0 ccupation of the Trinity River~ I 7 46- I 7 72
51
the east there were two long lagoons that joined each other and into which the river flowed to reach the sea. Three chiefs with many warriors, one from Arroyo Nombre de Dios, who had visited the presidio the year before, one from the Neches River, and one from the Sabine, came on June 15 to pay their respects to the captain. They declared they were friends of the Spaniards, and that they had come at the invitation of the head chief, who lived near the Bay of San Fernando. Asked through an interpreter the number of people in their nation, they replied that there were two hundred and ninety-two families, without counting seventeen who had gone to San Xavier. Orobio now decided to explore the country to the east of the Trinity. The Indians offered to guide him, and he followed the trail that led from the Trinity to the Sabine and into the French settlements, according to his escorts, for a distance of three leagues. The first two leagues were along open and level country, but after this distance he encoun- tered thick groves of pine trees and heavy underbrush. His guides told him the rest of the way was of the same type until one day's march east of the Sabine. From there he would find wide plains similar to those he had seen between the Trinity and the Brazos. Orobio notes that the land was swampy and unfit for settlement. Satisfied with what the Indians had told him, he turned back to can1p. On June 16, Orobio undertook to explore San Fernando Hay with three soldiers and the chief of the village who offered to act as guide. Three-quarters of a league from the village they came to Santa Rosa Creek, a stream that ran into the bay. The water was found to be too deep to permit crossing it on horseback. Fortunately the chief had fore- seen the difficulty, and ordered a canoe to meet them. Leaving the horses, they boarded the canoe and proceeded down the stream to the bay where some soundings were taken. With a practiced eye Orobio noted that a part of the timber had been recently cut along the far edge of the bay. He inquired from the chief if his French visitors had done this. The Indian replied that it had not been the French, but a party of white men who had come in several large boats and sent a small launch ashore to cut wood and get water. They had anchored in the bay for se,·eral days, but had not traded with the natives. From the description of the visitors Orobio concluded they had been English and not French. When asked how long ago it was, the chief replied it had been in the fall. From its mouth, which was about one h:ague wide. the bay extended inland for a distance of about fi\'c leagues to the base of the hill near
Powered by FlippingBook