USA > Texas > A pictorial history of Texas, from the earliest visits of European adventurers, to A.D. 1879. Embracing the periods of missions, colonization, the revolution the republic, and the state; also, a topographical description of the country together with its Indian tribes and their wars, and biographical sketches of hundreds of its leading historical characters. Also, a list of the countries, with historical and topical notes, and descriptions of the public institutions of the state > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
cates the portions of the State traversed by the French : The following map, from the journal of Joutel, indi-
ST. LOUIS ENG. CO.
ARKANSAS RIVER
-----
LOUISIANA
RED RIVER
SABINE RIVER
VILLAGE Of CENIS
----
ANGELINA RIVER
--
NECHES RIVER
[ Now TRINITY]
RIVER Of CANDES
EURE RIVER
[NOW SAN JACINTO]
RIVER. MALIGNE OR MISCHIEVOUS!
[NOW BRAZOS]
RIVER LALIER
[Now NEW YEARS CREEK]
RIVER SABONNIER
RIVER HEIMS
NOW MILL CREEK]
INOW SAN BERNARD]
RIVER Of CANES
Now COLORADOZ
SKUSS CREEK
RIVER Of BEEVES
[Now LAVACA ]
RIVER NAVIDAD OR PRINCESS
ED LA SALLE
BOUCAN" FORtSt.LOUIS! . [NOW DIMITTS
POINT !
GUADALUPE RIVER
SAN ANTONIO RIVER
R. Of ORO NOW NUECES
RIO BRAVO
-1
MOUTH Of MISS. RIVER
1684-1685
GULF of MEXICO.
BAY of St. LEWIS
LA SALLE'S MAP OF TEXAS.
ARANSAS RIVER
MISS.RIVER
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
CHAPTER II.
DE LEON GOVERNOR OF MONCLOVA, IN TEXAS-FOUNDS PRESIDIO ON THE RIO GRANDE IN 1690-SUCCEEDED BY DOMINGO TERAN-ST. DENIS ON THE RIO GRANDE-CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN D'ALARCONNE AND LA HARPE- BELISLE ON THE COAST-INDIAN LEAGUE.
HIS expedition into Texas by the French was soon known in Mexico. The Count of Monclova became viceroy in November 17, 1686, and one of the first acts of the new administration was to take measures to dislodge the colony of La Salle. A military post was established in the interior, named for the new viceroy, Monclova, and Captain Alonzo De Leon was appointed to the command, with the title of Governor of Coaquila, (afterwards spelled generally Coahuila). After settling affairs to his satisfaction, at Monclova, De Leon started to dislodge the French from their post on the Lavaca river. With one hundred men he left Monclova in the spring of 1680, and arrived at the ruins of the old fort, April 22d. He penetrated the country as far as the villages of the Cenis Indians, and recovered a few of the colonists of La Salle, and humanely returned most of them to their own country. Having been informed of the murder of La Salle, and that one or two of the con- spirators were still among the Indians, he captured them, and they were condemned to the mines for life. In 1690 De Leon again visited Texas. He founded the mission of San Juan Bautista, on the Rio Grande, at
-
88
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
Presidio, and projected the mission of San Francisco, near the old fort of La Salle.
In 1601 he was superseded in the command by Domingo Teran, who became very much interested in Texas, and traversed the country as far as Red river. He projected quite a number of settlements and missions ; but his plans were frustrated by the hostility of the Indians.
In 1718, Louis XIV, of France, granted to Anthony Crozat, September 14th, the Louisiana country, watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries. Two years later, Crozat, who was a merchant, sent Huechereau St. Denis on a trading expedition to the Rio Grande. When St. Denis returned through Texas, the Spaniards sent Domin- go Ramon, with a few soldiers and friars, to establish " missions."
In 1718, war was declared between France and Spain. Early in the spring of 1719, St. Denis and La Harpe collected a small force and invaded Texas, driving the . Spaniards from the mission establishments in the east, and penetrated the country as far as San Antonio. Here they were met by the new governor, the Marquis De Aguayo, who had nearly five hundred soldiers, and was prepared to maintain Spanish authority in the province. St. Denis retired to Natchitoches; but La Harpe remained among friendly Indians, on the Neches river. In the meantime, De Aguayo had been superseded by Don Martin D'Alarconne, as Governor of Texas. When D'Alarconne learned that La Harpe was in the Indian village, he addressed him the following note :
" MONSIEUR: I am very sensible of the politeness that M. De Bienville and yourself had the goodness to show to me. The orders I have received from the king, my master, are, to maintain a good understanding with
89
OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
the French of Louisiana; my own inclinations lead me equally to afford them all the services that depend upon me. But I am compelled to say, that your arrival at the Nassonite village surprises me much. Your governor could not be ignorant that the post you occupy belongs to my Government, and that all the lands west of the Nassonites depend upon New Mexico. I counsel you to advise M. De Bienville of this, or you will force me to oblige you to abandon lands that the French have no right to occupy. I have the honor to be, etc.,
DE' ALARCONNE.
" Trinity River, May 20, 1719."
To this the French commander sent the following reply :
" MONSIEUR : The order from his Catholic majesty, to maintain a good understanding with the French of Louisiana, and the kind intentions you have yourself expressed towards them, accord but little with your proceedings. Permit me to inform you that M. De'Bienville is perfectly informed of the limits of his Government, and is very certain that the post of the Nassonites depends not upon the dominions of his Catho- lic Majesty. He knows, also, that the province of Las Tekas (Texas), of which you say you are Governor, is a part of Louisiana. M. de La Salle took possession in 1685, in the name of his most Christian Majesty; and since the above epoch, possession has been renewed from time to time. Respecting the post of the Nassonites, I cannot comprehend by what right you pretend that it forms a part of New Mexico. I beg leave to represent to you, that Don Antonio De Minor, who discovered New Mexico in 1683, never penetrated east of the province, or the Rio Bravo. It was the French who first made
90
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
alliance with the savage tribes in this region; and it is natural to conclude that a river that flows into the Missis- sippi, and the land it waters, belongs to the king my master. If you will do me the pleasure to come into this quarter, I will convince you I hold a post I know how to defend. I have the honor to be, etc.,
DE LA HARPE. " Nassonite, July 8, 1710."
The above correspondence gives the gist of the contro- versy between France and Spain in reference to the ownership of Texas. It happened, fortunately for the French, that during the same year in which the above correspondence took place, D'Alarconne, not having been re-inforced, as he requested, so that he could expel the French from East Texas, resigned his office and returned to Mexico. And the same year, another company of French, under Mons. Belisle, in sailing for the mouth of the Mississippi, landed, as La Salle had done before them, in Matagorda Bay. (See Belisle). Belisle having thus formed an acquaintance with Texas, and a league with some of the civilized Indian tribes, was sent back in 1721, by the enterprising De Bienville, to plant a French colony on the waters of Matagorda Bay. After a feeble effort to maintain a settlement, the project was abandoned, and with it the French claim to Texas.
In 1768, France transferred her Louisiana possessions to Spain ; but in 1800, Spain retroceded the country to France; and in 1800, Bonaparte sold it to the United States. After the latter Government obtained posses- sion, the claim to a part of Texas was again revived under the right acquired by its occupancy by La Salle.
While these disputes were pending, the settlements of the French in Louisiana, and of all the Spaniards in
91
DEFEAT OF THE NATCHEZ.
Texas, were threatened with utter extermination by a formidable Indian league, in 1729. The numerous and powerful tribe of Natchez, in conjunction with kindred tribes in Louisiana, succeeded in enlisting the Comanches and Apaches in the attempt to drive from the country at once, both of the Spaniards in Texas and the French in Louisiana. Fortunately this plot was disclosed to Saint Denis by some of his friends among the Indians. He immediately mustered a small force and entered the ter- ritory of the Natchez and defeated them before they had time to rally for a fight. At San Antonio, Governor Bustillos was engaged in introducing and settling the new families from the Canary Islands, and the Indians were troublesome and defiant until 1732, when he organized a military expedition and entered their territo- ries and chastised them.
-
CHAPTER III.
MISSION ESTABLISHMENTS-FIRST MASS-MISSIONS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER- ADAES, AES, ALAMO, CONCEPCION, LA ESPADA, GUADALUPE, LA BAHIA, LA TRIN- IDAD, LORETTO, NACOGDOCHES, ORQUIZACO, REFUGIO, ROSARIO, SAN FERNAN- DES, SAN JOSE, SAN SABA.
HE period in which the Spaniards occupied Texas- 1690 to the Mexican Revolution in 1820-has been not inappropriately called " The Mission Period." The discovery of the American Continent opened to the crowded population of Europe a new door for enterprise; and they were not slow in entering it. The adventurers who first visited this country had two objects in view. The first was to add to the dominions of their respective sov- reigns ; and the second, to extend the Christian religion. The establishment of missions accomplished both these purposes-possession of the country was secured, and provision made for the conversion of the aborigines. Our knowledge of the history of these grand old struct- ures in Texas, is very meager ; but we give in a condensed form all the facts accessible.
In 1690, Alonzo De Leon, as we have seen, when on his route to Texas, founded on the Rio Grande the Mission and then the Presidio of San Juan Bautista. Having arrived in the neighborhood of La Salle's abandoned fort, he projected a mission to be called San Francisco, after the founder of the order of Saint Francis. The first mass was celebrated by the fathers accompanying De Leon, on the 25th of May, 1690. The mission was never built.
MISSION OF SAN JOSE.
95
SPANISH MISSIONS.
" In 1691," says Mayer, page 218, " the province of Asinais, or Texas, as it was called by the Spaniards, was settled by some emigrants, and visited by fourteen Span- ish monks, who were anxious to devote themselves to the conversion of the Indians, and a garrison and mission were at that time established." The location of this establishment can now hardly be identified. The Indians were troublesome, and frequent removals took place. We quote again from Mayer: "Alarconne, the Governor, early in 1718, crossed the Medina, with a large number of soldiers, settlers and mechanics, and founded the town of Bexar, with the fortress of San Antonio, and the mission of San Antonio Valero." This was not the first settlement of the neighborhood, as Margil and Saint Denis found a considerable population there in 1714. Bexar was so named for the Duke of Bexar, then Vice- roy. "Alarconne," says Mayer, "pushed on to the country of the Cennis Indians, where having strengthened the missionary force, he crossed the river Adaes, which he called the Rio de San Francisco de Sabinas, and laid the foundation of a fortress within a short distance of the French fort at Natchitoches, named by him the Presidio de San Miguel Arcange de Linares de Adaes. These establishments were reinforced during the next year, and another stronghold was erected on the Orquisacas," (probably the Trinity or San Jacinto).
These Texas missions was conducted by monks of the order of Saint Francis, from the colleges of Quaretero and Zaca Atecas. In the west, locations were selected capable of irrigation. Large tracts of land were given to the mission, and as soon as practicable substantial stone buildings were erected. Among those buildings were, first, a chapel for worship, which also answered for a fortress in case of danger. A considerable area was 8
96
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
inclosed with a stone wall, and buildings erected for the accommodation of the priests, the soldiers, and such domestics as might be necessary to cultivate gardens and attend to the domestic animals. The task assumed by the missionaries was not a light one. Father Marat, in 1712, complained that " it was necessary first to trans- form these Indians into men, and afterwards to labor to make them Christians."
It is difficult to fix accurately either the location or date of these early establishments. The buildings first erected were frequently temporary and removals often took place. Then, one projected a mission, and some one else established it. New invocations. and new names were also given. For convenience, we will name the prin- cipal missions in alphabetical order.
ADAES-Our Lady Del Pilar (of the Baptismal Font or Parish) .- As we have seen, Mayer attributes the founda- tion of this mission to De Alarconne. Other authorities ascribe its foundation to Ramon, in the time between 1715 and 1718. It was erected into a Presidio in 1781. Besides holding the country against the French, its object was to convert the Adaes, a small band of Caddo Indians. It was never very prosperous as a mission. Monsieur De Pages, who visited it in 1768, describes it as then consisting of "forty houses " besides the church. In 1790 it was entirely broken up, and the few Christian Indians transferred to San Antonio, and a labor of land known as the Labor de Los Adaenis assigned them, near the church of the Alamo. In 1805, when Bishop Feliciana Maria visited the Sabine in company with Governor Cordero, he baptized two hundred neophytes in the old church. That was probably the last time it was used for worship.
AES-Our Lady de Los Dolores,-was established in
:
97
THE ALAMO.
1716, or 1717, for a small tribe of Indians near San Agustine on Aes or Ayish Bayou. It was broken up in 1772 and a few Indians removed to San Antonio.
THE ALAMO .- The most important of these missions is that of Alamo; this has been not inaptly called the Thermopylæ of Texas, as here Travis and his heroic band re-enacted the part performed by the brave Spartans nearly twenty-three centuries before. The name and location of this mission were frequently changed; it was commenced on the Rio Grande in 1700, under the name of San Francisco Solano ; in 1703 it was removed to a place called San Ildephonso; it 1710 it was transferred back to the Rio Grande; about the year 1716 or 1718, probably at the suggestion of Father Margill, it was removed to San Antonio and located at the San Pedro Springs under the name of San Antonio de Valero, from Saint Anthony of Padua and the Duke of Valero, then Viceroy of Mexico ; in 1732 it was moved to the Military Plaza in the city, and in 1744 transferred across the river to its present location, when it took the name of Alamo- Poplar Church. The corner stone of the building was laid with the usual ceremonies, May 8th, 1744 ; a slab in the front wall bears date 1757 ; it ceased to be used as a par- ish church in 1793.
MISSION CONCEPCION LA PURISSIMA DE ACUNA .- Im- maculate Concepcion de Acuna,-from Juan de Acuna, Marquis of Casa Fuerta, Viceroy in 1722; this, in a tolerably good state of preservation, is situated on the left bank of the river about two miles below the city. The foundation stone was laid March 5th, 1731, by Captain Perez and Father Bergara ; it was never very prosperous, and had, been discontinued as a mission parish when visited by Pike in 1807.
ESPADA-San Francisco de La Espada .- Mission of
98
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
Saint Francis of the sword-intimating that those who founded this establishment belonged to the church mili- tant, who had to wield the literal, as well as the spiritual sword. It was first located on the Medina River, but owing to the frequent attacks of the Apaches, for greater security it was removed to the San Antonio. This was in 1731 ; it was completed in 1750. Portions of the walls and the sword-shaped tower are still standing.
GUADALUPE - Victoria ; Our Lady of-in Victoria county, was probably projected by Ramon, in 1714. Its object was to found a Presidio, and open ditches for the irrigation of the river valley. Extensive ruins still remain in what is called Mission Valley.
LA BAHIA-Del Espiritu Santo-(Mission of the bay of the Holy Spirit) at Goliad, was commenced about the year 1718, though the place was visited by De Leon in 1687. Domingo Teran, who founded so many of the Texas missions, projected this. Bishop Odin is authority for the statement that the mission on the east side of the river, and since known as Aranama, was the original Espiritu Santo Mission, while that on the west side was called La Bahia. The former was for the Aranama In- dians, while the latter was for the Caranchuas. The old Goliad Mission Church is still used.
LA TRINIDAD .- It is supposed that this mission was projected, and the foundation laid, in 1601, by Governor Teran and the party of monks that entered the country with him that year. This mission possibly gave its name to the Trinity River. It was situated a little below the town of Alabama. Owing to trouble with the Indians and the overflow of the river, the establishment was soon aban- doned for one near Nacogdoches.
LORETTO, Our Lady Of .- A mission by this name was projected by Ramon, upon the San Bernardo (Matagorda) Bay, about 1721. The enterprise was soon abandoned.
99
SPANISH MISSIONS.
NACOGDOCHES-Our Lady of .- The foundation of this mission was laid by Ramon, July 9, 1716, but in conse- quence of the disturbances between the French and Spanish, the Indians were, in 1772, transferred to San Antonio. A small garrison was, however, generally kept at the place, to watch the movements of the French at Natchitoches. In 1778, was laid the foundation of a stone house, for the garrison, which still stands.
ORQUIZACCO-Our Lady of,-was established for the benefit of a small tribe of Indians of that name, on the San Jacinto river; founded in 1715 or 1716, and aban- doned in 1772, and the Indians removed to San Antonio.
REFUGIO-Our Lady of,-was founded in the town of the same name, in 1790 or 1791. This was the last estab- lishment of the kind undertaken by the Franciscans in Texas.
ROSARIO-About 1730, a mission of this name was started a few miles from Goliad.
SAN FERNANDES .- Was not exactly a mission, but a parish church built in San Antonio, or San Fernandes, in 1732. In 1868 it was rebuilt as a cathedral; a portion of the old walls in the rear of the new building forms the sacristy of the present church, occupied by the Spanish-speaking population of San Antonio.
SAN JOSE DE AGUAYO .- From Aguayo, governor of Texas in 1720. This, on the right bank of the river about four miles below San Antonio, was commenced in 1718 and completed in 1771; it was the most elegant and beautiful of all the Texas Missions. A celebrated artist by the name of Huicar was sent out from Spain, who spent years in carving the statues and other ornamental work of this building. About ten years ago the dome and portions of the arched roof fell in; vandal hands have defaced the statue of the Virgin Mother and Child, and
100
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
that of Saint Gregory and other figures, and beautifully carved work in the front. After the secularization of the Texas Missions in 1703, by Pedro de Nava, this mission was discontinued and the land distributed to the Indians. The next year there were reported, Christian Indians, men 27, women 26, boys 11, girls 14, widows 6, total 84; Pagans, men 6, women 5, 1 boy and 3 girls, total 15; in all 99. This church was visited by Lieutenant Pike in 1807; at that time it had hardly enough Indians to per- form household duties. It soon afterwards ceased to be occupied as a place of worship. Standing in solitary grandeur upon a beautiful plateau, it is annually visited by thousands who can but admire this monument of the zeal and enterprise of the Franciscan fathers of the last century.
SAN JUAN CAPISTRAN .- Is about six miles below San Antonio, on the west side of the river, It was established in 1731, but was never very prosperous and is now in ruins. The ruins, however, speak volumes for the skill of the architect who designed and the laborers who erected the edifice.
SAN SABA .- This mission, located in Menard county, on the river to which it gave its name, was founded in 1734, by a company of fathers from Santa Fe. The mission was doing well, and the fathers were encour- aged to hope for the speedy Christianization of the numerous and war-like tribes of Comanches, who main- tained friendly relations with the ecclesiastics. But in 1752, a silver mine, called Las Almagres, was discovered in the neighborhood of the fort, this drew to the place a number of miners and adventurers, some of whom quarreled with the Indians, and at a time when the few soldiers were absent from the fort. The exasperated savages fell upon the defenseless missionaries and put
101
ANCIENT RUINS.
them all to death, not sparing even the domestics. This was a sad blow and an ungrateful return for the self- sacrificing labors of the fathers.
Besides the establishments we have mentioned, other ruins are found in various parts of the State; but even the names of these old missions are now unknown. At the head of a canon of the Nueces river in Edwards county, thirty-five miles from Uvalde, there is a large stone building, with many evidences of its having been once occupied. The missionaries probably shared the same fate with their brethren at San Saba. This was in the territory occupied by the Apaches. Eight miles below these old ruins, in the valley of the Nueces, in Uvalde county, there is another old establishment in ruins, and others in different places ; some of which had been so far completed as to give evidence of having been occupied, while others were destroyed by the Indians before completion.
In 1794, Don Pedro de Nava, then Governor of Texas, secularized all the missions in the province, thus transfer- ring their control from the monastic orders to the secular clergy.
CHAPTER IV.
COLONISTS FROM THE CANARY ISLANDS ARRIVE AT SAN ANTONIO-TEXAS AT THE OPENING OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY-NOLAN'S EXPEDITION-DIF- FICULTIES BETWEEN SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES-WAR IMMINENT- AVERTED BY MYSTERIOUS DIPLOMACY.
HE first attempt to introduce colonists into Texas was made by the Marquis of Casa Fuerta. Before he became viceroy, he had visited Texas and formed a high opinion of the capabilities of the country. Mainly through his influence the king was induced to defray, from the royal treasury, the expense of transporting fam- ilies to the new settlement on the San Antonio river. If Mr. Kennedy is correct in his statement, these were pretty expensive colonists. It took $72,000 to bring sixteen families from the Canary Islands to Texas. Among the families who then came were those of Rodrigues, Mancha- ca, Atoche, Delgado, Arocha, Travyosa, Cavalla, Mueto and Flores. The Navarros were from Corsica ; Veramen- dis and probably the Seguins and La Garzas, from Mexico. The village took the name of San Fernandes, from Ferdinand III of Spain.
OPENING OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY .- As we have seen, the zealous Franciscans were heroically engaged in the good work of Christianizing the Indians. The large number of magnificent buildings and ruins, still scattered through Texas, are perpetual monuments of their zeal and fidelity. But they were not remarkably successful. The Indians often proved intractable ; and internecine
INDIAN HORSEMEN.
105
NOLAN'S EXPEDITION.
wars diminished their numbers. After the lapse of a century, comparatively few of the mission establishments could boast a permanent population, and the vast region now known as Texas was comparatively an uninhabited wilderness. San Antonio then contained a population of about 3,000 ; and Goliad and Nacogdoches as many more. Texas had no sea port and no legitimate commerce, though her bays were occasionally visited by the Buccaneers." Nor was there any overland commerce. Almonte esti- mated that there were, at that time, possibly 100,000 cattle and 40,000 horses in the province.
An American family had occasionally ventured into East Texas. James Gaines, a relative of General Gaines, of the United States Army, had opened a ferry at the principal crossing of the Sabine River. Robert Barr and Samuel Davenport had settled on the Neches River, and taken the oaths as subjects of the Spanish crown.
NOLAN'S EXPEDITION .- In 1797, Philip Nolan, an Irish- man by birth, entered Texas to procure a supply of cavalry horses for the army of General Wilkinson, then in the Mississippi Territory. This was with the consent of the Spanish authorities. Having a letter from Baron Caron- delet, Governor of Louisiana, Nolan had no difficulty in procuring his horses. He was a careful observer and drew an accurate map of the country. Ostensibly for the same purpose, Nolan again visited Texas in the year 1800. The Spaniards were becoming suspicious of the Americans, and Manuel Gayoso, who had succeeded Carondelet as Governor of Louisiana, wrote to De Nava, commander of the eastern internal provinces, that Nolan was a dangerous character, who, in conjunction with Wilkinson, was plot- ting against the interests of Spain, and advised his arrest. The commandant at Nacogdoches was accordingly instructed to watch Nolan and not permit him to enter
106
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.