The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 15, July 1911 - April, 1912 Page: 39
382 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Aguayo Expedition.
Taking- a more northerly route than they had been hitherto fol-
lowing, on May 31st the Spaniards reached what is now Little
River,' at a point about three-fourths the distance from Cameron
to Belton. They were delayed three days before crossing because
of the swollen condition of the river and because of steps that
had been taken by a council of war. This council had sent out a
detachment to reconnoiter the country, to look for the Rancheria
Grande, a group of Indians who were usually to the eastward near
the Brazos, and to ascertain what they could of the French and
their Indian convocation in the same neighborhood. The Span-
iards were at a total loss to know what was transpiring, for they
had met no Indian on their route thus far. The reconnoitering
party did not return until the 12th of June, after the main body
had effected the crossing of Little River and had waited several
days. The detachment had gone thirty leagues, but had seen noth-
ing but the long deserted huts of the Indians. It confirmed the
tero, entry for May 28) and Rivera (Diario, entry for August 24) gave it
the same name.
San Gabriel River was seen and named by Espinosa and Ram6n in
1716 (Diario and Derrotero, entries for May 28). They called it the San
Francisco Xavier. After Aguayo's the expeditions did not go that high up.
'The reasons for thus identifying the place are: (1) they struck the
river thirteen leagues north of the San Xavier or San Gabriel; (2) they
afterward learned that the river was the first of the two branches which
were known as the Brazos de Dios, on the old Thxas road, and that it was
joined before the old road struck it by Las Animas and the San Xavier;
(3) in order to effect a crossing, they had to go two leagues northwest,
to where the river divided into three branches. These three branches would
correspond to the modern Salado, the Lampasas, and the Little River
proper. The distance between the crossings of the second and third
branches was two and a half leagues, with a deep creek intervening, prob-
ably the present Stone Sound. They called the River Espiritu Santo (Holy
Ghost), having reached it on the eve of Pentecost. As will be remembered,
the Brazos had, in 1690, been given the name Espfritu Santo or Colorado
by De Le6n, who, however, had struck it before its branching (Diario,
entry for May 14). In the next expedition, 1691, Massanet, though he
knew that it had been called the Espiritu Santo, named it the San Fran-
cisco Solano (Diario, entry for July 24) ; while Teran, "though the natives
called it the Colorado," named it the San Geronimo (Demarcaci6n, entry
for July 25). Espinosa and Ram6n, in 1716, crossed Little River just
above its junction with the Brazos. The former did not give it any name:
the latter called it la Trinidad. Both of them called the Brazos proper
la Trinidad, thinking, doubtless, that it was the river that De Le6n had
named thus in 1690 (Diario and Derrotero, entries for June 14). Rivera
called it the "Colorado o de los Brazos de Dios" (Diario, entry for August
30). [It may be noted that the name los Brazos de Dios was applied to
the Little River and to the main Brazos, and not to the main Brazos and
the Little Brazos. H. E. B.]
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 15, July 1911 - April, 1912, periodical, 1912; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101056/m1/44/?rotate=270: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.