From the 1720s to the 1760s, a German-speaking Swiss Jesuit Priest who served at San Ignacio and San Xavier del Bac missions in the western United States, wrote a number of letters in German and Spanish to his family in Switzerland. The letters detailed his interactions with early Native Americans and their culture.
Raymond Thompson, a former Arizona State Museum director acquired microfilm copies of the letters in the 1980s. Thompson said, "These are very interesting letters. Mixed in are lots of stories about the natural history of the area and also information about the people and the problems they had."
The letters are being transcribed and translated, which is said to be an arduous process. The priest wrote many of the letters using convoluted and fragmented sentences and mixed indigenous German and Spanish words.
Seggesser's letters are informative and educational enlightening the reader about foods of the time, marriage rituals practiced by indigenous groups, and the manner in which individuals travelled.
24 February 2009
