Earl,y Exploration of Big Bend Co11ntry, I683-1731
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fourteen men and a train of supplies from that post. On March 26, Berroteran asked Captain Jose Antonio de Eca y Musquiz to hold a council of the most experienced officers and men to try to determine the best route he should follow. The council was held, but all of those who attended, among whom were Diego Ramon, Jose Hernandez, Santiago Jimenez, and Andres Ramon, knew nothing of the country that was to be explored. They all declared that the Indian nations that lived in this territory were hostile, that the land was rough and lacked water, and that no one had ever penetrated this area. 39 Undaunted by the information given him by the council, Captain Berroteran held a review of his forces on March 28, in preparation for his departure to the unknown land of the Rio Grande. He found he had fifty-eight soldiers from Nueva Vizcaya, fifteen from Coahuila (Mon- clova), and fifteen from San Juan Bautista, making a total of eighty- eight. There were also forty friendly Indians from the Province of Coahuila, and six he had brought from the Presidio de Conchos. The men were well equipped with the necessary arms and ammunition, and sufficient supplies for the expedition that had been gathered. Immediately upon the completion of the review, he set out for the Rio Grande and proceeded along its western bank for a distance of seven leagues, to a place which he called Santo Domingo. From here he dispatched eight Indian scouts to explore the country and to locate the San Antonio and San Rodrigo Rivers. They were instructed to watch for any sign of enemies in the neighborhood. Without waiting for their return, he con- tinued the march the following day and reached San Antonio River (on the west side of the Rio Grande, about twenty-five miles from modern Eagle Pass). Here he waited for information from his scouts until April 1. On this day he resumed the march and reached San Rodrigo River, without finding a trace of the enemy or learning anything of its where- abouts. The next day he dispatched ten Indians to reconnoitre the banks of the San Diego and explore its source, as well as Las Vacas, another stream beyond the San Diego. 40 It was at the headwaters of the San Diego and on Las Vacas that the hostile Indians generally had their head- quarters, according to the opinion of the council held at San Juan Bautista. For this reason Berroteran was proceeding with great caution during this 39Expedientes relativos a reconocimiento . . . A. G. N., Historia, Vol. 52. 4 0The San Diego River is about twenty miles to the south of present Villa Acuna which until very recently was called Las Vacas, because it is located at the mouth of the stream that bears this name, which flows into the Rio Grande at this point.
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