195
Tlee Organization of 1Jfission Life, 1722-1728
some others were continuously at Los Adaes or La Bahia. The captain's refusal to release the women and children had been the cause of the failure of the negotiations which would have brought peace with this large and powerful nation. 42 To this complaint was added the testimony of Father Hidalgo, who supported in every detail the statements already made. He explained that the Apaches could have been converted long ago if the presidios had been rightly managed. In his opinion the poor pay received by the sol- diers was responsible for the type of men that made up the frontier gar- risons, whose bad habits often caused the loss of their souls and those of the Indians as well:u Not satisfied with what he had already said, Father Gonzalez made a long report on March 18, 1724, in which he attempted to inform the viceroy of the true state of affairs in Texas and to suggest the remedy for all the ills suffered. The root of many of the existing evils, he averred, was the greed of the commanders of many of the presidios. In those of Coahuila, Rio Grande, and San Antonio the soldiers were charged five times the actual cost of the goods supplied to them. As · result they received little or no pay in specie and this practice wi: responsible in a large measure for the inefficiency of the soldiers on t~ frontier. The country of the Apaches covered a vast area, extending all the way to the Cadodachos, and was much more fertile than the portion of Texas now occupied by the Spaniards. Through the Cadodachos these Indians had communication with the French who induced them to com- mit frequent depredations. He praised their skill as warriors and horse- men and said the type of soldiers found in the presidios were no match for the Apaches. Recommendations of Father Gonzalez. After g1vmg a summary of the campaign of Flores against the Apaches which resulted in the cap- ture of twenty women and children, he declared that his refusal to treat with them had spoiled all chance of making peace. He accused Flores of having attacked the Indians without provocation, when he invaded their ranclzer1a, and of mercilessly killing them from behind as they ran for shelter. He even hinted that the reason why he was opposed to the deliv- ery of the prisoners to the Apaches was that he wanted to keep them as •:Testimony of Father Jose Gonzalez, January 10, 1724. Arc/1ivo San Fran- cisco el Grande, Vol. Io. 4 3Hidalgo to the Viceroy, January 14, 1724, in Ibid.
lot
Powered by FlippingBook