Palaces of the Desert 273 



pear more like the sections of some great reser- 

 voir, or some of the buildings still seen about 

 Rome, and were of the most ponderous nature. 

 Even the granary of the second mission is a 

 massive structure, resembling a fort more than 

 a mere storehouse, and, doubtless, it was in- 

 tended as a fortress where the friars could make 

 a stand if necessary against the Indians. The 

 third mission of San Antonio is of a simple type, 

 a long building, with three bells, built in a 

 most primitive fashion. Singularly enough, the 

 fourth mission is the least attractive, and pre- 

 sents the appearance of a ruin. There were 

 five missions on the San Antonio Eiver within 

 fifteen miles. Morfi refers to Purissima Concep- 

 cion as being "very beautiful," and San Jose", 

 he states, " was the finest building in New Spain 

 at that time." The latter was a fortified temple 

 and had a large plaza six hundred feet square, 

 surrounded by tall walls, each face having a 

 gateway over which was a bastion, while the 

 walls were pierced with loopholes for the mus- 

 keteers. Morfi describes this building as hav- 

 ing three vaulted aisles topped with a fine cupola. 

 The ornamentation was rich and beautiful; the 

 house of the friars commodious, containing a 

 fine polished stairway of stone, at the head of 

 which was an image of St. Joseph. In the mis- 

 sion was a well-equipped armory, provided with 

 weapons necessary to repel any invasion. The 



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