The Searcli for La Salle, I685-1689
333
number of persons, according to the official list, was one hundred and fifteen in all. 49 Since this expedition was the first to penetrate as far as the Guadalupe River from the frontiers of Coahuila and has gen- erally been considered as marking the beginnings of Texas, it will be well to determine as near as possible the route followed. All those who have written about this incident have paid little attention to the diffi- culties which the course first suggested by Clark in his Beginnings of Texas offer. As usual, we cannot place any dependence on the direction of travel as recorded in the comprehensive diary, but assuming that the distances are approximately correct, and that the rivers crossed have not changed their course in the last two hundred and fifty years sufficiently to affect materially the distance from one to the other, a careful plotting of the route on an accurate map of the State reveals some interesting facts. It should be kept in mind, first of all, that the latitude of the location of La Salle's fort is approximately 28° 50'; that of Monclova is 26° 50'; and that of the site of San Juan Bautista, in the vicinity of present Eagle Pass, is 28° 40'. It is evident, therefore, that if De Leon crossed the Rio Grande near the last location as suggested heretofore, he would have had to follow an almost due east course to reach the colony. Furthermore, the Rio Grande runs to the southeast, while the Gulf coast runs southwest, the two coming together at Brownsville in a V-shape angle. Consequently, De Leon traveled along the base of this triangle. The higher up on the Rio Grande he started, the longer the total distance to the French fort would be. With these facts in mind, the approximate route followed can be much more accurately traced by the use of a good map of Texas and a divider to plot the course. 50 Route followed. From the Rio Sabinas, Mexico, the expedition set out to the northeast on March 28, guided by the Frenchman and the Indian from the mission of Father Massanet. The following day they came to a ranclieria of Hapes, Jumanes, Mescales, and Xiaba Indians, who manifested great joy at seeing their old friend the Frenchman. They sat him on buffalo robes 49 1\fassanet says there were only eighty soldiers, see his Carla in Bolton, Spa11isk Exploration, 284-285. The official list of all the persons is in Historia de Nuevo Leon (Genaro Garcia, Doc11111e11tos, XXV, 320-321) . s°For the various routes suggested and the identification of the rivers crossed see E. H. West, "Itinerary of Alonso de Leon," Tl,e Quartu/y, VIII, 199-224; Clark, The Begi1111i11g of Texas; Bolton, op. cit., 388-404; Hackett, Picltardo; Limits of Louisiana and Texas, Volume I.
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