183
The Organization of Mission Life, 1722-1728
that she be hanged. Eight days later he died as a consequence of the wound he had received. 20 Removal of Diego Ramon from command. As a result of this unfor- tunate occurrence, the mission Indians abandoned their pueblo and returned to their former haunts. The work of Father Agustin Patron was thus undone by the imprudent actions of Captain Domingo Ramon. The natives not only abandoned the mission, but to avenge themselves for the insult offered them, they surprised the guards of the presidio and stole a good number of horses. It was to these depredations that Diego referred in his letter to the viceroy. To determine the circumstances of this thievery, Governor Almazan commissioned Manuel Malo de Mendoza, his secretary, to conduct a thorough investigation on March 31. On the following day he opened the formal inquiry at La Bahia. He was to find out if the theft had been committed by the former Indians of the mission, namely, the Cojames, Guapites, and Karankawas; the number of soldiers who were on guard on the night of the attack; the manner in which they were armed; whether they were on foot or mounted; and whether the loss of the horses had been the result of negligence or lack of vigilance. He called as witnesses Nicolas Meave, Francisco Xavier Munoz, and Ber- nave de Arce, all soldiers; Juan Rodriguez and Fernando Perez de Leon, eyewitnesses; and Diego Ramon, the acting captain of the presidio. According to the declarations, Manuel de Arce, one of the soldiers, arrived at the presidio late in the afternoon on January 13. He notified the guards that on the way to the post he had seen a lurking Indian spy across the river making what appeared to be a smoke signal. After receiving this warning, Ignacio de la Garza, who was the lieutenant of the garrison, made a hasty reconnoissance, without crossing the stream, to ascertain if Indian prowlers had been in the vicinity of the presidio, and he reported that there was no sign of Indians or Indian smoke. He declared that the soldier who had given the alarm had mistaken a small palm tree for an Indian; and that there were no grounds for fear. Instead of ordering the horses brought into the presidia} corral, they were allowed to graze outside. About midnight a party of Indians surprised the guards. There were four in number and all were on foot. It was further disclosed that at the time of the attack one was asleep. Of the four, two were killed, one was wounded, and the other escaped unharmed. Among the four JOGovemor Almazan to the Viceroy, May 1, 1724. A. G. N., PrOfli"Cias lmn-,ras, Vol. 181.
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