Our Catholic Heritage in Texas
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either women or children. Odin had to postpone a contemplated trip to the neighboring towns of Seguin and Gonzales until the Indian peril passed. Odin's trip to Vicwria. Three months had elapsed since the arrival of the Vice-Prefect. His longing to visit the various settlements could be restrained no longer. Although the Indian menace had not com- pletely disappeared, he decided to set out on November 9 in company with a group of friends who were going to the coast. He, accordingly, left San Antonio with Colonel Johnson, Messrs. Callahan, Hocker, Buckman, McClenon, Higgins, and three Mexicans on that day. The little caravan crossed the Salado six miles from San Antonio, went on to the Cibolo, and continued for thirty miles before they camped on the Santa Clara, a small creek that flowed into the Guadalupe. After visiting Flores' rancho on the Guadalupe the next day, where Odin found many Catholics living, they crossed the Guadalupe and reached Seguin, "a small town laid out in the early part of 1838 and composed of about fifteen scattered houses," Odin noted in his diary. On November I I the little group crossed the San Marcos and passed through Gonzales at noon. The town had at this time about twenty- five houses. The caravan continued across open prairies towards Vic- toria, but stopped at intervals to rest under the large pecan trees grow- ing on the banks of the Guadalupe. Odin was delighted to see Father Estany again when he arrived in Victoria on November 13. The Padre looked thin and worn, for although he had been sick throughout the fall, he had continued to work. Through the efforts-of Linn the old church had been recovered from the City Council and was now being diligently repaired. Odin summarized accurately the early history of this settlement in his diary, noting that Father Diaz de Leon, its last missionary, "was sent to Nacogdoches ... and was killed in 1834 on the Trinity River." 35 While in Victoria, Odin learned of the victory of Colonel John H. Moore and his men over the Comanches at the headwaters of the Colo- rado, about three hundred miles north of Austin. Feeling safe from Comanche attack, he decided to continue his inspection of outposts and settlements and soon set out for the valley of the Lavaca River. To his surprise he found more than seventy old friends from the congrega- tion of the Barrens. "It was consoling," he exclaimed, "to find myself UThe summary of the trip to Victoria is based largely on Odin's Diary, entries for October and November, I 840. It is interesting to note that tradition had kept alive the account of Diaz de Leon's martyrdom.
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