The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 17, July 1913 - April, 1914 Page: 19

The Louisiana-Texas Frontier

the line returned to the Red. Still later, when the Spaniards
abandoned Adaes and ultimately established themselves at Nacog-
doches, the French subjects of Spain were permitted to trade
freely to the Sabine, and even in the region beyond Nacogdoches,
provided the commandant of the latter post gave them the neces-
sary permission.29
Some three weeks after the transfer of Louisiana to the Amer-
icans, Casa Calvo wrote to his superior that the Americans were
preparing to, assert an "absurd claim" to the mouth of the "Bravo"
and that the French commissioner supported them in this con-
tention. From his own personal knowledge of the region and from
information derived from others, Casa Calvo stated that he was
prepared to overthrow this claim. He also cited the report from St.
Louis concerning Captain "Merrywhether" Lewis's expedition as evi-
dence of the danger threatening Spain's interests in Mexico if the
United States continued to hold any territory whatever west of the
Mississippi.80 A few days later his colleague joined him in a com-
munication to Laussat, the French commissioner, in which they
asserted that the western boundary of Louisiana began at the
mouth of the Sabine and extended to within a few miles of Natchi-
toches, in such a way as to include Adaes. The two Spaniards then
asked him to give them his opinion before he left the province.81
In his reply of January 20, 1804, Laussat states that he was
"vaguely charged to take possession of the country according to
the terms of the treaty and without other demarcation of limits."
The interests of his government had not required him to attempt
any such demarcation and he was not authorized to do so, but to
them as representatives of a friendly and intimately allied power,
he quoted his instructions concerning the limits of the retroceded
province: "On the south, the Gulf of Mexico; on the west, the Rio
Bravo from its mouth up to thirty degrees of North Latitude, from
which point the line of demarcation is undetermined towards the
Northwest and likewise towards the Northern line, which is lost in
the vast solitudes in which there are no European establishments
"'Robertson, Louisiana under Spain, France and the United States,
1785-1807, II, 150 et seq. It is needless to point out the fact that Sal-
cedo's information is not very accurate.
"Ibid., 162-167.
slIbid., 168-171.