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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 1901)
S * * : * * " % , . - , , , - ' 'Cbe Conservative 8 * it FRIAR JUAN DE PADILLA. The First Religious Martyr Within the Limits of the United States. For a long time a controversy has been going on , as to who was the first missionary and who' was the first re ligious martyr on this side of the At lantic. From documents brought to light a few years ago it appears that the honor of having been the first missiou- ary belongs to Friar Juau.de Macheua , a member of the Franciscan order , who crane with Columbus on his second voyage in 145)3 ) , and that Friar Juan de Padilla , of the same order , who accompanied - companied Coronado on his most re markable march to Quivira , was the first religious martyr ; whose blood was shed by Indians on the soil of the United States , within the borders of the present state of Kansas. Spain's political connection with America is forever severed by our late war with that country in behalf of Cuba's independence ; but her histori cal connection will live as long as there is a history. Of the religious part of her connection with America she may be proud. The Roman Catholic church was at the time of the discovery of the new continent very active in missionary work , and from the second voyage of Columbus onward , with every expe dition members of the religious orders went to the newly discovered part of our globe to spread the gospel among the Indians. The Franciscans were the first in the field. The Jesuits , whose order was founded by Ignatius Loyala in 1584 came later. Eighty-one years before the founding of Jamestown , the Domini cans in 1570 had already erected a chapel near that location on the James river. The Dominican Antonio Mou- teriino preached in Santo Domingo in 1511 against slavery ; over 250 years be fore Garrison commenced his agitation against that institution. France took an early part in the conversion of the Indians through the Jesuits and Recol- lots , but the Spanish missions antedate them for many years , long before the French and English took an active part. 'Three years after Champlain founded the Colony of Quebec in 1611 , the earliest members of the Jesuit order , Masse and Briard , crossed the Atlantic under French auspices. The Spanish missionaries worked among the Indians from Florida north ward to the Chesapeake and westward to the Mississippi , and from the Gulf of California eastward to the Missouri river. The labors of the Spanish mis sionaries amid perils and dangers from wild animals and the savages of the new world , 250 yours before the United States gained their independence , fur nish an interesting and thrilling chapter in the history of America. If we are impartial and set aside all sectarian prejudices , we are forced to concede that the Franciscans , Domini cans , Jesuits , etc. , have zealously worked among the red men , and have , in foot , accomplished more in elevating and civilizing the Indians than all other sects together. The devotion to their sacred calling , their ardent and untir ing endeavors , their unselfishness and self-denials , and the influence they wielded over the savages , must arouse our admiration and approbation. Wherever Roman Catholic missionaries have labored among the aborigines the government has had the least trouble with them. Long is the list of those missionaries who have sacrificed health and life in their sacred calling among the aborigines. Only the indefatigable Marquette , who sank to an early grave in consequence of exposures and privations , and the untir ing De Smet may be mentioned. The writer has studied the history of the mission work of all sects and churches , and though his religious views are antagonistic to the teaching and dogmas of the Roman Catholic church , he cannot but yield his admira tion and profound respect for these Roman Catholic missionaries. For the purpose of this article a de scription of Coronado's expedition and the location of Quivira is essential , but as these have been fully discussed in the columns of this journal by an abler pen than mine , by that brilliant scholar , Professor E. E. Blackrnan , I do not deem it necessary to repeat here what the readers of THE CONSERVATIVE al ready know. The data at hand about the life of Friar Juan de Padella , the first religious martyr within the limits of the United States , perhaps on the American conti nent , on the east of Kansas , are very meagre. We have only what the Span ish chroniclers of the Coronado expedi tion , Castaneda and Jaramillo , and the historian of New Galicia , Meta Tadilla , say of him. This concerns briefly his participation in the Coronado expedi tion and his death. These accounts are the basis of this paper , for which no originality whatsoever is claimed by the writer. We are informed that in his youth Friar Juan de Padella was a fighting man , a soldier ; joining the Franciscan order , he became a regular monk ( fraile do misa ) and sailed with one of the ex peditious sent out from Spain ' to New Spain or Mexico , where he engaged in missionary work. When Coronado set out on his re markable march to Cibola , the Friars Juan de Padella , Juan de Cruz and Louis de Escalona , the two latter lay brethren , and some other Franciscan lay brethren and "douadas" Indians in the service of the Church , accompanied the expedition. Friar Juan do Padella be ing younger and more vigorous than his brethren was the leader of the mission aries. From the beginning of the expe dition , which set out from Compostela in Mexico in February , 1540 , ho was the more active in maintaining the over sight and discipline of the Church. After Coronado had effected an armed peace with the Pueblo Indians of Co- bola , he sent out several expeditions to explore the adjoining country ; in two of these expeditious Friar Juan de Pa della participated. He went with Pedro de Tovar to the west to investigate the territory occupied by the Tusagans and with Antonio de Alvarado east of the Rio Grande and to the Buffalo Plains. When Coronado at the Canadian river sent his army back to Tiguex and pushed on with thirty horsemen to Quivira , the friar went along on foot and returned with the general to Tiguex. After wintering at Tiguex , near the present city of Santa Fe , Corouado made in the beginning of April , 1542 , preparations to return to New Spain in stead of revisiting Quivira , as he had first intended to do. The friars were notified to prepare for the return , but signified their intention to stay in the newly discovered region , and continue their missionery labors. Friar Juan de Cruz chose Tiguex as his field of labor , where he afterwards was lulled. Friar Louis de Escaloua selected Cieuge , east of Tiguex , for his work ; of his fate we have no information , as nothing was ever heard of him ; perhaps he also found a martyr's death. Friar Juan de Padella's previous visit to the Quivira province led him to de cide to go back to that country , as ho thought his teachings would bear fruit. On a Sunday in Lent shortly before his departure to Quivira he made his inten tions the subject of his discourse in a sermon to the army. He established his proposition on the authority of the Holy Scripture , declaring his zeal for the con version of these people and his desire to draw them to the faith , and that he had the permission of the general , although this was not necessary , as he had that of his provincial. The guides who conducted Corouado from Quivira to Tiguex had stayed over winter in the Pueblo country. Friar Juan de Padella went with them on their return. He was accompanied by a Portuguese , De Campo , an Indian who spoke Spanish as interpreter and passed as a Franciscan Friar , a negro , a half- blood or mestezo and two "donadas. " He also took along a horse , some mules and sheepornaments , probably rosaries , crucifixes and altar utensils to celebrate mass , and "other trifles. " Coronado sent an escort of a company with him and Friar Louis de Esoalona as far as Cieuge , where Friar Louis stopped. Friar Juan de Padella was successful
