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Establishment of Missions in East Texas, r689-r693
the equally discouraged soldiers and missionaries. The march was slow and painful and fully three months were consumed to reach the desired destination. When they arrived at their former camp on the coast, which Teran named Santa Margarita de Buena Vista, on March 5, they found there Captain Barroto waiting for them with fresh supplies. Their satis- faction at this pleasant surprise may well be imagined. Teran remained in camp for two weeks, pleasantly occupied now in drawing up his detailed report and in taking the testimony of different members of the expedition to prove that he had done everything he could to carry out his instructions faithfully. Blaming the viceroy for the inadequate preparations made in the beginning, he held the missionaries responsible for the subsequent failure of the •enterprise, made inevitable by their unwillingness to wait on the Colorado for the arrival of the sorely needed reenforcements and supplies before proceeding to the Tejas. He then drew the darkest picture he could of conditions among these Indians, declaring that the establishment of missions among them was useless. Anxious to continue his journey to Mexico, he gave instructions to Captain Martinez to remain in charge of the camp and to march back to Coahuila as soon as the horses were able to travel, while he himself embarked on one of the vessels. Since the viceroy had given new instructions for the vessels to explore the Rio de la Palizada (Mississippi) , the ships made their way along the coast to the east for a few days in an attempt to comply with their orders. Bad weather, however, furnished an excuse to abandon the project, and the vessels gladly changed their course and set sail for Veracruz, where they arrived safely on April 15. 47 This expedition, undertaken under the most favorable conditions and with the highest hopes of success, had proved a lamentable failure. Not a single new mission was founded and the condition of those already established was in no way improved. The exploration of the country had been a perfunctory and mechanical gesture to fulfill the letter and not the spirit of the instructions. Although the viceroy reported that all the purposes had been accomplished, it was not long before the officials in Spain became aware of the true state of affairs. The diary of the expe- '7The summary here given is based in the main on the documents concerning the Teran expedition found in Historia, Vol. 27, although use has been made of the others cited before in this chapter, which are not found in the volume Indicated.
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