85
The Beginnings of Civilized Life in Texas, 17p-1745
But the struggles of this outpost continued. The soldiers would have abandoned so wretched a settlement, had it not been for the dogged determination of the missionaries to stay and continue to minister to the Indians in the hope that they might at last come to live in pueblos in the missions. In this unrecorded fact, glimpsed throughout the numerous accounts of the misery and suffering endured, the sustaining force that maintained Los Adaes is to be found. The missions gave everything they had to help the garrison and settlers; but the Padres offered more than material help; they sustained spiritually and morally the discouraged and worn-out defenders of Spanish sovereignty on the farthest outpost in Texas. As late as 174 t, Los Adaes was still in part dependent upon the French for its food supply. The viceroy at this time permitted the new Governor, Orobio y Basterra, to continue to secure provisions from the French post of Natchitoches, but strictly prohibited all other goods from being introduced. Since under the guise of deserters. Frenchmen introduced themselves into Spanish territory, the governor was advised at this time that deserters coming to Los Adaes should be given a passport and sent directly to Mexico City without allowing them to tarry on the way. 20 Co;,ditions at La Ba/1ia. Conditions in La Bahia were little better than at Los Adaes. We get a glimpse of happenings now and then, but in general there are few accounts or reports to ~e~e..Eeconstruct ~~~ bitter struggle of the starved garrison on the Guadalupe River,_in present -~s~io-n Yalley, during the early years. and of the heroic sacrifices of the Zacatecan missionaries, who labored so patiently under the most adverse conditions in the vicinity of the fierce Karankawas. The Mission of Nuestra Senora de! Espiritu Santo de Zuniga, it will be remembered, was originally established near the site of La Salle's settlement on Garcitas Creek and moved in 1726 to the Guadalupe, some ten leagues inland. When Rivera made his inspection, he unwisely recommended that the soldiers and mission Indians should construct a dam in order to irrigate the lands. For ten years they all tried in vain to carry out this impossible project. During this time no crops were planted and the garrison, as well as the mission, were dependent almost entirely on supplies brought either from San Juan Bautista on the Rio Grande, ninety leagues away, or from 20 The Viceroy to Governor Orobio y Basterra, October 3, 1741. Nacogdoclres Archives, vol. 1, p. 88. For a good illustration of how French traders penetrated Spanish territory under false pretenses, see the incident of the arrest of Jean Legros as given in Bolton, Texas in the Middle Eigl,tr:enth Century, 36-37.
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