119

Certified copy

of the 33

Proce,edin,gs which the Gov,ern;or of Tejas was

pleased to carry out in virtue of the

fact, that d,o,n Luis Minchaca did

not contribute the ten men and

35 Indians requested of him

for the inspection of the

Islas Blancas commended

to Colon,e,l Parilla' along

with everything else

expressed therein

Year

of

1766

,Cross,

Letter of command from

the Governor of Tejas

to the captain of

. Sra,n Antoni,6 de Vejar

for the purposes

expressed therein.

Setor dro,n Luis Anto.nio Minchaca

My Very Dear Sir:

Fifty soldiers from

this province in my care,

with an equal number of

Indians from those missions

and the ones on the Rio Grande are to gather for the,

purpose of carrying out the inspection of the Islas

Blancas which by order of the most excelle,nt setor

viceroy of this kingdom, issued on the tenth of April

of this present year, is to be carried. out by Colonel

d,o,n Diego Ortiz Parrilla.. They shall be employed under

his command in the"aff_airs pertaining to the royal service

to whi,ch.they should be appointed. Inasmuch as it is

convenient that this should have its due, prompt

fulfillment without the least delay, I comrnand Yrour,

H,onoar, as soon as.you have received this Jetter,,

to make ready and equip for the above-mentioned purpose

ten soldiers including the sergeant of the garr.ison of

that presidio under your command and thirty-fi,ve Indians

from those missions within that, your jurisdiction.

Soldiers as well as Indians shall be provisioned for

three months and shall remain ready in their dwellings

at the disposal of the said colonel. Your, Heono,r

19^.k_ ;^:

will unde.rstand that this measure, as well as any other

which should be occasioned in the interim by the lack

of the above-mentioned troop, shall be carried out

without expense to the Royal Treasury. Once Your,

H,ono,r has carried this out, you shall give me the

corresponding notice at the first opportunity, it being

understood that you will be held responsible for any

ommission noted therein.

May God protect Yzour, H,ono,r many years. Royal

Presidio of Los Adaes, June thirtieth of one thousand

seven hundred and.sixty-gix.

Your most constant servitor kisses Yrour,

H,,ono,r's hand.

d,o,n Angel de Martos y Navarrete

C. 1 in E.6-3C-1766,

122

Agrees with the copy of its original to which I

refer, from which I, d,o,n Angel de Martos y Navarrete,

lieutenant :c:olonel of the royal armies, governor andlv

captain general of this Province of Tejas by //His

Majesty (may God protec,t him), had it made to the

letter on this used page. It is exact, true, corrected

and adjusted. Present to see it transcribed, corrected

and adjusted were my attesting witnesses, with whom I

act for lack of a notary on this common paper for lack

of any other in this province. Done in this Royal

Presidio of Our Lady of Pilar of Los Adaes on the eighteenth

day of the month of August of this present year of one

thousand seven hundred and sixty-six. To all of which

I certify:.,

d,o,n Angel de Martos y Navarrete

Witness: , Francisco Antoni.o Solis

Witness: Juan Duran

rC. 1-lv in E.6-30-1766,

0

Letters requisitorial

from the said captain

to the R,evere,nd

F,athe,r minister of

the Mission of San

J,ose,ph Fray Pedro

Ramirez for the

purpose of ^aski.ng

him, to make ready the

seven Indians of his

quota®

The Very Reverend Father

President Fray Pedro Ramires

My Very Dear Sir:

In a letter dated the

thirtieth of last June,

the governor of this

province orders me to make

ready and equip thirty-five

Indians from these missions

within my jurisdiction.

They are to be provisioned

for a period of three months and are to remain in their

dwelling places in this manner at the disposal of

Golonel'd,o,n Diego Ortiz Parrilla, with whom the said

Indians are to join for the inspection of the Islas

Blancas which the said colonel is to carry out by order

of the mo,st excell.e,nt seiftor viceroy of this kingdom.

In fulfillment of this, I entreat and request Y,our,

Paternidad to have seven Indians from that mission in

your care made ready (as I have stated), it being well

understood that this measure is to be carried out

without expense to the Royal Treasury, as advised by

the said seior governor in the cited letter,. You

shall return to me the originals of this instrument,

and of whatever should ensue.

0May God, our Lord, prtotec,t Y,ou,r Paternidad's

life many happy years. Vejar, July twenty-six of one

thousand seven hundred and sixty-six.

Your constant servitor kisses Y,ou,r Paternidad's

hand.

Luis Antonio Minchaca

rC. lv in E.6-30-1766,

I

^ +.^_ .., ^

Reply made by the

said R.evere,nd Frather2

//to the prece^'ding

Sehor Captain:

In view of the pre-

ceding instrument,, I2

state that //the losses

I have suffered among the animals of this mission are

well-known to Ycour, Hcono,r and to all of this juris-

diction' for during the month just past the hostile

Indians have taken the greater part of the herd of b"r'oken

horses. They have repeated these insults almost every

day and have taken the greater part of the herd kept

by this mission to increase its horse herd. Day before

yesterday they took the last remaining four. It is

also known that I have consumed the greater part of the

regular harvest time defending this property and dis-

patching ever larger squads in pursuit of the evildoers,

from which has originated the diminution and even

extermination of the small horse herd remaining to me

and the notable loss in.the fields, for I am required

to supply corn to the Presidio of San Sava, the post

at El Caton and the Presidio of Orco.quiza. I find it

impossible to remove at present the seven men Y,our, H,ono,r

demands of me in addition to the fourteen which I have

on campaign.at present in pursuit of the said four herds

which, as I have already said, were taken day before

yesterday by hostile Indians, not only because.there

0are so few horses remaining to me that there are barely

enough to care for the cattle, but also because of the

fields from which I must supply the mission which is

in my care and the presidios.already mentioned. There-

fore, and inasmuch as Ycoizr, Hrono,r has not displayed

to me the superior order from the most excelle,nt

sePior viceroy (for, were it thus displayed to me, I

should not withhold the chalice with which I say mass)

I entreat Your, Hcono,r be pleased to free me from

such a painful duty as that which Ycour, Hono,r demands.

of me, for it is certain that under the present circum-

stances, and those which I have mentioned, the mission

will be little less than torn down if it is carried out.

I hope for this favor from Y,our, Heono,r and

remain, entreating God to protect YEour, Honor for me

many years. Mission of San Joseph, July twenty-six of

one thousand seven hundred and sixty-six.2v

Your //most affectionate and constant chaplain

W. torn, kisses Yrour, H,ono,r's hand.

F.. ra^r Pedro Ramires

eC. lv-2v in E.6-30-1766,

127

-1Letter requisitorial The Very Reverend Father

from the above-mentioned

capEtai,n to the

R.everen,d F,athe,r

p,reside,nt of the

four missions belonging

to the College of

Queretaro Fray Asisclos

Balverde for the purpose

of rasking him, to make

ready the 28 Indians

from there mentioned

therein.

President Fray Asisclos Balverde

My Very Dear Sir:

In a letter from the

governor of this province

dated the thi.rt'^i.eth of

June of the past month I

am ordered to make ready

and equip thirty-five

Indians from these missions

within my jurisdiction.

They are to be provisioned

for a period of three

months and are to remain in their dwelling places in this

manner at the disposal of Colonel dco,n Diego Ortiz

Parrilla, with whom the cited Indians are to join in

the inspection of the Islas Blancas which the said sefior

colonel is to carry out by.order of the rno,st excelle,nt

setor viceroy of this New Spain. In fulfillment of this,

I beg and entreat Y,,ou,r Paternidad, as president of

the missions on this river belonging to the College of

the Very Holy Cross of Queretaro, to have seven Indians

made ready from each of the missions (as I have stated),

128

it being well understood that this measure is to be

carried out without expense to the Royal Treasury, as

advised by the said seor governor in the cited letter,.

You shall return to me the originals of this instrument,

and of whatever should ensue.

May God, our Lord, pr,otec,t Y,ou,r Paternidad's

life many happy years. Vejar, July twenty-six of one

thousand seven hundred, and sixty-six.

I kiss You,r Paternidad's hand.

Your conttant servitor,

Luis Antonio Minchaca

C. 2v in E.6-30-1766,

129

•

Reply made by the

said Rreveren,d F,athe,r

President to the

preceding ,inst.rument,

SePor_ Captain:

The obligation which

vassals have of serving

their king and lord is

just as well known as the

method and order His Majesty observes in making use of

them. In view of the preceding instrument,; inasmuch

as the S.efSor Colonel d,o,n Diego Ortiz Parrilla has an

order from the rno,st excelle,nt seflor viceroy concerning

the inspection of the Islas Blancas; and inasmuch as

it is contradictory that His Execellenc,y should command

that the Indians from these missions join said, enter-

prise equipped and provisioned for a period of three3

months without expense to the Royal Treasury //when

,N1S. torn, wretched i.ndividuals, have no other skill

or salary for maintaining themselves and their fami.lies.

except their daily vm rk; I therefore request Your, H,ono,r

to make a juridical transfer of the cited order from

His Excj-.ellenc,y in which he orders this so that I may

not only satisfy the missionary Fathers in order that

each one may prepare the Indians demannded of him, but

also so I may have recourse with it to have them paid

for their just sweat and labor.

San Juan Capistrano, July twenty-six of one thousand

seven hundred and sixty-six.

0From YGour, Hrono,rts least and most hu.mble

chaplain who kisses your hand.

:F. raY Asisclos Valverde

C. 2v-3 in E.

6-3o-z766,

121

0It is made to the letter from the original, which

rests in my possession. Royal Presidio of San Antonio

de Vejar, August two of one thousand seven hundred and

sixty-six. I signed it in order to certify it.

.Luis Antonio Menchaca

C. 3 in E.

6-30-1766,

0

132

0

My Very Dear Sir:

Y,ou^^- `Bordshi,p orders

me, in a letter dated the

thirtieth of last June, to

prepare ten soldiers of the

garrison of this presidio

under my command and thirty-

five Indians from the missions within my jurisdiction

so that, equipped and provisioned for a period of three

months, they may remain in their dwelling places ready

and at the disposal of Colonel dco,n Diego Ortiz Parrilla

to join the said sehor in carrying out the inspection

of the Islas Blancas which he is to effect by superior

Reply made by the

said capGtai,n to the

rl^:tter, dated the

30th of June from

the above-mentioned

governor.

order. I ul,filiment of this I have taken measures

concerning the thirty-five Indians from these missions'

to which the Reverend Fathers replied that which Your,

T,,ordshi,p will see from the contents of their answers,

which I include to the letter.

As for the ten men which in like manner you order

me to make ready, Y,our, T,,ordshi,p knowg. I have no more

than six, including the serg,ea,nt, of whom three are

occupied with the horse herd and the other three as

sentries over the cannons in the guard house. I am

persuaded Yrour, L,ordshi,p gives me this order without

foreseeing someplace from where I can get the others

133

!cnecessary, for completing the advised number of ten,

for, though the garrison of this presidio is made up3v

of twenty-one soldiers, //including the sergeant, M.

torn, remain in the missions by superior order, three

in each one of them. Without a contrary order for

removing them or taking them away, I doubt if I will

be able to do it.

With the newly introduced fierce warfare with the

barbarian tribes of the north the citizens of this villa

and missions are suffering from serious and repeated

hostilities which go without reparation because of the

lack of troops in this presidio. It is with solid

reason, therefore, that we must await the destruction,

and perhaps the extermination, of these settlements at

the least expected hour if the troops which this presidio

needs are not provided in time. Until this should be

achieved, it would be and is very necessary to have a

detachment here consisting of twenty-five men from that

presidio and fifteen from the Presidio, of La Bahia

del Espiritu S,an,to, for I consider it very necessary

during the day to partially defend these settlements

from the insults they justly fear from these barbarians,

.who boldly and almost daily commit hostilities in this

territory in such a manner that within a short time they

have stolen more than one thousand beasts.

1

On the twenty-fifth day of last July twelve Apache

Indians brought me the news that the Comanches were

taking some of the horse herd. At this unforeseen

information I hastily prepared a squad of soldiers made

up of my few and the ones from that presidio who were

here to go out in pursuit of.this theft. Following it,

,they joined up with Balthazar Perez and a. squad of

Indians from the Nti.ssions. of San Joseph who were on the

same business, though. I was ignorant of this. They

spent the night together and, inasmuch. as the trail was

three days-oid and the Comanches, had already gained

a great deal of distance, returned the foliowing day,

the soldiers taking the direction of this presidio and

the said Perez and the Indians that of their village.

Shortly after they had separated, the latter encountered

four Comanche Indians, of those who //have been harrying

this territory daily. They killed them and the next

day brought their scalps, weapons and chimales to prove

the dead had been Comanches. Because of this contingency

(notwithstanding that which is being experienced)

we must expect more and more intense warfare with these

enemies, in consideration of which I entreat Y,our,

L,ordshi,p to order the measures taken concerning the

succor I request.

May God, our Lord, prcotec,t Yeour, L,ordshi,p°'s

life many happy years, as I entreat him. In this Royal

Presidio of San Antonio de Vejar, August three of one

thousand seven hundred and sixty-six.

Your greatest and constant serVitor kisses

Y,our, L,o.rdshi,p's hand,.

Luis Antonio Minchaca

0

Setor d,o,n Angel de Martos y Navarrete

6G:. 3-4 in E.6-30-1766,

0

In the Royal Presidio

of Our Lady of Pilar of Los

Adaes, on the eighteenth

day of the month of August

of this year of one thousand

seven hundred and sixty-six,

I:l dco,n Angel de Martos y

Navarrete, lieutenant colonel

of the royal armies, governor

and captain general of this Province of Te3.as, New

Philippines, its presidios, conversions and frontiers

by the King, our Lord (may God prrotec,t him), having

received yesterday, along with everything else expressed

therein, this letter written to me on the third of the

present month by the captain of the Presidio of San

Antonio de Vejar, within this above-said province,

deo,n Luis Menchaca, and having seen its contents, should

command and do command that, once the reply I am making

to said captain concerning its context has been added

following it, it be added to the letter I wrote to him

on the thirtieth of last June, from which everything

stems, so that it may be remitted to the most excel-

le,nt sefior viceroy of this kingdom along with whatever

advice should appear necessary. The corresponding

certified copy of'everything shall remain in the archives

Decree authorizing,

the filing with the

letter of command

Gdated, the 30th of

June and the carry-

ing out of that

which is therein

expressed

0of this province.

Thus I provided, ordered and signed with my

attesting witnesses, whom I use for lack of a notary,4v

on this //common paper for lack of any other. In

witness whereof I certify:

deo,n Angel de Martos y Navarrete

Witness: Francisco Antonio Solis

Witness: Juan Duran

C. 4-4v in E.6-30-17663

138

sReply to the letter

from Captain Men-

chaca dated the

third of August

Seftor do, n Luis Minchaca

My Very Dear Sir:

I have received Y,our,

H,ono,r's rletter, dated the

third of the month just past in which you inform me

that you have not fulfilled the order contained in my

eletter, dated the thirtieth of last June for the reasons

therein explained. To this I reply by stating that,

despite these rreasons37 I judge Yrour, Hrono,r to be

responsible for whatever unfortunate consequences

Colonel d,o,n Diego Ortiz Parrilla should experience

during the expedition committed to him to the Izlas

Blancas because of the lack of the troop and the Indians

Y1our, H,ono,r should have contributed to him in conse-

quence of the cited rorder,.

As for the attacks which Yrour, HGono,r reports

are carried out there by the barbarous tribes of the

north, you should keep in mind that at the least rumor

of their proximity it is incumbent upon Y.our, Honor's

obligation to gather all of the inhabitants capable of

it and proceed to take the proper action corresponding

to containing them, for this is what should be done in

such cases when there are not sufficient troops to do

it. This is frankly the reason for His Majesty's

139

granting lands and other favors to those inhabitants,

although even without them they would be obliged to^ 'do

this for the universal good which-: would result for

everyone.

May God prrotec,t Y,our, H,-ono,r rnany years,

,Adaes, September four of one thousand seven hundred

and sixty-six.

Your servitor kisses You.r, Hono,r's hand,

o,n Angel de Martos y Navarrete

C. 4v in E.6-30-1766,

Report made to the

most excelle,nt

setor viceroy con-

cerning all that was

remitted by Captain

Minchaca in reply to

the above-mentioned

letter dated the

30th of June

Ve,ry Excelle,nt SePior:

Having distributed, in

consequence of Y,our,

Exccellenc,y's very estimable

cletter, dated the sixteenth

of last April (to which I

replied. on the second of

July), the corresponding

measures necessary for making

ready, in this province under

my care, the fifty soldiers, along with the other Indians

//,MS. torn, Colonel dro,n Diego 4rti2 Parrilla, the

latter might carry out the inspection of the Izias

Blancas committed to him by Y^our. Exr-cellenc, yj it has

enow, come to pass that after remitting, on the thirtieth

of June, the communication, concerning the matter

directed to the captain of the Presidio of San Antonio

de Vejar d,o,n Luis Menchaca, it has failed to receive

its proper fulfillment because of the reasons explained

by said captain in his letter dated the third of August,

to which I have added the respective replies mentioned

therein made by the R,,ever,ned Fathers to his exhor-

tations, of all of which I include the corresponding

certified copy.so that in view of it and of that which

I am about to present Ycour, Ex,cellenc,y may be pleased

141

to decide that which should be to your greatest liking.

I know, most excellent seflor, that the said

Presidio of Vejar does not have the garrison it should

properly have, but if the said captain were willing

to,,obey he could easily fulfill his obligation by

detaching for this purpose the ten soldiers which I

apportioned to him from the five missions within the

territory under his command. No harm to them whatso-

ever would ensue from this, not only because (according

to what is inferred from the cited reply made by the

RCevere,nd Father Ramires) they are in a position to

furnish people whenever they need them, but also because,

excluding the above-mentioned number, the same guard

would remain in each of them as that which they had

before the establishment of the Presidio of San Sava.

It is also to be noted that if the troop at Vejar has

diminished since then, its population has, on the other

handt increased, and is today quite large. Assistence

is sought there when exi.gency demands it.

If this is worthy of note, no less 'so is the

proposal said captain puts forward concerning my con-

tributing to him the assistence of twenty-five soldiers

from this presidio when he knows that ten are in his

at the moment for the purpose of conveying three hundred

horses here, nineteen are in La Bahia del Espiritu Santo

142

at the disposal of the said colonel, and six are

5V//,MS. torn, the attainment of his disproportionate

request. Inasmuch as these parties comprise thirty-five

soldiers, he might observe (if he were proceeding with

this operation with the proper reflection) that with

,the party, of twenty-five he requests he -,Aould have

the complete number of sixty which makes up the garrison

of this presidio. To this may be added that as captain

of the Presidio, of Vejar he could not be ignorant of

the fact, that in addition, to there usually being sick'

men here and that troops are necessary for whatever

distributions may occur, i.t is indispensable to guard

the horse herd as well as the presid'io and, to sum up,

.ten more should be added to these ten in order to relieve

them. Having affirmed this, it may be inferred that

it is natural for the R.ev,er,end Father ministers of

the missions within his jurisdiction to follow his

exa.mple.

May our Lord prosper in its greatest exaltation

the important life of Yeour, Ex,cellenc,y many years.

Royal Presidio of Los Ad.aes, September four of one

thousand seven hundred.and sixty-six.

Ve,ry Excelle,nt Sebor:

Your most attentive and humble servitor

kisses Y,our. Ex.cellenc,y's hand.

14 3

dEo,n Angel de Nlartos y Navarrete

The Very Excellent Marquez de Cru.illas

C. i+v-5v in E.6-30-1766,

144

0Agrees with its originals, which were remitted

to the most excelle,nt sefior viceroy of this kingdom,

from which I, do,n Angel de Martos y Navarrete,

lieu,tena,nt colonel of the r,oya,l ar,?ni,es, gov,ern,or

and captai,n grene,.ral of this Prov,inc,e of Tex^a,s,

had it made to the letter. It is exact, true, correct

and adjusted. Present to see it'itranscribed, corrected

and adjusted were my attesting witnesses, with whom I

act for lack of a notary, public or rcoyal, on this

common paper for lack of any other in this said prov,inc, e.

Done in this Rroya,l Presidio of Our h,a,dy of Pilar

of Los Adaes on the fourth day of the month of

Sepr.ternb,er of this year of one thousand sev,en hundr,ed

and sixty-six. To all of which I certify:

nd. Ange1 de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric) Witness:

Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Solis

(Rubric)

Ygnacio Angulo

(Rubric)

DS 5v in E.6-30-1766a?

rEndorsement in English,:

Process upon the failure of dro,n Luis Menchaca

to furnish 10 men and 35 Indians required of him for

the purpose of exploring the White Islands (Islas

Blancas) and other rnattersl-erein contained -

1766