The Begi1111i11g of Formal Coloni::ation
Seemingly, he decided to depart without complying with the formalities of obtaining a passport. Nothing more was heard of him. 73 Arrambide himself left the new villa soon afterwards. On December 15 he had been commissioned second lieutenant of the Bexar Company, and departed for San Antonio to assume his new duties. 74 To establish quicker and safer com- munications between San Antonio, the Rio Grande, and the Coahuila interior, Governor Cordero was anxious to found settlements west of San Antonio also. Early in March, 1806, he sent Prudencio de Leon and Jose Menchaca to explore this western region to find a suitable location for the contemplated settlement of Jaen. Leon reported on l\ 1 l arch 1 5 that a careful examination of the country for a distance of 10 leagues (some 25 miles), had revealed no site on which a successful settlement might be established. The only stream they had found within the area, probably Leona Creek, appeared not capable of providing suffi- cient water for irrigation. 15 Proposed settlement of lae,e. Just as Cordero was becoming reconciled to abandoning plans for Jaen, Jose Antonio Ramirez, a resident of Nuevo Santander, made a petition that revived the governor's hopes. He wished to found a settle- ment with twelve other families on the Nueces, where he desired a grant of land suitable for cattle raising. The motive prompting him and his companions to seek new homes, he said, was the need of large tracts for grazing their stock. Cordero avidly seized this opportunity to found a new settlement, and thereby establish closer relations between Nuevo Santander and Texas. He listed the advantages of the proposal and urged Salcedo to give his approval. The commandant general, however, did not believe in scattering the meager frontier resources and dissi- pating their energies on too many projects at one time. He replied unenthusiastically. He declared that the proposed settlement on the Nueces would have to wait until the projects already started on the Trinity and the San Marcos rivers had been completed. 16 Cordero, in urging the approval of the request of Ramirez for grazing lands, referred to the king's ccdu/11 of New grazing land policy. 13 Arrambide to Viana, December 9, 1806. Bel:ar Archives. 14 Salcedo to Cordero, December 1 5, 1806. Bexar A rcllives. 75 Prudencio de Leon to Cordero, March 15, 1806. Berar Arclliv,s. 16 Cordero to Salcedo, May 1, 1806; Salcedo to Cordero, June 3, 1806. BJxar ArcMves.
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