The Province of Texas in z762
tasks. The principal buildings of the mission had been erected and it, too, had its stockade. The nations congregated in this mission had formerly given a great deal of trouble to the presidio and the other mission, committing frequent depredations on the property and cattle herds. But the missionaries of the College of Zacatecas had finally won the friendship of these Indians, after humoring them for years. Captain Ramirez de la Piscina stated with some pride that he had contributed personally to their ultimate reduction. With his own funds he had bought over two hundred head of cattle, and much corn, tobacco, knives, sugar, and trinkets of various kinds at different times to be distributed among these Indians as gifts by the missionaries to win their good will and attract them to mission life. The new mission was making rapid progress. The captain closed his interesting and illuminating letter to the viceroy with a plea for the-strengthening of this post, which, because of its location near the coast and the incontestable evidence of English prowlers, deserved to receive the attention of the viceroy. It is of interest to note that the concern of the officials was no longer the French but the English. In the opinion of the experienced frontier captain, who had served His Majesty in Texas for fifteen years, the presidia should be rebuilt of stone and mortar. Since these materials were not found in the vicinity, they would have to be brought from outside, just as the master masons and stonecutters needed to do the work. Once the presidio was properly .rebuilt. the artillery should be properly mounted and defenses constructed that would be effective against a foreign foe in case of an invasion. He esti- mated that it would cost about twelve thousand pesos to rebuild the presidia along the lines he had suggested and place it in a respectable state of defense against all enemies. 20 The fear of English attack at this time was not entirely imaginary. Recently an English ship loaded with merchandise, evidently intended for trade with the natives, had been shipwrecked on the coast not far from the Presidio of Nuestra Senora de Loreto. Furthermore, it should be kept in mind that the French and Indian War was in progress at this time and that the Spaniards were the allies of France. The viceroy had written to the captain at La Bahia to keep a close lookout for an English surprise along the coast and to be prepared to withstand and repel any attack upon the fort. The letter of the viceroy arrived just a few days after the captain had sent his report. Because of this fact, we have many additional details about conditions at La Bahia.
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IORamirez de la Plsclna to the Viceroy, May 2, 1762. A.G. M., Historla, Vol. 95, pp. 122-131,
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