Resturation of Royal Ai1-tl1ority
his sympathy for the counterrevolution and declared that he knew many who were ready to strike a blow for the King against the canaille. Next came the captain of the presidio. He showed keen interest in the develop- ments that had taken place in Bexar and offered to help Munoz and Galan reach their next stop on the way to Chihuahua in safety. Then a message from the padre of Mission San Juan Bautista generously offered his services to forward the cause of the King. By this time news of the restoration of the Government in Bexar was common knowledge through- out the town. The word was generally hailed with joy. After a short rest the two deputies decided to pay a courtesy call on the padre at San Juan Bautista, who turned out to be an ardent Royalist. He promised to sing a Solemn High Mass and offer a novena for the success of the mission and the early restoration of the royal authority throughout New Spain. As the two deputies returned to Urtiaga's home, they noted angry glances and scowling faces along the route. Shortly after dark the captain of the presidio crune to warn the envoys that some of the populace resented the harsh terms in which they had condemned the rebels. He left a fifteen-man guard to protect the visitors in the event of an emergency. 1 Munoz and Galan continued early next morning their journey to San Fernando de Austria, with a guard furnished them by the obliging captain of Presidio de Rio Grande. When in sight of San Fernando that afternoon, they sent two soldiers to Captain Jose Menchaca, a former San Antonian who commanded the garrison, to ask for an interview. It was not long before they were re- lieved to learn that Menchaca was, in fact, anxiously awaiting them. They were pleasantly surprised to find Captain Miguel de Arcos at Menchaca's home. Arcos was one of the twelve prisoners who had been sent to Mon- clova by Casas. Conspirators meet felltrdl cu11spirators. There the two envoys found Lieutenant Colonel Ignacio Elizondo destined to play a significant role in the conspiracy now being planned 1 Report of the Deputies of "Texas to the Commandant General, May 4, 1811, Nacogdoclzes Archives. 2 Elizondo had sponsored the cause of the Revolution with enthusiasm and had diligently worked for its success when Jimenez first entered Coahuila. His ardor cooled considerably, however, when many others with less merit were given pro- motions over him. Ex-Governor Manuel Salcedo found him in this frame of mind when he arrived a prisoner in Monclova. He and the other Loyalists persuaded Elizondo that his best interests lay in the cause of the King. Once this man of ardent passions changed his mind he threw his whole heart and soul into the plot conceived by Salcedo to defeat and entrap the leaders of the Revolution.
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