Revolutionar,y Lull
55
sequent capture of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution at Bajan, many defenders of the cause of freedom had fled to Louisiana. Sympathy for the Revolutionists was not confined to the Natchitoches outpost. Through- out the western frontier there were numerous lovers of liberty and soldiers of fortune who were more than willing to help renew the revolution in New Spain. The Government of the United States itself looked upon the struggle with much interest if not with sympathy. Strained British- American relations and friendship between Great Britain and Spain led many statesmen to believe that, in the event of war, Spain might allow the English to use Mexico as a base for attack upon the United States. The frontiersmen who had always believed Texas was a part of Louisiana longed for an excuse to find homes in its rich valleys. From the beginning of the Revolution in Texas an effort had been made by both the Royalists and the Revolutionists to enlist the Indians in their fight. It will be remembered that at Bajan a band of Indians acted as scouts. Along the Rio Grande, as well as in North and East Texas, Spanish agents and fugitive rebels attempted to win the Indians to their cause. Sibley, acting as Indian agent for the Secretary of War at Nacogdoches, reported in December, 18n, that the Caddos and the Panis along the Red River, perplexed by the overtures, were showing considerable restlessness. It seemed to him that the Caddos were inclined to join the Royalists, that the Panis were undecided, and that the Towakoni remained firm in their loyalty to the United States. 30 Governor Salcedo, however, reported in March, 1812, that the Co- manches, the Towakoni, and the Taovayas were becoming openly hostile to the Spaniards. Raids on outposts, ranches, and country places were becoming more frequent. Effect on tlze Indians. The same hostility was evident along the Rio Grande and the coastal region. Captain Jose Ramon Diaz de Bustamente, an experienced and successful Indian fighter, was conducting a campaign from Refugio (present Matamoros). to Eagle Pass. Early in May he had dispatched a party to pursue the Indians to Carrizo Springs and at the same time he had called upon the captain at Refugio to visit the chief of the friendly Indians on the coast to solicit their cooperation. From Laredo to Monter- rey and Saltillo, hostile bands roamed the country and threatened the larger settlements. Governor Cordero and Colonel Elizondo had both been 30 Sibley to Eustis, Natchitoches, December 31, 181 x, T/11 Quarterly, XLIX, 403- 405.
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