Ou,· Catlzolic Heritage in Texas
arrangments to have been made in vain. In a tone of righteous indignation at the deception practiced by Miranda, he explained that he now had at San Agustin seven hundred head of cattle, forty-five yoke of oxen, fifty- eight mares, two hundred horses, and six stallions ready for the removal of the presidio and the establishment of the civil settlement. Furthermore, he had ordered twenty thousand pesos of goods and supplies from Mexico, besides twenty-five hundred purchased in Saltillo. The stock, the garrison, and the mission could not stay at San Agustin nor could they be moved to Santa Rosa, which was equally unfit. Under the circumstances many of the expenses incurred might prove a total loss before a proper site was found. These grieved him. In an outburst of feigned generosity, he assured the viceroy that since the blame was partly his, he would take over all the goods and supplies and stock accumulated and pay for them himself rather than permit the royal treasury to suffer a loss. He could use the supplies for the various garrisons in Texas. It seems probable that the governor's real interest was to take over the supplies purchased, which he could not have secured on his personal credit, sell them at a profit, and pay for them in due time. Naturally, he had a new site to propose. This was known as El Atascoso ur Atascocito, and was located some six leagues up the river on its north ur east bank. There were good lands, ample pastures, and good drinking water. Although irrigation was not possible, the drinking water was a great inducement, since the lack of it was responsible for most of the difficulties at 0rcoquisac. 58 J.::x-ploration of El A tascoso. Governor Barrios dispatched a special courier to Mexico with his new proposal, and shortly afterwards, he set out to explore the new site. Evidently, he had not seen it before. On April 5, 1758, he went to Nacogdoches where he was joined by Fray Jose Francisco Caro, Marcos Ruiz, Domingo del Rio, Cristobal de Cordoba, Gregorio Cordobes, and Bartolo de Sierra. The little party arrived at El Atascoso on April 13, and immediately began a formal examination of the surrounding country. The site chosen as the most likely for the presidio and mission was on the east bank of the Trinity, about a league from the river and some six leagues from El 0rcoquisac. A small spring furnished good water to drink. The lands were sandy but fertile and there were good pastures, plenty of timber and firewood within easy reach. The governor frankly admitted, however, that a civil
SIQpinion de! Governador Barrios sobre no ser apropiado el paraje de Santa Rosa de! Aleizar, October :io, 17 57 . San Francisco el Grande Arcl,ive, Vol. 7, pp. I 0-12.
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