Tlte Province of Texas in 1762
37
Ais Indians spoke Spanish almost without exception; that they were very wise (ladinos); that they had learned to use modern implements, raised good crops independently, and were skilled (too much so) in the use of firearms. 30 Evidently then, the Indians in the vicinity had been civilized to a greater degree than had been suspected, but unfortunately, they had adopted only the worst features of the new civilization. This was due, perhaps, to the proximity of the French, which had prevented their reduction at any time to the strict discipline of missionary life. This presidio, the most distant, outpost of Spanish power, was far from being a dependable defense of the vast Province of Texas. When Governor Martos y Navarrete visited it in 1760, the fort, hexagonal in shape, was altogether a flimsy wooden structure with a half-rotten stockade, defended by only two cannon which, because of their condition, were a greater menace to the garrison than to the enemy. Two years before, the courageous wife of Governor Barrios y Jauregui subdued her Spanish pride sufficiently to confess candidly to the viceroy that the conditions of the presidio and the tattered clothes of the garrison filled her with shame. She declared that it was a question of pride in the face of the French fort of Natchitoches to improve conditions. Her husband had donated two silver candlesticks to the presidia} church in order that the altar might look better when French visitors attended services.u Presidio de los A daes. Although, according to his wife, Governor Barrios y Jauregui had rebuilt the stockade in 1758, two years later it had again become practi- cally worthless, having rotted in that short time as a result of frequent rains. The presidio had six cannon at one time, but two were loaned to Colonel Ortiz Parrilla and two had been sent to the new Presidio of San Agustin de Ahumada, near the mouth of the Trinity. Because of its hexagonal shape, not less than six cannon were needed in order to place two at least on each of the three alternate angles to protect the adjoining flanks. Governor Martos y Navarrete urgently requested that this matter be given attention. He found also that the supply of powder for the garrison of sixty men was rather uncautiously kept on a high platform built on four poles, without any other protection. Although the SOLa Fora, Relacion, f . 7 I. 31 Manuela de Alcazar to the Viceroy, September 8, 1758, A. G. Al., Historia, Vol. 91, part 1, pp. 123-126; Martos y Navarrete to the Viceroy in Testimonios de los autos formados sre. la residencia tomada por Don Angel de Martos y Navarette ••. A. G. I., Audie11cia de .llfexico, 88-6-10. (Dunn Transcripts, 1759-176:.r), pp. 258-260.
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