The family man at Ayubale:
Antonio Cuipa

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Although nobody he knew would have been surprised by the extremes of his courage and his trust during the final hours of his life, Antonio Cuipa’s life was much more than sheer endurance and battle strength. Mostly, Antonio lived an ordinary life at a difficult time, but he lived with extraordinary purpose and joy.

Antonio lived his whole life in the mission village of San Luis de Talimali. His father and mother had been important in the Apalachee community there, and he himself was the inija, that is, the second-in-command to the cacique, of the Apalachee at San Luis. He had been educated by the Spanish Franciscan priests serving his mission, so he spoke Spanish and some Latin in addition to Apalachee, and he could read and write. He had been brought up a Catholic, and he had an impressive understanding of theological doctrines.

In the evenings, Antonio used to sit with others and make flutes. He was himself an extremely skilled musician. Often, when the Franciscan missionaries wished to go speak to villages they did not know, Antonio would come. He would set people at ease with his music, and the Spanish friars agreed that Antonio was far better at teaching the Apalachee than they themselves could be.

In addition to all of these other things, Antonio was a loving husband and a father. He was married to another Apalachee Christian named Josefa, and he had a daughter and a son, named Clara and Francisco.

the destruction of the missions

The first place Colonel Moore and his horde of British and Creek warriors attacked in the Apalachee region was the unprepared town of La Conceción de Ayubale, a mission near to San Luis, on January 25, 1704. Learning of their neighbors’ distress, the bowmen of San Luis quickly set out to go to their aid. The men going to defend this town were under no delusions that they might really take the victory. As the bowmen went on their way to Ayubale, a heroic priest accompanying them, Fray Juan de Parga, spoke to them about the importance of this battle as defending the rule of God’s law in this land—a worthy thing to do even if they lost. When Antonio and the others went forth, Fray Juan had insisted on going with them. He wished, out of love and conviction, “to go and die with his children”—and that is just what he did.

The Apalachee were terribly outnumbered by Col. Moore and his gun-wielding allies; they lost the battle of Ayubale. All those who had opposed the invaders were dead or bound as hostages. Fray Juan had died—but Antonio Cuipa, the family man, the musician, the carpenter, was a captive. In a shocking turn of events, the Creek began tying hostages to posts and preparing to set them on fire. As they did this, Fray Angel Miranda, one of Antonio’s closest friends from San Luis, demanded to know how Col. Moore could permit such atrocities. Col. Moore said he had no control over his troops. Fray Miranda raged and attempted to free his friends until Moore had him forcibly taken elsewhere.

Over the course of that day, January 26, 1704, Antonio Cuipa was slowly burned alive with his companions. This horrible death Antonio still tried to make sweet. Through his pain, he spoke words of encouragement in Apalachee from his pyre and even warned his captors against the wickedness they were doing in killing him and the others.  Antonio Cuipa spent his life becoming the kind of person who could help others even through his own great pain—and for this reason, the tragedy of his death was a victory.