Our Catholic Heritage in T c:xas
influence of our holy religion, it was necessary, he explained, to send a person as leader of the new expedition, who was known to be zealous both for the royal service and the conversion of souls, who had had experience in dealing with the Indians, who was liberal and tactful, and who would protect them against all abuses. Great care should be exercised in sending only married soldiers on this expedition to avoid the excesses committed in the time of De Leon and Teran. The families of the soldiers, who could be transported at royal expense, would form the nucleus of a settlement that would induce others to establish themselves in this remote region ·and would set a good example to the Indians and convince them of the permanence of the missions. It would be well to take a number of old mission Indians, skilled in the cultivation of the soil, to help in teaching those newly congregated how to plant crops. A master carpenter, a blacksmith, and a mason should also be sent at royal expense that they might help build the churches and dwellings and teach these trades to the Indians. It was particularly important that a good weaver should accompany Father Olivares, who could teach the Indians how to weave the flax, the wool, and the goat hair into cloth. Turning to the military aspects of the expedition, he suggested that not less than sixty soldiers be sent in order that at least twenty-five could be left as a garrison after an adequate guard was placed in each one of the missions. These men should be stationed at a convenient place that might be considered the capital or headquarters of the new establish- ments. A sufficient and adequate number of soldiers was essential for the ·success of the efforts of the missionaries in congregating the Indians. With a competent force, the judicious distribution of gifts and fair treatment of the natives, they could be more easily gathered into pueblos and induced to observe the regulations of mission life without giving occasion for them to become insolent as they did in 1693. It would be well for the soldiers to be all of pure Spanish stock, no ·mestizos, coyotes, or mulattoes to be included. In order to cause no added expense to the already depleted treasury, he was of the opinion that as many as ten men be dropped from the payroll of a certain number of presidios from New Mexico to Sinaloa, their allowances to be used for soldiers sent to Texas. He argued in support of this plan that most of the presidios listed were located among peaceful Indians, and that in all probability the persons dropped from the military payroll would remain at the presidios as civil settlers. For the escort of ten men asked by Father Olivares, he advised that eight be taken from the Presidio of San Juan Bautista on
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