffalo hunt it was 
 the canalia who gave the order for selecting and arranging the 
 place where the caddi should rest for eating and sleeping. It 
 was also his duty to fetch him the box of tobacco whenever he 
 would smoke, and he had to fill the pipe and place it between 
 the lips of his superior. 
 
 There were other subordinate officers called chayas, who 
 executed all which the canahas proclaimed. U nder these again 
 were petty officers called jaumas, who insured promptness in 
 the execution of punishment, seeing “ that the idlers were 
 whipped by giving them strokes with a rod over the legs and 
 belly.” 1 Each tribe was officered in like manner, and over 
 whatever number were leagued together ruled a chief officer 
 called the xinesi. He held his office by the direct line of lin- 
 eage, and when he died the man nearest in blood entered as 
 his successor. This was also the case with the caddis, but all 
 other officers were selected by the council of the old men. 
 
 When the caddi desired to transact a particular piece of 
 business it was the place of the canahas to call together all 
 the elders of the tribe. They met in the house of the caddi, 
 who, when they were assembled, told them of the matter, what 
 were his views concerning it, and why he had so determined. 
 Then each man spoke out his thought, according to his age, the 
 elder having precedence ; no one was allowed to interrupt the 
 other, but must take his turn, giving his reasons for his opin- 
 ions. The caddi listened to all, explaining his own reasons 
 and arguing with them upon theirs. Then he chose the course 
 which appeared to be wisest after all this discussion, showing 
 them clearly why he had so determined. 
 
 The Indians had a high respect for their rulers, and among 
 all the officers mentioned the greatest harmony existed, “so 
 that we have not seen any quarrel, small or great, during a 
 year and three months .” 2 All the tribes held the xinesi in 
 much awe; they endeavored to please him in every way; they 
 gave him a part of all that they possessed, and his word was 
 law. 
 
 The ceremony of seating themselves in high places belonged 
 only to the xinesi and the caddis. Each one of these had a 
 strong upper story or stage to his house, upon which he could 
 
 1 Fr. Jesus Maria; YVippreclit’s translation. 
 
 2 Fr. Jesus Maria’s MS. 
 
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 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 seat himself and observe all that passed. Every word he 
 uttered while iu this position was regarded as a positive com- 
 mand from which there was no appeal; therefore the caddis 
 would only occupy these seats upon very particular occasions. 
 These stages were in the shape of tables, and when the caddis 
 sat there they placed their feet upon benches. 
 
 That there was a nobility, or rather a distinction of caste, 
 may be gathered from the priest’s account, which says: “The 
 houses of the caddis and the nobility have each a bench, upon 
 which no one is allowed to seat himself except the xinesi. In 
 all of these houses there is also a high bed in a niche, whereon 
 he may sleep and refresh himself.” 1 
 Manzanet also remarks, in his report upon the affairs of two 
 years previous : “ From this it can be inferred that among them 
 there exists quite an aristocracy, with the distinction between 
 a nobleman and the common people .” 2 
 The Tejas had evidently a community of interests. If the 
 house and property of one were destroyed, all the rest joined in 
 and contributed toward providing him with a new home and 
 all needful for his subsistence. Everything was possessed in 
 common ; they lent each other their trinkets, and there was no 
 traffic but barter and exchange. This rule did not seem to 
 apply to their deerskins, buffalo hides, or what clothing and 
 blankets they received from the Spaniards, but to their utensils 
 for labor, dwellings, or anything that could be of public bene- 
 fit if owned by all instead of one. In planting time they all 
 worked together and sowed the land of all the tribe, beginning 
 with that of the xinesi. Here they planted but a small spot, 
 “in order that he might have something green for his pleas- 
 ure ” — he had no need, as far as subsistence was concerned, 
 for all the tribes contributed to his support. Next they 
 planted the held of the caddis and officers in turn according to 
 rank. The old men came next, and so on down to the young- 
 est. The caddis and officers worked with the rest, but not the 
 xinesi — he did no labor, never going out except to walk or to 
 visit. The women and men did not work together, and none 
 were obliged to labor in the fields who had employment within 
 the house. They would not allow idleness; there was always 
 something to be done, and those who would not perform their 
 
 ‘Fr. Jesus Maria; WipprecM’s translation. 
 
 2 Fray Damian Manzanet’s MS. 
 
THE TEJAS HARBY. 
 
 69 
 
 part were punished. They labored industriously out in their 
 fields as long as the weather was not severe, but when the 
 cold rains fell or the north wind blew they would not venture 
 out of their houses. Yet they were not idle; they sat around 
 the fire employing themselves with handiwork. It was then 
 that they made their bows and arrows, their shoes of buckskin, 
 and the implements which they needed for husbandry. The 
 women made mats out of reeds and leaves, fashioned the red 
 clay into pots and pans, and busied themselves with dressing 
 the skins of the deer and the buffalo hides. 
 
 At certain times of the year they arranged feasts in honor 
 of the great xinesi in remembrance of victories which their 
 ancestors had gained. It was only at these times that all the 
 various tribes of the confederation came together, those under 
 different xinesis mingling in friendship, while their chiefs paid 
 homage to the great xinesi by presenting him with bows and 
 arrows and other things which they considered of special value. 
 For three nights they danced, while their great chief had to 
 see that they, his guests, were well provided with all they 
 desired to eat. During these three days he was believed to be 
 fasting, neither eating nor drinking; nor did he even rest, for 
 he kept moving from place to place, keeping up a kind of tune 
 like that the other Indians sang while they danced. Father 
 Maria says that some superstition was attached to all that, 
 but he could not quite fathom it, nor could he get a lucid 
 explanation from the Indians themselves . 1 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 The Tejas always selected their very oldest man for their 
 priest, and it was he who presented their offerings to God. A 
 part of every article of food was given to the priest before they 
 ate of it themselves. There was a house set aside to be used 
 exclusively for these things. The priest entered here with 
 great veneration, particularly when about to make an offer- 
 ing. This was not done to idols — the Tejas had no “graven 
 images” — but only to that One who, as they said, possessed 
 the power of doing everything and upon whom all things 
 depended — that is, they recognized and understood a Great 
 First Cause . 1 
 
 The people showed the greatest respect to the priests, as did 
 the xinesi and the caddis. Their manner of saying prayers 
 
 1 Fr. Jesus Maria’s report to the Count Galve. 
 
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 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 was by taking a small box of tobacco and throwing a little up 
 into the air, down to the ground, and then on each side of 
 them. Upon sitting down to eat, instead of pronouncing a 
 benediction, the priest took the first mouthful and cast it out 
 of his plate in the form of a cross, “or as if marking the four 
 winds of heaven — north, south, east, and west .” 1 All these 
 tribes believed in one God— in their language, Ayo-Caddi- 
 Aymay. They never spoke of Him in jest, but always said 
 that whatever He did was done well, for He knew all things 
 and was just and would surely punish offenders . 2 
 
 The Tejas Indian believed that when one died the soul went 
 to a place called cayo, meaning “fell to the ground.” Bach 
 soul went to a separate house and waited until all of its kin- 
 dred had come. Then they were gathered together and had to 
 go to a new earth to breed anew. “It was for that reason that 
 they buried their dead with their arms and utensils and car- 
 ried food to the graves that they might eat and have strength 
 to make the journey and be well provided when they reached 
 the new land ” 3 The guardians over the souls, they said, 
 “locked them into their houses with keys as large as oxen.” 
 
 SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 These Indians had numberless superstitions. If a house 
 burned down they said the ground was angry because it had 
 to support the building, and therefore it caused the fire. Then 
 they would not build again upon the same spot. They believed 
 that the hills and trees could be affronted, and so tried in many 
 ways to propitiate them. One belief that was common to all 
 the tribes was that the old men made heaven, fashioning it in 
 the form of a circle, the outline of which was given to them 
 by a woman who was born from an acorn. She then took up 
 her abode in that place, and she it was who daily brought forth 
 the sun and gave birth to the moon and stars, to the rain, the 
 frost and snow, the thunder and lightning. 
 
 If the fire would not burn they said it was annoyed; then 
 they threw into it some of the fat of the buffalo as an offering, 
 and, as a matter of course, it would blaze up. Then they were 
 
 1 Fray Damian Manzanet’s MS. 
 
 2 Fr. Jesus Maria; Wipprecht’s translation. 
 
 3 “ Y otra nacion <Ie gente se llaman ios Tejas, todos lobrados los cuerpos 
 y rostros.” 
 
THE TEJAS HARBY. 
 
 71 
 
 pleased, believing that their propitiatory offering was accepted. 
 When a death occurred they thought that Death was angry, 
 so made himself known and remembered in that manner. 
 Therefore they at once erected a pole and hung offerings upon 
 it in front of the house where the person had died, that Death 
 might become pleased and not kill any more. Every kind of 
 superstition was mixed up in the practice of their physicians; 
 but there was a healthy check to too much charlatanism, for 
 we are told that if too many of a physician’s patients died the 
 people killed him with cudgels. These medicine men cured 
 disease by sucking the place where the pain was, and so draw- 
 ing it out; also by incantations and ceremonies. It is to be 
 remarked that no priest mentions in his writings anything 
 concerning the administering of the various remedies drawn 
 from nature, such as roots and herbs, in which the Indians 
 have always been thought to have excelled. 
 
 They had unwavering faith in dreams. They believed that 
 whirlwinds were caused by the spirit of evil, and would pros- 
 trate themselves before it and pray. They thought and did 
 the same about meteors; indeed, they considered that all 
 things could be influenced by entreaties — so they solicited the 
 deer and buffalo that they should allow themselves to be slain ; 
 the maize, that it would grow and let itself be eaten ; the air, 
 that it would be pleasant and healthful . 1 
 
 When a father or mother was very ill they drowned the 
 youngest child as a propitiatory sacrifice . 2 
 
 CUSTOMS. 
 
 When a prominent man died among the Tejas many ceremo- 
 nies were performed, two Indians being elected to serve as 
 priests. Into the coffin they put bows and arrows, tobacco, 
 and “ some of the herb called acoxio.” The priests, entirely 
 nude, passed around and around the coffin, continually moving 
 the contents from place to place, while they talked to them- 
 selves softly, as if praying. Then they went to the place of 
 interment, which was always near the dead man’s house. 
 There they talked again to themselves, making a stroke with 
 an ax at the spot where the head of the corpse was to rest and 
 
 1 Fr. Jesus de Maria’s MS. 
 
 s Revillagigedo ; see Apnntes para la historia antigua de Coahuila y 
 Texas. 
 
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 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 another stroke at the foot. Then the grave was dug, while the 
 two returned to the house and gave directions about having 
 the body placed in the coffin. This, we are told, was, in the case 
 of the xinesi, as “ big as an ox cart.” They spoke to the corpse 
 as if it were alive, retiring presently to “talk to God.” Soon 
 they returned and told the body what they had said and God 
 had replied. At this juncture an old man came forth and stood 
 in the midst of the people, carrying the largest weapon he could 
 find. He lamented the death of the man, telling the tribe how 
 much they had lost, what a fine warrior he had been, and how 
 many buffalo he had killed, how vigorously he had ever worked. 
 He admonished them to weep for him and show that they felt 
 their bereavement. Then he sat close to the dead and spoke 
 to him, telling him that they all loved him very much; that he 
 must go away comforted and take with him the ax and utensils 
 they had put in his coffin. Then the body was carried away, 
 the men running before it as fast as they could, shooting arrows 
 in the air to announce to the other departed souls that this one 
 was coming. All the buffalo robes and skins of the deceased 
 were laid in the grave and the coffin placed on top of them; 
 then two priests closed the grave, speaking all the time in a 
 low tone. All went home after that, but returned at once with 
 some of whatever was best that they had to eat. This they put 
 upon the grave, with tobacco and fire; then placing a pot of 
 water there they went back to their houses to feast. 
 
 Such were the ceremonies they performed when one of their 
 chiefs died. If it was a common person they had less pomp, 
 but if it was a xinesi they would not bury him for two days, 
 for all the tribes over which he ruled must perform the cere- 
 monies. After he was interred they placed before the door of 
 his house a figure of the world, represented by an upright pole 
 upon which was fastened a large globe of fine grass. “Upon 
 that globe they put the moon, represented by large sticks 
 formed in that shape .” 1 
 
 When an Indian killed a deer he saved the head for luck. If 
 the owner died at the end of a year or before, the relations 
 went out at night crying and singing sad songs. Behind them 
 all walked an old woman carrying the head of the deer. This 
 she placed on a pyre upon the top of some arrows. Around this 
 they passed all night long, the old woman crying, the rest 
 
 1 Fr. Jesus Maria; Wipprecht’s translation. 
 
THE TEJAS HARBY. 
 
 73 
 
 singing and dancing. By dawn it was all reduced to ashes, and 
 in this way was buried the memory of the dead . 1 
 
 Whenever their relatives died the women screamed and cried, 
 relating their virtues and great deeds. They painted their 
 faces at that time to represent a skull, and when they could 
 cry no longer they painted tear drops upon their cheeks . 1 
 
 They believed that if they saw their relatives die they would 
 die too; so they kept away from the very sick, and sometimes 
 even buried them before the breath had quite left their body.' 
 
 Their marriage customs were very peculiar; some tribes 
 mated with but one woman, while there were others who prac- 
 ticed polygamy irrespective of consanguinity . 2 If a man fancied 
 a woman whom he knew to be a maiden, he would take to her 
 some of the best things he had. If her parents allowed her to 
 accept the gift, this was an assent to the marriage, but he could 
 not take her along with him until the caddi was first informed. 
 If the woman was not a maiden, all that was necessary was for 
 
 themantosay, “Will you be my friend? Iwillgiveyou ;” 
 
 whatever he desired to offer. If his offer pleased her, she went 
 with him. Sometimes the agreement was made only for a few 
 days, sometimes it was stated it was to last forever. “But 
 they never kept their word ,” 3 nor were there any penalties 
 attached to unfaithfulness. If a woman found a man who in 
 her opinion would give her more than the other, she would take 
 up with him. They did not consider this a disgrace, for one 
 was no more bound than the other. It was all a matter of 
 arrangement; they did not fight or quarrel oyer it, but they 
 met and talked the thing over between themselves. The 
 woman would say, “It is true that you gave me all that, but it 
 is as nothing to all this other man will give me.” She would 
 tell the first man to “have patience; go off and find something 
 else to give me and win me back, or else be comforted; find 
 some other woman who will take you.” 
 
 There were but few men who had not been thus treated. 
 The father remarks : 
 
 There are many similar things which make one laugh, and yet in another 
 way fill one with pity and compassion. But there is one thing 1 much 
 
 1 Revillagigedo ; see Apuntes para la historia antigua de Coahuila y 
 Texas. 
 
 -Martinez; see Apuntes para la historia antigua de Coahuila y Texas. 
 
 3 Fr. Jesus Maria; Wipprecht’s translation. 
 
74 
 
 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 aj)preciate — they never take more than one wife at the same time — that is, 
 they never bring the second home where the first will see her and know 
 of it. If she should discover that he is living with some other, she will 
 have the honor to go away and leave him to her, finding for herself some 
 other husband . 1 
 
 The Tejas did not take care of their maidens; indeed, they 
 did not seem to care whether they were maidens or not, and at 
 last when they came to be married they would leave one man 
 and take up with another as they felt inclined . 2 The women 
 were not at all ashamed of their lewdness; indeed, they boasted 
 of their adventures. 
 
 In the xinesi and caddi families and those of the officers there 
 was seldom anything of this, because no one dared to give the 
 two first named an affront, as it was punishable with death, 
 and the officers, who were accounted nobility, tried to imitate 
 their superiors, and so set a good example to the rest of the 
 tribe . 3 The wives of the xinesi and caddis were called by one 
 common name — -Aquidau. That marked their station imrnedi 
 ately, for all the other women had each her individual name. 
 
 When a child was born the father went to bed for five or 
 six days, abstaining from eating meat or fish for fear that the 
 animals would be offended at the birth and not allow them- 
 selves to be caught. At the end of that time one of the 
 priests took them by the hand, and that ended the fast . 2 The 
 women were sometimes guilty of great cruelty, for they would 
 kill their babies at birth if they thought their husbands did 
 not wish them to have any. They had been known, too, to set 
 fire to a house 'and burn up their children in it, saying that 
 they were of no good . 1 
 
 Both sexes were fond of all ornaments. They wore little 
 white beads made of bone, rattles of snakes, and hoofs of deer, 
 all made into strings and fastened to their leathern garments 
 so as to make a noise, which was their delight, especially of 
 the women. These last painted themselves also over the 
 shoulders and back, “in many drawings, particularly their 
 breasts, of which they took great care.” The men wore many 
 
 1 Fr. Jesus Maria; Wippreclit’s translation. 
 
 2 Revillagigedo ; see Apuntes para la historia antigua de Coalruila y 
 Texas. 
 
 3 Fr. Jesus Maria’s report to the Count Halve 
 
THE TEJAS HARBY. 
 
 75 
 
 flue feathers, and were proud of their nice long hair, which 
 they wore spread over their shoulders and “nicely combed.” 
 Those who did not possess fine heads of hair scraped their 
 scalps in the manner of a tonsure, leaving a long lock of hair 
 in the middle, reaching to the waist. They used shells for 
 this purpose, taking great care to rid themselves of their 
 beard and eyebrows. 
 
 They had a peculiar fondness for bells, also for all iron in- 
 struments, especially knives, axes, and hoes, for, as they were 
 housebuilders and planted for a subsistence, they set great 
 store by all which might lighten labor. 
 
 These Indians were expert hunters, but could not support 
 themselves by small game alone; so at certain times the whole 
 Tejas nation joined together for great buffalo hunts. The 
 nearest place for finding this animal “was about four days’ 
 traveling.” They combined for this purpose, as the great 
 danger of these hunts consisted in the probability of the hunt- 
 ers being attacked by their enemies, the “wild tribes,” of whom 
 Father Jesus Maria gives a partial list. Of buffalo meat the 
 Indians made two dishes only, one boiled, the other roasted, 
 “which they ate without broth.” Their plates were round 
 earthen pans and small baskets woven of reeds, and where 
 none of these grew they made their baskets from the leaves of 
 the various trees. While eating they sat upon benches fash- 
 ioned from a single piece of wood and not very high; “they sat 
 with one knee lifted up,” using their hands for spoons, which 
 they would wipe upon anything which was in reach — their 
 clothes, some grass, on leaves, even on their own feet — “ yet 
 liked well to lick their spoon, for of such use they made the 
 two first fingers of their right hand.” 1 
 
 The acorns of different kinds of oaks they used as they 
 would corn, crushing them into meal and of that making their 
 bread. They planted two kinds of maize — one that matured in 
 six weeks and the other in three months. They raised also 
 “very good pumpkins, watermelons, and turnsoles.” They 
 utilized the seeds of all these, mixing them with their corn, 
 grinding them all up, and thus making “very good tamales.” 
 They planted several different kinds of beans, and used a kind 
 of seed which was fine like he seeds of the cabbage; this they 
 ground up with maize and ate dry, as a powder, “first see- 
 
 'Fr. Jesus Maria; Wipprecht’s translation. 
 
76 
 
 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 ing tliat they had water near at hand, as it had a habit of 
 sticking in the throat.” 1 
 
 It is to be remarked that in spite of telling ns all that they 
 do about the planting by the Indians of the Tejas, what they 
 raised, and speaking of their implements, the priests never 
 mention that they used irrigation. We know that there are 
 still the remains of old aqueducts, irrigating ditches, and such 
 improvements, to show that those who planted in the region 
 of the San Antonio River knew of and used this method of 
 cultivation; but we must conclude that they were introduced 
 by the fathers at a later period — say subsequent to 1700 — and 
 that, whereas the Pueblo Indians of Isleta depended upon this 
 process of fertilization, the Tejas Indians, living farther east, 
 had better seasons and a surer rainfall, therefore did not find 
 it necessary to irrigate. It was left to the priests to teach 
 them the way in which to make a certainty of good crops, even 
 as they taught them to raise sheep and to spin their wool into 
 clothing and blankets. 
 
 When an Indian coming from a distance arrived at the 
 houses of any of these friendly tribes, he was an honored 
 guest. The visitor never had to ask for anything to eat, for 
 it was the custom that all which the host had should be 
 brought out for the guest. When they helped themselves to 
 food they seemed determined to consume all which they had 
 taken, eating slowly, singing, whistling, and talking while at 
 their meals. Those who ate all that was placed before them 
 by the host they considered as braggarts, while they ridiculed 
 those who ate little, “but they abhorred those who ate until 
 they were nauseated.” 1 
 
 Nothing was given to a guest before a meal, but afterwards 
 all the requisites for smoking were supplied. Of everything 
 served at a meal a portion was first reserved for the caddi. 
 If the host held that office, he invited the whole village to do 
 honor to his guest and a grand feast began. The caddi first 
 threw some of the food into the air, to the ground, and then 
 on each side of him. Then he went, all by himself, to the 
 elevated place in the corner of his house, and while the others 
 formed a dance he talked, first to the corn, that it should 
 allow itself to be eaten ; then in the same way to each dish 
 successively which formed the feast. Then he entreated the 
 
 Fr. Jesus Maria; Wippreclit’s translation. 
 
THE TEJAS HARBY. 
 
 77 
 
 snakes that they would not bite, and tlie deer that they would 
 not kill the snakes. Next he consecrated to God the whole 
 harvest of that house, and finished with announcing that God 
 said they should eat, or that they would all die of hunger. 
 Then the feast began, “and they filled themselves to loathing, 
 for in such a way of stuffing did their feasting always end.” 1 
 
 The Tejas Indians paid especial reverence to age, and every- 
 thing was regulated with respect to it. The young were not 
 allowed to speak in the presence of the old without receiving 
 permission, nor were they permitted to seat themselves unless 
 invited to do so, and if they violated this rule the elders chas- 
 tised them with their own hands. 
 
 The punishments which were inflicted upon offenders con- 
 sisted of public whippings, according to the crime. If it was 
 for murder, they gave the culprit so many blows that he lost 
 consciousness, and did not generally recover. If he had killed 
 a caddi, one of his family or relatives, or had placed a personal 
 affront or injury upon him or his, the criminal received the judi- 
 cial degree of capital punishment. This, the priest remarks, he 
 had never witnessed, but that al'l knew and spoke of it, even 
 the children . 2 
 
 These tribes, like all of their race, were cruel in war, but not 
 more so than those who were at enmity with this nation of 
 “friends.” Father Maria chronicles that “their captives were 
 put to death by tying their feet and hands to a post in the form 
 of a cross; there they were torn to pieces, the blood being- 
 drunk and the flesh, half roasted, being devoured . 1 
 
 All the men who performed some great and heroic feat in war 
 were called, besides their names, Amay-oxya — that is, “Great 
 man.” They carried for their banners the skins and scalps of 
 the men they had killed, while all the skulls of their dead 
 enemies were hung up on trees near the house of the Great 
 Xinesi. 
 
 When they had determined to go to war, they assembled six 
 or seven days beforehand to have their war dance and feast. 
 In front of the dancers a pole was erected upon which was hung 
 whatever they were going to sacrifice to their god. They 
 offered up to him meat, corn, tobacco, bows, arrows, and fat 
 from the heart of the buffalo, praying to him for the death of 
 
 1 Fr. Jesus Maria; Wippreclit’s translation. 
 
 2 Fr. Jesus Maria’s report to the Count Galve. 
 
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 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 their enemies, for strength to fight, fleetness to run, and valor 
 to resist. In front of the pole a fire burned, and near by sat an 
 Indian, paiuted to represent a demon. They painted them- 
 selves, they said, so that their enemies could not recognize 
 them, and they had the same habit when they paid a visit to 
 distant tribes, or received them in turn. The demon who sat 
 by the fire threw the sacrifices into the flames, while the men 
 sat around smoking and rubbing their bodies with handfuls of 
 grease, making their supplications. Every prayer was for vic- 
 tory and vengeance; they asked the water to rise and drown 
 their enemies, the fires to spread and burn them, their arrows 
 to kill them, and of the wind that it would blow all hostile 
 arrows aside. Upon the last day of such a meeting the caddis 
 would come forward and make a speech to the tribes in some 
 such way as this : 
 
 “Well, then, men, if ye are such, it is not necessary to remind 
 ye of your women, your fathers, and sons; but I charge ye 
 here assembled not to allow them to be a hindrance to your 
 victory.” 1 2 
 
 Their clothing consisted of a mere waist draping of deer- 
 skin or buffalo hide. The women used the first, the men the 
 last, “so they might distinguish the sexes.” a During the 
 summer the men went naked about their houses, but the women, 
 however young, were always covered from the waist down. At 
 festive times they did not lack for ornaments, such as collars, 
 necklaces, and amulets, “which resembled those the Aztecs 
 wore, with this difference, that the Tejas Indians knew noth- 
 ing of gold or silver.” 3 In those days — 1692 — they had ac- 
 quired many things from the Spaniards and French, such as 
 little bells, glass beads, and other like trinkets. At their feasts 
 some of the men seemed to take a pride in the fine manner in 
 which they attired themselves, but most of them endeavored 
 to resemble demons, even ornamenting their heads with the 
 horns of deer, and painting themselves in the most ridiculous 
 and hideous way. They soon learned from the Spaniards to 
 set great store by wearing apparel made out of wool, especially 
 of a blue color, “ because it was the color of heaven,” says 
 Father Jesus Maria, but Fray Damian Manzanet, writing some 
 
 1 Fr. Jesus Maria’s report to tlie Count Galve. 
 
 2 Revillagigedo ; see Apuntes para la historia antigua de Coahuila y 
 Texas. 
 
 3 Wipprecht’s translation, State library, Austin, Tex. 
 
THE TEJAS HARBY. 
 
 79 
 
 years previously, remarks upon the same peculiarity, and says 
 that tlie clxief of the Tejas told him that it was because this 
 was the color worn by the beautiful woman who taught them 
 long years before — Mother Maria de Jesus Agreda. 
 
 In Manzanet’s report to Don Carlos de Siguenda he gives a 
 detailed account of the house of the chief of all the Tejas, evi- 
 dently the great xiuesi, with whom Father Maria was brought 
 into such close contact a couple of years later. 
 
 The house was made of posts and grass and was about 20 
 varas high. It was circular and without windows, getting no 
 light but that which entered through the door, which was 
 “ like that of a room in our own country,” In the center there 
 burned a fire which was never extinguished, day or night. 
 Around one-half of the room there were ten beds. These 
 consisted of a rug woven of palm leaves stretched between 
 four posts. Upon this rug were spread hides of the buffalo. 
 Above the upper end of the bed, tied to the foot end, was sus- 
 pended another rug of palm, formed like an arch and lined 
 with a line kind of mat and painted. It served as a pleasant 
 sleeping apartment. Along the other half of the house there 
 were shelves about two varas high, and above these were 
 placed baskets of palm, round and very large, in which they 
 kept corn, nuts, acorns, and beans. There was also a row of 
 very large, round, earthenware pots made of clay. These were 
 used only for atole — Indian corn gruel — when there was a 
 feast and many people assembled. They kept there, also, six 
 wooden mortars for grinding corn when it rained, for when 
 the weather was fine they ground it without the house, in the 
 courtyard. They had benches of wood, u nicely fashioned,” 
 to sit upon, and one was placed immediately in front of the 
 lire, but no man was allowed to occupy this save the great 
 xinesi himself. Outside of the courtyard, in front of its 
 entrance, was another large house which was unoccupied until 
 a council of the chiefs of the leagues— or xinesis — was called ; 
 then it was there they were lodged. There was still another 
 house, but smaller, in which the pages slept, for it was a rule 
 that when a council was called each chief must take with 
 him his page, and they were lodged in that house in the suc- 
 cession in which they arrived, each man being given as a bed 
 a mat of palm, rudely painted, with a sack of palm, also fully 
 painted, for his pillow. When the council was dismissed the 
 pages went home, taking with them the mats and pillows as 
 
80 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 gifts. All tlie time that they and their masters remained in 
 that place they were the guests of the great xinesi and fed 
 at his expense. 
 
 There was a house used solely for these council meetings, 
 and no one could enter it sa\ e on such occasions and as a 
 councilor. A great deception was practiced here upon the 
 under chiefs in this way. The great xinesi pretended that 
 he received advice direct from God, given him through two 
 little children who were said to live in the council house but 
 were never seen by any but himself. He averred that they 
 were sent to him from Heaven, and that through them he con- 
 versed with God. The chiefs heard this with awe, and thus 
 he insured unhesitating compliance with his orders. When 
 he desired to make public the utterances of the children he 
 called his chiefs to the council house, where in an elevated 
 and inclosed place about the size of two square yards the 
 children were supposed to be. On each side of this place were 
 chests, woven of reeds, in which the offerings made to the 
 children were laid; but when the great xinesi thought that 
 the tribes had not been sufficiently generous he would strike 
 the chest and say the children would not speak until they 
 were given more. 
 
 About the lire in the middle of the council chamber sat many 
 priests, who kept the dame ever burning. When everyone was 
 seated, the great xinesi drew out from the fire some coals, 
 upon which he threw the heart of a buffalo and some tobacco, 
 as an offering to the children. As soon as he was through 
 with these offerings he covered up the fire and closed the door 
 so that no light could be seen. Then the people without the 
 house began to sing and dance, and those within were silent, 
 listening for the voice. Then the xinesi called in his own 
 voice to the children, begging them to speak to God and say 
 that all in Aseuey were going to lead new lives and endeavor 
 to be good, therefore please to make the maize grow, to render 
 their footsteps fieet, to give them health and strength, and to 
 send them many women “for their use.” All this time he held 
 in his hands a small pumpkin; this was supposed to speak if 
 God was pleased. When it was silent the chiefs became 
 alarmed and promised many gifts from their tribes to the chil- 
 dren and the great xinesi. Then he would roll the pumpkin 
 upon the floor and plead with the children, repeating the 
 promises. Soon the pumpkin began making a noise and a 
 
THE TEJAS HARBY. 
 
 81 
 
 child’s voice was heard saying that God was satisfied, but 
 would punish them if they broke their word. Then the voice 
 told them all that they should do, and the great xinesi sent 
 them oft in search of the things which they had promised, 
 while the voice warned them to do all that they had said. 
 The men would go out very much frightened, “ hastening away, 
 while each one made a cry like a goat when he is breaking out 
 of an inclosure.” The great xinesi remained, stirring the fire 
 until all had gone; then he too came out and went to his own 
 house, about a hundred steps away. No one was ever per- 
 mitted to see these children, and all were told that it was death 
 to whomsoever should enter that house and attempt to behold 
 them. 
 
 “I have not yet been able to find out what it all means,” 
 comments the father, and then goes on to dilate upon the 
 trickery that was practiced. Evidently some of the Indians 
 were first-class ventriloquists. 
 
 Every eight days ten Indian women had to enter the service 
 of the great chief. These arrived each morning at daybreak, 
 laden with firewood; they swept the courtyard, carried in 
 water, ground the corn for tamales and pinole; they attended 
 to all that was needed, and every night each one went back to 
 her own home to sleep. 
 
 For “lunch” the xinesi had tamales, “made in their own 
 particular way;” nuts, pinole of corn, “very nicely prepared;” 
 and a large earthen pan of corn, ground nuts, and beans all 
 cooked together. For “ supper” he was served with tamales, 
 cooked beans, and ground nuts. Dinner is mentioned by this 
 priestly chronicler many times, but he gives no bill of fare. 
 
 It surprises one to learn how highly the priests thought of 
 these Indians. Father Maria said that it would be easy to 
 evangelize them, because they were so docile “ and rather 
 advanced in a kind of civilization;” their language was so 
 easily learned, and they could be won over by gifts without 
 any trouble, for they were much influenced by generosity, 
 the mean man being “bad” and the generous one “good” in 
 their estimation. They were especially tractable and court- 
 eous, inoffensive, and obedient, endeavoring to break no laws. 
 “They went to war with their enemies, yet cultivated their 
 fields, and would not abandon their country nor their houses.” 
 During sickness they were particularly good to each other, 
 
 H. Mis. 91 6 
 
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 visiting one another and helping in many ways, besides taking 
 the sick something good to eat. 
 
 Father Damian Manzauet distinctly says “that at no time 
 was it necessary to send to the Tejas any soldiers for the safety 
 of the priests; for from the day that the holy fathers first came 
 among them they did everything they could for their welfare, 
 receiving them with unbounded love and kindness.” That 
 other feelings arose, was alas, too true; but that was plainly the 
 fault of the Spanish soldiery, who abused the kindly natives, 
 interfered with their wives, and made themselves generally 
 obnoxious. Then jealousies developed between the military 
 and the clergy, and as a consequence the innocent Tejas Indian 
 suffered. 
 
 While the Aztec and Pueblo Indians have been fully studied 
 and diffusely discoursed upon by many writers, this record of 
 the Tejas nation and its customs is, I believe, the very first 
 which has ever been put into a connected narrative. That its 
 people will compare favorably with the Aztecs in their form 
 of government and with the Pueblos in their industry will be 
 shown, I think, by even this necessarily restricted relation. 
 

 
 
 
 
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