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CHAPTER II
RESTORATION OF ROYAL AUTHORITY
The Zambrano counterrevolution not only restored royal authority in Texas within three months after the Casas C(Jttp d'etat, but it also made the distant province through the two deputies sent to Commandant General Salcedo an active participant in t_he crushing blow dealt the Revolution at Bajan. Even as Zambrano and his friends were planning the overthrow and downfall of Casas, Governor Salcedo, with a faith and detennination worthy of a better cause, was relentlessly laboring to break the fetters binding him and his unfortunate fellow prisoners. The fervor of this loyal subject proved irresistibly contagious. Not only would he set himself and his companions free, but he would also forge at the same time the chains that would bring to an untimely and ignominious death those who had betrayed his King. Little did he know that his friends in Texas had already avenged him and that their envoys would help materially in winning supporters for his plan by recounting the story of their success. Missi<>n of Munoz and. Ga!a,i. Impelled by zeal and spurred on by ambition, the two deputies, Munoz and Galan, hurried on their fateful mission. They did not know whether they would be forced to visit Jimenez .and Allende at Saltillo, or whether they would be able to proceed unmolested to Chihuahua to see Don Nemesio Salcedo. It was almost noon on March 8 when they left Military Plaza amidst the well-wishes of the assembled crowd. In the afternoon of the fourth day they reached the banks of the Rio Grande. Before them, a scant league beyond the river, stood the ancient Presidio de Rio Grande, better known as San Juan Bautista. Munoz and Galan knew they were facing the first test in their exciting enterprise. A formal request was sent by the two deputies to the com- mander of Presidio de Rio Grande for permission to make their mission known. Much to their surprise word was shortly received granting their request. At the home of Postmaster Juan Antonio Urtiaga the two travelers found themselves the center of attraction. Before long visitors began arriving. First was the curate of the town, who, upon learning of the events in Texas and the real mission of the two envoys, frankly admitted
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