Foreig11. Colonizati,m of Texas, r820-r835
1 79
Frankly, Zambrano declared that if something was not done to im- prove the situation, it would be better to abandon the entire province than to continue wasting the royal money. Such a course of action, however, meant that the province would fall without a struggle into the hands of the United States. He contended that Bexar alone could sustain a population of several thousand and raise sufficient grain ·for all needs. The mission fields with their irrigation system could once more be made to flourish in the hands of men capable of cultivating them. The best portion of the province for immediate development, accord- ing to Zambrano, was a line drawn from La Bahia through Bexar to Bandera Pass, thence to Aguaverde in Coahuila. Placement of gar- risons at San Saba Canyon, Bandera Pass, and the defile of Bexar, the three points through which the Indians made their incursions, would prove an effective check on their depredations. Within the area thus protected, colonists totaling eight to ten thousand persons could be settled. Zambrano suggested as possible sites for settlements the headwaters of the Medina and the banks of the Guadalupe. Another location he recommended was on the Frio River, although he considered the San Saba Canyon even better, because it was approximately halfway be- tween Bandera Pass and Aguaverde. Protected by the garrisons sug- gested, prospective settlers, he believed, would come from the adjacent provinces. Turning his attention to the Indians, Zambrano pointed out that the Comanches, Tonkawas, and the Lipans were responsible for the most extensive and most devastating damages. He advocated a dual solution for the Indian problem: a mission to civilize and Christianize the Tonkawas; for the Comanches and Lipans, a relentless campaign of extermination. 7 So elaborate and expensive a plan was, however, out of the question at this time. Sufficient troops could not be spared to establish the three or four additional posts suggested, and the cost of such an undertaking was beyond the meager resources of the commandancy general just when its problems were daily multiplying. The Arredondo Plan. Taking some of the points from the interesting report of Zambrano, Commandant General Arredondo presented his own plan for improving conditions in Texas. He advocated the opening 7Zambrano to the Commandant General, September I 4, I 81 S, N a&OKtlodus .1frt:liives.
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