The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 10, July 1906 - April, 1907 Page: 26
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Texas HIistorical Association, Quarterly.
Spanish influence the Chitimachas, Opelousas, and Attakapas.
From the forks of the Red River, following the most northern
branch, the line should run in a northerly direction to the Ar-
kansas, and thence to the Missouri. Although the French had
penetrated about a thousand leagues up this river, they afterward
bad abandoned their settlement 'and ceased further exploration.
The various divisions of the proposed line could be run so as to
separate the Indians that were natural enemies, thus emphasizing
its definiteness.
Possibly the French would be loath to abandon their long estab-
lished post at Natchitoches, and the various scattered ranches ex-
tending equally far to 'the westward. In that event it would be
advisable to move the first portion of the proposed line over to the
Adaes River (Sabine) and to extend it in a northerly direction to
the Red. This would be preferable to leaving the question open
any longer, especially if the Spaniards strengthened themselves by
new establishments on the Texas coast.
The proposed line, following the Sabine, Red, Arkansas, and
Missouri rivers, was definitely to mark out the sphere of influence
of each nation among the Indians, and likewise its area for explor-
ation and development. The great mineral wealth of the interior
of New Spain, separated by vast distances from the French fron-
tier, would no longer present the temptation to encroachment
which had previously threatened the peace of the two nations.
Freed from this danger, and with adequate instructions, the colon-
ial government would be able to enforce all laws of the home gov-
ernment and to insist upon the most inviolable observance of its
treaty privileges and obligations. These were the reasons that led
the writer to recommend the abandonment of the untenable policy
of regarding the French as intruders upon the Gulf coast and the
acknowledgment of their right to a certain well-defined area in
order to preserve intact the vast regions still claimed by the Spanish
crown.
With the customary disregard that characterized the Spanish
home government during this period, the document was unheeded
for more than four decades. Its main features were then revived
to meet the menace ,of a more dreaded encroachment, but unfortu-
nately for Spain, too late to 'achieve the desired result.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 10, July 1906 - April, 1907, periodical, 1907; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101040/m1/34/?rotate=270: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.