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soon to be promoted to colonel and to become the Commandant Inspector of the Provincias Internas. During the next three years he displayed unusual energy and activity in the settlement of the feud between the commander of Los Adaes and the captain of Orcoquisac, the reorganiza- tion of the garrison of San Antonio, and the restoration of order. During his short administration he checked temporarily the onslaught of the northern tribes and chastised the thieving Apaches. His flaming red hair and his no less flaming spirit won for him the name of Capitan Colorado (Red Captain) among the Indians. 2 Governor Ripperda in Texas. In the meantime, early in 1769, the king appointed Juan Maria Vicencio de Ripperda, Baron de Ripperda, Governor of Texas. The Baron, who was a legitimate descendent of the dukes of that name, immediately set out from Spain and arrived in Mexico in the fall of that year. While waiting to succeed Oconor, he met, fell in love, and married on October 22, 1769, Dona Mariana Gomez de Parada Gallo y Villavicencio, a rich and beautiful heiress. He did not tarry long in Mexico, for by March of the following year he and his young bride were already in San Antonio. One can imagine the shock of the romantic couple when the best lodging they could find was an abandoned calaboose. "The Cuerpo de Guardia (military quarters) is in ruins," declared the governor in aston- ishment, "and a small calabozo (jail house) no longer in use, which we had to repair, serves as the one room in which my wife and myself spend· our days. The Casas Reales (government buildings) where I transact my business is likewise in ruins, but the citizens refuse to repair it." In this uninviting chamber the young baroness gave birth to her first born. 3 Difficulties witli tlie citizens of San Antonio. His efforts to improve conditions met everywhere with indifference if not with open hostility. When he issued orders for the citizens to cart the necessary materials for the reconstruction of the presidio, the Casas Rea/es, and the stockade, they not only refused to cooperate, but they complained bitterly to the 2 Ellzabeth Howard West, "Bonilla's Brief Compendium," Tl,e Quarterly, Vil!, 62. ~forfi, In his History disagrees and laconically states "He did what he could, but because he lacked the necessary means ... he accomplished little." Castaneda, Morfi's History of Tezas, ( Quivira Society Publications, VI, pt. 2, 416). 'Governor Rlpperda to the Viceroy Marques de Croix, March 8, 177 1. Provin&ias /11ter11as, Vol. 100, pp. 91-92; Castaneda, Morfi's History of Tezas, pt. 2, pp. 442; also Hisloria, Vol. 83.
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