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danger, immediate steps should be taken to win the support of the Indians in the intervening area, and to increase the resources for resist- ance by the development of trade with the natives. It was true that there was gold in the country of the Taovayas and the Comanches, and it was known that all the natives in this vast area had valuable hides and pelts. The country occupied by the Taovayas, Tawakonis, Wichitas, Iscanis, Quitseys, and the Comanches offered easy access to the Province of Louisiana from New Mexico and Texas. Once their friendship was won and the bonds of good will were strengthened by the intimate relations of trade, foreigners could effectively be kept out of the three provinces. Kind and fair treatment would win the friend- ship of these warlike nations and trade would develop ties of interest that would strengthen their attachment. 7 Exploration of route from San Antonio to Sa11ta Fe by Pedro Vial, 1786-1787. When in the fall of 1786 Pierre Vial, a Frenchman, who had traded among the northern Indians in the vicinity of Natchitoches and up Red River as far as the Taovayas, was in San Antonio, Governor Cabello decided to utilize him for his long cherished project of finding the most direct route to Santa Fe. Vial was particularly well suited for the task, being a good woodsman, thoroughly versed in the ways of the outdoors, and familiar with many of the different tribes of the north. He was destined to traverse the country between New Mexico, · Texas, and Louisiana several times during the next few years. Governor Cabello instructed him to set out from San Antonio in company with Cristobal de los Santos, a citizen of the Villa de San Fernando, to find as direct a route as possible to Santa Fe. He was to keep a careful diary of the distances and direction of travel day .by day, noting the character of the country, the rivers and streams crossed, the direction in which they flowed, and any other details deemed pertinent. He was likewise to note the Indian tribes and nations he met, the size of the rancherias, the number of warriors of each, their customs, and their habits. To all he was to explain that the Spaniards and the French were one now, and he was to try to win their friendship and good will for Spain. Armed with his instructions and a letter for the commander of Santa Fe, Vial and his companion left San Antonio on October 4, 1786. The first day they halted at Los Canales (The Canals), probably irrigation ditches near the headwaters of the San Antonio River. Continuing to 1 Juan Gasiot to Felipe de Neve, October 9, 1783. San Francisco el Gra11de Arcnives, XXXIII, pp. 151-162.
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