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Our Catholi& Heritage in Texas
which was kept at San Jose, where there was not a single mission Indian. ":i "In the meantime," he says, "numerous Indians came to see me and captains of different nations, all from among those that live in the region of the San Antonio River. I told them the purpose of my coming; I explained and extolled to them how greatly the king and Your Excellency desired their conversion and that they should live according to the law of God and the customs of civilized men, and that Your Excellency had provided me with the necessary means for that purpose. To convince them, I showed them the supply of clothes, tobacco, and other things which Your Excellency placed under my care and in order that they might not think my words were but an empty promise, I distributed some of these goods among them. The number who came to see me was over one hundred and fifty, many of whom were captains of different nations, and they all gave me their word they would wait for me on the San Antonio River."u As time went on and Alarcon still postponed his departure, there grew a misunderstanding between ·him and Father Olivares. The governor encountered greater difficulty in getting started than he had expected, and as winter drew near, he must have followed the advice of those who had bad experience in the country and decided to wait until spring. Provisions bad to be collected, more men enlisted, and families induced to accom- pany the expedition; the horses, so essential for the soldiers and the transportation of the families, had to be secured; and the stock had to be brought together. But Father Olivares thought the delay was inex- cusable and, as far as he was concerned, he could not understand why he was not allowed to go on. About the middle of September, after having seen that Alarcon did not have the required number of soldiers, nor the families necessary to proceed to Texas, he wrote a letter to him again urging to be allowed to go alone, and pointing out the many incon- veniences that would result from putting off carrying out the orders of His Excellency. To this Alarcon replied that it was impossible for him to start now, that he could not spare the ten men for the new mission, and that he could not permit the Padre to proceed alone, that he would have to wait a little longer. These continued denials had exhausted the patience of the enthusiastic 21Father Olivares to the Viceroy, June 22, 1718. San Francisco el Grande Arcltive, VIII, 205-212. "'Ibid., 205-212.
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