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Aguayo Expedition and San Jose iJfission, I7I9-I722
113
the Cadodachos, only served to arouse the apprehension of the French to a high pitch. As a result, La Harpe made all haste to forestall the con- templated advance of the Spaniards and established a post among the Nassonites early in 1719. Bienville, who was now governor of Louisiana, ordered St. Denis to instigate the Indians secretly to refuse help in the way of maintenance to the Spaniards and to intercept any aid coming to the Asinais. 10 In view of these instructions the alleged meeting of the Indian nations in the spring of 1718, to which both Alarcon and Father Olivares refer in their communications to the viceroy, take on added significance. The repeated warnings of the missionaries that the French were diligently working to turn the natives against the Spaniards become, when these facts are considered, more than a clever ruse to frighten Spanish officials into taking action to support their earnest endeavors to win the friendship of the Indians through their pious work of conver- sion and civilization. It is of interest to note in this connection that the French felt confidently sure of their hold upon the Indians and their ability to drive the Spaniards out at any time. Speaking of the estab- lishment in East Texas, Governor Cadillac assured his home government that it would remain only as long as the French wished, "for it will be easy to destroy or appropriate it." 11 Before the middle of 1718, the French were already seriously contem- plating the occupation of the Bay of Espiritu Santo, considered the key to the Province of Texas. On February 20, and again on April 25, the viceroy wrote to the king to inform him of the designs on this coveted bay. In his first communication he stated that he had been warned by Governor Salinas Varona of Pensacola, that the French in Louisiana had received orders from the Duke of Orleans, now Regent of France, to take possession of a port on the Mexican Gulf "if necessary by force of arms." On receipt of this disquieting information, the viceroy had convoked a general council of war to which Governor Salinas Varona was invited out of regard for his varied experience and his knowledge of the Gulf Coast. The council discussed at length the menace that threatened the sovereignty of the king. It was finally decided that before a course of action looking to the occupation of the Bay of Espiritu Santo could be adopted, it would be best to send Salinas Varona to explore the Bays of Espiritu Santo and San Bernardo. The council ordered that two
IO/bid., VI, 224-225. 11/bid., 198-199.
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