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Ret1,rn of Rabago and tl1e Fou11di11g of Caiio11 Missions
siege. Fearful for the safety of the approaching relief, he dispatched a small detachment of soldiers to meet the convoy, warn it of the presence of the enemies in order that it might take proper precautions, and guide the relief corps safely to the presidio. The marauding Indians must have been appraised of the approaching train, as it could hardly have escaped their vigilance, but they allowed the little scout troop to depart in peace and to return. But hardly had the train of supplies and the drove of sheep appeared and the gates opened to receive them than the Comanches led a fierce attack, hoping to create confusion and to gain admission into the presidio. The convoy of fifty men, reenforced by those who had gone to meet them, withstood the attack firmly and succeeded in getting the train of supplies safely into the presidio. But the sheep herders and the sheep scattered at the first charge and fell an easy prey to the enemy who lost no time in gaining this prize. The next day the Indians tried to lure the garrison out of the presidio. The sheep grazed innocently in sight of the soldiers with neither a shepherd nor a human being to watch or guide them. The countryside appeared deserted and peaceful, as the Indians watched from ambush. But the San Saba garrison had had too many unfortunate experiences not to see through this simple trick. The day passed and darkness fell once more while the sheep grazed contentedly, the-soldiers remained tensely at their posts within the walls, and the Indians watched without the quiver of a muscle from their places of concealment behind rocks and trees. Next morning the sheep had disappeared, the Comanches had decided there was no need of waiting any longer. They had achieved their purpose. Rabago took occasion to make one last appeal to the viceroy. On April 26, he wrote a long report, recounting the frequent attacks upon the two new missions at El Cafi6n and on the Presidio de San Saba with an obstinacy that clearly revealed the determination of the northern tribes to destroy all vestiges of Spanish occupation in the area of San Saba and its vicinity. Since October, 1766, the enemy had made more than five different attempts to surprise the missions and the presidia. On three different occasions they had intercepted supply trains and on one of these, they had succeeded in driving off three hundred mules. On the last attack on the presidia they had driven away more than that many sheep. Since his return in 1761, Rabago explained that he had spent over twelve thou- sand p1sos in the purchase of food, clothes, mules, horses, and livestock of which only a small part had ever reached either the missions or the presidia safely. He begged and pleaded that the viceroy give orders for
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