Before the late years of the seventeenth century, what we now know as Texas was still unoccupied by Europeans, and, in fact, had not even a name of its own on the map. Its coast had been explored, notably by Pineda in his voyage of 1519; its interior had been traversed by Cabeza de Vaca in his famous wanderings of 1528-1536; it had been entered, perhaps, by the survivors of De Soto's expedition and by Coronado; it had been included in Garay's short-lived province of Amichel; 1 and it had been sometimes considered a part of Florida. 2 All that had been achieved, however, was a strengthening of Spain's claim to this part of the Gulf coast.
The story of the French encroachment which aroused Spain to the need of occupying these long neglected regions is too well known to require more than a passing mention. After gaining control of the St. Lawrence and the Lake region, the French had pushed into the Mississippi valley. In 1685, La Salle led a colony which was to be planted at the mouth of the river, and thus to begin the occupation of the newly-claimed Louisiana. He missed his destination, and landed on what is now Matagorda bay, on the Texas coast. The settlement was a failure, and nearly all who were connected with it lost their lives by disease or by violence.
When the news of this attempt to settle on Spanish territory reached Mexico, the viceroy promptly reported to the government at Madrid, and made several efforts to find the French settlement. 3 As all these early attempts failed to bring any information regarding the reported encroachment, the matter was dropped until 1689, when the finding of an old Frenchman, a member of La Salle's party, among the Indians near Coahuila, 4 led to an expedition under Alonso de León; this expedition actually found the remains of the French fort. The result was the first occupation of Texas by the Spaniards in 1690 5 through another expedition, also under the command of De León.
The itinerary of De León given below is a translation of the second document in the Memorias de Nueva España. It is the diary of the expedition of 1689, written by some one who took part in it, probably by De León himself.
6 This is the only contemporary
account I have had access to, except the Letter of Manzanet.
7 There is, however, a letter, which Bancroft ascribes to León, cited by Bancroft and by Parkman;
8 and there are still other documents in the Archivo General de Indias. So far as I know, no copies of the latter have yet been made for American libraries. The map
9 of which a facsimile is here given, showing the route taken by the Spaniards in the expedition, is found in connection with some of these Sevilla manuscripts. It is presumably the work of Don Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora,
10 as it bears
his signature. It is quite inaccurate in its representation of the rivers and of the coast, as is to be expected in a sketch-map of this sort and of this period, yet it is of considerable value for the light which it throws upon the narrative in the Itinerary. The lower courses of the rivers, in particular, are mostly pure guesswork; the coast may have been modeled on earlier maps. The route, which is marked on the tracing in red ink, is for the most part in agreement with that described in the Itinerary, yet it presents enough discrepancies to suggest other sources of information. It is hard to tell whence the additional information could have come,— certainly not from the Letter,
11 because this does not go sufficiently into detail. The names as given on the Map, however, agree substantially with those given by the Itinerary.
The aim in translation has been to give the exact meaning of the Spanish in clear, readable English, without regard to literalness of rendition. With this end in view, changes have been made in the word and sentence order, whenever it seemed necessary; no liberties, however, have been taken with the paragraphing. When the translation seems doubtful or unusual, the Spanish is printed in italics within parentheses; the translator's additions and explanations inserted in the body of the translation are bracketed. The punctuation and capitalization of the text have not been strictly followed; proper names, however, are retained as in the Spanish.
March.
Date. Leg. 14
Wednesday, March 23, 15 it was arranged that the detachment of soldiers and camp-followers (el Rl. de la Gente y Soldados 16) who were in Coahuila 17 should set out. Accordingly, they marched one league down the river. 18 1.
24.Thursday, the 24th, the whole body (el general) set out. The detachment, being ordered to go down the river, [crossed over and] 19 travelled down the other bank to its junction with the Nadadores. They travelled that day seven leagues toward the north. 20 All this country is uninhabitable. 7.
25.Friday, the 25th, we travelled down the Rio de Nadadores, along the south bank, between two ridges which they call Baluartes. On the bank of the river we passed a cottonwood tree, the only one within a great distance. We travelled that day seven leagues, keeping the same northeast course. 21 All the country is level and affords good pasturage. 7.
26.Saturday, the 26th, we travelled down the river 22 as on the day before, to its junction with the Sabinas. We travelled east, halting a league from the junction. The country is level and affords good pasturage.
27th.Sunday, the 27th, we went down the river Sabinas and crossed it toward the north. 23 Passing along the bank we sighted the soldiers who were coming from the Nuevo Reyno de Leon to join us here according to agreement. 24 As we came together a salute was fired on each side. After we had travelled three leagues to the east, a general review and individual count was made of all the soldiers, drivers, and other servants, and of the baggage as well. 3.
28.Monday, the 28th, we travelled to the northeast, a distance of six leagues. After crossing some unwatered plains, we halted at a pool of rain-water. 6.
29.Tuesday, the 29th, we set out toward the northeast. 25 Before daybreak the French prisoner 26 sent out one of the Indians whom we were bringing because of their loyalty, to tell the Indians, his acquaintances, that we were going through their village. As a result, more than seventy Indians, some armed, others unarmed, came out to meet us a league before we arrived at the village, and accompanied us thither. They had a hut ready, covered with buffalo hides; there thev put the Frenchman, toward whom they made many demonstrations of affection. In front of the hut was driven a stake, four varas high, on which were fastened sixteen heads of Indians, their enemies, whom they had killed. They were five nations joined together, (according to the account the Frenchman gave), entitled Hapes, Jumenes, Xiabu,, Mescale, and another. 27 We counted eighty five huts. We distributed among them some cotton garments, blankets, beads, rosaries, knives, and arms, with which they were very much pleased. Five cattle were killed for them, too, so that all persons of all ages might eat. There were four hundred and ninety of them. We crossed a creek about the time of evening prayer. 28 4.
31.Thursday, the 31st, it was necessary to halt at this point, because of the suffering of the horses occasioned by lack of water.
April.
1.Friday, April 1st, we travelled down the river 29 five leagues, traversing some low hills. There was no lack of water-holes along the way (en este distancia). The route during the most of these five leagues was toward the north. We halted on this south bank in front of the ford. The river 30 was forded, and found easy to cross the next day. Now we had with us a faithful Indian guide, 31 who assured us that he knew the country, and that he would bring us where there were some men like ourselves, in a settlement of six or seven houses; that they had wives and children, and that they were about six days' journey distant from the said 32 Rio Bravo. This Indian can not speak Castilian, (es bosal) but we got some light on what he was saying through another Indian who acted as interpreter, albeit a poor one. 5.
2.Saturday, the 2nd, we crossed the river 33 and went about one league north, to avoid some ravines and low hills. Afterward we went mostly northeast, until we reached some pools, five leagues away. We named these El paraje de los Cuervos, because more than three thousand crows appeared at nightfall. The way was level and untimbered. 5.
3.Palm Sunday, the 3rd, we marched northeast three leagues through level country, and afterward two more through several thickets of mesquite (despues huvo otras dos de algunos Montecillos de mesquites). We crossed some little dry creeks; and then we came upon one that had water in it, on the bank of which we halted. Altogether we travelled that day five long leagues. 34 We named this creek the Arroyo de Ramos, 35 because we found it on Palm Sunday. There we observed the altitude of the sun with an astrolabe, though a defective one, and found our latitude to be 26° 31’. 36 I must call attention to the fact that the tables on which this observation was based were made before the so-called Gregorian correction. This correction was made in the year 1582, in which the equinox was on the tenth of March. Following the Ephemerides of the Roman Andrea Argoli, which places the equinox this year [1582] on the 20th of March, we found by these tables that today, April 3, corresponds to the 24th of March of this year [1689], which is the first since the bissextile. These tables, the author says, he took from the Arte de Navegar, by the Maestro Medina. It has been necessary to state these facts in explanation, in case it should appear that a mistake has been made because of our lack of modern tables. 5.
4.Holy Monday, the 4th, we marched northeast the most of the day, east-by-north 37 occasionally (algunos ratos), a distance of 8 leagues. At first the land was level, then there was a little mesquite thicket; and after that we got into a larger one, three leagues long. We came upon a river, which, as we could see, even though it contained little water at the time, overflows its banks in time of rain more than half a league from the main channel. We called it the Rio de las Nueces, 38 because there were many pecan trees (nogales) 39 [on its banks]. It is somewhat rocky, and all its rocks are flint (de fuego) and very fine. 8.
5.Holy Tuesday, the 5th, we crossed the river. We had to go half a league down its bank, and then we went through a glade. Then came (se ofrecio) a very dense thicket. We had to cut a passage into it for almost a league with our cutlasses and axes, because of the numerous prickly pears and mesquite which blocked up the way. Afterward we got into a mesquite thicket in which at intervals we had to make a clearing. We travelled about seven leagues. We came upon a river to which we gave the name Rio Sarco, 40 because its water was blue. We went, I repeat, (como digo), seven leagues, with many turns. 41 7.
6.Holy Wednesday, the 6th, we travelled about three leagues to the northeast, and two to the east. The country we passed through was level, with fine pasturage, with very pleasant glades, and, occasionally, little motts of oak. We came to a river, which we named Rio Hondo. Apropos of this river, its descent on each side is about forty feet; 42 near it, on both banks, are some insignificant hills, some of them timbered. The water was plentiful, so that the horses were easily supplied (con facilidad bebio). As we went down toward the river we found some large white rocks, on some of which we saw some crosses cut, and other figures artificially made with great skill, apparently a long time before. 5.
7.Holy Thursday, the 7th, we went more than four leagues down the river without crossing it, sometimes east, sometimes southeast; 43 we halted on the hither bank. The country is of the same sort here as at the last stopping-place; level, for the most part, though there is a little mesquite timber. Ever since the thirtieth of last month, when we passed the village of the Five Nations; 44 we have found along the line of march traces of Indians, made some time ago; but not a single Indian has appeared.
8.Holy Friday, the 8th, we crossed from the other bank of the Rio Hondo, 45 and travelled east-northeast, the most of the day near the river. We came upon two ravines (cañadas) near together. Here, it appears, the river rises in time of flood as much as six feet. After the ravines comes a little creek in a thicket. Here it was necessary to change our course for a while, to let the loaded mules cross, which they did with difficulty, some bogging up. After crossing this creek, we came to some very level land, and then to a large mesquite thicket. In the midst of the thicket were some pools of water, where we halted. We travelled that day eight long leagues, to the east, as has already been said. 8.
9.Holy Saturday, the 9th, we set out to the north, but on account of some thickets that were in the way, it was necessary to make some turns, sometimes north-by-east, sometimes north-north-east (4ta al Leste.) 46 We traveled that day five leagues. The land was very good. We crossed a dry creek that day, but a league farther on we found one with good water, with abundant pasturage and many oak-trees near by. We named this creek Arroyo del Vino, 47 because we opened a cask that day and divided its contents among the men. Under the trees we found wellgrown nuts, as large as those of Spain, but very hard to open. We saw many wild grape-vines, whose fruit, as we were told by the Indians we had brought with us, is in its season very pleasantly flavored. Our horses stampeded at this camp about nine o'clock at night, and they could not be stopped, though fifteen soldiers were on guard. According to the count made the following day, one hundred and two got away. 5.
10.Easter Sunday, the 10th, soldiers set out in different directions to look for the horses, which they found at various points. This search detained them till evening prayer, therefore the camp was not moved that day. We made a reckoning of our latitude, which we found to be 27° 55’. 48
11.Monday after Easter, the 11th, we set out to the east. We crossed two creeks of good water, and immediately after came to a great wood of pecan and oak-trees, more than five leagues in extent, all fertile and pleasant land. After having to travel twelve leagues to get water, we came that day upon a river, which was very large, though it had not much water [at the time], and which had a good ford. We named it the Rio de Medina. The descent to it is about fifty or sixty feet (Tiene la bajada de nueve á dies estados). All the rest of the way there were oaks and pecans. The course that day was east half the way, and northeast half the way. 12.
12.Tuesday after Easter, the 12th, we crossed the river, and found the ford very easy (acomodado). We travelled five leagues to the east, over some low hills, without any timber; we crossed some ravines of red and yellow earth; we entered a mesquite thicket, and found water in a creek. The creek was dry where we first struck it (en los principios), and we were somewhat discomfited because we thought our guide had mistaken the direction; about a league farther, however, there was a very good stream. We named this creek the Arroyo del Leon, 49 because we found a dead lion near by, very much mutilated (disforme). The country was level, and furnished good pasturage. 5.
13.Wednesday, the 13th, we advanced to the east, sometimes east-northeast 50 six leagues. About half a league from the camp we passed by the point of a little hill on which ends a clump of oaks, and which we left on the right hand. Among them were small piles of stones placed by hand (piedras puestas á manos). 51 We followed some low hills; there were about two leagues of oak timber which had to be partly cleared away; but after this all the county was level till we reached a little creek. 6.
14.14. Thursday, the 14th, we moved forward, east-northeast, in search of a great river which the guide told us we should find and which we reached at two in the afternoon. We travelled six leagues, the first three over some hills, and the rest of the way (despues) over some hills that were timbered, and marked with ravines. It was necessary in some places to clear away the timber so as to pass through. The country was the most pleasant that we had traversed; the river is not very full (caudoloso) and has a good ford; its banks are covered with timber. Six buffaloes—the first we had seen for a hundred leagues—were killed along the way. We gave this river the name of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 52 whom we had brought from Coahuila as our as our protectress, and whom we had painted on our royal standard. 53 6.
15.Friday, the 15th, the day dawned very rainy. None the less, however, our whole party set out (salimos con el real) toward the ford of the river, which was about a league away. We crossed the river, but as the water prevented our forward movement, we halted on a little creek. We travelled that day not more than two leagues. 54 As the guide said that we were near the settlement, a council of war was held, at which it was decided that the next day a reconnaissance should be made with sixty soldiers, while the camp should stay in another place at some distance away, with a sufficient guard. 55 2.
16.16. Saturday, the 16th, after a mass to our lady of Guadalupe had been chanted with all solemnity, the governor, in accordance with the decision of the day before, set out with the sixty soldiers, well equipped. The whole force (el real) set out at the same time. After travelling about three leagues 56 with the sixty men, the rear guard caught sight of an Indian in the timber. When he was taken to the governor and examined—through a poor interpreter—he declared that his ranchería was near by, and that four Frenchmen were there. 57 We quickened our pace, under the guidance of our Indian; after we had sent word to the main body to stay in the place whence they had sent the Indian. Before we came to the ranchería all the people left. We sighted them, however, as they were entering some motts; and after them came eight or ten dogs loaded with buffalo hides. We sent the same Indian who had guided us to call them; with the result that the most of them came. It was ascertained that the four Frenchmen were not there, but that they had gone on to the Tejas four days before. In this ranchería we found two Indians who told us that we should find them in a ranchería two days' journey further. 58 We gave (hicimos agasajo 59) these Indians some tobacco, knives, and other things, to get them to guide us, which they did. We turned and moved northward till sunset. Then we found in a thicket a village of more than two hundred and fifty persons, where we tried to find the Frenchmen, our French guide alweys serving as interpreter. They replied that the Frenchmen had gone to the Texas Indians four days before, and that the rest who had settled on the little sea (which is the bay), had all died at the hands of the coast Indians; that the Frenchmen had six houses; and that the event had occurred three moons 60 that is, three months, before; that previous to this there had been an epidemic of small-pox, of which the most had died. 61 The main body (el real) travelled east that day, and halted at the place appointed by the governor, who went eight leagues northward with the sixty men. 8.
17.Sunday, the 17th, after sleeping close by the Indian village, we again set out to the north. After travelling five leagues, we found some ranchos of Indians known to our French prisoner. We found out from them by minute inquiry the route of the four Frenchmen who were going to the Texas; we found out, moreover, that they had passed on horseback four days before. Here a consultation was held as to what decision should be reached, with the result that it was determined, as the main force was far away and the country unknown, to write a letter to the Frenchmen and send it to them by an Indian. Accordingly, the letter was written in French by the royal alférez 62 Francisco Martinez. Its contents, in substance, were as follows: that we had been informed of their escape when some Christians on the coast had been killed by the Indians of that vicinity; that they might come with us; that we would wait for them three or four days in the houses of the village from which they had set out. This letter was sealed by the governor and by our chaplain, Padre Fray Damian Manzanet, religious of our patron San Francisco. The letter added as a postscript some lines of Latin, in case any one of the four should be a religious, exhorting them to come. Putting in paper for a reply, we dispatched this letter by an Indian carrier who assured us that he would overtake them. About evening prayer an Indian came from the North to see the Frenchmen, of whom he must have had news. When we asked him through the Frenchman whether it was far from here to the Texas, he replied that it was not many days' journey and said that it had been three days since the four Frenchmen had gone on from his ranchería. 63
18.Monday, the 18th, 64 in view of the harm the camp might have suffered, even though we had left it well guarded, we set out in search of it. On the way thither the governor received a letter stating that the drove of horses had stampeded the night before, and that a hundred-odd had been lost; that some had been found, but thirty-six were still missing. 65 At this we quickened our pace to the camp. There we heard also that a soldier had been lost in the search for the horses. At this news sundry squadrons of soldiers were sent out in search of him, but he did not appear that day.
19.Thursday, the 19th, since neither the soldier nor the horses had appeared, two squadrons of soldiers set out in different directions to look for them; the governor went in person; but despite their diligent efforts the lost were not found. [The search-party], therefore, slept (se quedaron a dormir) in the open [that night], to continue the search. Indians from different rancherías came to the camp that day; we gave (agasajamos) them tobacco and other things, and charged them to scour the country in search of the soldier and the horses that were missing, promising them due return for the service.
20.Wednesday, the 20th, the party did not set out, because neither soldier nor horses had appeared. The efforts of the day before were repeated with new squadrons of soldiers. Just after they had left, the lost man came, guided by several Indians. He said that that night [after he had been lost] he had come to an Indian ranchería where he spent the night; that he had been undecided whether to stay there, because of his suspicion that they were going to kill him, but that he had been treated with great kindness. It was no little good fortune that he escaped from danger at the hands of so barbarous a race. 66 Though the astrolabe was broken, we righted it that day as best we could and made an observation of the sun, and found ourselves in latitude 28° 41’ north. 67
21.Thursday, the 21st, our party advanced (salimos con el real), sometimes east, sometimes east-by-north, 68 sometimes north-east-by-north. Our line of march lay through some wide plains which for long stretches were treeless. At the end of eight leagues we came to a creek of good water. Here the Indian guide told us that the settlement was on the bank of this creek and in its vicinity. 69 The land was all very pleasing; and we came across many buffalo.
22.22. Friday ,the 22nd, as we were near the settlement, our party set out (salimos con el real), though the day dawned rainy. Three leagues down the creek we found it. Having halted with the forces (con el real) about an arquebus-shot away, we went to see it, and found all the houses sacked, all the chests, bottle-cases (frasqueras), and all the rest of the settler's furniture broken; apparently more than two hundred books, torn apart, and with the rotten leaves scattered through the patios—all in French. We noted that the perpetrators (agresores) of this massacre had pulled everything [the colonists] had out of their chests, and divided the booty among themselves; and that what they had not cared for they had torn to pieces, making a frightful sack of all the French possessed (todo cuanto [los Franceses] tenian); for besides the evidence involved in our finding everything in this condition, further proof was found in the fact that in the rancherías through which we had passed before our arrival at the settlement, we had found in the possession of the Indians some French books in very good condition, with other articles of very little value. These books were recovered and their titles committed to memory. The Indians had done this damage not only to the furnishings, but also to the arms; for we found more than a hundred stocks (cavezas) of flintlock arquebuses, without locks or barrels. They must have carried these off, as was proved by an [arquebus] barrel found at some distance from the houses. We found three dead bodies scattered over the plain. One of these, from the dress that still clung to the bones, appeared to be that of a woman. We took the bodies up, chanted mass with the bodies present (con misa cantada de cuerpo presente), and buried them. We looked for the other dead bodies, but could not find them; whence we supposed that they had been thrown into the creek and had been eaten by alligators, of which there are many. 70 The principal house of this settlement is in the form of a fort, made of ship's timber, with a second story, also made of ship's timber, and with a slope to turn off water. Next to it, without any partition, is another apartment, not so strong, which must have served as a chapel where mass was said. The other five houses are of stakes, covered with mud inside and out; 71 their roofs are covered with buffalo-hides. All are quite useless for any defence. 72 In and about the fort and the houses (junto al fuerte y casas) were eight pieces of artillery, iron, of medium bore, —four or five-pounders,—and three very old swivels (pedreros) whose chambers were lacking. Some iron bars 73 were also found, and some ship's nails, estimated as altogether about five hundred-weight. 74 Some of the guns were scattered over the ground and some were on their broken carriages. There were some casks with their heads knocked in and their contents spilled out so that nothing was worth anything. Around the building was also some tackle, much the worse for wear. 75 The settlement was on a beautiful, level site, so as to be capable of defence in any event. On the frame of the principal door of the fort was inscribed the date of the settlement, which was 1684. 76 There are other details which are noted in the separate description of the post. The party travelled that day three leagues to the east. It appears, therefore, that the total distance from the Presidio of Coahuila to this settlement is one hundred and thirty-six leagues. 77
Discovery of Espíritu Santo Bay and its Harbor.
23. Saturday, the 23rd, we set out with thirty men to reconnoitre the bay to the south, trying to follow the creek below the settlement. We took the French prisoner for a guide, because he had told us he knew 78 the bay and had been all over it in a bark; in view of this assurance we let him guide us. He did not guide us (no lo hizo) down the creek, because he said it had no crossing. We went [instead] five leagues to the southwest; then, after going around the head waters of two creeks, we went three leagues farther, to the east, when we came upon (hasta dar con) the shore of the bay. Here we slept, as we arrived at twilight.
24. Sunday, very early in the morning, we set out along the shore of the bay, which at that season was at low water. There are many lagoons of salt water around it, whose marshes prevented us at some places from crossing on horseback. For long stretches, therefore, we went on foot, leading the horses. The arm of the sea which appeared to us the longest runs in toward the north, another smaller one to the south, and the other, the smallest, toward the settlement mentioned in this diary.
We went eight long leagues 79 along the shore, till it pleased God that we should discover the mouth, through which one enters the bay. This was probably about two leagues from the place we could reach on horseback. We were greatly rejoiced at this discovery; in token of which we fired a salute with our arquebuses. The Frenchman affirmed that this was the mouth and harbor, through which he had entered when he came into these parts with Monsieur Felipe So-and-So. The mouth of the harbor, so far as we could judge, is about two short leagues 80 across. There is a bar of low land across it which is closer to the mainland (mas arrimado a la costa) on the side toward Vera Cruz than toward Florida. 81 The Frenchman says that ships enter through the narrowest passage. On the south the river which we named Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe falls into the bay. We did not actually see its mouth, because it was impossible to reach that point; but we came to that conclusion because when we crossed it 82 we saw that it was near the bay, and also because the Frenchman made a statement to that effect. The arm of the sea which extends inland on the north of the bay is so wide that we could not see land on the other shore. On the shore of the bay, which we ran for about eight leagues, we saw a topmast (mastelero) of a large ship, another,—a small top-gallant mast,—a capstan, some barrel-staves, and other timbers, which must have belonged to some ship that was lost in the bay or along the coast whose harbor we had sighted. After seeing and exploring the mouth of the bay, we went back the same way we had come, and we camped for the night on the bank of a creek near a little mott. Here had been an Indian village, but it had been abandoned for some time. We found in the village book in the French language, a broken bottle-case, and other things, which gave us indications that the Indians of this village had taken part in the massacre of the French. In this creek, whose water was somewhat brackish, we found two canoes. 83
25. On the twenty-fifth of April we set out from there and went to the camp. There we found an answer to the letter that had been written to the Frenchmen who had gone to the Texas. The letter, read by the alférez, contained in substance that within two days they would come to where we were, for by this time they were tired of being among barbarians. There was only one signature—that of Juan Larchieverque of Bayonne. 84 It was written with red ochre. The distance traversed, in going to reconnoitre the bay and in returning, was fifty-two leagues. On that day, Monday, the 25th, the main camp remained stationary. 85
Discovery of the San Marcos River. 86
26. Tuesday, the 26th, it was decided that the main body should set out by the same route we had traversed, because the water of the creek is brackish, as has been stated, and the horses that drank it got sick. Accordingly, we moved three leagues up the creek, and halted in the same place where we had stopped in our advance; and then we went on with twenty men.
There was a very large river which the French prisoner said was toward the north and flowed into the bay. We found it at a distance of about three leagues, and followed its bank to where some lagoons form an impediment. It is a very large river; larger, it seemed to us, than the Rio Bravo; so large that a small vessel can navigate it. We determined to see its discharge into the bay, even though it should be a matter of difficulty. Finally we accomplished our purpose, looking from a little hill, which is about three quarters of a league distant from the mouth of the river. It appeared to us that it was about a league and a half (otro tanto) from the mouth of the San Marcos to the mouth of the creek on which the Frenchmen had lived, and the same distance from the mouth of the creek to the settlement. We travelled that day fifteen leagues. We took an observation on the shore of the creek, and found ourselves, allowing for mistakes on account of the defect in the astrolabe, in latitude 26° 3’ more or less. We named this river San Marcos, because we discovered it the day after that saint's feast day.
The Diary of the Return, continued, with the New Entrada made toward the North in search of the French.
27.Wednesday, the 27th, our party moved forward and halted on some pools, 87 near a little mott which borders on the trail.
28.Thursday, the 28th, we set out on our way, and the governor set out the same time with thirty companions toward the north bank, to look for the Frenchmen who had written. The main body (el real) halted on the River Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, on the other bank.
29.Friday, the 29th, the main body (el real) halted.
30.Saturday, the 30th, the main body (el real) again halted.
May.
1. Sunday, May 1st, about evening prayer, the governor arrived with his companions, bringing two Frenchmen streaked with paint after the Indian fashion. He had found them twenty-five leagues and more from where we had set out with the main body (el real). One of them, the one who had written the letter, was named Juan; the other, a native of Rochelle, was named Jacome. 88 They gave an account of the death of their people, the first saying that an epidemic (achaque) of small-pox had killed more than a hundred persons; that the rest had been on friendly terms with the Indians of all that region, and had no suspicion of them; that a little more than a month before five Indians had come to their settlement under pretext of telling them something and had stopped at the most remote house in the settlement; that the Frenchmen, having no suspicions, all went to the house unarmed to see them; that after they were inside other Indians kept coming and embracing them; that another party of Indians came in from the creek at the same time, and killed them all, including two religious and a priest, with daggers and sticks, and sacked all the houses; that they were not there at the time, having gone to the Texas; but that when they heard the news of this occurrence, [the] four of them came, and, finding their companions dead, they buried the fourteen they found; that they exploded (quemaron) nearly a hundred barrels of powder, so that the Indians could not carry it off; and that the settlement had been well provided with all sorts of firearms, swords, broadswords (alfanges), three chalices, and a large collection of books, with very rare bindings (encuadernadura muy curiosa). The two Frenchmen were streaked 89 with paint after the fashion of the Indians, and covered with antelope and buffalo hides. We found them in a ranchería of the chief of the Texas, who were giving them sustenance and keeping them with great care. We took him [the chief] to the camp and treated him with great kindness. Although unable to speak Castilian (vozal), he was an Indian in whom was recognized capacity. He had a shrine with several images. The governor gave him and the other Indians who had come with him generously (bastantamente) of what was left of the cotton garments (huepiles), knives, blankets, beads, and other goods. He was very much pleased and promised to come with some Indians of his nation to the Province of Cohaguila. 90 The governor made a separate report of all that was expedient or important in the declarations of the two Frenchmen, to send it to His Excellency. We continued our march to the Nueces River. On Tuesday, May 10, the governor halted with some companions to send a dispatch to His Excellency, giving an account of this discovery. We arrived at the Presidio of Cohaguila today, May 13th, at nightfall. 91 Here ends the diary. To insure its authenticity, it is signed by the governor,
Alonso de Leon.
2. See note 3, page 219.
3. See The Quarterly, II 281-282, V 176-177, and VIII 13, for accounts of the early expeditions sent out for this purpose. There are two small maps of a part of Espíritu Santo Bay, as the Spanish called the bay where La Salle settled, listed as Nos. 79 and 80 in Lanzas, Relación Descriptiva de los Mapas, Planos, &de México y Floridas Existentes en El Archivo General de Indias, which, no doubt, relate in some way to the epdedition of La Salle. Both were sent by Pedro Ronquillo, then Spanish ambassador to England, from London to Madrid in January, 1687. Their exact meaning and value, however, can of course not be determined until the documents accompanying them have been exploited. Tracings of these maps were made several years ago for Mr. Peter J. Hamilton, of `M'obile, who called my attention to them and placed them in my hands. The accompanying documents, however, have, so far as I know, never been copied.
4. See The Quarterly, II 25.
5. Ysleta dates further back, but, as is pointed out in Garrison's Texas, 19, 67, it was not properly a Spanish settlement.
6. See page 203 for the full title in Spanish. The writer was in De León's company throughout, and the document was signed by De León; the writer never uses the first person, however, except in the plural, but refers to De León in the third person, usually as el Gobernador; and there is no distinct statement that he is the author; the evidence in favor of his authorship, therefore, is not conclusive.
7. Carta de Don Damian Manzanet á Don Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora sobre el descubrimiento de la Bahía del Espíritu Santo. See The Quarterly, II 253-312, for fac-simile and translation. My references to the Letter are to this translation, by Professor Lilia `M'. Casís, of the University of Texas.
8. See Bancroft, North American States and Texas, 1 400, 401; Parkman, La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West, 373, 444. The title of the document is: Carta en que se da noticia de un Viaje hecho a la Bahía de Espíritu Santo. Parkman says that it was written by some one in the party, but evidently by another hand than De León's; and that it follows closely the account given in the Itinerary. Parkman and Bancroft both had access to it in Florida, Col. Doc., 25.
9. Listed as No. 86 in Lanzas under the title, Mapa del camino que el año de 1689 hizo el Gobernador Alonzo de Leon desde Cuahuila (Nueva España hasta hallar cerca del lago de San Bernado el lugar donde havian poblado franceses. It is referred to in the notes as the Map. Parkman, La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West, 442, note 2, cites a French map with the title Route que firent les Espagnols pour venir enlever les Français restez à la Baye St. Bernard ou St. Louis, après la perte du vaisseau de Mr. de la Salle, en 1689, which he says is a part of Margry's manuscript collection; it is not included in the Découvertes et établissements des Français dans les Pays d'Outre-Mer. It is possible that this is a copy the one from the Sevilla archives (No. 86), though nothing positive on this point can now be asserted. A tracing of the Map, made under the direction of the jefe del archivo, Señor Lanzas, in 1903, is now in the library of the University of Texas.
10. Don Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora was born of Spanish parents in Mexico, in 1645, and died in 1700. Educated as an ecclesiastic, he was a poet, a scientist, a historian, and a public official. He was honored by the Spanish king Carlos II with sundry public appointments; and by Louis XIV with the offer of a place at the French court, which he refused. In 1693, he was placed by Viceroy Galve on a scientific commission, which, under the direction of Andrés de Pés, admiral of the Windward Fleet (Armada de Barlovento), governor of the Royal Cōuncil of the Indies (Real Consejo de las Indias), and secretary of the General Marine Department (Despacho Universal de la Marina), was to make a reconnoisance of the Gulf of Mexico. Judge Coopwood, in a note on Sigüenza (The Quarterly, III 66, 67), states that this expedition was to settle and garrison Pensacola. At any rate, after carrying out this mission, Sigüenza published in Mexico a folio with the title, Descripción de la bahía de Santa María de Galve, de la Movila y río de la Palizado ó Mississippí, en la costa septentrional del seno mejicano. Another work of his of interest to students of Southwestern history is a manuscript entitled Historia de la provincia de Tejas. See the Diccionario Enciclopédico Hispano-Americano de Literatura, Ciencias y Artes, for a fuller biography.
11. The Letter was addressed to Sigüenza in response to a request of his. No doubt he was collecting material for his Historia de Tejas, to which reference has already been made. The letter cited by Bancroft and by Parkman may be the other source of information.
12. Matagorda Bay.
13. Derrotero dela Jornada que hizo el General Alonzo de Leon para eldescubrimiento de la Bahia del Espiritu Santo, y poblacion de Franceses: Año de 1689.
14. In the Spanish text, the measures of distance traveled each day are usually placed in the right-hand margin. For the sake of convenience, however, they are printed in the translation flush with the text.
15. The Map begins with the 24th. The Letter states that the start was made on the 25th.
16. See the description of the review held on the 27th.
17. The Presidio of Coahuila, now Monclova.
18. The River of Coahuila (Cuahuila on the Map), one of the headwaters of the Sabinas, a tributary of the Salado.
19. See the Map.
20. Eight leagues toward the northeast (Map.)
21. See above (24). The Map gives northeast as the direction of the march on the 24th and the 25th. The norte of the 24th in the Itinerary is probably a copyist's error for nordeste.
22. The Nadadores.
23. That is, to the left bank. The direction was really east.
24. The Letter states that the entire force consisted of forty men from the presidios of Viscaya, and forty from the New Kingdom of León. These troops were grouped into three companies, with Alonso de León as commander-in-chief and Nicolás de Medina as sergeant-major; with Lorenzo de la Garza, Tomás de la Garza, and Francisco de Martínez, as leaders of the companies.
25. Northeast by north (Map). The Map also gives five leagues as the distance traversed on this date.
26. See page 200, note 2.
27. Some of the same tribal names, apparently, in somewhat different form, occur in the Letter, in connection with the Indian Juan's search for the Frenchman “Juan Francisco.” Here Mescale appears as Mescate; Hapes as Apis; Jumenes as Chomenes.
28. Five (Map). The Map describes the line of march for the thirtieth as being toward the north, and as extending through four leagues; the Itinerary omits the thirtieth, and apparently confuses the occurrences of two distinct days in giving the account of what happened on the twentyninth. There is possibly a copyist's omission, the restoration of which might clear up some ambiguity in the following paragraph.
29. The Map, like the Itinerary, fails to indicate what river. It shows a northward line of march for the Ist, crossing an unnamed branch, or possibly the main stream, of the Salado, and ending on the south bank of the Rio Bravo.
30. See note 3.
31. The Letter states that the Pacpul Indian chief Juan, or Juanillo served as guide to the party throughout the whole course; and that a Quems Indian was secured as a second guide, after they reached the Rio Grande.
32. The Rio Bravo has not been mentioned before. The use of the word dicho, therefore, would seem to be a further indication of a copyist's omission. See p. 205, note 3.
33. The Rio Bravo (Map). The Letter states that this river is variously known as Rio Bravo, Rio Grande, Rio Turbio; that all that could be learned about its source was that it came from the Gran Quivira.
34. The meaning here is “at least five leagues, and possibly more.”
35. Rio de Ramos (Map). Both this river and the Nueces are there represented as flowing into the Rio Grande. Apparently the Ramos is in reality a western affluent of the Nueces.
36. There is a mistake in the reckoning of at least one degree, possibly two. The Rio Grande crossing was made above the junction of the Salado, which is not far from 27°; the Nueces crossing, about eight leagues northeast from the place of observation. (Map.)
37. Cuarta al Nordeste. Supplying norte before cuarta to fill out the ellipsis, makes it mean north by east. The Map has simply nordeste.
38. As has already been noted, the Map makes this river flow into the Rio Bravo—a good illustration of its wild guesswork. Bancroft, North Mexican States and Texas, I 400, note 1, remarks that the Nueces was not the stream vaguely known by that name before.
39. Nogal is a general name applied to several kinds of nut-trees, according to the local usage. Here the meaning seems to be pecan.
40. Identified by Mr. Clark (The Quarterly, V 179) with the Frio.
41. “Five leagues, but seven counting the turns.” (Map.)
42. “Tiene por cada lado la bajada mas de siete estados.” The estado is about the average man's stature.
43. “Four leagues to the east-southeast” (Map).
44. The account of the visit to the Indian village is given above under date of the twenty-ninth of March.
45. That is, from the west bank. The expression is a little peculiar, but the writer is speaking from the point of view of the 8th. This stream may have been San Miguel Creek. Parkman (La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West, 442, note 2) identifies it with the Frio.
46. The usual expression would be nordnordeste; here, however, the explorer seems to be reckoning from the north toward the east, and a quarter to the east, therefore, would mean north-northeast.
47. Possibly this was Atascosa Creek.
48. Here, too, there seems to be a mistake of one or two degrees.
49. The San Antonio. Mr. Clark (The Quarterly, V 179) suggests that the name arroyo indicates that it was crossed rather high up. It is drawn far out of the true position of the San Antonio, being almost far enough west to represent the Nueces.
50. The Map gives the direction as “east, veering to the northeast.”
51. Mr. Eugene Giraud, of Austin, informs me that in Western Texas one often finds near a water supply a heap of small regularly shaped stones, and, usually, a larger flat stone near by, with a hole scooped out of the middle of the top. The theory generally accepted in explanation is, that the Indians piled up the stones and used them in cooking the stem of lechuguilla, a species of the maguey (agave Americana; American aloe, century plant), afterward pressing the juice out of the stem to make an intoxicating drink; and that they used the flat rock as a receptacle for the juice. The heaps of stones mentioned in the text are doubtless of this character.
52. The Guadalupe is not so incorrectly drawn on the Map as the San Antonio, especially in relation to the French settlement.
53. The Letter sums up the account of the journey from the Rio Grande to the Guadalupe in a single sentence: “We travelled on towards the northeast and at times east-northeast, till we reached the river of Our Lady of Guadalupe.”
54. The Map adds that the line of march ran eastward.
55. Father Manzanet says that the Indian guide said the settlement was fifteen leagues from the river. As to to the council of war, he says that De León asked his advice about what should be done to ascertain the number of Frenchmen in the village and the condition of things there; that his advice was that a mass should be sung where they were to the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe, and that after they reached the settlement another should be sung to St. Anthony of Padua. All readily agreed. After the mass to the Virgin had been chanted, about nine o'clock that morning, the council continued reaching the agreement that the Indians should be retained as guides, and that “twenty-five men should travel on with us until we should come upon the French village in the early morning, while the remaining soldiers with the beasts of burden should come behind us and camp when they reached a suitable spot.” They were not to move from their camping place without De León's express order; if they saw any Indians, they should seize them and notify De León of the capture.
56. “Some four leagues.” (Letter.)
57. “The rear-guard saw an Indian come out of a dense wood, and called to him, whereupon he went toward them without any show of resistance. They sent us word of the occurrence, and we halted. On the arrival of the Indian the two we had along asked him whether there were, there-abouts, any of the white people who dwelt further on. He said that, as to those living further on, they used to inhabit houses, which now no longer existed, for two moons previous, the Indians of the coast had killed all but a few boys whom they had carried off; that he himself lived in the `ranchería' of the Emet and lavas Indians, which was about three leagues out of the route which we were following towards the bay of Espiritu Santo.” (Letter.)
58. “We went with this Indian to the `ranchería' of which he spoke, and reached it at about three in the afternoon. As soon as the Indians became aware of our presence, they made for the wood, leaving to us the `ranchería' and the laden dogs, which they had not been able to drive fast enough when they fled. The Indian who served as our guide himself entered the wood, and called to the others, declaring that we were friends, and that they should have no fear. Some of them—and among them was their captain—came out and embraced us, saying, `thechas! techas!' which means `friends! friends!' One of them who came out first was a big young fellow about twenty years old, who wore a monk's cloak, and when we saw that it was the habit of a friar, we gave him a blanket and I took the robe from him.” (Letter.)
59. The noun agasajo and the corresponding verb agasajar are used frequently in the documents bearing on the Spaniards' relations with the Indians, in reference to gifts bestowed with a view to winning the favor of the Indians.
60. The text has here sumas, no doubt a copyist's error for lunas. The Letter has dos lunas, two moons.
61. “These Indians [the Indians of the `techas' incident] told how two days previous the Frenchmen had passed by with the Tejas Indians. That very afternoon we started in pursuit of those Frenchmen, and at sunset, we reached the `ranchería' of the Toxo and Toao Indians, who told us that the Frenchmen had passed by with the Tejas, and had been unwilling to remain there with them. That night we slept in the neighborhood of the `ranchería,' and at eight in the evening some Indians came to the place where we were, one of them dressed after the fashion of the French. And they brought some French books, and a Holy Bible.” (Letter.)
62. For the meaning of this term see The Quarterly, VIII 10. The Letter calls Martínez captain.
63. “The next morning [after the night near the Toxo and Toao ranchería] we set out in quest of the said Frenchmen, passing through some very dense woods; and at about two o'clock in the afternoon we came upon some `ranchitos' of Emet Indians. On our inquiring concerning the Frenchmen these Indians pointed out to us an Indian who had just arrived and who had conducted them (the Frenchmen) as far as the San Marcos river, and seeing us pass they told us that we should not be able to cross the said river. We told the Indian that if he would take them a paper and bring an answer we would give him a horse, and that he should take the answer to the houses where the Frenchmen had lived. Capt. Francisco Martinez wrote the letter in the French language because he was master of it.” (Letter.)
64. Here, as is the case throughout, the Letter makes no definite statement as to the time. The paragraph following the account of Martínez's letter to the Frenchmen begins: “Then we returned where the camp was, five leagues beyond the Guadalupe river.”
65. [On the return to camp] “we learned that three days previous the horses had stampeded, and a number having been recovered, fifty were still missing.” (Letter.)
66. The Letter does not go into detail in regard to the search for the soldier, but narrates fully what happened to him during his four days' absence.
67. The reckoning here seems to be about right.
68. The text has merely “4ta al Nordeste” at this point. Leste, however, is naturally supplied before 4ta, from what precedes.
69. “On the following day [after the soldier's return] we left for the French settlement, and when we were about three leagues from it there came out some twenty-five Indians. Now the old Frenchman who accompanied us took occasion to say that the French settlement was not in the place to which the Indian guides were taking us. On the way this Frenchman tried several times, by means of an Indian of the Cavas nation whom he had with him, to make our two Indians desert us, or say that it was very far, and that we should not be able to cross the rivers which were on the way. I was so sorry that the Frenchman should be given occasion to speak that I grew annoyed, and Capt. Alonso de Leon said to me `Father, we are going where I wish to go.' We continued following the two guides quite three leagues; we arrived at a stream of very good drinking-water, and the two Indians said to me: `Lower down on the bank of this stream are the houses of the French, which must be about three leagues off.' Then the old Frenchman saw that there was no help, and that we were certain to come upon the village. He then said: `Sir, now I knew very well, yea, very well, that the houses are on this little river.' ” (Letter.)
70. This sentence is transferred from its place in the text, because this is its logical place. (See p. 218, note 2.) The Letter says: “We found two hundred unburied bodies, which I interred, setting up a cross over the grave.”
71. “Por dentro y fuerza.” Fuerza is no doubt a copyist's error for fuera.
72. “We . . . found six houses, not very large, built with poles plastered with mud, and roofed over with buffalo hides, another large house where pigs were kept, and a wooden fort made from the hulk of a wrecked vessel. The fort had one lower room which was used as a chapel for saying mass, and three other rooms below; above the three rooms was an upper story serving for a store-house.” (Letter.)
73. Bergajones. The Diccionario Extractado del Diccionario Enciclopédico defines vergajon as “an iron bar two inches thick and four or five varas long, with an eye in each end, through which pass the cables by which, under certain circumstances, sunken ships are drawn up from the bottom.” The Letter mentions the finding of some large iron bars, which it calls barejones.
74. Twenty arrobas. The arroba is a measure of weight which is equivalent to twenty-five pounds.
75. The sentence in regard to the search for the other dead bodies was transferred from here. See above, p. 217.
76. The true date was 1685.
77. This total does not quite tally with the total obtained by adding the Map's statements as to each day's distance, which comes to 139 leagues. The Itinerary does not always state how far the party travelled on each day, and therefore it furnishes no satisfactory basis for a comparison of totals. The sum of what distances it does give is 119 leagues.
78. Havia in the text is probably a copyist's error for savia.
79. See p. 206, note 3.
80. That is, barely two leagues.
81. The Map contains no mention of Florida. The Planta de la costa de Florida la mas occidental desde 27 grad. de latitud norte hasta 29 grad. (Lanzas, no. 80), is apparently intended to represent Espíritu Santo Bay, since it contains the legend, “Enderecho donde hallamos el S.de la Salle con dos navios”. The map accompanying the documents in regard to the León expedition of 1690, the Viage que el año de 1690 hizo el Governador Alonso de Leon desde Coahuila hasta la Carolina Provincia habitada de Texas y otras naciones al Nordeste de la Nueva España has the name “Costa de la Florida” applied to what is apparently Matagorda Peninsula; while the name “Costa de na. España” applies to what should be Matagorda Island, but is joined to the mainland, west of the entrance to Matagorda Bay. The Planta cosmographica del lago desan Bernardo conlos senos y Rios qae à èl se communican, descubierto por el orden del exmo. Sr. Conde de Galve V. Gor. y Cpn Gl. desta Na españa obserbada y delineada por Dn Manl Joseph Aficado Alas Matas An de 1691 (La nzas, no. 61), has the legend “Costa que mira A La Florida,” on what is apparently Matagorda Peninsula, between about 28° 40’ and 29°; Costa que ba para Vera Cruz, applied to a stretch of coast west of the Laga de San Bernardo (Espíritu Santo Bay).
The term Florida is exceedingly indefinite in its early use. Ponce de León died in the belief that the land he had discovered was an island; accordingly, one finds the name Isla de la Florida on the early sixteenth century maps embodying the results of his discovery. As a result of Pineda's voyage of 1519, its true peninsular nature was discovered; accordingly, the Traza de las costas de tierra firme (1519 or 1521) contains the legend Florida que decian Beimini, que descubrió Juan Ponce on the peninsula of Florida. Later, the name is applied sometimes to the peninsula, sometimes to a wider extent of country. (See Garcilasso de la Vega, Historia de la Florida, Coxe, Carolana in French, Historical Collections of Louisiana, Part II; Shea, Ancient Florida, in Winsor, A Narrative and Critical History of America, IV chapter IV; and Harrisse, The Discovery of America, 142-173).
82. The Map does not show any crossing. The route there represented strikes what appears to be a distributary of the Guadalupe about a league from the bay, and follows its banks to the bay shore.
83. “The next day [after reaching Ft. St. Louis] we went down to explore the bay of Espíritu Santo, and coasted it until we succeeded in finding the mouth; in the middle of this there is a flat rock, and all along the shore of the bay there are many lagoons which it is very difficult to cross. Black-berries are abundant, large, and fine, and there are a number of stocks which seem to be those of vines, but no trees, and no fresh water. The Indians dig wells for drinking water.” (Letter.)
84. Jean L'Archevêque. The Letter gives his name as “Juan Archebepe.” See The Quarterly, II 291, note 9.
85. “After exploring the bay we returned to the main body of our party, whom we had left in the village; we arrived there at noon, and remained there that afternoon, and the next day they bent the large iron bars, making them up into bundles, in order to carry them with ease. We found the Indians with the reply to the letter which we had written to the Frenchmen; they said that they would soon come, that another Frenchman was further on, and that they were waiting for him in order that they might all come together..... The Indian received the horse, as we had ordered. As to the fort, Capt. Alonso de Leon would not have it burned down, and it remained as it was.” (Letter.)
86. Identified by Bancroft, North Mexican States and Texas, I 400, with the Colorado. As is the case with other parts of Texas, as represented on the Map, there is so much confusion in the drawing that it is hard to determine with absolute certainty just what is meant by the streams represented as flowing into the bay.
87. The Letter states that the camp was pitched on the site of the French settlement for five days.
88. “Santiago Grolette” (Letter). See note in Clark, The Beginnings of Texas, The Quarterly, V 181.
89. The text has the present tense.
90. “The next day [after the return to Ft. St. Louis] we set out on our return trip to the Guadalupe River, and when we got halfway, since we saw that the Frenchmen did not come, Capt. Alonso de Leon, with twentyfive men, went to the `rancheria' where they were, and the main party went on as far as the Guadalupe River where it remained waiting three days. The Frenchmen were in the `rancheria' of the Toao Indians, with the Tejas; they came to the Guadalupe with Capt. Alonso de Leon, and arrived there on the 2nd of May, '89. Two Frenchmen came, naked except for an antelope's skin, and with their faces, breasts, and arms painted like the Indians, and with them came the governor of the Tejas and eight of his Indians. Through that day and night I tried my utmost to show all possible consideration to the governor, giving him two horses, and the blanket in which I slept, for I had nothing else which I could give him. Speaking Spanish, and using as an interpreter one of the Frenchmen whom we had with us, I exhorted the governor that his people should become Christians, and bring into their lands priests who should baptize them, since otherwise they could not save their souls, adding that, if he wished, I would go to his lands. Soon the aforementioned governor said he would very willingly take me there, and I promised him to go, and to take with me other priests like myself, repeating to him that I would be there in the folowing year, at the time of sowing corn. The governor seemed well pleased, and I was still more so, seeing the harvest to be reaped among the many souls in those lands who know not God.” (Letter.) It will be noted that the Itinerary gives May 1st, the Letter May 2d, as the date when the Frenchmen came to the Spanish camp.
91. “The next day [after the Frenchmen came] was the day of the Holy Cross—the 3rd of May; after mass the governor of the Tejas left for his home and we for this place. We arrived at Coahuila, and Capt. Alonso de Leon sent the two Frenchmen—the one named Juan Archebepe, of Bayonne, the other Santiago Grollette—from Coahuila to Mexico, with Capt. Francisco Martinez, and his Excellency the Conde de Galbe had the Frenchmen provided with suitable clothes and dispatched to Spain on shipboard in the same year, '89.” (Letter.)
How to cite:
West, Elizabeth Howard, "DE LEÓN'S EXPEDITION OF 1689. An annotated translation ", Volume 008, Number 3, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, Page 199 - 224. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v008/n3/article_1.html
[Accessed Mon Dec 1 23:55:01 CST 2008]
