I ! I I I
Our Catholic Heritage iti Texas
180
knew how to use them. He requested that experienced artillerymen be sent to man the guns and to train the rest of the garrison in this science. During his recent visit to Nacogdoches he had observed that the cannons at that post were lying on the ground and that there were no gun carriages or emplacements. Near the crossing of the Trinity, he had seen, minus their carriages, two brass cannons which had been abandoned by Gil Ibarbo. These had been taken to La Bahia as ordered by the governor. In May he reported that Alferez Cadena had brought back three more brass cannons from the Trinity. These had also belonged to the settlement of Pilar before it was moved to Nacogdoches. 24 Cortes made a strange request. Pointing out that the church at La Bahia needed a bell, he asked p_ermission to melt the brass cannons to cast bells. The permission was not granted. A glimpse at conditions in La Bahia is given in a letter of 1797. The commander declared that the settlement was perhaps the poorest in the whole province. The settlers were still totally dependent on the weather for their crops. The chief crop was corn. The daily wages were three reales (about 36 cents). The church needed a new roof. At great sacrifice the settlers had patiently gathered the necessary materials, and work had been started. But the citizens desired the governor to give them two new bells. He suggested · that two be taken from the abandoned Mission of Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion. The two bells at La Bahia were not only too small, but also cracked. He pleaded in the name of charity and out of regard for the sacredness of religion that the request be granted. 25 The petition, which was sent to Nava, was transmitted by the commandant general to Munoz with recommendations to try to get the bells from the president of the missions in San Antonio. Commanders at La Bahia. Early in 1797, Juan Bautista Elguezabal was sent to Texas by Nava to investigate conditions at La Bahia. In checking the accounts of the presidial troops, he found that the former commander, Manuel Espadas, had left unpaid an account of four hundred pesos due Mission Espiritu Santo. Captain Cortes was asked to retire to San Antonio while the investigation of his administration was being conducted. Cortes retired to Mission San Juan on May 18, 1797, and was replaced in command by Bernardo Fernandez, who was appointed by Nava Qn April 9, but did not arrive at La Bahia until May 27. UJuan Cortes to Manuel Munoz, January 16, 1795; same to same, May 8, 1795. Berar Archives. 25 Juan Cortes to Pedro Nava, March 11, 1797. Bexar Archives.
Powered by FlippingBook