Ottr Catlzolic Heritage in Texas
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Arcliives and br,llets. The muzzle-loaders of frontier days required paper wads to press the charge close to the shot. Paper wads were essential to the defence of the frontiers of New Spain. But paper was a scarce commodity in those days. The supply of the enlarged garrison of San Antonio at the close of the century became depleted. It occurred to some sergeant that the musty archives cluttering the commander's crowded quarters could be put to a more useful purpose. Fortunately not even waste paper could be disposed of without the consent of the com- mandant general. Imagine the shock of Nava upon the receipt of a formal request for authorization to use the old books and records of the presidia\ company of San Antonio as paper wads. Posthaste he dispatched strict orders not to use one single sheet of the old records for that purpose. He gave ample authority to the commandant of the post to purchase all the scrap paper he needed in Saltillo or any other place. The archives were saved. 79 Manuel Munoz had served his king loyally in Texas since 1790. He was not a young man when he took office. His long career on the frontiers of the Interior Provinces had undermined his powerful constitution. and the strenuous duties that devolved upon him in the eventful years of his residence in Texas completed the ruin of his health. Early in 1796 he had asked Nava for permission to retire in order to seek treatment for his increasing ailments. Nava thanked the old commander and assured him his request would be forwarded to the king with a full record of his services. In the meantime Juan Bautista Elguezabal would be appointed to assist him in the administration of the province. 80 In January, 1797, Mufioz was informed that the king had granted his request and promoted him to the rank of colonel in his royal armies. Governor Antonio Cordero, of Coahuila, had been designated as his successor, but this officer was engaged in a campaign against the Apaches, to terminate which was very important. Munoz was asked to remain in office until further notice, and to indicate where he wished to retire, in order that the king's approval might be secured. Governors of Texas at the close of tlie cen tttry. Two months later, Cordero informed Munoz that, due to the death of Governor Gutierrez on March 17, 1797, he had become lieutenant- governor of Nuevo Santander; this would delay his coming to Texas.
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79 Nava to the governor, October 12, 1801. Bexar Arckives. • 0 Nava to Munoz, October 16, 1796. Bexar Arckives.
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