Aftermatl, of San Saba Massacre
103
Proposal to move to Los A lmagres or tl1e Llano River. After writing the first communication, Parrilla presented an alternate proposal for the removal of the Presidio de San Luis de las Amarillas either to Los Almagres or Chanas (Llano River). He explained that mindful of the best interests of the king he had sent out exploring parties during the year to determine if there were mineral deposits in the vicinity. The precious metals, he declared, had always been a great incentive to coloniza- tion. A group of his men had visited Los Almagres (perhaps the same site discovered by Miranda) and had obtained some samples of ore which were sent to Santa Rosa in Coahuila for assay. The assay had shown th<.: ore rich in silver and lead. Another mineral deposit had been found near the headwaters of the Llano River, samples of which were likewise assayed and found to be rich. According to the diaries kept, Los Almagres was thirty-six leagues from San Saba and forty-one from San Antonio. The deposits found on Llano River were nineteen leagues from San Saba, forty-one from San Antonio, and eighteen from Los Almagres. Although neither site had sufficient water for irrigation, there was enough to supply the needs of a large settlement at either one. There were good lands, pastures, timber, firewood, and rock. Regularly authenticated reports could be secured, but time did not permit. He, therefore, sent Joseph de Guzman to make a personal report. Guzman was an experienced miner and frontiersman, who had explored the sites and had in fact been wounded by the Indians while on the expedition. Parrilla proposed that after hearing Guzman, the presidio of San Luis de las Amarillas could be moved, with its garrison of one hundred men, to either of the two sites or to some point halfway between them, from which protection could be afforded to settlers at either place. If mining centers were developed in the two sites suggested, the country would rapidly be settled and the increased population would soon obviate the necessity of a garrison. The settlement of this area would afford the best protection against the northern Indians and would be the best incentive for the Apaches to enter mission life. If it was decided, however, that it was advisable to found missions for the Apaches on the San Marcos or the Guadalupe, the two purposes could be accomplished by removing the presidio with one hundred men to a convenient point near Los Almagres and the Llano River, and by placing a detachment of forty additional men, dependent upon the y Ceballos's expedition see C. E. Casteneda, Tlte llfissio11s at Work (Our Calltolk Heritage i11 Te:i:as, Volume III, pp. 39-44). For expedition of Rabago y Teran see ibid., pp. 214-220.
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