THE SAN SABA PAPERS: A DOCUMENTARY ACCOUNT OF THE FOUNDING AND DESTRUCTION OF SAN SABA MISSION.
San Francisco: John Howell Books, 1959. xx,157pp. Introduction by Simpson. Translated by Paul D. Nathan. Designed by Lawton Kennedy. Folding map in rear pocket. Red cloth. Fine copy. in its original mylar dust wrapper. On March 16, 1758, a group of 2,000 Indians, mostly Comanches, attacked the Mission Santa Cruz de San Saba near present day Menard. The attackers killed two of the three priests, and the eight soldiers assigned to protect them. Lawton Kennedy’s beautiful design and production place this book virtually in a class by itself. The collaboration between translator and the editor results in highly readable work. It is further enhanced by excellent folding map of Spanish Texas showing the locations of the Texas missions and the dates they were established. However, the heart of the book is the eyewitness accounts of the massacre. Based on 52 previously unpublished documents, this is the best source available on the events of the massacre.
