The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 22, July 1918 - April, 1919 Page: 217

                                
The First Europeans in Texas, 1528-1586

the Avavares. The details of this journey, from the point where
they left the Avavares until they crossed a big river, confirms this
location of the region where they spent the winter; as does a
study of the Indian tribes found in this vicinity.
The wooded region north of the Rio Grande remained much
as it was in Cabeza de Vaca's time until the last quarter of the
eighteenth century, when it was granted in large tracts by the
Spanish crown to residents of the village of Reynosa. Five of
these grants embraced almost the whole of the wooded country
north of the Rio Grande, and north and east of the Porciones
granted to the original settlers of the town of Reynosa, in 1767.
These Porciones are in southwestern HIidalgo County. The Espi-
ritu Santo grant, on which the city of Brownsville now stands,
contains thirty-one square leagues, bounded on the south by the
Rio Grande, on the east by the "Lagunes of the Sea," on the
north by Arroyo Colorado, and on the west by "a very thick wood,"
granted to Juan Salvador de la Garza, in 1781. This grant lies
east of the probable path of Cabeza, de Vaca.
The "Llano Grande" and "La, Feria" grants, assigned respec-
tively to Juan Jose Hinojosa and his daughter, Rosa Hinojosa
de Balli, the former grant being in Hidalgo County and the latter
in Cameron County, are adjacent lands, denounced and surveyed
at the same time. The two grants have a common title. A copy
of the testimonio of the proceedings which preceded the grant is
recorded in the deed records of Cameron County. These lands
were inspected and surveyed in 1777, and the other preliminary
proceedings were had in the same year, but the grant was not
finally perfected until later. The two grants are bounded on the
south by the Rio Grande. Together, they have a width of six
and a quarter leagues from west to east, and a depth of six
leagues from north to south.
On May 30, 1777, Jos6 Antonio de la Garza Falc6n, Captain
anO Alcalde of Camargo, sat at Reynosa (Viejo) as special judge
for vacant and unappropriated land and water in New        Spain,
and conducted an official inquiry into the character and occu-
pancy of these lands, which had been denounced by the persons
to whom   they were subsequently granted. A     copy of the pro-
ceedings of this inquiry was made part of the testimonio.

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