We who were trained by Herbert E. Bolton during the time of his writing about Kino thought that the final word about Kino had been said. It is true that Bolton’s biography of Kino, The Rim of Christendom, is by far the best, most scholarly biography. But those who live after the master have discovered many new materials. In this regard, Father Ernest J. Burrus has uncovered in his inimitable and infinite search for new materials a sizable amount that adds to our knowledge of Kino and the work of the Jesuits in Pimería Alta. Rapidly Burrus has become the leading historian of the famous Jesuit. He has rediscovered manuscripts which Bolton had seen and used, and some which Bolton had not discovered. In fact, Burrus is now in the process of publishing Kino’s writings in five volumes.
Aided and abetted by Father Burrus, the Jesuit Historical Institute has initiated a new and valuable series of Sources and Studies for the History of the Americas, of which the two volumes under review are volumes IX and X. In Volume X, Father Burrus has studied “Kino and Manje: Explorers of Sonora and Arizona,” utilizing the archives and libraries of Rome, Seville, Madrid, Mexico City, Parral, Bancroft Library, New Orleans, New Haven, Cambridge, and other private collections. He also studied supplementary journals and documents such as Salvatierras detailed journal of the 1701 expedition, Carrasco’s diary, and Velarde’s two treatises, plus the character portraits of Kino by Baltasar.
In Part I, Burrus gives us an account of Kino’s biography, of his work and explorations before 1694, and also of Manje’s work. Then in succeeding chapters, the author summarizes the Kino-Manje expeditions, seven in number between 1694 and 1701, including the journeys confirming the peninsularity of Lower California, and of Kino’s later explorations.
In Part II, Burrus gives the Manje Journals for the seven Kino-Manje exploration expeditions. Chapters XII to XVIII, contain a discussion of each of the Manje-Kino expeditions based on the journals of Manje. Manje’s Journals were published in 1926 in English, but Burrus has checked the translations and offers all the historical data from Manje’s Journals. In the Appendix he has given the best and most complete text in Spanish. All the above is contained in the first half of the volume. The second and larger half of the large paperbound volume (pp. 279-735) contains a valuable appendix of thirty key documents in Spanish on the history of the borderlands, about half of which are published here for the first time.
In October of 1694, Father Francisco Javier Saeta began his apostolic work in Pimería Alta. Within six months he was martyred when rebellious Pimas attacked his mission at Caborca. Father Kino, fearful that the Pima uprising would bring about an abandonment of the Pimería Alta missionary field penned a treatise to avert that action. This is the basis of Kino’s Biography of Francisco Javier Saeta, S.J. Father Burrus had published an edition in Spanish, which is reprinted here together with an English translation by Father Charles W. Polzer. Although not designed or intended to be a biography of Father Saeta, it contains the details and documented history of the region with the “political, economic, ethnological, military, geographical and ecclesiastical phases minutely presented and analyzed.”
Polzer and Burrus present Kino’s work in an advantageous manner. The Spanish text and English translation appear on opposite pages, giving the reader the opportunity readily to compare the two. Burrus’s contribution consisted of providing the Spanish text and bi-lingual introduction. Polzer provided the English translation and the notes in English to which he has appended a long original essay entitled “An Epilogue.” This is a treatise on the campaigns of the Spanish military force sent to pacify the Pimería Alta after the Pima rebellion of 1695. Kino’s work is unique in many respects, primarily for its detailed history, conditions of the missions, and mission activity. Kino refies on Saeta’s letters for his information about Caborca, and the latter part analyzes the Indian situation, the causes that brought about the uprising, and remedies for the situation. The volume also contains a brief biography of Father Saeta, a discussion of the manuscript, and an appendix containing six letters of Father Saeta. The reader will also find Catalogues of the Sonora Missions, 1687-1696, the Royal Cédula of Charles II of May 14, 1686 (compare copy published in Bolton, Kino’s Historical Memoir, I, 108-109), a bibliography, and an index. There is also a map of the Pimería Alta Campaign of 1695.
With these two volumes the student and teacher will find an enriched knowledge of the Kino-Manje explorations, the Pima Revolt of 1695, and in general, the history of the Spanish borderland. Indeed, all those interested in the borderland history are indebted to the Jesuit Historical Institute for its making available documentation and original sources in their admirable series.
