23
Frenclz Settlement and Spain's Renewed Interest
Tejas with his followers, we inquired particularly about the said Indians, and asked if it was true that they had left their territory and had come to settle on the San Marcos River. To this they replied that the Asinai Indians, commonly called Tejas, were in their own country where they had always lived; that they had not moved to the place we inquired about; that only a few were in the habit of going in search of buffalo meat to the Colorado River and its neighborhood. Asked again, if they knew this to be the truth, they maintained what they had said and declared fur- ther that Bernardino, a Tejas Indian, who knew Spanish and was very crafty, having lived many years among the Spaniards, was the chief of all the Tejas, and this they knew well. All this caused us sorrow on the one hand, because· we wanted to see the Tejas, and joy on the other hand, because it relieved us of the uncertainty under which we had labored con- cerning the whereabouts of the Tejas. The Indians said also that it was a three-day journey from the place where we were to the village of the Tejas. Not having planned to stay any longer, and the Captain of the military expedition not having instructions to go any farther, and having been told by all, who knew him, that the chief of the Tejas was very adverse to all matters of faith, never having been made to live like a Christian, and that he had escaped from the mission of the Rio Grande with some Indian women who had been left there, we decided not to pro- ceed any farther.... "... Saturday afternoon we made a paper cross, which we painted with ink as best we could, and gave it to the Indian, Cantona, who came with us. We commissioned him to take it to the governor of the Tejas and to tell them how we had searched for them; that they should go to our missions on the Rio Grande since they knew where they were; and to show them the cane he had, that they might give credence to his words. He promised to do everything we told him. This being done we started our return march to the Rio Grande. .•." 57 Although the expedition failed to meet the Tejas Indians, which it went out to contact for the expressed purpose of securing their good will and cooperation to check the activities of the French, nevertheless, it was not a failure, for it made possible a few years later the Ramon expedi- tion. The Tejas Indians, it must be borne in mind, were crafty and astute. They, no doubt, carried word of the visit of the missionaries and the small group of soldiers to their friends in Louisiana. The news of the intention of the Spaniards to establish a mission among them only aroused the cupidity of the French, who saw in the establishment not a hindrance to their designs but an invaluable opportunity to introduce their merchandise farther into the interior by this means without so much danger. In short, the projected settlement of East Texas would bring the Spanish frontier closer to them and make it easier to establish trade.
51 /bid., 8-10.
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