Reorganization and New Policies, r770-r800
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back on an improvised stretcher. Here he remained until early in August when he again undertook the journey, going first to the Nabedache. From these he continued to the villages of the Kichais and the Tawakonis, proceeding to San Antonio by way of the San Xavier (San Gabriel) River. Shortly after his arrival in San Antonio, he learned that his faithful and loyal services had been rewarded by his appointment as governor. But he never fully recovered from the severe fall near the Atoyaque. Before taking office, he died on November 2, 1779. 12 Events moved rapidly during these years. Simultaneously with the untimely death of De Mezieres, Spain had joined France as an ally of the rebellious English colonies in their war for independence; Governor Galvez had become indispensable in Louisiana; the troops needed for the proposed campaign against the Apaches could not now be spared. Temporarily the doomed Apaches were once more saved from annihilation. Figliting tlie Apaclies. Spanish officials in Coahuila and Texas, however, did not abandon the new policy. They soon became convinced that the Mescaleros of New Mexico, the Lipans of Texas, and the Apaches proper were all blood kin and inseparable allies. It was now decided to arouse rivalry and enmity among them in a desperate effort to pit one against the other. Spanish agents in Coahuila were partially successful in attaining their object. In 1780 the Apaches and the Mescaleros attacked the Lipans in. Coahuila. The latter were forced to move into the area between present Laredo, San Antonio, and Goliad. With their range of activity reduced, they renewed (under the guise of friendship) their thieving and raiding expeditions on the settlements in Texas, particularly along the Rio Grande, with greater audacity than ever. 13 The Mescaleros and Apaches, who continued their depredations in Coahuila, Nuevo Santander, and Nueva Vizcaya (Chihuahua), soon made peace with the Lipans of Texas with whom they were reconciled by the end of 1781. Needing arms and ammunition, they decided to obtain them from the Tonkawas who at this time lived between the Brazos and the Colorado. The latter secured their arms and ammunition from French traders who frequented their lands. The emissaries of the Mescalero-Apache-Lipan group found a ready welcome by the chief of Ufbid., I, l 16-122; II, 239-288. 13Domingo Cabello to Viceroy Matias de Galvez, September 30, 1784. A. G. /., Provincias lnternas, Vol. 64, pp. 132-134. This excellent report on Indian relations from 1680 to 1784 deserves to be published in full. It consists of sixty pages.
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