The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 8, July 1904 - April, 1905 Page: 223

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De Ledn's Expedition of 1689.

223

They gave an account of the death of their people, the first saying
that an epidemic (achaque) of small-pox had killed more than a
hundred persons; that the rest had been on friendly terms with
the Indians of all that region, and had no suspicion of them; that
a little more than a month before five Indians had come to their
settlement under pretext of telling them something and had
stopped at the most remote house in the settlement; that the
Frenchmen, having no suspicions, all went to the house unarmed
to see them; that after they were inside other Indians kept com-
ing and embracing them; that another party of Indians came in
from the creek at the same time, and killed them all, including two
religious and a priest, with daggers and sticks, and sacked all the
houses; that they were not there at the time, having gone to the
Texas; but that when they heard the news of this occurrence,
[the] four of them came, and, finding their companions dead,
they buried the fourteen they found; that they exploded (que-
maron) nearly a hundred barrels of powder, so that the Indians
could not carry it off; and that the settlement had been well pro-
vided with all sorts of firearms, swords, broadswords (alfanges),
three chalices, and a large collection of books, with very rare bind-
ings (encuadernadura muy curiosa). The two Frenchmen were
streaked' with paint after the fashion of the Indians, and covered
with antelope and buffalo hides. We found them in a rancheria
of the chief of the Texas, who were giving them sustenance and
keeping them with great care. We took him [the chief] to the
camp and treated him with great kindness. Although unable to
speak Castilian (vozal), he was an Indian in whom was recognized
capacity. He had a shrine with several images. The governor
gave him and the other Indians who had come with him gener-
ously (bastantamente) of what was left of the cotton garments
(huepiles), knives, blankets, beads, and other goods. He was very
much pleased and promised to come with some Indians of his na-
tion to the Province of Cohaguila.2 The governor made a separate
'The text has the present tense.
"The next day [after the return to Ft. St. Louis] we set out on our
return trip to the Guadalupe River, and when we got halfway, since we
saw that the Frenchmen did not come, Capt. Alonso de Leon, with twenty-
five men, went to the 'rancheria' where they were, and the main party went

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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 8, July 1904 - April, 1905, periodical, 1905; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101033/m1/230/ocr/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

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