At some time around 1850 the village of Oquitoa was under attack by a mixed force of Seris, Papagos and Apaches. The church of San Antonio is on a hill to the west of the village, and it was there that the villagers made their stand. The walls were thick, and the building could hold the entire community. Sonora’s mission churches were sited and built to be defensible. When Crabb attacked Caborca in 1846 as described in an earlier blog, the Caborcans holed up in their church as well.
According to the story, things were going badly for the folks in the church. It seemed that the next charge might well be the last and end in a general slaughter. All of a sudden, the attackers scattered and fled for no apparent reason.
It was only later that the Oquitoans learned what had happened: the attackers had seen a rescuing column of soldiers led by a bald-headed officer wearing a gray cloak, had decided they were outnumbered, and ran off. The only problem was that nobody else had seen the soldiers, and that no relief party had been sent from the nearby presidio at Altar.
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According to the story as it has been told to me, the mysterious officer was none other than Saint Anthony himself, with his Franciscan tonsure and blue-gray habit. His statue stands over the altar of the church to this day. The color of his clothing is darker than the description, but this does not matter to the folks who tell the story, one of whom, nodding at the statue, told me “…and it was that guy.”
Now this general scenario — a village saved from attackers through the intervention of its patron saint — should sound familiar to those who remember the story about Caborca and the Crabb expedition, published last spring. Sonora is dotted with similar legends; to my knowledge, stories of this sort have been collected in no less than nine Sonoran mission communities.
Why listen to, learn, and talk about these stories? In the first place, they are part of the heritage of my adopted land — the Sonoran Desert. Furthermore, they tell us much about the traditional world of the Sonoran villager — a world in which miracles can happen, and the forces of heaven can come to the aid of believers. Finally, they let us know just how some Sonorans view their home towns — they are so important that the very saints of heaven will rally ‘round and protect them. Viva Sonora!
