The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 47, July 1943 - April, 1944 Page: 37
456 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Life of General Don Manuel de Mier y Terdn
situation in Texas, that body on September 6, 1827, passed the
necessary act appropriating money for the commission to the
total of 15,000 pesos."
A month after this act was passed, Poinsett wrote to Clay:
The only act passed by the Congress, since the com-
mencement of their session, of any importance, is the
appropriation of fifteen thousand dollars towards de-
fraying the expenses of the commissioner, General
Teran, appointed by the government to examine and
report upon the country which lies near and upon the
boundary between the United States and Mexico,
agreeably to the views of this government as expressed
in their communication of the-'1 of August, 1825.
The commission has not set out on this expedition for
want of funds, Congress having appropriated what
the Treasury does not contain at the moment. In pri-
vate conversations with the President and Secretaries,
I have sought to convince them of the uselessness of
this expedition until the treaty of limits is definitely
settled. They say, in reply, that the public is so anxious
to have the question settled, that they think it politic
so to act at present, and assure me of their earnest
desire to adjust that delicate point as soon as possible.13
The government of Mexico was not content with naming a
mere exploring party, but made provisions for a commission as
nearly scientific in all its aspects as was possible under the
circumstances. The position of botanist, zoologist, and physician
was allotted to Luis Berlandier, a native of Switzerland, who
had for a time been director of the Museum of Geneva. Rafael
Chovell, a student at the College of Mines, was named mineral-
ogist, and Jos6 Batres and Constantino Tarnava were selected
to make military and geographical observations. Tarnava was
a lieutenant-colonel in the engineering department of the Mex-
ican army and was known as an excellent mathematician;
Batres was a lieutenant-colonel on the medical staff. Last, but
by no means least in importance, was sub-lieutenant Jos6 Maria
SAnchez of the artillery corps. Unlike any of the other members
of the commission, SAnchez was with Mier y TerAn during the
20-21. The translation used above is the one furnished by Poinsett in trans-
mitting the communication to Washington.
"Manuel Dublin y Jose Maria Lozano, Legislacidn Mexicana, II, 16-17.
12It is evident from the blank line that Poinsett was depending upon
his memory for this date. He doubtless was referring to AlamAn's letter
of July 20.
3Poinsett to Clay, October 6, 1827, in H. Ex. Does, 25c., is., No. 42, p. 24.37
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 47, July 1943 - April, 1944, periodical, 1944; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146054/m1/41/?rotate=270: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.