Om· Catl,olic Heritage in Texas
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Father Margil had urged the advisability of sending Urrutia with Domingo Ramon on the expedition of 1716 because of his knowledge of the customs and habits of the Tejas Indians and their language, but this petition was refused because Urrutia was at that time employed as Protector of the Indians in Nuevo Leon. La Gran Quivira was thought to be located somewhere near the country of the Tejas and Aguayo believed that Urrutia was the man best suited to discover it because of his intimacy with these Indians. This proposal was unfavorably considered by the Fiscal who thought it impractical, but when presented to the ltmta de Guerra on July 13, 1715, it was thought of sufficient impor- tance to ask Aguayo and Urrutia for more details concerning the projected expedition. The Marquis of Aguayo made a report on the nature and character of La Gran Quivira on November 2, 1715, based on such information as he had acquired from Urrutia, the Tejas Indians, and others who had been to their country. But sine~ Urrutia, who had a first-hand acquaintance with the country, failed to report, the whole matter was dropped on January 11, 1716, with a recommendation that Urrutia be again requested to report. 27 Pursuant to the orders of the viceroy, Aguayo quickly enlisted and equipped eighty-four men as instructed, gathering at the same time the necessary supplies of flour, corn, and meat for one year. The men were marched to Santiago de la Monclova, the capital of Coahuila, from where they were sent to the Presidio de Bejar on September 4. Aguayo, in · reporting his activities to the viceroy, offered him his life and fortune for the service of the king, whereupon the viceroy appointed him governor and captain general of Coahuila and the Province of the Tejas and New Philippines. Aguayo had pointed out to the viceroy that the men enlisted were insufficient, that a larger force was required for the emergency, but that since men were scarce on the frontier, they would have to be recruited elsewhere. Fully impressed with the magnitude of the enterprise, the viceroy ordered five hundred additional men recruited in the districts of Celaya, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, and Aguascalientes. For the immediate expenses of the proposed expedition thirty-seven thousand ,pesos were appropriated and Aguayo was given the equivalent of one year's salary at the rate of four hundred and fifty ,pesos for each man t7Autos sobre el descubrimiento de La Gran Quivira segun lo consultado por el Marques de San Miguel de Aguayo, Superior Govierno, Ano de I 715, Texas, No. 2 , in B. Ms. Cited by Buckley, op, cit., 21. Copies of these documents are also found in the San Fr_ancisco ,z Grande Archiv1, Vol. VIII.
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