il,faria de Agreda, the J umano, and the T ejas
209
establish a fort on the coast to be used as a base from which to raid the country." 25 He decided to notify the viceroy, who was the Marquis of Cadereyta, that he might be informed. In the meantime, he quickly ordered forty men to prepare themselves for service and provided them with good arms, plenty of ammunition, sufficient supplies, and the best horses possible. Placing them under Sergeant Major Jacinto Garcia de Sepulveda, he gave them instructions to proceed as far as the sea and to determine with all care the strength of the enemy and their designs. They were warned against surprise by the enemy and the treachery of Indian allies, who being venal, were susceptible to being bribed with insignificant trinkets. They were advised to report the character of the country visited and the shallow fords and convenient crossings of all streams. On Monday, August 16, 1638, the little group set out in good order, taking with them a few friendly Indians to serve as guides and interpreters. Four days after their departure, it was heard that they were surrounded by hostile Indians. The governor sent out Indian scouts to ascertain the truth of the report and these soon informed him that the waters of the river of the Camalucanos, possibly the Rio Grande, were very high. In an effort to cross they had gone fifteen leagues upstream, where it seems they found a ford, which they waded, and continuing their march for a distance of thirty leagues, they reached a stretch of desolate, level country with no water. This territory could easily have been in the neighborhood of present Brownsville, where there are a number of llanos (plains) between this place and the coast. Finding no water and no trace of the enemy which they were hunting, they became alarmed and turned back. As they came out of the desolate area, they were met by a large group of hostile coastal Indians who attacked them. The Spaniards succeeded in defeating these savages and captured two prisoners. When they questioned them, why so many Indians had gathered on the rear of the Spaniards, the captives replied that the natives had seen them go into the coast plains, where they knew the men would die of thirst. Consequently they had gathered and followed them at a distance, happy at the prospect of the feast they would have with the remains and the spoils they would gather. Although the rumors of the Dutch on the Texas coast proved false, there is little doubt that 25 The facts of this interesting episode of a possible Dutch landing on the Texas coast are given in Leon, Historia de N11e110 Leon, 151-155. The remainder of the account here presented is based entirely on this source.
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