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O"r Catliolic Heritage in Texas
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mice, and other pests than if kept in a common granary and rationed weekly. In view of these circumstances, he requested Governor Mufioz to instruct the missionary to give each family four and a half additional bushels of corn, which amounted to forty-two bushels. He also requested a crowbar and six axes. Governor Munoz readily agreed to the request and ordered Fray Lopez to give the neophytes the corn and implements solicited and any other supplies they might need. Accordingly, on April I 3, Father Lopez gave the former mission Indians forty-two bushels of corn, three and a half bushels of beans, three and a half bushels of salt, a crowbar, six axes, two carts, two yoke of oxen, and eleven horses. 13 Distribution of tire land. In accord with the decree of January 9, Governor Munoz took immediate steps to subdivide the farm lands of Mission Valero. On April 12, he went to the Labor de Abajo (Lower Farm), where Esmeregildo Puente, the Indian governor and legal rep- resentative of the mission Indians, met him by appointment. With Puente were Urbano, Juan de Dios, Jose Miguel, Juan Jose, Jose Joaquin, Domingo, Manuel, Anselmo, Mateo, Bernardino, Francisco, and Jose Agustin to whom the lands were to be assigned. Pedro Huizar, the official surveyor, accompanied Munoz. They proceeded to divide the farm into equal tracts, each suitable for the planting of two bushels of seed. In addition to the tracts for these twelve, another tract was surveyed for Dolores, the widow. The distribution having been satis- factorily completed, and there being considerable land left over, Vicente Amador, resident of the Villa de San Fernando, and Pedro Huizar, the surveyor, formally requested for themselves a tract of land, similar to those assigned the mission Indians. The Indians were asked if they had any objections, and replied that they did not; whereupon the governor granted their request. 14 The survey and distribution were witnessed by the two governors, Pedro Huizar, Manuel Arocha, alcalde of the Villa de San Fernando, and Luiz M. Menchaca, commander of the Presidio of San Antonio de Bejar. Aid for the fo"nding of Mission Ref1'gio. It will be remembered that the Count of Sierra Gorda had recommended that after the neophytes of Valero had received a fair share of the mission property and supplies, the residue was to be used in part to help found the new mission proposed
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Ufbid., Saltillo Archives, Vol. V, pp. 241-242. 14/bid., pp. 239-241.
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