The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 25, July 1921 - April, 1922 Page: 88
306 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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88 The Soathwestern Hlistorical Quarterly
Previous experiences, he said, had proved that the Spaniards had
all to lose and nothing to gain by putting their cause to the test
of arms, since no sufficient force for effective warfare was avail-
able. He admitted that the Spaniards had always been compelled
to endure insults from the Indians and prophesied that they would
have to submit to them as long as a single red man remained. In
support of this belief he showed that both active warfare and con-
tinued conciliation had failed to have any real effect in bringing
them to terms and that such plans for peace as had been tried and
such attempts at warfare as had been made had merely given the
enemy a true appreciation of the weakness of the Spaniards.14
In speaking of this same case, De Nava suggested that the cap-
tains of such parties of Comanches and northern Indians as might
come to Bexar should be reprimanded for the excesses of their
people and encouraged to return the stolen horses under threat of
loss of presents; but he did not wish correction to be too severe
because he believed that the offenders were encouraged in their
depredations by faithless Spaniards who were living among them
and who hoped to reap a personal benefit by disposing of stolen
property in Louisiana or even in the United States.15
The difficulties already enumerated were enough to appall the
most resolute; but the worst features have not been shown. Addi-
tional tribes, who had been under the influence of foreigners, were
constantly applying for admission into Texas; and the authorities,
not daring to refuse them entry definitely and finally, were soon
confronted with still greater dangers. For example, in July, 1800,
Jos6 Miguel de Moral, Commandant of Nacogdoches, wrote Juan
]Bautista Elguezabal, who had succeeded Muioz as Governor of
Texas, reporting the receipt of a communication from Valantein
Layssard, Commandant of Rapide, Louisiana, proposing to settle
the Choctaws of that province in Texas. Mordl vigorously op-
posed the plan, pointing out that the Indians of Texas would
object to sharing benefits with the tribes of other regions; and
asserting that the proposed immigrants were under the influence
of the English, that they were allied with other Louisiana tribes,
and therefore that they would naturally be hostile to the Indians
of Texas. IHe even feared that fatal results would follow their14Mufioz to Cordero, May 29, 1798.
16De Nava to the Governor of Texas, May 29, 1798.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 25, July 1921 - April, 1922, periodical, 1922; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101082/m1/94/?rotate=90: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.