Our C atliolic H e1·itage in Texas
plazas. In the past it had depended for its defence on two cannon placed at each of the four corners of the plaza. But as the city had now grown to the north and west and extended out for several blocks, the defences had become inadequate. Cordero made a careful study of the city and the surrounding country with a view to its protection against the Indians and against a possible invasion. He found that the San Antonio River, the San Pedro Creek, and the San Antonio Springs afforded natural protection along the east, southeast, and southwest. He decided, there- fore, to build an extensive stockade along the north and northeast limits of the city. The northwest quadrant was well protected by the small fort and powder magazine erected on the highest hill in that section. He ordered a new redoubt built one and a quarter leagues north of the city, on which he placed two batteries, to be manned by nine soldiers. This outpost would prevent any attack or surprise by the northern Indians who entered the city from this direction. It also covered the thick woods above the San Antonio Springs which had been till then the favorite hiding place for smugglers, thieves, and cattle runners. Construction was begun on September 12 and by the end of the month considerable progress had been made. Cordero explained that he was using the soldiers in the erection of the new fortifications and expected to have no other expenses than for hiring carts to haul the materials. There would also be some expense in connection with the repair of the gun carriages and the emplacement of the batteries, and before the work was entirely completed he might have to employ a few skilled craftsmen to put on the finishing touches. He was planning, after the outer defences were completed, to rebuild the stockade around the presidio. He promised Salcedo a map of the city and the fortifications. 75 The reenforcement of the outposts in Texas was an inevitable con- sequence of the insistent claims of the United States to territory that had never been a part of Louisiana. The fears of the Spaniards were perhaps more real than those of the Americans. In October, 1805, Cordero sent the commandant general copies of a heated correspondence between Lieutenant Dionisio Valle, of Nacogdoches, and Captain Edward Turner, of Natchitoches, in regard to the surrender of American deserters. Turner alleged that General Wilkinson and Governor Gayoso de Lemos had in the past made an agreement concerning the matter. A few days later an
75Cordero to Salcedo, October 5, I 805. Nacogdoclies Archives, X, pp. 38-40.
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