Our Catlt.oli& Heritage in Texas
ing the fate of this troublesome establishment, which had been the source of endless discussion by viceregal officials. With a practical military eye, he realized at once the poor choice of the location on which the presidio was built. The building stood between two ravines or gulches. The one to the north was formed by a small creek through which the waters of a spring flowed to the river for a distance of almost two leagues. The banks . were heavily wooded and, being within gunshot distance from the presidio, permitted the enemy to fire upon the defenders with safety. The San Saba River was to the south, almost at the foot of the stockade. This stream, which flowed from west to east, allowed the enemy to crawl unnoticed along its bed almost to the very walls of the presidio, and to fire from behind the high banks without exposing themselves. The moat along the stockade had been poorly planned and offered practically no advantages to the garrison. The presidio had two swivel guns for its defense, but these were mounted in such a way that the parapets left the men serving the two pieces exposed to the fire of the enemy, which rendered the cannon ineffective when most needed. The stockade that surrounded the presidio was low and could be easily scaled. With the weakened condition of the garrison, made up of men who were either too old, too sick, or too discouraged to offer a spirited defense, it was a wonder that the enemy had not made a determined effort to destroy it completely. There was grave danger that if the true state of the garrison and presidio were discovered by the Comanches, this frontier outpost might be blotted out of existence. Such a catastrophe would not only embolden the enemy, already grown impudent with inordinate pride, but it would be a blemish on the prestige of Spanish arms comparable to the defeat of Parrilla. Presidio de San Saba leas no purpose. Rubi could see no use in main- taining this establishment in its present location. The cost of upkeep was excessive and had no justification in reason for its existence. It offered no protection to San Antonio, nor to any other Spanish outpost either in Texas or Coahuila. "It affords as much protection to the interests of His Majesty in New Spain," the Marques declared, "as a ship anchored in mid-Atlantic would afford in preventing foreign trade with America." Its original purpose had been to protect the Apache Indians who were to be reduced to mission life in its vicinity. But since 1758, when the one and only mission for these Indians had been destroyed by the hordes of northern Indians, the Apaches had retreated to beyond the Rio Grande, more than ei<rhtv leao-ues (two hundred miles) to the south. The two 0 , 0 missions on the upper Nueces at the Valle de San Jose were forty leagues away and were a poor excuse for the maintenance of this presidio. Their
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