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were stolen and he had to leave thirteen horses on the road because they were too tired to continue the march. Jose Padron lost three horses; Manuel de Nis, five; Vicente Alvarez Travieso, six; Salvador Rodriguez, seven; Francisco Arocha, seven; Antonio Rodriguez, five; Jose Leal, four; Juan Delgado, who married after leaving Mexico, two; Jose Cabrera, who married on the road, six; Maria Rodriguez, widow, thir- teen; Mariana Melean, widow, ·eight; and the four bachelors, eleven. The little band lost one hundred and twenty-five horses in all as the result of the fatigue of the trip. They declared that they had received at Cuatitlan two axes, two roasting irons, two cutlasses, two crowbars, ten hack saws, carpenter's adzes, ten chisels, ten harrows tipped with steel, ten comales, and twelve tents with all the necessary poles and attachments. Before leaving the Canary Islands they had been given eleven crowbars, twenty-four cutlasses, twelve roasting irons, eighteen axes, and twelve harrows. These comprised all the tools that were fur- nished them. All of these things were checked and distributed again to the families. 51 On the following day, Captain Almazan officially reported that pur- suant to the orders of His Excellency, he had lodged the fifteen fam- ilies in the best houses of the soldiers. He remarked, however, that this arrangement had placed the garrison at great inconvenience, but that since the measure was temporary, the men were glad to comply with the instructions. With regard to the horses, he informed the viceroy that he had been obliged to corral them with those of the presidio because the new settlers were so physically weak at the time that they could not help take care of them in separate droves. To divide the guard of fifteen sol- diers assigned to watch the presidia! horses, in order to keep those of the settlers distinct, would be to expose both to the wiles of the Indians. The cows, oxen, and other stock they brought were permitted to graze in the best lands in the neighborhood of the presidio, but they could not be taken too far away because of the great danger of theft by the Indians, who still committed many depredations at and near San Antonio. He assured the viceroy that he had taken steps to supply the new set- tlers with everything they needed for their maintenance as instructed, SlTestimonio de Autos y diligencias executadas en Virtud de Despacho del Exmo Senor Virrey de esta nueva Espana ... March 9, 1731. A. G. N., Provincias l11ter- nas, Vol. 32, Pt. 2.
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