iii/aria de Agreda, the ]mnano, and tlie Tejas
213
viceroy, in which he set forth his services to the king and his qualifi- cations for the conquest and settlement of Texas. The petition, together with that of Alonso de Leon were referred to the Bishop of Guadalajara, who decided in favor of the latter. 31 Proceeding in good order, the expedition found itself twenty-four leagues beyond the Rio Grande at the end of a six days' journey, while still searching for the Cacaxtles. Here they came upon the enemy, who upon seeing the Spaniards, took refuge in a heavy thicket of trees. The Spaniards surrounded them and tried to induce them to give themselves up. But the natives offered a stout resistance. The battle lasted all day. When night fell, after more than one hundred of the Indians had fallen, the survivors, seventy in number, surrendered. In the "big fight," as the Spaniards called it, twenty-two soldiers were wounded, but not seriously; two allied Indian warriors were killed; and a horse was acci- dentally shot. It seems that Azcue, exasperated by the stout resistance encountered, spurred his horse into the thicket. In doing this his gun was caught in a branch of a tree and the accidental discharge killed the horse. During the engagement an old Indian woman had encouraged the Cacaxtles to fight by playing on a flute. Having been taken prisoner, the Indian allies, who were supposed to be Christians, requested Azcue to turn the old woman over to them for a cannibalistic celebration they were planning for that night. The petition was, of course, refused. "God forbid that it should have ever been granted," exclaims the incensed chronicler. But the Indians would not be put off so easily from their purpose. "They, having learned that a young boy among the captives was a relative of hers, took possession of him secretly that night, and without anybody knowing it, they ate him, a thing which could not be avoided," adds the chronicler, and the reader can judge of the state of affairs even among the barbarous allies. 31 Although the last three expeditions were little more than explorations undertaken chiefly to chastise the Indians and learn more about the country beyond the Rio Grande, they deserve a place in our history to 31 This curious document, heretofore unknown, was found by the author in Guada- lajara and purchased from a private collector. The original is now in his possession. The report of the Bishop of Guadalajara on the relative merits of the two contestants is in the manuscript collection now in the Bi bliott!ca dt!l Estado in Guadalajara, where it was copied by the writer. 31 Castaiieda, "Earliest Catholic Activitie~." in Texas Catholic Historical Society, l'rt!liminary Studies, I, No. 8 , p . 9.
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