276 Recreations of a Sportsman 



ing the contrast is remarkable, and doubtless 

 awe-inspiring to the Papagos. A mass of gilt, 

 fresco, and carving greets the eye altogether in- 

 consistent with the squalid appearance of the 

 Papago town and the desert beyond. Such a 

 structure in the natural order of events should 

 have a large subsidiary country to draw 7 upon, 

 but San Xavier stands alone, the little Indian 

 town having the most interesting mission church 

 in America. The arches of the church are ex- 

 tremely beautiful, the bases bearing statues of 

 the twelve apostles. The principal altar there 

 are several is dedicated to San Xavier, and 

 bears many ornaments and small statues of 

 saints, the Virgin, and representations of the 

 Holy Family. 



These quaint ruins are all that is left to tell 

 the story of successive French and Spanish in- 

 vasions of Texas and Arizona. They tell of the 

 rise and fall of the Spaniards, but also suggest 

 the failure to sustain the series of supreme ef- 

 forts to conquer and civilize the natives of the 

 vast region, of which the Apaches were the most 

 dreaded. In 1729 or 1730, the latter, to the 

 number of five hundred, appeared at San An- 

 tonio and challenged the Spaniards to battle, 

 but were ultimately defeated; yet they continued 

 their depredations, and made life very uncertain. 

 So aggressive were the natives in 1731 that the 

 friars moved the three missions Francisco, Con- 



