Destruction of tlie San Xavier Missions
2 97
that one mission could be established on this river near its juncture with the San Xavier. The Paso de los Bidais, where the first and only survey was made, was located some two and one-half leagues from San Ildefonso, three from San Francisco Xavier, and slightly more than this from Can- delaria.8 Inspection of t/1e San i11arcos, August, 1750. There can be no doubt that it was the report of Governor Barrios concerning the great facilities offered by the San Marcos River that induced the viceroy to instruct Eca y Musquiz to make a careful survey of this river, its water, the arable land along its banks, and the Indians in its vicinity. The Juez Comi- sionado clearly states he was to verify the assertions made by the gov- ernor. Since the report is the first detailed description of the area around present San Marcos and it does not seem to have been included in the copy of the T estimonio used by Bolton, it will be best to quote at length from it. Eca y Musquiz, accompanied by Delgado, Flores, and De la Garza, arrived at the springs that form the source of the San Marcos on August 11, 1750. "When we came upon a large plain, suitable for cultivation and covered with abundant pasturage, which seemed to begin at the spring that gives rise to the San Marcos River," says Musquiz, "we left the regular road that leads from San Xavier to this river in order to determine the ease or difficulty of digging irrigation ditches to water the land. Setting out from a site called La Mota (the Thicket) across the plain in the direc- tion of the spring we came upon a very dense woods after traveling about one and one-half leagues. These large trees marked the course of an arroyo called Blanco (present Blanco River) which appeared to carry much water in times of flood. Its bed is wide and deep. It is crossed by the old road to Los Adaes. Upstream its bed narrows. Continuing from this point in the direction of the spring, the woods grow ever thicker and a high and rocky hill, called Loma Blanca (White Hill) is skirted almost half way around a circle before the spring is reached, which is more than a league from the said arroyo ( Blanco River)." Between the river (San Marcos) and the creek ( Blanco River) there were good pasture lands in the league intervening. The San Marcos River did not offer any facilities for irrigation other than at its source. The claims of the governor, there- fore, were unfounded. As to Indians, Eca y lVlusquiz declared he had BTestimonio de diligencias . . . Arcl,ivo del Colegio, 1750-1767 (Dunn Tran- scripts) pp. 46-49. Dr. Bolton, who made three personal examinations of the ground, has located the exact sites of the three missions. See Texas in the Middle Eighteen/la Centur,y, 227-230.
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