Explorers and Settlers of Spanish Texas by Donald Eugene Chipman & Harriett Denise Joseph

Author:Donald Eugene Chipman & Harriett Denise Joseph [Donald E. Chipman]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Published: 2001-04-08T04:00:00+00:00

Felipe de Rábago checks for signs of Indians (DRAWING BY JACK JACKSON)

At this moment, however, it was Rábago and his men who paid a high price for being friends with the Lipans. In five years, don Felipe spent more than twelve thousand pesos (dollars) on supplies, clothing, and livestock for the presidio. To make matters worse, the Comanches and their allies robbed about half of the supply trains. These natives also attacked Presidio de San Sabá, with some of the attacks lasting for two months. When Rábago asked Mexico City for help, his pleas were denied, because the viceroy was angry with don Felipe for founding the El Cañón missions without his permission.

In the spring of 1769, the presidio at San Sabá was under almost constant threat of attack by Comanches. The soldiers and their families dared not leave the fort to plant crops. Lack of healthful foods caused the residents to suffer terribly from a disease called scurvy. Rábago himself was covered with sores and had failing health.

The sickly captain also faced discontent from his soldiers. He became so desperate that he abandoned his post and relocated it at the site of Mission San Lorenzo. When the viceroy learned of this move, made without his permission, he ordered don Felipe back to San Sabá. The commander refused. Instead, he traveled to Coahuila, probably to buy supplies for his troops and the others stationed at the mission.

In April 1769, Felipe de Rábago learned that the viceroy had replaced him as commander at San Sabá. Don Felipe set out for Mexico City. He hoped to be repaid for the money he had spent supporting the presidio at San Sabá for nine years. The captain never completed his journey. Still in his mid-forties, Rábago died at San Luis Potosí in 1769.

The life of Felipe de Rábago is hardly the tale of a good man. His evil conduct at San Xavier corrupted his command and created tensions. That he personally ordered Ceballos and Ganzabal to be killed is unlikely. That he played a role, perhaps a serious one, in those events is possible. He probably complained about “meddling priests” and “that damned Ceballos.” Maybe his soldiers carried out the unspoken wishes of their captain on the night of the murders. Guilty or not, don Felipe spent eight years under suspicion and in disgrace. He apparently realized the error of his ways, and he emerged from that experience a changed man.

When given a second chance, Rábago attempted to correct his ways. In his command at San Sabá, don Felipe revealed a good heart but bad judgment. Even his enemies, the Franciscans, could find little wrong with his personal sacrifices and devotion to the Lipan Apaches. Is it not in the nature of priests to forgive those who repent? Perhaps in the end, Felipe de Rábago deserves sympathy for trying so hard to do good works and make up for his earlier sins.

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