habitation, in the form of a fort. The purposes !or which these Missions arc said to have been built, wr.re to christianizc the Indians, by whom much of the labor of erecting them was performed. But few portions of the )Icxican country flourished under the government of Spain, than that of the San Antonio river. It is rrpresented by the Americans who fought in alliance with the i\lexicans for independence in the revolution, some of whom were with us at the capture of the same place in 1835, that the country was, at that time, in a high state of cultivation. Here Santa Anna is said to have commenced his military career. But after the revolution, when the European Spaniards, or Goch- apin~, as they arc called, were driven out of the coun- try, this portion of it fell into a rapid decay in conse- c1ucnce of a predatory warfare, kept up by the Prairie Indians upon their frontiers, which entirely broke up some of their settlements. And though they always kept a military force in their fortifications at San Antonio, either through a want of personal prowess or military skill, they were unable to repel the frequent invasions of their savage neighbors. About this time some propositions were made to the authorities of the country, by a Mr. Austin from Missouri, to settle Texas with emigrants from the United States; but he was able to effect nothing definite. After his death, his son, the present Gen. S. F. Austin of Texas, re- newed the negotiation. The :\fexican government be-
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