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Tlee Beginnings of Civilized Life in Texas, 1731-1745
himself a Canary Islander more sympathetic towards the settlers and with little love for the missions, did much to encourage the former to kill the mission cattle that strayed into their fields. The extreme necessity of the years 1736-1737 caused the settlers to abuse this privilege, using it as a means of obtaining an easy livelihood. They not only killed the mission cattle that strayed into their unfenced fields, but they went out into the woods, pretending to hunt buffalo and wild cattle, but in reality to prey upon the mission herds. Governor Franquis authorized these feigned hunting expeditions as early as October, 1736. 58 The result was the filing of endless complaints and recriminations. It must be admitted in all fairness that the mission cattle did cause damages to the struggling settlers, which proved almost tragic. Slowly, however, they began to fence their fields to avoid the difficulties. In 1745, at a meeting of the C abildo, it was declared that the mission cattle, as well as that of individuals, had been causing considerable harm to the crops raised on the communal farm of the Villa. Consequently, two years before, the C abildo had engaged Antonio Jimenez to watch the farm and the results had more than proved the wisdom of the measure. It was decided, therefore, to appoint him general overseer of all the culti- vated fields, each settler undertaking to pay him the accustomed price for looking after the fences, caring for the irrigation ditches, and keeping out stray cattle. One of his duties was to determine the owner of such stock as broke into any field and to demand that the owner repair the damage done to the fence and crop. Unfortunately "the accustomed price" paid him by each settler for these services is not given. 59 It was during this same year, as already indicated, that the viceroy, in exoner- ating the missionaries, enjoined the settlers to fence their fields, and to abstain from killing the cattle of the Indians. Dis,pttte over land. The difficulties over the damages caused by the cattle brought up the question of the inadequacy of the land accessible to the civil settlement, situated as it was between San Pedro Creek and the San Antonio River. As early as 1733, the question of the water rights for irrigation had come up. This, it seems, was amicably settled. But as time went on, the Canary Islanders began to complain more loudly that all the usable lands were in the possession of the five missions and to
58 Governor Franquis, Proclamation, October
I 4, I 7 36. A. G. A-I., Historia, vol.
524, pt. 3, pp. 846-47; Bexar Archives, 1736-1745. 59 Autos de Cabildo, 1745(?). Nacogdoches Archives, vol. 1, p. 101.
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