Oter Cat!toli.c IIeritage in Texas
The proposal to abandon San Saba and remove its presidio to the Tawakoni village was short of suicidal. San Luis de las Amarillas should be maintained at all cost, he assured the viceroy. He might not have been so firm in his opinion, perhaps, had he known he was never to return to his former post. The garrison should be maintained intact, he continued. One hundred men was the minimum force required for such an important post. He thought that instead of removing the presidio to the land of the Tawakonis, it would be better to establish a new p_ost of forty men at the site of Los Amalgres, where Miranda had discovered rich mineral deposits. With a garrison to protect the Spaniards against Indian attacks, the area would soon be settled and the growth of population would become the most powerful factor in bringing about the reduction of the troublesome Apaches to mission life. From San Antonio to San Saba and beyond was the land where the Apache nations roamed. It was here that the bitter struggle with their northern enemies was being waged The Apaches could not be expected to agree peacefully to congregate in a mission at San Saba, exposed to the attack of their fierce enemies, unless adequate protection could be afforded them. There is little doubt that Parrilla was sincere in his recommendations. Whatever his shortcomings, he seems to have had a good understanding of the immediate and pressing problems that beset the civil officers and the missionaries of Texas. He concluded his report by recommending a meeting between the military, civil, and religious officials in Texas to determine amicably once and for all what would constitute adequate mission guards for the various missions; the proper escort to be allowed missionaries when they went into the wilderness to bring back recalcitrant neophytes or to visit and invite new tribes to join the missions; and the form and manner of requesting and giving each other mutual aid. Such a meeting was essential to prevent misunderstandings in the future between the various agencies in Texas, who should have one common end in view: the reduction of the Indians to Christianity and the safety of the king's domain." The viceregal officials were once more puzzled. Could they now abandon the Apaches, assume a harsh policy toward them and adopt a policy of reconciliation and friendship towards the northern tribes? Pride and honor and the natural aversion of human nature to admit an error caused the opportunity to pass. Rabago y Teran, the new commander at San Saba, whether out of "Diego Ortiz Parrilla to Viceroy Marques de Cruillas, November 8, 1760. Historia, Vol. 84, pt. 1, pp. 100-117.
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