Ot" ·catholic Heritage in Texas
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Zuma Indians at the Real de San Lorenzo at his own expense. An inspec- tion of the garrison disclosed that the men were all fit, that they were properly equipped with all the necessary arms, and that they were well drilled. 27 It had been proposed by the viceroy that the garrison of the Presidio del Paso del Norte be reduced to thirty men and that the nineteen left over, together with other detachments from the presidios in this region, be used to establish a new outpost at the Junta de los Rios. After having visited the Presidios of Janos, Fronteras, Mapimi, and El Gallo, and having seen the actual conditions that confronted the garrison of El Paso del Norte, Rivera emphatically declared that this presidio needed the entire force which it now had. It was the target, he said, for about fifteen hundred Apache Indians who lived in the Gila Mountains. There were six tribes in this nation: the Mescaleros, Caninos, Gilas, and others. In all they numbered approximately five thousand, who had their strongholds in the Gila Mountains. This range was about one hundred leagues long and ran from northwest to southeast. The southeastern extremity was ab:mt sixty leagues from El Paso, and the same distance from Janos and Fronteras, so that these Indians could attack any one of the three presidios when they pleased. He recommended, therefore, that the forty-nine men now at El Paso del Norte be left there and that their pay be reduced from four hundred and fifty pesos to four hundred, because, with the maximum price list for commodities placed in effect after the inspection, the soldiers could secure all the supplies and equipment they needed for much less than before. The salary of the captain was to continue at six hundred pesos a year. 28 As usual, the viceroy approved the recommendations of Rivera and the idea of reducing the garrison was abandoned. Governor Valverde's Expedition to tlie Panana Indians. When in 1719, the French surprised the Presidio of Nuestra Senora de los Dolores and the missionaries in East Texas, causing them to abandon the missions and to retreat to San Antonio, Captain Diego Ramon, it appears, wrote a letter to the Governor of New Mexico, Captain Antonio Valverde Cossio, warning him of the designs of the French upon that province. Ramon informed Governor Valverde that the French were on the way to Santa Fe with the intention of taking possession of the rich mines of that province. 29 27Proyecto y vissita de Presidios . .. A. G. N., Provi11cias lnternns, Vol. 29. 28/bid. A. G. N., Provhrcias lntemas, 29. 29Confesi6n de! Governador y Capitan General de la Provincia de la Nuevo Mexico, July 5, 1726. A. G. N., Provitrcias /11/ernas, Vol. 37, Pt. 2.
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