Our Catleolic Heritage in Texas
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for the patron saint of the expedition, Our Lady of Guadalupe of Mexico, ,, . . - ------ -- - -,, whose picture was painted on the royal standard borne by the troops. The Guadalupe was reached on April 14. The following day, the expe- dition found a ford and crossed this stream, but the rain prevented the men from going farther that day. At a consultation, it was decided to reconnoiter the country from here with sixty men, while the rest remained in camp. The guide had assured De Leon that they were now very near to the French settlement. Next morning, April 16, a High Mass was sung in honor of 9ur Lady of Guadah~e for the protection bestowed upon the expedition. After the solemn ceremony of thanksgiving, Alonso de Leon set out with sixty picked men. After going a short distance, an Indian was captured, who declared that his ra11clteria was not far away and that there were four Frenchmen living there. With all haste the company made its way to the Indian village, only to find it deserted. A diligent search found the Indians hiding in a clump of trees nearby. When assured no harm would befall them, they came, bringing eight or ten dogs loaded with buffalo skins. The Indians said that the Frenchmen who had been living with them had left to visit the Tejas four days before. In the hope of overtaking them, De Leon and his men hastened to another village, which they reached that evening after going in a general northern direction all day. Here they were told that the four Frenchmen were gone to the Tejas; that the rest who had settled on the little sea ( the bay) had all died, some of smallpox and the others at the hands of the Indians of the coast; that the colony had six houses; but that everything had been destroyed three months (moons) before. 55 By a strange coincidence, the details of the fate of La Saile's unfor- tunate colony now learned by Leon and his men had been told as accurately to Governor Pardifias at Parral, in Nueva Vizcaya, four days before by Sabeata and his companions. The search that had occupied the attention of Spanish officials for more than three years wa~ nearing its goal. A consultation was held and it was decided that it would be best for the advance guard to return to the main camp and for the entire expedition to proceed together to reconnoiter the site of the settlement. Before going back, however, a letter was written in French by Alferez Francisco Martinez, addressed to the four strangers, explaining that the Indians had acquainted the Spaniards with the fate of the colony and that the expedition would wait for them at the site of the old settlement. Alonso de Leon signed the missive, to which Father Massanet added a
sswest, "Itinerary," in Bolton, op. cit., 394-395.
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