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Padre Kino and the Mission Cattle Ranches of Pimeria Alta

The Jesuit explorer and mapmaker also ran a string of mission ranches that put cattle on the northern frontier of New Spain.

Who Was Padre Kino?

Eusebio Francisco Kino was a Jesuit missionary born in 1644 in the Valley of Nonsburg in the Austrian Tyrol. He studied mathematics, joined the Jesuits in 1665 and hoped to go to China, but was sent to Mexico. The Encyclopedia.com entry summarizes the arc: a mapmaker and astronomer who became the main organizer of missions in Pimeria Alta, the region covering today's northern Sonora and southern Arizona.

From Baja California to Pimeria Alta

In 1678 Spain agreed to try again to settle California, and Kino was one of two missionaries chosen, serving also as royal astronomer, surveyor and mapmaker. The expedition reached Baja California in 1683, but the enterprise was dropped in 1685. Kino was sent to Pimeria Alta, and in 1687 he founded Nuestra Senora de los Dolores. In 1700 he founded San Xavier del Bac, the first mission in present-day Arizona.

His explorations to the Gila and Colorado rivers showed that California was a peninsula, not an island.

Dolores and the Mission Ranches

Dolores, his headquarters from 1687, served as the base for a large cattle operation. The Kino Heritage Society's page on Kino as rancher says helpers were trained there and that the mission supplied animals to outlying ranches. Siboda was the second-largest stock ranch after Dolores, where Kino helped brand over 1,000 cattle in March 1701.

San Xavier del Bac began receiving livestock in 1695, and its herd grew to about 1,000 after a drive of 700 head from Dolores in 1700. San Luis Bacoancos started in January 1697 with 60 cattle and reached about 300 by 1701.

How the Herds Supplied the Frontier

Kino used the herds to start new missions, which is why historians count him among the first cattle ranchers of the Arizona borderlands, well before the Anglo cattle boom. In June 1700 he gave 200 cattle from Dolores to the new Baja California missions, and in 1701 he gave 700 cattle to four new Jesuits entering the Pimeria Alta. In early 1702 he reported that his ranches held over 3,500 head, not counting animals sent to the new priests. Another source cited on the same page puts the total at five mission ranches and 4,200 head of cattle by 1701. The two counts differ, and neither is a precise census, so treat both as reported figures. Kino also kept the animals moving: cattle from Dolores went to the Siboda ranch, to San Xavier and to Cocospera, each time to build a new base.

The Jesuit historian Burrus is quoted calling Kino the cattle king of his time.

Setbacks and the Human Cost

The ranches were vulnerable. Apache raids in February 1698 destroyed Cocospera and removed much of the stock, and Caborca had been hit by an uprising after reaching more than 200 head by 1695. Sonoyta, set up in 1699 as a provisioning center, had not kept its herd by 1751. Mission work also relied on Indigenous helpers trained at the ranches, a labor arrangement that shaped life for the Indigenous communities around the missions.

The Key to Kino's Success

Kino's ranches worked because they were designed as a supply chain rather than a single herd. Each outpost was started from a base herd and then fed the next.

The record also shows how fragile that chain was when raids or uprisings broke it.

  • Start with a mother ranch: Dolores provided stock and trained helpers for outlying ranches.
  • Seed new outposts with a core herd: Cocospera received 500 cattle plus sheep, goats and horses in 1697.
  • Share stock to found missions: gifts of 200 and 700 head started new missions.
  • Combine animals: cattle, horses, mules and sheep made missions self-sufficient.
  • Count and brand: his 1701 branding of over 1,000 cattle at Siboda shows careful tallying.

Legacy and Where to Learn More

Kino died in 1711 at Santa Magdalena while dedicating a chapel, at age 67. His companion Luis Velarde wrote that he died in humility and poverty. One historian credits him with founding the cattle industry in at least twenty places, including Tucson. For more, see the ranching section of farm.FM, a farm.FM story on Spanish-era cattle and the Wikipedia article on Padre Kino.

Timeline

  1. 1644Born in the Tyrol
  2. 1665Joins the Jesuits
  3. 1683Reaches Baja California with the first expedition
  4. 1687Founds Dolores and begins work in Pimeria Alta
  5. 1695Livestock begin at San Xavier del Bac
  6. 1700Founds San Xavier del Bac; 700 cattle sent from Dolores
  7. 1702Reports over 3,500 head on his ranches
  8. 1711Dies at Santa Magdalena

Frequently asked questions

Why is Father Kino called a cattleman?

He ran a network of mission ranches in Pimeria Alta from Dolores. In early 1702 he reported over 3,500 head, and he gave hundreds of cattle to start other missions.

Where did Kino raise cattle?

His ranches included Dolores, Siboda, San Luis Bacoancos, San Xavier del Bac and Cocospera in what is now northern Sonora and southern Arizona.

Did Kino bring cattle to Arizona?

He is credited with starting ranching at several places, including San Xavier del Bac in 1695 and, according to one historian, at least twenty places including Tucson.

When did Eusebio Kino die?

Kino died in 1711 at Santa Magdalena while dedicating a chapel. He was 67 years old.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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