The Papers of Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, Volume I

39

PAPERS OF :\lm.\BEAU BuoN.\.P.\RTE LAM,\R

marches, which I continued with all the celerity the state of my ·Caballada would permit. On my transit I was joined by lieut. Rodrigues with his detachments which officer, through the official I enclose No. 11, reported the capture 1 Capt. & 5 Soldiers, revolu- tionists, & 1 Negro Slave, the property of Long, also various other nrticles of spoil manifest in the accompanying document No. 12, be- sides 43 head of large stock & 19 Hd. small, & burned 14 houses which the settlers of Spanish territory had abandoned. Now that all the detachments had rejoined me, I confess that it was no ordinary degree of pleasure to see myself surrounded by a tl·oop almost without ignacion. As I had determined° before I left Nacogdoches to send a recon- uoitering party to the Atascosito & vicinity of Galveston Bay, & be- · ing now prompted by the same motives which led to that determina- tion-the full discharge of the commission your E: has confened upon me,-! have disposed that lieut. Jose Salinas with ensign Domingo Ugartechea & 55 men march as expeditiously as possible to explore said points at .Atas.cosito & coast of Galveston, with instructions · with regard to the precaution he should observe on his march, and the Kindness with which he should treat the various Indian Nations which he will necessarily have to encounter during his expedition thither, and with orders to apprehend every class of union or col- lection of persons whatever, and if he should ascertain from the In- dians or otherwise, that there be of superior force, or that it should be necessary to reinforce him, he should inform me to that efect by executive extraordinary to that efect for my resolution. I liad scarcely concluded this operation when I recd. the offi. docnmt No. 13 from ens.ign Juan Jose Cabasos, reporting that Jose Ma. Caravassal & Rafael Resendez had presented themselves in that. place, (Nacogs.) just from the Indian Nations, with 3 mules & l .horse; that he (Cabasos) had apprehended the Mexican Ventura Texeda, who with an Indian was on his way to the U. S. with 57 horses; and that he apprehended 3 Anglo Americans, who had in- cautiously (unaware of the change taken place) entered the place, and taken from them the goods manifest in list or doct. No. 14, which they were carrying to trade with the Indians. Having now nothing to employ the remainder of my division in, except to guard the camp, a service for which one Corporal & 4 sol- diers were ample, for the reason that there were no vagabonds re- maining in the country to disturb its tranquility, and bearing in mind the liberty & wantonness with which our enemies, the Indian traders, were in the habit of passing to & from the Indian Nations, at the same time I dispatched Salinas, I also dispatched an other party under charge of ensigns Claudio de Luna & Adiodato Viveros, with orders to advance to the Trinity at the crossing of the road which leads from Bayo pirre to the Tahuacono[ f] establishments, & there to take a position in ambush, which would enable them to surprise •& capture all & every species of persons & property, admitting no ·exceptions-taking inventory of same. In the mean time I proceeded to Nacogdoches, where a number of the former residents of the extinguished town of Nacog'doches, the

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