The Province of Texas in 1762
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The deplorable conditions, made worse by the perfidy of the Apache Indians, are frankly admitted by the Cabildo (city council) itself. On September 1, 1762, it presented a formal petition to Governor Martos y Navarrete reaffirming the catalogue of grievances and misfortunes the settlement of San Antonio had suffered at the hands of the hostile tribes and placed the responsibility on the inadequate garrison and the general lack of proper protection. The emboldened Apaches, under the guise of a peace which they knew the Spaniards would not dare break, carried their insolence to the extreme of flatly refusing to return branded horses stolen from the afflicted settlers, impudently laughing in their faces at their impotence. Luis Antonio Menchaca, Andres Ramon, Francisco Delgado, and Vicente Alvarez Travieso, old settlers and experienced pioneers, urged in their representation the restoration of the garrison to its original forty-four men as the initial and most essential step in the improvement of the settlement. 13 But the most graphic and vivid picture of the existing conditions and the general appearance of the Presidio of San Antonio de Bejar and the Villa de San Fernando was drawn by its new commander, Luis Antonio Menchaca. Upon the resignation of the old and intrepid Captain Toribio de Urrutia, disabled after more than thirty years of faithful service as a frontier officer of His Majesty, Menchaca was appointed to this important post. The terms of the appointment themselves are interesting. He was to receive three hundred pesos, half of the salary of the aged Urrutia, who was to remain on the ro11s of the presidio and to receive the other half of his salary until his death, being relieved of all active duty but asked to help the new commander with the wisdom of his long experience. When Menchaca took over the command, he made a long and detailed report on the condition of the presidio and the Yilla in May, 1763. The garrison, including the captain. consisted of twenty-two men. These were well provided with guns, rawhide shields (an antique defense now against arrows), swords, powder horns, powder, lead balls, horses, and chaps ( cueras). Although the men were well equipped and disciplined, such a small force was totally inadequate for the defense of this important outpost, particularly in view of the deplorable condition of the prcsiclio. This place was entirely open to attack and devoid of even the vestige In Testimonio de los autos de la visita. • 4. G. I .. Audimcia dt! ,Jlh-h·,,. 92-6-2.i. 1763, pp. 55-60. 13 Representation of the Cabildo, September 1, 1762, in Testimonio de Ios autos de la visita .. . A. G. I., A11dit!11t:i,1 ,t,: tl/e.i:ico, 9.i-6-2.:?, pp. 60-66.
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