Our Catltolic Heritage in Te:ras
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extended for many miles to the south. It was cut by shallow canals at inten•als, through which the sea flowed at high tide into the lake along the shore facing the mainland. There was practically no vegetation, not a single tree was to be found anywhere, and the white, glistening sand gave the island its name. The Indian g(tides assured the Spaniards no one lived on the island, which was visited by them only during certain seasons of the year. 28 While waiting for the return of the explorers, Escandon obtained depositions from men who were acquainted with the coast. This infor- mation and what he himself knew he summarized in a long report which he sent on May 2 , 1766. The mouth of the Rio Grande he placed at twenty-six degrees and fifteen minutes. From Tampico to this point the coast was clear and low, with no islands of any consequence. The current off shore was strong and flowed to the north with a heavy drift. In the ranch of Blas Maria de la Garza Falcon, located five leagues to the southwest from the bay at the mouth of the Nueces, a number of settlers were now living, who planted corn, and tended their herds of cattle and sheep. These people were in a position to know if the English had been in the vicinity. Escandon reported, however, that he had heard nothing from them. A1t1sta11g and St. Jose-pie lsltmds. From the bay at the mouth of the Nueces the coast ran to the north and east. About one or two leagues to the north of the bay and across from it were some sand banks or islands, which continued along the coast as far as Espiritu Santo Bay (present San Antonio Bay). The water between them and the coast was very shallow. Jose Garabito Campechano, sailor and fisherman, who had resided for five years at La Bahia and had explored the coast, declared that the island or islands, for they seemed one separated by narrow and shallow passages that shifted after storms, were from one-fourth to one league wide, made of nothing but sand, with a few low sand dunes, which were almost covered by the sea in time of storms as shown by the waste and driftwood left on them. The islands were uninhabitable, there being no trees, nor animals, except a few deer that went back and forth from the mainland. The only drinkable water was found in scattered shallow pools filled by the rains. The shore towards the sea sloped imperceptibly in a long shallow flat that made approach by ships impossible. The islands described were, no doubt, present St. Joseph and Mustang.
21Escandon to the Viceroy, November 15, 1766. A. G. M. Provincias lnternas, Vol. I 00, 2 52-2 53.
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