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CHAPTER I
THE PROVINCE OF TEXAS IN 1762
On the eve of the Louisiana cession to Spain, the Province of Texas had aroused the concern of the officials in Mexico. Largely through the per- sistent efforts of the tireless missionaries an extension of the actual domain of Spain had been attempted since 1740 but with doubtful results. The continued menace of French enterprise, constantly carried forward into the Indian territory occupied by the unsubdued Apaches and Comanches, and the rele_ntless advance of the English frontier towards the Mississippi had determined the Spanish officials on more than one occasion to support the zealous efforts of the missionaries in extending their endeavors to the unconquered tribes. As a result, the general situation had been improved in spite of apparent failures. San Antonio, the center of Spanish power, had continued to develop slowly. La Bahia had now two missions, and the garrison of the presidio had been increased by ten men. Conditions at Los Adaes had been improved and the illicit trade with the neighborin~ French post of Natchitoches had grown in spite of stringent regulations and repeated investigations. A fruitless attempt had been made to occupy the lower Trinity by authorizing the establishment of a mission for the Orcoquisacs and a garrison of thirty men. Several missions and a presidio had been established at La Junta de los Rios, present Presidio. The El Paso region had been given liberal support and the missions in the vicinity of present El Paso were active and making progress. The San Xavier River enterprise had proved a dismal failure and led to a futile attempt to bring the fierce Apaches under Spanish influence, which in turn had come to a tragic end through the aroused enmity of the northern tribes. The most formidable attempt of Spanish arms, under Colonel Ortiz Parrilla, to chastise these Indians had resulted in the most shameful defeat at the hands of the natives in the annals of frontier warfare. But the continued efforts of the officials in Mexico and the undaunted missionaries in Texas in the face of apparently insurmountable obstacles had forced the extension of the missionary field to the upper Nueces River, where new missions were temporarily founded for the faithless Apaches. This experiment, however, only helped to maintain the hostility of the already embittered northern tribes. The details of some of these activities and incidents have been given in [1]
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