I I I. I I I I. I I
Our Catholic He,-itage in Texas
not register. The governor had neglected, likewise, to investigate the ranchers in the vicinity just as it happened in the area of Villa de Salcedo. Many were the nationalities represented on the list. There were one Irishman, one Italian, one German, several Englishmen from England and Canada, and several Americans from different states of the Union. Not all were Catholics and many had made frequent trips to Louisiana. It was difficult to find a reason for permitting some of them to stay. But the governor pursued his usual policy of trying to find justification for their permanent residence in the province. He called upon the two priests in Nacogdoches for certificates of good conduct and loyalty of the immigrants. Less optimistic and tolerant than Father Maynes, perhaps because they were more experienced in the ways of the frontier, the two mis- sionaries refused to give a general approval of all the foreigners. Father Mariano Sosa, who had been in Nacogdoches for only a short while, regretted his inability to be of better service because he was unfamiliar with conditions. He stated, however, that the Spaniards in the settlement were all good, practical Catholics. Although not well acquainted with all the people of the vicinity, he expressed serious doubts about the char- acter of a certain Bernardo Dortolan, who had been too intimate with the scheming General D'Alvimar during the latter's stay in Nacogdoches. Dortolan was an old settler, who had come into the province in 1779, with the famous French trader and Indian agent, Athanase de Mezieres. Two others were singled out by Father Sosa, Santiago Dill and Christian Hesser. Neither one observed his religious duties as Catholics. Hesser, moreover, lived well in spite of the fact that he had no visible means of support. He always displayed an inordinate admiration for everything French and American. Father Sosa wondered if he were not a paid agent. 53 Father Jose Maria Huerta de Jesus also began by deploring his unfamiliarity with conditions on this frontier, but he concurred in his superior's opinion of Dortolan and Hesser. He admitted he knew a little more about Santiago Dill, who, he declared, was not a Catholic. Dill, in fact, prided himself that he was not, and had often declared that he would never become a Catholic. His family, however, were good Catholics.u 53 Father Mariano Sosa to M. de Salcedo, May 4, 1810. Bexar Arcllives. S4Father Jose Maria Huerta de Jesus to M. de Salcedo, May 31, 1810. Bexar Archives.
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