Our Catholic Heritage in T eza.s
upon Castaneda and his men on their way to the Trinity. When they reached the Guadalupe on September 23, they spent a day drying out before proceeding to the Brazos, which took three days to cross. The San Juan River presented similar difficulties. A temporary camp was established on October 9 on the site of an old Indian 1'ancliena near the Trinity. Reconnoitering parties were then sent to Atascosito and Cayo Gallardo. Not until October 11 did Castaneda reach the Trinity with a picked group of approximately one hundred and forty men.n In order that his actions might not be misinterpreted, Castaneda sent a communication to the commander at Natchitoches informing him that his purpose was to drive out undesirable persons from East Texas.H An exploring group sent to Atascosito captured two Anglo-Americans and a woman who lived on a ranch nearby. Captain Castaneda sent Lieutenant Jose Sandoval with a dispatch to Galveston to demand the surrender of the refugees on the island. One of the prisoners paddled the envoys across to the island and conducted them to the headquarters of the French, established aboard an abandoned brig belonging to Lafitte. The letter was delivered to General Rigaud, in command of the French exiles during the absence of General Lallemand, who had left with Graham on September I for New Orleans. Rigaud conferred with his officers for two days and replied that the settlement of the French had never been intended as a hostile act against Spain. As proof of his contention, he pointed out that the settlers had abandoned the enter- prise the moment they learned it was displeasing to the Spanish Government. To the request that the French surrender their arms and leave at once, Rigaud replied that the men and their families needed their arms for self-defense and could not leave the island until General Lallemand sent ships to transport them to New Orleans. Castaneda, not satisfied with these excuses, sent an ultimatum de- manding either the unconditional surrender of all the refugees or their departure within three days. Lafitte and his unfortunate guests had, meanwhile, fully recovered from the shock of the Spanish demands and decided that Captain Castaneda was in no position to expel them. They, consequently, ignored his ultimatum. 25 2lDiario of the Expedition of Juan de Castaneda transmitted in letter of Apodaca to the Minister of State, January 31, 1819, Pa,peles de Estado, Mezico, 88-98, A. G. /. 14 Castaneda to La Autoridad de! Congreso de los Estados Unidos, Punta de Busto, October 13, 181 8, in ibid., 113-114. "Castaneda to the Commander in Chief of the troops in Galveston, Punta de Busto, October 13, 1818; Rigaud to Castaneda, Galveston, October 17, 1818;
Powered by FlippingBook