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Volume 4 (1859-1860) (600 pages)
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Page: of 600
504 HUTCHINGS’ CALIFORNIA MAGAZINE,
FRAGMENTARY MEMORIALS
OF FATHER KINO AND THE INDIANS OF 80NORA AND CALIFORNIA.
BY J. H. S.
The Indians of Sonora have been the
subjects of antiquarian research among
the savans of America and Europe for
the last three hundred years; but the
few facts gathered by casual travelers,
priests and writers, are simply suggestive, and only furnish the basis on which
to found more diligent investigations by
educated men, who will now shortly be
brought into more immediate contact
with the inhabitants and resources of
that remote and little known portion of
the States of North America.
The northern part of Sonora and the
northern regions of Ante-American California, appear to have been the ancient
seat of empire and power of that race of
Indians who afterwards established themselves in the valley of the city of Mexico;
from thence they extended themselves
east to the Gulf of Mexico, south and
south-east to Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and Yucatan, and west to the countries lying on the Pacific ocean, comprehended within the present States of Oaxaco, Michoacan and Jalisco.
The primary accounts of the first mentioned countries appeared in the travels
of Cabeza de Vaca, in 1540—the second
in those of de Niza—the third by Coronado—the fourth in the works of the
Jesuit, Padre de Ribas, in 1645—but the
most full of all are from the manuscripts
of the celebrated Catholic missionary,
Eusebio Francisco Kuhn or Kino, whose
account is largely quoted in the laborious
and excellent work of Venegas on the
History of California, published at Madrid in 1757.
Eusebio Francisco Kuhn, or, as the
Californians and Sonoranians call him,
Kino, appears to have been a German by
birth. He studied philosophy and mathematics at the University of Ingoldstadt,
in the old Electorate of Bavaria, under
the learned Jesuit, Professor Henrico
Shearer, who is known to the literary
world as an author of ability in geography and mathematics. Having devoted
himself to the study of theology, Kino
entered into holy orders, and became a
member of the Society of Jesus; at which
time this took place appears not to be
stated in any of the Spanish works on
Sonora and California; but he scon distinguished himself by his learning, zeal,
industry and capacity; and it seems,
from certain dates in Venegas’ California, that he arrived in Mexico as a Missionary, about the year 1680.
Kino first entered into the field of his
Sonora labors at the Mission of Dolores,
of Alta Pimeria, in 1687; and the energy, ability, zeal, prudence, and marvelous courage he exhibited up to the
time of his death, in 1710, forms one of
the most inspiring themes to this day of
the Spanish race who inhabit that portion of North Western Mexico, whose
lands are bathed by the Sea of Cortez—
of these latter times it has extended with
accumulated honor to his memory among
the English race, now become masters of
that country of such wonderful fertility,
salubrity and mineral wealth, and known
at present throughout the civilized world
as the State of California.
He is stated to have left his Alma
Mater for America with the highest commendations from the Professors of that
institution, and with the most flattering
recommendations from the Elector of Bavaria. He was well instructed in all the
exact sciences taught at that period in
the schools of Europe, and particularly
learned in the sciences of Cosmography,
Architecture, Philosophy and Mathematics, as well as being an attentive observer
of all physical facts relating to the remote
countries in which the best periods of his
life were passed ; for it is stated by Ven-