Our Cat/,o/ic Heritage in Tr.ws
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too exposed to the attacks of the northern Indians. The Apaches had always feared them and now, in view of the fact that the Spanish garrison had offered them little practical protection, they were not likely to congregate at San Saba. Furthermore, he reminded the viceroy that the river afforded facilities for the maintenance of only two missions, and if it was desired to reduce all the Apaches to mission life it would require more than two. It was true that since the massacre the Apaches had fled southward and many of them had taken refuge on the San Marcos and the Guadalupe Rivers. He believed the proposal to move the presidio to either of these two streams in order to reduce the Apaches to mission life was sound, but he would await the viceroy's decision in the matter. 3 Formal campaign proposed. Whether the presidio was moved or not. Parrilla was of the opinion that it would be well to plan a formal campaign into the country of the northern Indians to chastise them for the outrage!- committed on the mission. If something was not done to make them feel the might of Spanish power, they would lose all respect for Spaniards and would be encouraged to undertake similar surprises with impunity. The one hundred men of the Presidio of San Luis de las Amarillas could not be expected to make the campaign single-handed. Such a campaign would require many more than one hundred men. It should be kept in mind, he pointed out, that Governor Juan Antonio Bustillo y Ceballos had undertaken a campaign against the Apaches in 1732 with one hundred fifty men and had suffered a defeat, and that Don Pedro de Rabago y Teran in 1747 had taken two hundred men, meeting with success in the capture of a village only because the natives had been reduced to impotence by a severe epidemic. The northern tribes were more formidable adver- saries, were better armed, and more skilled than those against whom the two cited expeditions were directed. Consequently, if a campaign against those who desecrated the mission on the San Saba was to be undertaken. it would require more men than either of the two previous expeditions. He proposed that if the idea met with approval, the viceroy should order a f tmta to be held in San Antonio to discuss and plan the campaign, the number of men needed, the approximate cost, the time of setting out, and the character of the enemy. He modestly offered to lead the expedition, recalling his successful experience in fighting natives in Sonora.' 1 Consulta del Coronel Diego Ortiz Parrilla to the Viceroy, April 8, 1758. A.G.!., Audiencia de Alb:;co (Cunningham Transcripts, 1763), pt. 2, pp. 46-57. 'Diego Ortiz Parrilla to the Viceroy, April 8, 1758. A.G. I., Audiencia de Mexico (Cunningham Transcripts, 1763), pt. 2, pp. 46-57. For details concerning Bustillo
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