818
AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIA'l'ION.
such a length of time-Owing to sundry delays in Monterrey which I could not very well avoid and which were caused by my Anxiety to perfect the work I had so far progressed with I did not arrive in San Antonio de Bexar until July in Company with the new Governor Luciano Garcia who was appointed to succeed Trespala- cios-You will perceive by the decree of the Emperor that the lands were td be laid off for the Settlers and Titles given therefor by myself in Conjunction with the Governor of this Province or a Commissioner whom he should name-The Governor appointed the Baron de Bastrop this Comr· and we arrived in Company on the Colorado in August-On my arrival the Settlers were publicly notified and informed of the manner in which they were to procure their lands both by the Comr. and myself, And I was very particular to inform them all and in the most public manner that the terms originally established by me relative to the cost of their lands must be adhered to-The first Object After my return was to get the Land Surveyed, an object of equally as much importance as the Titles themselves and one which was embraced in my original Con- tract with the Settlers, for I was bound not only to procure titles for their Lands but also to survey them and pay all other Expences whatever attending the completion of their Titles An Obligation which was binding on me for ever, unless released therefrom by a noncompliance on the part of the Settlers with their part of the said Contract-Before I arrived in the Colony after my return from Mexico I studied the whole subject with all the attention which my feeble capacity would allow me to devote to one of such importance to the settlers as well as to the Government whose interests it was also our duty to promote. Two plans presented themselves for Completing the settlement-- One was to let each Settler run his lines as he pleased, and mark them or not, or define his Tract by natural or imaginary boundaries and make out the Deeds accordingly-And only requiring them to pay the Expenses which were due to the Government but by adopting this plan I should as I considered have forfeited my part of the Original Contract with the Settlers which was to survey and clear out their lands as well as to procure Titles :for them, A Contract which I thought I had no right to change, besides I had seen and we have all seen or heard of the difficulties and confusion which arose and still exists in Kentucky, Tennessee And many other States in consequence of locations being made without actual Surveys, tracts or parts of tracts, when run out were :found to interfere with each other and hence arose a source of litigation which has involved hundreds and I may say thousands in the perplexing mazes and hopeless uncertainties of law Suits which after harrassing a family
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