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Our Catl,olic Heritage in T ezas
the Indians 910 peso;; for one mission 134 pesos. It is of interest to note that in closing his report, Miranda warns the viceroy that there must be some delay so as to allow a sufficient amount of time for the manufacture of the twenty-five rifles with the care necessary to insure perfect casting of the barrels. In the past, because of haste in production the guns proved defective and caused serious injury to the soldiers.• At this time the number of i:nissions that were to be established was undetermined and it is for this reason that in making the estimates, the factor was careful to stipulate the accounting for this purpose was reckoned on the basis for only one mission. But that same day, Septem- ber 9, the viceroy, in approving the report and issuing orders to the officers of the royal treasury to pay over to Miranda the cash indicated for the purchase of the goods, said, "and the amount stipulated for one mission is to be understood for four now, and with this understanding let the necessary supplies for each of the four be bought." 9 Accordingly, on Sep- tember 12, two orders were issued: one for the purchase of all the goods listed and one for the delivery of the required powder by the keeper of the royal arsenal. It was not until September 30, that the viceroy appointed the com- mander of the expedition officially and drew up a set of instructions for the proposed entrada. Declaring that the Junta had left to his judgment the appointment of the officers (cavos) and the fixing of the rate of pay of both soldiers and officers, he now appointed the Alferez Domingo Ramon leader of the expedition with five hundred pesos a year, payable at the office of the treasury in San Luis Potosi; and Luis de St. Denis, conductor of supplies with the same allowance, payable in the same man- ner, for such a period of time as his services were required. The twenty- five soldiers were assigned four hundred pesos a year each. Joan Medar (Medar Jalot) was allowed one hundred pesos for services rendered in helping to prepare for the expedition. Domingo Ramon and St. Denis were to be paid half of their annual salary in advance out of the royal treasury in Mexico City, 10 notice of this advance to be sent to the office of the treasury in San Luis Potosi. The soldiers were to be given a full year's 1 Informe de Ignacio Joseph Miranda. Mexico, September 9, t 71 5. San Fran- cisco el Grande Arcl,ive, VIII, 48-52. It should be noted that the guns were made in Mexico City where facilities for casting the barrels existed at this early date. 9 Provincias /nternas, Vol. 181, pp. 37-38. 10 It is to be noted that Clark and all those after him have asserted that St. Denis was paid a full year's salary in advance. This is contrary to fact, as he and Ramon were only paid half a year in advance.
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