Tucson also welcomed the missionary, and the Indians there built a hut for him to stay in whenever he should visit them. Garce's report stated that the "adobe church" at Bac was capacious but that it was poorly equipped with furniture and vestments. (Snell, 1919, 69)

President Mariano Antonio Buena y Alcalde took charge at San Pedro y San Pablo de Tubutama at the beginning of Franciscan occupation. Jose del Rio succeeded Buena during the same year. (Santa Teresa was the visita.) Jose Soler was the first Franciscan at San Francisco Ati with San Antonio Oquitoa as visita. Juan Diaz was assigned to La Purisima Concepcion de Caborca with San Antonio Pitic and Nuestra Senora del Populo (or San Juan) Bisanic as visitas.

Bancroft does not list any missionary for Dolores de Saric until 1783 when Florencio Ibanez took charge. San Jose Aquimuri was the visita, Arizona and Bisanic having been abandoned in 1766 on account of savage raids. Aquimuri was abandoned before 1784.

Antonio de los Reyes went to Cucurpe. (For list of missionaries, 1768-1800, see Bancroft, North. Mex. States, 1883, I, 689-91.

Other missionaries who came to Pimeria Alta in 1768 may have been Juan Sarobe, Estevan Salazar (at Tubutama 1769-1771), Jose Maria Espinosa, Juan Zuniga, and Felipe Guillen. (Engelhardt, 1899, 31.)

The raids of Seris, Apaches, and other wild tribes caused depletion of population from 1,315 Spaniards in 1763 to 178 in 1769. Elizondo was sent against the Seris with a thousand men in 1768. This campaign was not a success. Jose de Galvez came to Sonora in May, 1769. Still the Seris were not subdued.

Tumacacori was attacked by Apaches who burned the church.

While Father Gil was absent from Guebavi, the Apaches attacked and sacked the mission buildings and killed all but two of the little band of soldiers that was guarding it. Gill was substituting for Garces, who was suffering from sun stroke acquired on his recent missionary journey. Later in the year, some of the buildings were destroyed at San Xavier del Bac. They were quickly repaired under Garces' direction. (Robinson, 1919, 62-3.)

The Indians of Tucson, having suffered from repeated Apache raids, threatened to vacate it. This would have removed the buffer to San Xavier del Bac and the missions and visitas to the south, and the government intended to prevent it. Garcdes asked that a mission be established at San Agustin de Tucson.

He passed the junction without knowing it, crossing the Colorado when he thought he was crossing the Gila. He got as far as the vicinity of Dixieland in Imperial County, California, September 29. Thus Garces was the first white man to cross the Colorado Desert. (Bolton, 1917, 325-330.) He opened up the way for the Anza expedition of 1774.

Afterwards the Apaches threatened San Xavier and drove away horses, cattle and sheep, killing two boys.

He recommended that the Tubac presidio be moved to the Gila, that the Terrenate presidio be moved farther north on the San Pedro River so that the Sobaipuris could return to their pueblos. This would bring war into the Apache country and prevent these savages from destroying the Pimeria.

Summing up, Garces that missionaries be sent to the following places: Santa Cruz on the San Pedro River, Tucson, San Marcelo de Sonoita, Ati, Aquitum, (a total of three in the Papagueria.) Four missionaries should be sent to the Gila River and many others could be sent to the Cocomaricopas, the Opas, and the Yumas, "and this does not present insuperable difficulties, it requires only a presidio, but a large one on the Azul River, or (on the) Colorado River well upstream." In this way the Moqui and the Apache could be reduced and communication could be established between New Mexico and Pimeria "and between these and Monterey."

October 21, Garces got back to Sonoita and five days later was at Coborca. The experience of Garces on this journey was fruitful in arousing interest in the possibility of opening communication between Sonora and California and led to the Anza expeditions of 1774 and 1775.

The missionaries ruled in civil and political matters through headmen and other officials who were elected annually by the Indians in the presence of the missionary. These Indian officials saw that the land was cultivated and the cattle taken care of. (See Engelhardt, 1899, 70, for details)

For the most part of the churches as well as the other buildings at the missions were constructed of adobe and roofed with timber, grass, and earth. The Indian huts were constructed of boughs. Sometimes, in order to please the fathers, the natives would build there dwellings of adobe, roofed with thatch.

Reyes also described the appearance of the Indians, their manners, dress, customs, etc.

Engelhardt translates part of that portion of Reyes' report which concerned the local missions in Pimeria Alta. (Engelhardt, 1899, 72-77)

At San Xavier there was a fairly capacious adobe church with 170 parishioners who cultivated wheat and corn and raised some cattle. At San Jose del Tucson, there were about 200 heads of families, with no church building.

The church at Guebavi was well furnished. There were about 86 Indians who did some cultivation of the soil. At San Cayetano de Calabasas there was neither church nor house for the visiting priest. Only sixty-four remained faithful to the missionary. There was a church and a house at San Ignacio de Sonoita, but both were devoid of furnishings. Ninety-four Indians lived there. There were 93 souls at Tumacacori, but like Sonoita the church and house had no furnishings. The church and buildings having been destroyed by Apaches in 1768, the missionary lived at Cocospera. The whole population was not more than 110 in number. After making some attempts to re-occupy Suamca, the place was finally abandoned. Engelhardt (1899, p. 183) says that Suamca was probably never rebuilt. (Query: Was the presidio later established at Santa Cruz on the same site as the old mission of Santa Maria de Suamca? Descriptions made by members of the boundary commission and emigrants of 1844 and the early 50's, speak of the old church at Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz seems to have had more than one location before being established at the present site.)

There were 148 souls at San Ignacio. Wheat, corn and beans were cultivated. The church had three altars and was well furnished. The church and house at Imuris were almost in ruins and were poorly furnished. Only 39 people lived there. The church at Santa Magdalena was large but in a ruinous condition. Eight-six Indians formed the community.

Tubutama was comparatively prosperous. The house was neat and capacious, and a garden furnished some of the needed produce. The church was well supplied with the necessary articles for the divine service. There were 176 souls. Santa Teresa had a little church, devoid of ornaments, and a population of only 52.

There were 634 Indians at Caborca, the most prosperous of all the missions in 1772. Cotton, beans, corn, and wheat were raised on the fertile bottom lands of the Altar River. The house and garden of the missionary were ample and well supplied. The church and sacristy were well kept up. At San Antonio del Pitiquin were 360 people with no church. San Juan del Bisanic possessed an unfurnished church and house for 271 Indians. They got most of their food from fishing in the gulf.

At Nuestra Senora de los Dolores del Saric there was a well furnished church for a population of 137.

San Francisco de Ati had a small unadorned chapel. The soil was good, but the 137 Indians did little to cultivate it. San Antonio de Uquitoa had neither church nor house for the visiting missionary. There were 106 Indians.

Tubac was a small military post with less then 50 soldiers.

Father Baltazar Arrillo succeeded Gil de Bernave at Guebavi. Father Gil became president of the Pimeria Alta missions, succeeding Buena y Alcalda who died and was buried at Ures. Gil was sent to found the new mission of Carrizal among the rebellious Seris. He suffered martyrdom March 7, 1773, the first of the Franciscans to be put to death in the Pimeria. (Englehardt, 1899, 61-66)

The Viceroy, the Marquis de Rubi, recommended in a "Dictamen" the establishment of new presidios in the north. In the autumn the "Reglamiento" embodying these recommendations was promulgated. They were never put into effect and Garces made complaint that the local authorities were not acting.

Garces continually insisted the presidios should be so placed as to be complete barriers to the Apaches and so as to open communication with New Mexico.

Father Francisco Garces suffered martyrdom at the hands of the Yuma Indians. The other three fathers were also killed, together with the Spanish colonists. The destruction of these missions and settlements meant the abandonment of the Sonora-California overland route by 1783. Chapman blames Teodoro de Croix's policies for the result. (Opus cit: 391-400)

In the late autumn the new appointed governor to Oregon territory passed this way.

Pete Kitchen established his ranch north of Nogales. He successfully withstood continued Apache raids.