USA > Texas > History of Texas : from 1685 to 1892, volume 1 > Part 3
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The Marquis of Casa Fuerte, the Viceroy of Mexico and friend of Texas, in 1734 appointed Don Manuel de Sandoval Governor of the new Philipenas. Sandoval was a Spanish soldier, who had risen from the rank of cadet to that of cap- tain of grenadiers. He had been Governor of Coahuila for seven years. He immediately inaugurated campaigns against the Indians, and kept them in check. Having irrigable lands around San Antonio, the labors of the husbandmen were amply rewarded and their horses, cattle and sheep multiplied.
Sandoval, more soldier than statesman, while pursuing his military expeditions kept his headquarters at San Antonio, when he should have been at Adaes, watching the French, . who had a mission among the Natchitoches Indians on the right bank of Red River. He stationed at Adaes, however, Lieutenant Don Jose Gonzales, whose duty it was to keep him informed of the movements of the French, and of what- ever else might demand official attention.
Pending a final settlement of the controversy as to terri- torial limits, the Honda creek, a tributary of Red river, was agreed upon as the boundary between Louisiana and Texas.
It happened that after a heavy rain, the spot on which the French mission stood was overflowed. Orders were imme- diately given by the French Governor to remove the buildings and they were erected by St. Dennis at a point a few miles nearer Adaes. This action was followed by remonstrances on the part of Spain and a spirited revival of the claims of France, the latter founded upon the explorations of La Salle. In the meantime, the good Viceroy, Casa Fuerte, died, and
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
Vizaroni, Archbishop of Mexico, became Viceroy. He, to provide a place for Don Carlos de Franquiz, who had been disappointed of a situation in Tlascala, Mexico, sent him to Texas to take Sandoval's place as Governor. Franquiz reached San Antonio in September, 1736, and entered upon the dis- charge of his official duties by insulting the priests, opening and reading private correspondence, and beginning a series of persecutions, directed against Sandoval, that resulted in the first lawsuit instituted in the Province.
Under his orders Sandoval was arrested and put in irons, and criminal charges preferred against him. The accusations were :
First. That Sandoval had permitted the trespass of the French upon Texas soil; to which he answered by produc- ing his remonstrances with St. Dennis and the correspondence that followed.
Second. That he had kept his official residence at San Antonio instead of at Adaes; to which he answered that he could not carry on Indian campaigns and stay in his office.
Third. That he had not kept the records of the garrison ; to which he answered by showing the official memoranda kept.
Fourth. That he had reduced the number of paid missiona- ries, in order that he might increase his own exchequer. On examination, a balance was found due him of $1,300. These charges were investigated by a special commissioner sent from Nuevo Leon for that purpose.
The first charge involved the question of boundary and could not be sustained without further testimony. On the second, he was fined $500; on the third and fourth he was acquitted. The commissioner deposed Governor Franquiz. Sandoval, however, had to pay all the costs, which with the fine amounted to about $3,500, as the deposed Governor had no money. In 1738 he made complaint that injustice had been done him, and the complaint and a copy of the trial record were sent to the Attorney-General in Mexico. During the
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pendency of these proceedings Sandoval removed to Vera Cruz.
On the fourteenth of July, 1740, an order was sent to Gov- ernor Boneo, successor to Franquiz, to take testimony at Adaes on the following points : (1) How far is it from Adaes to the French post on Red River? (2) What houses or forts have the French erected there? (3) When where they erect- ed? (4) Who was Governor of Texas at the time ? (5) What diligence did he use to prevent the trespass? (6) Did he neglect his duty? (7) What was his duty ? (8) Was free passage or contraband trade allowed by him ?
The commissioner was also instructed to secure any and all information bearing on the questions at issue.
Among the numerous witnesses examined were many old soldiers, who had been at the post for twenty years, They testified that the Arroyo Honda Gran Montana, half way between the two posts, had always been considered the bound- ary by both parties ; that when the Spaniards established Adaes they found the French at Natchitoches and in possession of . the country on the bank of the Red River as far as the Honda ; that although Sandoval had used all lawful means to prevent the trespass of the French, he had never claimed farther than the Honda, and, lastly, that notices forbidding contraband trade had been everywhere set up. On this evidence San- doval was acquitted, but the matter was not suffered to rest. The old Archbishop was succeeded as Viceroy by Duke de la Conquista. Franquiz applied for new proceedings and San- doval was arrested in Vera Cruz and thrown into prison, where he remained four months before being tried and acquit- ted by a new Viceroy. The latter issued an injunction for- bidding farther proceedings against him. The transcript of these proceedings (thirty volumes of manuscript ) was sent to the King of Spain, and in the discussion between the Spanish government and the United States, in 1805-1811, with regard to the boundary of Texas, was brought forward and utilized.
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Many of the best Spanish families of San Antonio are descended from the Canary Island emigres. The false economy which prevented the further introduction of these desirable colonists, and reduced the soldiers at the military garrisons to a number insufficient for protection against the Indians, together with the removal of Sandoval from office, was followed by results that might have been anticipated.
The massacre of the San Saba missionaries by the Indians, in 1758, although the Indians were severely punished in that year by an expedition under Padillo, was a heavy blow. The frequent changes of government, and the want of security to life and property, were also depressing.1 The people were without means for the sale or exchange of the products of their lands and the increase of their flocks and herds and com- merce with Louisiana (which offered an inviting market) was so jealously guarded as to amount to prohibition, except to smugglers. All the resources of the country, however, were taxed to pay the annual tribute demanded by Spain. To render the situation still more deplorable, not a dollar of the public revenue could be used for the benefit of the colonies, without the consent of the parent country. This was never obtained, as the expenses of the colonial government were supposed to be regulated and defrayed by the crown, and the revenues never found their way back from the Spanish treasury.
The barter and sale of colonies without their consent that often attended the wars and peacemakings of European states furnished an additional source of uneasiness. An illustration in points is the transfer of Louisiana to Spain in November, 1762. This event was kept secret from the people of the territory af- fected for eighteen months. In the new adjustment of fron- tier defenses which followed the transfer, the troops at Adaes were withdrawn, the mission broken up, and the settlers re-
1 In 1765 the Comanches compelled the soldiers to move their tents within the walls of the mission.
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moved to San Antonio, where a labor (177 acres) of irrigable land was divided among them, called the " Labor de los Adae- senos."
When Don Jose Galvez was Viceroy, in 1785, the port of Copano in Texas was open for trade, and a small commerce begun, which it was said, soon developed into smuggling.
In the division of the military department of the Internal Provinces of Mexico, in 1788, by a decree of the Viceroy, An- tonio Flores, into the western and eastern departments, Texas was attached to the eastern department, with military head- quarters at Santa Rosa, province of Coahuila. Under this plan, in 1789, Colonel Don Juan do Ugaldo ( not Uvalde), commander of the Eastern Internal Provinces, pursued the Indians into the canon of Ugaldo and killed several hundred of them, insuring peace to Texas for many years. Nine years later, Mexico was divided into ten military brigades, and Texas was attached to the tenth, with military headquarters at San Luis Potosi. This period of prosperity (during the contin- uance of which many rancheros occupied portions of fine graz- ing land.), was followed by a disastrous flood that, among other damage wrought, inundated Padre's Island, destroying 50,000 head of cattle.
Under the Spanish policy, population increased but slowly. Mexico, though swarming with inhabitants, did not furnish emigrants. Texas, with its numerous tribes of hostile Indians, its isolation from markets, and the dangers of travel across its waters, did not possess attractions for a people accustomed to go to convenient marts, car- rying their wares on their backs, or when considerable, on pack mules, and for whose subsistence the trees of the forests and esculent roots afforded an ever ready supply of food. A mule trail stretched from Adaes to San Antonio, the Rio Grande river, Saltillo, San Luis Potosi, Queretaro and the city of Mexico. This was the only highway in the country open for traffic, and to make the journey on mule-back required
3
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two months and a half. This trail across Texas passed through a territory swarming with Indians.
Foreigners were prohibited from entering the country under penalty of imprisonment or death, and no vessels were per- mitted on the Gulf of Mexico except those flying the Spanish flag. The population of the settlements at San Antonio, Nacogdoches (to which place, in 1778, several wealthy families from Louisiana had immigrated), La Bahia ( Goliad), Mound Prairie, Orquisaco and perhaps other small cantonments ( aside from a few ranches), with the converted Indians, is said not to have exceeded 1,500 souls.
In 1803, when Bonaparte sold the territory of Louisiana to the United States, the jealousy of the Spaniards with regard to the eastern boundary of Mexico was revived by the United States affecting to recognize and found its boundary claims upon La Salle's claim in the name of the French King to Matagorda Bay and all the adjoining country. Under new prohibitory orders, several small parties were arrested, and the Spaniards tore down the United States flag which had been hoisted at a little Caddo village, just north of Natchi- toches, at which place President Jefferson had ordered Major Porter to garrison a fort.
CHAPTER IV.
Don Juan Quintero - Ill-fated Expedition of Philip Nolan - Extracts from Musquiz' diary - List of Nolan's followers.
Most that was formerly known and deemed authentic in regard to the adventures and ill-fated end of Philip Nolan in Texas, from his first expedition in 1797 to his death in 1801, was derived from the narrative of one of his companions, Ellis P. Bean (a youth of twenty-two years at the time of Nolan's death ) who, after twelve years' imprisonment in Mexico, took part in the revolution against Spain, survived that contest and held rank as an officer in the Mexican army after its triumph. Of him more will be said farther on. But to the translation of old Spanish documents in Mexico by Don Juan A. Quintero, a worthy Cuban exile, well known to the author of this work and many others in Texas, we are now indebted for valuable introductory explanations and the Spanish official account of Nolan's career and the fate of his men.
" Philip Nolan, of Irish origin and a citizen of the United States, residing in Natchez, Mississippi, obtained a passport from the Baron de Carondelet, Governor of Louisiana, July 17th, 1797," says Quintero, " to go to Texas for the purpose of buying horses for the Louisiana regiment then being organ- ized at New Orleans. He repaired to San Antonio de Bexar, where he made the acquaintance of the Governor of Texas, Don Manuel Munoz, and, through the kind offices of the lat- ter, entered into correspondence with General Pedro de Nava, then commanding the eastern Spanish provinces, with head- quarters at the city of Chihuahua.
A permit was granted Nolan to obtain the horses desired in the Province of Texas and New Santander ( now Tamaulipas,
(35)
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Mexico ), and about the end of July, 1798, he took with him 1,297 head, which he kept for a while on the pasture grounds of the Trinity River. Soon after, he returned to Natchez.
The Viceroy of Mexico, Marquis Branciforte, on the 12th of February, 1798, transmitted a communication from the Gov- ernor of Louisiana, Don Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, successor of Baron de Carondelet, to General Nava, requesting him, as a matter of great import, to arrest any foreigners who might go into the Spanish Provinces, as he had been informed that it was the intention of a number of Americans to visit the country for the purpose of becoming friendly with the Indians and instigating revolt. He desired Nolan to be closely watched. At that time the movements of the English and Americans had created suspicion, and it was thought that even the French designed to invade Louisiana, then held by Spain.
On the 1st of June, 1799, the Governor of Louisiana, Gayoso de Lemos, addressed an official communication to the commanding general, Don Pedro Nava, recommending that no American be permitted to reconnoitre the territory, and stating that he knew that a number of strangers had gone into Texas, and that the most dangerous intruder was Philip Nolan, who, through deception, had obtained a passport from his pre- decessor, the Baron de Carondelet. He alleged that Nolan was a hypocrite and sacrilegious man ; that he professed to be a Catholic among Spaniards, and laughed at the Catholic religion when among Americans ; that he was com- missioned by General Wilkinson ( who had raised and educa- ted him), to reconnoitre the country, draw maps, and make offers to the friendly Indians to induce them to rebel against the Spaniards, and that it would be important to secure and dispose of him in such a manner that he might never again be heard of.
On the 8th of August, 1800, the commanding general ordered the Governor of Texas to arrest Nolan, in case he
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returned to the Province. On the 6th of October, 1800, the commander of the fort at Concordia, Louisiana, addressed an official communication to the military commander at Nacog- doches, informing him that Philip Nolan, under the pretext of chasing wild horses, was organizing an expedition of thirty or forty armed men to enter the territory of Texas; and that he had remonstrated with the authorities at Natchez, Miss., but was satisfied they would not discountenance the plans of Nolan.
The communication was forwarded from Nacogdoches to the commanding general at Chihuahua, and was by him trans- mitted to the Viceroy, at the city of Mexico.
The commander at Concordia, under date of December 13th, 1800, forwarded a copy of the voluntary statement of Mordecai Richards, in which the latter declared, before the above mentioned military authority, that he left Natchez with Nolan and about thirty-four armed Americans and six or seven Spaniards ; that at Nogales (Walnuts) they crossed the Mississippi, and Nolan told him that he relied on him to guide them, as he was well acquainted with the territory of Texas, which he promised to do on account of the advantageous offers made him by Nolan ; that thence they directed their course to the northwest; that during their march he was obliged to hunt for the party ; that about six miles from the Washita post, Nolan was detained for a time by a party of militiamen, and sent a letter to the commander of the post by the officer in command of the party and that after the militiamen left he asked Nolan the reason why they had been stopped, and Nolan assured him that he had a permit to go into Texas, and called him aside and said : " You are a man on whom I rely to carry out my plans, and for that reason I have appointed you third in command. If we succeed, you will make your fortune. My plan is to travel northwest, and, passing the settlements of the Caddo Indians, at a cer- tain distance therefrom build a fort, to protect us from
1
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attack. Then we will sally forth to explore the country and its mines, and, after obtaining a sufficient number of horses, we can proceed to Islas Negras and Kentucky without finding any obstacles. There we will find many friends awaiting our arrival, and by that time I will receive authority to conquer the Province of Texas. I will be the general, Mr. Fero the second officer, and you the third in command."
Richards further said that he became alarmed, and, soon after this conversation occurred, began to see the dangers of the expedition and determined to desert Nolan's party, which he did, although he had a son and a nephew in it.
After the events which we have briefly mentioned, Lieuten- ant M. Muzquiz was ordered to start in pursuit of Nolan and left Nacogdoches on the 4th of March, 1801. The following is a diary of his march with 100 men, 68 regulars from the army and 32 volunteers.
" March 4th, 1801. Left Nacogdoches early in the morn- ing. Took the road leading to San Antonio, and camped at the Rancho de la Botija.
" 5th. Continued my march on the same road and camped on La Rais creek.
" 6th. Arrived at the Terroros creek.
" 7th. Continued my march on the same road. About nine o'clock in the morning arrived at the Angelina river, which, having risen, I ordered rafts to be made to cross it. Camped on its banks.
" 8th. At daybreak sent a corporal and six men to repair a wooden bridge on the Neches river so as to facilitate our march. Left with the troops at eight o'clock in the morning. At one in the afternoon reached the Neches, and, the bridge being repaired, I crossed.
" 9th. Left the Neches at seven in the morning. About nine o'clock I quitted the San Antonio road, and, taking a course between north and west, I arrived at San Pedro creek, where I camped for the night.
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" 10th. Started early in the morning, camped for the night at La Laguna ( a lake).
" 11. Left at seven in the morning, traveling west. About 10 a. m. arrived at the Trinity river, which, having risen, I ordered ten rafts to be made to cross it. At sun down six Texas Indians joined us.
" 12. At daybreak I sent four volunteers to the settlement of the Tehuacano Indians, on the Brazos river, in order that they might bring with them a captain of the Texas Indians called El Blanco (The White) to show me the spot where Nolan was. This warrior refused to give me the information desired. Continued traveling west. About noon passed a lagoon, and between it and the Keechi settlement I camped for the night.
" 13. Continued traveling west. Passed, about nine in the morning, an abandoned settlement of the Keechi Indians. About 3 p. m. arrived at Santa Maria de Garcia creek.
" 14. Traveled from morning until 1 o'clock p. m. when I arrived at Las Piedras creek, and camped.
" 15. Traveled north until about 12 o'clock m., when I turned west. About 4 p. m. I arrived at La Vibora creek, where I spent the night.
" 16. Started at sunrise, course south. Passed through an abandoned settlement of Tehuacano Indians, whence I wended my way west. About 3 o'clock p. m. I arrived at the head of the Navasota.
" 17. At daybreak I started, course west. About 8 a. m. I wasinformed by the sergeant commanding the rear guard that two persons on horseback had been seen, and that they had suddenly hidden themselves in a thicket. I sent after them and they were soon found and brought before me. They proved to be two Indians. After some questions I asked them, they informed me that there were in that region about twenty-five men, with Nolan, all of whom had long beards and that if I traveled fast, course west, I would get to the place where they
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were about sundown. The Indians told me they would guide me on a route between north and west, so that I could get, without being seen, to the place where Nolan was. They said that the place was between the Monte Grande and the Brazos river. I camped for the night at the Arroyo del Atole.
" 18th. Started at daybreak, course between north and west. Traveled until 2 o'clock p. m. when I camped close to a spring.
" 19th. Traveled, course north, until about 6 o'clock p. m. Then I took a course west, and stopped on the bank of the Blanco river. I sent seventeen men with the interpreter, Mr. Barr, to explore the place where Nolan was. They returned before daybreak, and informed me that Nolan had a wooden intrenchment and a pasture ground, with some horses, on the banks of the Blanco. I immediately started, wending my way between west and south.
" 20th. At daybreak I arrived at the wooden intrenchment, and detained two Indians, who informed me that Nolan and his men were at a place between a creek and some hills, and that they had a house without a roof. As soon as night closed, I started, guided by two Tahuaya Indians; and, traveling all night, I arrived before daylight where Nolan was, and, concealing our men behind a hill, waited for the morning to act.
" 21st. At sunrise, having divided my force into three bodies, one commanded by me and carrying a four-pounder, I marched on Nolan's intrenchment. When I arrived at about thirty paces from it, ten men sallied from the intrench- ment, unarmed. Among them was Nolan, who said in a loud voice: "No lleguen porque seremos muertos unos otros." (" Do not approach, because either one or the other will be killed.") Noticing that the men who ac- companied Nolan were foreigners, I ordered Mr. William Barr, an Irishman who had joined my command as interpreter, to speak to them in English, and say to
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them that I had come for the purpose of arresting them, and that I expected them to surrender in the name of the King. Nolan had a brief conversation with Barr, and the lat- ter informed me that Nolan and his men were determined to fight. Nolan immediately re-entered his intrenchment, fol- lowed by his men, and I observed that two Mexicans (Juan Jose Martinez and Vicente Lara) escaped from the rear of said intrenchment. Soon after they joined us, stating that they had brought Nolan's carbine, which they handed me. At daybreak Nolan and his men commenced firing. The fight lasted until 9 o'clock a. m., when, Nolan being killed by a cannon ball, his men surrendered. They were out of ammu- nition. His force at the time of the engagement was com- posed of 14 Americans, 1 Creole of Louisiana, 7 Spaniards, or Mexicans, and 2 negro slaves. Nolan had three men wounded and several horses killed. His men had long beards. After the surrender, I learned that they had left Natchez with supplies for two months, and had been in the woods and prairies of Texas over seven months, living on horse-meat. Nolan's negroes asked permission to bury their master, which I granted, after causing his ears to be cut off, in order to send them to the Governor of Texas.
" 22d. Remained at same place.
" 23d. Started for Nacogdoches."
Here ends the diary of Lieutenant Musquiz, as translated by Mr. Quintero. Opinions differ as to where Nolan was captured. The precise spot is of no historical importance. From the diary of the Spanish Lieutenant, however, it was evidently northwest of, and quite a distance from the head of the Navasota and east of the Brazos; most probably in Johnson County, on what is now known as Nolan Creek. Musquiz names the stream on which the capture occurred the Rio Blanco, or White River. If Nolan Creek is not the Rio Blanco mentioned by Musquiz, the alternative probability is that the clear fork of the Trinity, in Tarrant or Parker
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
county, is the stream referred to by him. The following is a list of Nolan's followers : -
Stephen Richards, from Pennsylvania, aged 20 years; Simon McCoy, from Pennsylvania, aged 25 ; Jonah Walters, Virginia, aged 26; Solomon Cooley, Kentucky, aged 25 ; Ellis P. Bean, North Carolina, aged 22; Joseph Reed, Pennsyl- vania, aged 26; William Danlin, Pennsylvania, aged 27; Charles King, Maryland, aged 27; Joel J. Pierce, North Car- olina, aged 22; Thomas House, Virginia, aged 27; Ephraim Blackburn, Maryland, aged 35; David Fero, New York, aged 24; Vincente Lara, Mexico, aged 38; Juan Jose Mar- tinez, Mexico, aged 31; Jose Jesus Santos, Mexico, aged 21 ; Lorenzo Hinojosa, Mexico, aged 34; Jose Barben, Mexico, aged 20; Luciano Garcia, aged 42; Juan Bautista and Robert, negro slaves, and Refugio de la Garza, Mexico, aged 30.
The following, although belonging to Nolan's command, escaped from the prison at Nacogdoches soon after the surren- der : Robert Ashley, of South Carolina, aged 38 years ; John House, Virginia, aged 21, and Michel Moore, Ireland, aged 25.
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