Our Catliolic H eritagc i11 Texas
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show how the border of the present State of Texas was repeatedly pene- trated all along the river from El Paso to its lower course in the vicinity of Rio Grande City. Slowly but surely the frontiers of New Spain in the Nucvo Reyno de Leon, Nueva Vizcaya, and Coahuila were moving towards the Rio Grande and it was only a question of time before the ever enthusiastic and zealous sons of Saint Francis would find a way to carry to the numberless natives that roamed the wilds of Texas the blessings of civilization and the consolations of Christianity. Seen in this light, the final occupation of East Texas in 1689 "was not merely the result of the La Salle expedition, but was the logical culmination of the long series of expeditions made to the eastward from New Mexico and of the expansion of the Nuevo Le6n-Coahuila frontier, and more especially of the quest begun as far back as the time of Castillo and Martin, for the great kingdom of the Tejas," says Bolton. 33 Tlze Great Kingdom of tlie Tejas. By 1676, information regarding the great kingdom of the Tejas was common and concrete. When in that year the Bishop of Guadalajara, Don Manuel Fernandez de Santa Cruz, visited Coahuila, he said, in his report to the king: "The people of that nation, which they call Tejas, and who, they maintain, live under an organized government, congregate in their pueblos, and are governed by a cacique who is named the Great Lord, as they call the one who rules them all, and who, they say, resides in the interior. They have houses made of wood, cultivate the soil, plant maize and other crops, wear clothes and punish misdemeanors, especially theft. The Coahuiles do not give more detailed reports of the Tejas because, they say, they are allowed to go only to the first pueblos of the border, since the Great Lord of the Tejas does not permit foreign nations to enter the interior of his country. There are many of these Coahuiles who give the reports, and who say that they got them through having aided the Tejas in their wars against the Pauit, another very warlike nation. The Coahuiles once pacified, the Spaniards can reach the land of the Tejas without touching the country of enemies." 34 It is no wonder that such detailed information concerning the people after whom the State was to be named was available at this time. By llBolton, "The Spanish Occupation of Texas," Tiu Quarterly, XVI, 26. 34"Informe que hizo el Yllmo. Senor Don Manuel Fernz. de Sta. Cruz Abpo. de Guadalaxa. a el Yllmo. y exmo. Senor Maestro Don Fr. Payo de Rivera, Arzobispo de Mexico ... dande Relacion de las Tierras de Coahuila," cited hy Bolton, "Spanish Occupation of Texas," Tl,e Quarterly, XVI, 18.
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