Permanent Occupation of Tezas, r7r5-r7r6 57 the chief village of the Tejas. On June 30, the party went forth to find a suitable location for the establishment of a presidio, and, after trav- eling about four leagues, came to a small clearing by the edge of a lake, on the west side of the Neches. Here Ramon decided to establish his headquarters temporarily. "We came to a plain," says Father Espinosa, "which seemed to our Captain to be a suitable place, for the time being, to establish his presidio, which was at the margin of a very large lake and not far from the medium sized river."" With the aid of the Indians, who proved to be not only willing but skillful workers, a large and com- fortable structure was quickly made out of the plentiful timber found everywhere in the region. By the end of the first day they had finished everything but the roof, and on the second they quickly topped it with grass. "These two days were spent," declares Ramon, "in making for me a very comfortable house. All the Indians, who are very handy and like to work, spent about nine hours on the task, thanks to their ability and the abundance of the timber." While the headquarters for the Captain were being built, the mis- sionaries were not idle, nor was the main purpose of the expedition neg- lected. The very day the site for the temporary quarters for the military operations was chosen, Ramon and the missionaries, in company with several Indians, among them the old chief of the Tejas, crossed the Neches and went to look for a place wherein to reestablish the first mission. The Padres and the Indians agreed on a spot in the middle of the Neche village, located from two to four miles from the river crossing, close to the mounds.' 5 This was four leagues farther east than the original loca- tion, the mission being intended for the Naiche or Neche, Nabeitdache or Nabedache, Nacona, and Cacachau, 46 all neighboring tribes, located at a reasonable distance from the place chosen. '"Espinosa's Diary, Provincias /11ter11as, Vol. 181, p. 117. Three weeks later he was still there. lbU., 89. From the temporary location of the presidio on the west bank to the new location of the reestablished Mission of San Francisco there was approximately one league or about two and one-half miles. • '5 After a careful study of the original diaries of Ramon and Father Espinosa, the Diary of Aguayo's expedition, and that of Rivera, Dr. Bolton reached this conclusion concerning the exact location of the reestablished mission of the Neches. See "The Native Tribes About the East Texas .Missions," The Quarterly, XI, 26 1 - 263. Since then Dr. Bolton confirmed his opinion and came to the conclusion, after a personal examination of the ground, that the mission was doubtless on Bowles Creek, not far from the present crossing of that stream by the old San Antonio Road. ' 6 Representaci6n hecha por los Padres Misioneros a su Excelencia dando noticia. San Francisco el Grande Archive, July 22, 17 I 6, VIII, I 14-116.
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