USA > Texas > Bexar County > San Antonio > San Antonio de Bexar; a guide and history > Part 7
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If any reader should weary at the length of these remarks on the "taking of the water," (saca de agua) he may skip it ; but it must be written if only to do justice to the founders of our city, not to speak again of the pleasure of the task. Let this be the apology, if one be needed, for an article that may prove wearisome to some by reason of its length ; the editor has found that no such true estimate and understanding of the history, domestic and public, of the aims of these good old religious pioneers, and later their imitators in ditch construction, of "their useful toil their destiny obscure," nor indeed for that matter, the history and growth in the last century of the whole community, as by following up the gradual construction, fact of existence, and logic of these old water ways. The reader may judge for himself if it is not so, by following the story of one of these acequias from the discovery of its public necessity to the formation of a company of shareholders among those settlers most nearly interested and concerned, to the obtaining of the permission from His Majesty, the King through his
43
CONCEPCION DITCH.
representative the Governor, to the settlement of the neighbors' real or fancied prior water rights, to the election or appointment of the Acequiero or Acequiador (the constructor of acequias), to the actual construction, and finally to that interesting operation of the drawing of lots among the shareholders of the company for the "suertes " of land which the King will grant to them upon the simple conditions of cultivating the lands thus granted, of keeping the channels clear and clean, the locks, water gates, sluices, fences, aqueducts, troughs, etc., of the ditches in proper repair, and one horse, and arms and ammunition in read- iness to meet enemies in the protection of the colony. On this line, from how they learned to grasp the natural water advantages of the valley, may be traced the true inwardness of the life and growth of the town in the eighteenth century, say from 1729 to 1793, of its population gradually increased by soldiery, settlers, special immigrants as those from the Canary Islands, camp followers, adventurers and Indian converts.
The main or madre acequias shall be herein described in as near chronolog- ical order as it is possible to make out.
The Pajalache or Concepcion Ditch.
This is the oldest of all the Acequias. The exact date of its construction is doubtful, but it was begun early in the last century. In evidence in a lawsuit- Rhodes v. Whitehead-this date was given as 1729 (see Calendar of San Antonio, October, 22d, 1858). It is perhaps more probable that it was completed a few years later than this. It was finally abandoned in 1869, thus serving its purpose nearly 140 years. It was abandoned on account of the dam which provided it with water proving too great an obstruction to the river's current and a nuisance to the city during flood times. This dam was built across the river a short dis- tance above the town ford, and above the present dam of the old Lewis Mill, about on a line with Presa street. It was very high-some two or three feet higher than the Lewis dam. From this high level, through a deep cutting, the Pajalache ditch took its waters, and striking Garden street almost immediately, it followed the direct line of that street to the Concepcion Mission, and thence on to join the River below, irrigating lands on its way by laterals. At the intersection of Mill and Garden streets, the Alamo Madre ditch, coming from Water street a few years later, met it, and the waters of this ditch were taken across on a substantial arched stone aqueduct, which exists now, only the arches have remained buried since the disuse of the Pajalache. Before or upon the abandonment of the Pajalache, in order that the compromise between the citizens and the holders of water rights might be as peaceably effected as possi- ble, part of the waters of the Alamo Madre were taken at this same intersection into a new ditch down Garden street, to the left of and on a higher level than the Pajalache, but joining the old Pajalache channel below, and so on to Concep- cion Mission. This was a small enough ditch in comparison to the old one, but was better than no water at all. The main water of the Alamo Madre still crossed on the aqueduct and continued down Mill street, crossing this street some distance down, turning to the left and on to join the River below.
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SAN ANTONIO DE BEXAR.
A number of laterals issued from these ditches right and left, as from all the main ditches; but only those minor laterals that have some historical interest in themselves-such as the Alamo Mission branches-will be mentioned.
The Pajalache ditch was made both wide and very deep, as may yet be traced on Garden street; of sufficient size-tradition has it-that the Fathers and their Indians kept a boat on it, from which to do the work of keeping its bed clean and clear of obstruction. The main object of this old acequia was to supply the Concepcion Mission and its lands with water.
The San Pedro Ditch.
This ditch comes next in point of interest. It was constructed to supply the Villa Capital de San Fernando as well as to irrigate lands along its course. It issues from the east side of the head waters of the San Pedro creek, taking its way towards and down North Flores street crossing to Acequia street and flowing across the west side of Main Plaza immediately under the front of San Fernando Church (Cathedral now), then still keeping to the east of South Flores street passes through the United States Arsenal grounds to the east side of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad Depot, on to join the San Antonio River, with a branch to the San Pedro Creek, in the fork of the Y of the River and Creek. As to the date of the construction of both this ditch and the Alamo Madre, the evidence is a little tangled. It cannot be many years the junior of the Pajalache. It is frequently mentioned in the documents relating to the Upper Labor ditch of 1776 to 1784 in the County and City Records and other documents, and at the earliest of these dates the San Pedro ditch had undoubtedly been in use many years .. Such evidence in regard to these two ditches as has been found bearing upon the point will be given, and the reader may draw his own conclusions. A fuller description of the origin of the Upper Labor, the editor trusts, will in a measure make up for the lack of accurate knowledge as to these. In 1730 the Canary Island settlers came, and 011 November the 28th of the same year, La Villa Capital de San Fernando was founded and a Presidio "erected " under Antonio de Aviles, so says an ancient copy of the Ordinances of San Antonio. In 1738 the corner stone of the old Parish Church of San Fernando was laid, and on February 10th, 1773, that good Governor, Baron Ripperda, who seems to have been so active in any matters that pertained to the welfare of San Antonio, built the first Quarters, Guard- house and Jail for the Presidio. Now, it is highly probable that the San Pedro ditch was completed just about the time of the building of the Parish Church. This period was very active in the prosecution of many public and ecclesiastical works. There is good reason to believe that it was constructed later than the Pajalache and earlier than some of the others.
The Alamo Madre Ditch.
The purpose of this ditch was to supply water to the Mission of San Antonio de Valero, or the Alamo Mission, and its lands. Its course was and is a long and useful one, and its carrying capacity is large. It has many useful and historical laterals and branches, and some that are abandoned and some that were failures from the first. The course of the mother ditch (the laterals will be spoken of
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"THREE OF A KIND."
MEXICAN JACAL.
KURTZ
MEXICAN WASH-DAY.
"ON THE TRADE" ; STOCK YARDS.
OF CALIFORNI"
45
ALAMO MADRE DITCH.
afterwards) is on this wise : After leaving its source, at one of the most easterly points of the head of the River, its meanderings follow a little to the east of the line of the road known as River Avenue, passing between the west end of the Government Post Reserve and the River, whence it goes on to a point a little to the west of the Southern Pacific Depot, passing on through properties lying between Avenue E and Austin street ; thence across the junction of Nacogdoches street and Nolan street, across Crockett, Blum and East Commerce streets (nearly all this course was formerly irrigable land), down Water street, over the old Pajalache in an aqueduct ; thence down Mill street, across it, turning to the left to the River below. Its first notable branch (to go back again to its source and going down) was one which was called the Valley Ditch, constructed from plans of Mr. Freisleben ; and which, from the time of its completion -- about 1872-proved to be an utter failure, and but a sorry venture to the city, the engineer having made errors in the grade. It was almost immediately aban- doned. It issued from the Madre at a point at the extremity of Grand Avenue, near the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, taking a south-easterly direction down Walnut street to a course left of the old Goliad road, over the south-eastern limits, The next branch-that one which issned from a point near the end of Fifth street (east), not far from the angle formed by Nolan and Nacogdoches streets, is of some historical importance. It makes at once for the eastern walls of the Alamo Mission, and may be seen close under the east end of the Alamo Church, and is said to have supplied the beseiged with water in that terrible strug. gle of 1836. From here it passes on through the Menger Hotel court-yard ; thence to supply, in old times, the inhabitants of East Villita, joining the mother ditch once more near the intersection of Goliad and Water streets. This ditch was known as the ditch of the Alamo proper, and itself had a branch abandoned years ago, reaching around the north and west ramparts of the Alamo Mission square, passing along the west line of stores on our modern Alamo Plaza, through the Opera House ground, joining the River there at the back on Crockett street. Then another modern branch (about in the '60's) reached backward from the mother ditch on Martinez street toward Garden street, cross- ing the old Pajalache in one of those curious aqueducts spoken of in the Spanish records as "canoa "-a canoe or hollowed log, of cypress generally-joining the River immediately after crossing Garden street. The next branch was one already mentioned in the description of the Pajalache-a compromise ditch to the lands around Mission Concepcion.
The Mission of San Antonio de Valero, as shown by Girand, was moved to the east bank of the San Antonio River from the Post of San José, out West, in 1718, "on account of the scarcity of water ; " but the building up of the Mission went on but slowly, and the foundation of the Church was not laid until 1744. The date that this Mission supplied itself with water by means of the Acequia Madre del Alamo is uncertain. That it is one of the earliest ditches is certain. At any rate, it is placed here third in the order of chronology. One reason of the scarcity of mention of this ditch, may be found in the fact that the partition of the Alamo lands did not occur until 1793; so that it is not mentioned in deeds as a property boundary line until then; but of course it was made many years before that date.
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SAN ANTONIO DE BEXAR.
The Upper Labor Ditch.
More particulars concerning the origin of this ditch can be given than of any of the others that have been described, and they are given in the belief that these particulars throw an interesting light upon the life and workings of a period in the history of San Antonio which cannot be regarded but curiously and in- quiringly. In the County Records may be found many documents and copies of decrees, ordinances, petitions and letters in the original Spanish relating to this Acequia, and in the City Engineer's office may be found translations of some of these and other documents, presumably sent from Coahuila, and from other sources have been obtained copies of translations of these with additions, notably a lengthy document, which, it is alleged, was published in the San Antonio Ledger on April 1st, 1852 ; all these are more or less tangled in their dates and abound in other clerical errors .* These dates have been compared and checked off as far as possible, and from this material has been gleaned most of the follow- ing information.
In the first days of the year 1776, it was found to be desirable to irrigate lands lying between the upper part of the San Antonio River west and the San Pedro Springs. The matter was agitated among some citizens interested until
* The following is a specimen excerpt of the documentary evidence referred to, the translation does not seem to be very good, a few of the most conspicnous errors have been corrected. The first decree of the Governor.
"Don Juan Maria de Ripperda, Baron of Ripperda, Colonel of Cavalry, Governor of this Province of Texas, its Missions and Conquests and Frontiers, Commander of Arms (or Forces) of the same and of Coahuila and Nueva Leon, Captain of the Royal Presidio of San Antonio de Bexar, by his Majesty the King.
"Not having been practised np to this, the interesting and important conveyance of water, which operation is rendered so easy by the proximity of the San Antonio river to the city and garrison, and although in a comının- nication from the Viceroy, the Marquis Casa Fuerte dated September 20th, 1731, His Excellency ordered that the water of the two springs should be divided among the four first settlers that should come to this place, and Mis- sion with their families, allowing to them such hours of the day as might suit their convenience for the irrigation of their land, letting afterwards the waters to flow freely so as to give the same benefit to the next neighbors by snch means all would be provided with plenty of water for their lands in cultivation without injuring each other.
"In a second communication from the same Most Excellent Viceroy dated the 12th of May 1733 to the Governor of this Province, Don Antonio Bustillos y Cevallos, the order was given to distribute the waters of the San An- tonio river and the San Pedro creek among the Fathers of the Missions, the Garrison and all the settlers of the town of San Fernando giving to all the necessary supplys (sic) without depriving the Indians in their settle- ments, but with the condition that should the water at any time be insufficient to give to all continually a sup- ply, in such a contingency to be served by turns between all the neighbors, according to law 11, title 17, book 4, of the Recapitnlation of the Indies, which states that in case their town should increase in population, it was the imperious dnty of the Governor to have all the inhabitants well supplied with water.
"In compliance with the said law, the actual Governor (being sick at the time, ) appointed Don Mateo Perez Lieutenant of this Company of Bexar with instructions to give possession of the right of water for irrigation to all the actual settlers, and for any other that might come in future, accordingly the right was given in due form on the 27th of October 1733, to all the settlers residing above the town ford on the same river, San Antonio, and with the intention of carrying into effect the taking of the water, several of the neighbors of this city and Pre- sidio have applied to me wishing to aid in its execution, and as all the families of the Canary Island settlers as well as all the rest of the inhabitants feel interest in it, according to former superior decrees, and in order to avoid in future all motives of discord between settlers, I have ordered that if the said families of the Canary Island settlers, or their actual descendants should have any other document that may prove in their favor, to pre- sent it to me within four days with the answer signed by all the persons, heads of said families, so that I may pro- ceed without delay to the construction of the work, it being of great importance.
"In faith thereof I have signed this my decree on January 10th 1776.
"EL BARON RIPPERDA.
"Acting as Judge Receptor with the witnesses of my assistance in the absence of a Notary Public, there being none in the Province, and on the present common paper not having any with the Royal Seal or stamp.
EL BARON RIPPERDA.
"WITNESSES :- JOSE YGNACIO ORNELES,
ANTONIO BARCENAZ."
* And so on, the decrees, correspondence, etc., continue.
*
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UPPER LABOR DITCH.
the Governor of the Province of Texas, Baron Juan Maria de Ripperda, a pro- gressive and industrious man, directed his attention to it, and on January 10th, 1776, he issued a decree in order to avoid, as he says, in the future, all motives of discord between settlers, ordering the Canary Island settlers or their actual descendents to produce any document, if they have one, that might prove in their favor, and present it to him within four days, their reply to be signed by the heads of the said families. To this decree on January 15th, they reply that they have no document, but think there are some decrees or schedules in their favor, deposited in the Archives of this town, and they respectfully ask permission to be allowed to examine the Archives to search for these. This request is signed by eleven of the Canary Island settlers, or their descendents.
The next day, January 16th, 1776, a meeting of the Cabildo is called by special order of the Governor, and in the presence of that corporation, it was decided that all the documents bearing any relation with the town and the Canary Island settlers should be examined, and it was there and then declared that should any document be found in the Archives of the Captain-General, the right should be reserved to make use of them at any future time. A memoran- dum to this effect, besides being signed by the settlers, bears also the signature of the President, Father and Friar of the Missions Pedro Ramirez.
Baron Ripperda next addresses a communication similar to the first- mentioned to the President of the Missions, reiterating that there were only two documents or superior decrees in existence in connection with the water rights granted to the Missions and settlers of the town and maintaining that the inhabitants of the place were free to use the water of the River for irrigating purposes if they did not interfere with the supply to the Missions. Those documents being decrees of the Viceroy the Marquis of Casa Fuerte dated September 20th, 1731, and May 12th, 1733, therefore the Governor wishes to know if the Missions under the President's charge have any claim emanating from any superior decree. If they have, the Governor would like to be informed of it as soon as practicable, "so that the public may be no longer de- prived of such a great benefit" as the distribution of the water. To which communication the President of the Missions replies, dating from the Mission of San Juan, January 20th, 1776, that none of the five Missions possesses any document in their favor in prejudice of the inhabitants, he sees clearly, however, that the Missions being situated by Royal decree upon the banks of the River, with the rights of permanent and sufficient water for the cultivation of their lands, they have the prior right of possession and construction of channels, he mentions this right in case the Missions may wish to exercise it at some future time, but the President is not of the dog in the manger kind, and he says he is of the opinion that there is such a profusion of water in the River that it affords to all the same benefit, and the Missions will make no opposition under the one understanding that the right of priority be reserved to them.
The Governor Ripperda having thus satisfied himself that he is trespassing on no one's proper rights, he desires that the two documents be filed under the understanding that any taking of the water must be effected without injuring the supply to the Missions. He is also satisfied that it has been clearly shown
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SAN ANTONIO DE BEXAR.
and declared that there exists no other superior decree that might act in the favor either of the settlers or the " five towns of the Missions," he accordingly issues an ordinance requesting the neighbors and those who may wish to con- tribute to the taking of the water, to enlist themselves forthwith, contributing every one any and "necessary utensils," and the Baron promises that the partition of the lands "will be made with the due equity of chance." He insists that the person who may take charge of the work must possess intelligence and experience ; the election of the Acequiero to be decided by a plurality of votes among the shareholders. The Acequiero elected shall be entitled to an extra portion or suerte of land, but he shall furnish two additional men. The Gov- ernor then makes in his decree, numerous suggestions concerning the construction of the ditch, as to its protection from cattle by the planting of nopal trees (prickly pears) or other thorny bushes, and says that the water gates must have stone and mortar foundations and suggests other sensible precautions concerning the width, depth and general completeness of the work to be done. He is very thorough, but withal indulgent, and he says that all the persons engaged in the construction may suggest any opinion that may contribute to the convenience and benefit of all, so that everything (he loves peace-this good Governor) may move smoothly and peaceably, for the end, he says, "of the respectable laws of his Catholic Majesty, is to avoid in his dominions all kinds of discords amongst his subjects." And in order that this important decree may be made known and promptly executed, " I have ordered its publication, after holding High Mass, at the beating of the drium at the door of the Court House, as customary."
In the meanwhile, we may surmise that things went along smoothly for a while, for nothing more is heard of the Upper Labor Ditch and its construction until July 13th, 1776, when we learn of the second election, in which one Angel Galiu is elected over his opponent, Bartholome Seguin, to take the place of Foribio Fuentes, who, for "reasons by him exposed, which were found suffi- cient," makes application to be relieved and to be awarded the emoluments in land, etc., to which he was entitled. He is relieved on July 15th, on the condi- tion that he put two ment daily on the work of construction until the new director shall bring the irrigation to a convenient place, which means that the first Suertes of land would be drawn for and granted when the. water had been conveyed over sufficient land to warrant a partition. On the former date, July 13th, the share-holders who seem to desire to profit by some undesirable experiences entered into a hard and fast agreement with Angel Galin, the newly elected Ace- quiero, in which he is bound to continue the work to its conclusion without the in- terference of any person, for the sum of one dollar per day, deducting the price of four men of the twenty-six to work daily, (the poor peones or laborers could not have made much above the price of their salt, according to this), and under no consid- eration whatever will a substitute be allowed him, and that those entitled to irrigation shall have the right to remove him, in case the work shall be badly directed, or for any "other motives that impartial persons may find, such as delay, bad work, direction &c," he is to inspect the work daily until the object of fur- nishing all the neighbors with water be accomplished, and he binds himself to the completion of the contract "with all his present and future property." To all this Angel Galin is ready to agree, so he takes charge of the work.
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THE UPPER LABOR DITCH.
All these decrees of the Baron are dated, "in the town of San Fernando &c., &c.," now comes one however dated "In the Royal Garrison of San Antonio de Bexar, and city of San Fernando" on the 28th day of April 1777, in which the Governor says, that he has been informed that the work has reached as far as La Lomita de Vieja, and that the first distribution of Suertes could be made to the twenty-five persons entitled to them and two for Foribio Fuentes, the Ex- Acequiero. Twenty-six chances contain 25,233 varas of land, which are meas- ured for irrigation into portions of different lengths lying between the River and the Acequia. It is a pity to waste a season, and it is now April and the season for planting corn is passing, so the Governor orders the drawing at once to be made in the Court House of the town, giving admittance to all the persons inter- ested, (a complete list of the shareholders follows) and to everybody wishing to witness the operation. The twenty-six tickets are placed in one covered urn and the names in another, two children draw these, the Governor reads the results. Each shareholder draws his Suerte (literally his luck) of good rich acres of the Labor de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, and it is granted to them by the king that they may take possession of it, and bequeath the titles to their children or any other heirs, and no other person or persons shall at any time have any claim or right in the said properties which have hitherto been considered as be- longing to the Crown af Spain. The Governor forthwith directs Don Simon de Arocha Lieutenant-General of the Province to give to those entitled, possession of their lands thus drawn, upon the simple conditions mentioned in the introductory to this subject. The second and final drawing was held on the 8th day of March 1778, the total being fifty-two Suertes distributed, thus; first drawing, twenty-five among the shareholders; one extra to the ex-constructor who was also a share holder; second drawing, twenty-one among the shareholders; one extra to Angel Galiu, constructor who was also a shareholder; and four to be cultivated in com- mon, to cover some expenses; total fifty two Suertes. Perhaps it is a fact suffi- ciently interesting to notice, that the family of Rodriguez still occupies the land thus granted near the junction of this ditch and the San Pedro ditch. Every- thing is not cleared up however with regard to construction until April 2nd 1781 when Angel Galin reporting that the ditch being newly cleaned, and the water turned in, he desires to be released from further obligations. And still the shareholders were not satisfied, and in 1784 the quarrels over the Upper Labor ditch were waxing so hot, that the Governor by petition, used his influence to keep the peace.
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