To afford adequate protection to the Roman Catholic missionaries, settlements were established, which still bear the name of missions.  They are very numerous throughout California, and there are several in Texas.  The Alamo, at San Antonio, was one of great importance; there were others of less consideration in the neighbourhood; as the missions of Conception, of San Juan, San Jose, and La Espada.  All these edifices are most substantially built; the walls are of great thickness, and from their form and arrangement they could be converted into frontier fortresses.  They had generally, though not always, a church at the side of the square, formed by the high walls, through which there was but one entrance.  In the interior they had a large granary, and the outside wall formed the back to a range of buildings, in which the missionaries and their converts resided.  A portion of the surrounding district was appropriated to agriculture, the land being, as I before observed, irrigated by small canals, which conducted the water from the river.

The Alamo is now in ruins, only two or three of the houses of the inner square being inhabited.  The gateway of the church was highly ornamented, and still remains, although the figures which once occupied the niches have disappeared.  But there is still sufficient in the ruins to interest the inquirer into its former history, even if he could for a moment forget the scenes which have rendered it celebrated in the history of Texan independence.

About two miles lower down the San Antonio river is the mission of Conception.  It is a very large stone building, with a fine cupola, and though a plain building, is magnificent in its proportions and the durability of its construction.  It was here that Bowie fought one of the first battles with the Mexican forces, and it has not since been inhabited.  Though not so well known to fame as other conflicts, this battle was that which really committed the Texans, and compelled those who thought of terms and the maintenance of a Mexican connection to perceive that the time for both had passed.

The mission of San Jose is about a mile and a half further down the river.  It consists, like the others, of a large square, and numerous Mexican families still reside there.  To the left of the gateway is the granary.  The church stands apart from the building; it is within the square, but unconnected.  The west door is decorated with the most elaborated carvings of flowers, images of angels, and figures of the apostles; the interior is plain.  To the right is a handsome tower and belfry, and above the altar a large stone cupola.  Behind the church is a long range of rooms for the missionaries, with a corridor of nine arches in front.  The Texan troops were long quartered here, and, although always intoxicated, strange to say, the stone carvings have not been injured.  The church has since been repaired, and divine service is performed in it.