Refugio County Press (Refugio, Tex.), Vol. 51, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 14, 2011 Page: 4 of 14
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Page 4A
Thursday, July 14,2011
Hefugto (Emm to fflve&s
Tragicomedy of LaSalle’s colonist at Fort St. Louis
aSalle has been correctly
I faulted for the gross misman-
I i agement of his short-lived col-
ony in Texas near Matagorda
Bay, later called Fort St. Louis.
His bad judgment started in France
in the selection of the personnel to
accompany him to the New World. Of
the 280 who would make the trip to
Texas in 1685, about 100 were soldiers.
Coastal
Bend
Chronicles
By C. Herndon
Williams, Ph.D.
The rest included artisans, adven-
turers, a few farmers, young men and
boys, six women and only one family,
the Talons. Few had any wilderness, let
alone practical, experience.
Belle, which he put in the care of a noto-
rious drunk. This left the colonists with
very little to eat, forcing them early to
hunt and farm.
Of this number, five adults survived
and made it back to France and five chil-
dren were adopted by the Karankawa
to be later ransomed by the Spanish.
The desperate efforts of the colonists to
survive in the Texas wilderness had ele-
ments of comedy due to their inexperi-
ence. But ultimately, almost all died at
the site and their story was tragic.
The biggest problems for LaSalle’s
colonists started when they reached
Matagorda Bay. One was the placement
by LaSalle of his settlement on Garcitas
Creek, a site several miles from the
coast and devoid of timber and a fresh
water supply. Much of their food sank
with the supply ship, Amiable.
Then LaSalle loaded most of the
remaining food on the last ship, the La
They could get no help from the
Karankawa because LaSalle had alien-
ated them. The work to provide shelter
was so strenuous, the food so meager
and LaSalle’s treatment and punish-
ments so harsh that half of the colonists
died within six months.
There were large buffalo herds on the
plains opposite the camp on Garcitas
Creek, but none of the colonists knew
how to stalk and hunt. On the first
day, one colonist got off a single shot at
the buffalo before the French dogs ran
barking at the buffalo and drove them
away.
Next day, they left the dogs back
in camp. In the midst of five to six
thousand animals, the French hunters
crawled on hands and knees until raw
to get close, but the buffalo would catch
their scent and flee.
Finally, the French were able to shoot
some animals, but without bringing
them down. At the end of one frustrat-
ing day, the French came upon one
buffalo still kicking that had fallen
unseen.
At this point, the French found that
they had no one who knew how to
butcher it. Desperate for meat, they
hacked it up far into the darkness and
then got lost trying to find their way
back to camp.
Thereafter, the French hunters grad-
ually learned the skills to bring a buf-
falo down. There were other lessons
to be learned the hard way. Once, as
a wounded buffalo was hobbling away
on three legs, one of the French clerics
attempted to turn it back by standing
in front of it.
The enraged, wounded beast charged
him and, impeded by his clerical robe,
the cleric was run down and trampled.
On another occasion, a cleric struck a
downed buffalo in the head with his
rifle butt. The animal revived, rose up
and again chased the cleric down and
trampled him.
Colonists were continually getting
separated and lost and spending ter-
rified nights in the forest before they
could find their way back to camp. This
was highly dangerous since individuals
and small groups had been repeatedly
ambushed by the Indians lurking near
their camp.
Attempts at farming were likewise
frustrated. Plantings of beets, celery,
asparagus, chicory, pumpkins and
watermelons came up, but the pigs ate
them due to the lack of fencing. Only
the pigs at Fort St. Louis thrived.
The final tragedy at Fort St. Louis
involved the Spanish attempts to find
LaSalle’s colony. In 1688, a Spanish
ship finally found the wreck of the La
Belle in Matagorda Bay, but could dis-
cover no clue to the colonists’ camp. Had
the remaining colonists been found and
captured, they would have been saved.
As it was, they were massacred by
the Karankawa within a few months.
By that time, LaSalle had been assas-
sinated in East Texas and the few colo-
nists with him continued on their way
to Canada and France.
Herndon Williams is affiliated with
the Bayside Historical Society and the
Refugio County Historical Commission.
He is the author of a new hook, Texas
Gulf Coast Stories, published in late
2010 by The History Press. Email at
coastalbendchronicle@yahoo. com
Letters to the Editor
Come on!!
Editor:
It’s time for a shake up
in Refugio.
Raising the water bill 2
or 3 bucks, even five, but
$17? Half the town is on
welfare.
September?
Maybe 20 families with
kids would care, but that’s
it. What’s wrong with you
people?
Wayne Osgood
Refugio
Come on! Then, waste
$10,000 on fireworks that
nobody cares about in
IlrfuguT Cmmtg Press
USPS 564-200
Published Every Thursday
Offices:
412 N. Alamo P.O. Box 10
Refugio Beeville
(361) 526-2397 (361) 358-2550
(361) 526-239^ 5^X) (361)
Mail correspondence to:
P.O. Drawer 200
Refugio, Texas 78377
Jeff Latcham &
Chip Latcham,
Co-Publishers
Kenda Nelson,
Editor
Subscription Rates
(Mail/Yearly)
In Refugio County $ 22.00
Out of Refugio County $ 30.00
Student (9 Month) $ 22.50
Entered as periodical postage at
the Post office in Refugio, Texas
78377 and additional entry office.
The Refugio County Press will not
be held responsible for any omis-
sions, deletions, or typographical
errors other than to correct the
same in the next issue of the news-
paper. All advertising is accepted
on this basis. Advertising rates
available upon request.
Postmaster:
Send address changes to The
Refugio County Press, P.O. Box
10, Beeville, Texas 78104.
Last draftee
retires
Editor:
The last Vietnam-War
era draftee (Command
Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey
Melinger) retired and his
remarks about draftees
being maligned after the
Vietnam War or negative-
ly portrayed in compari-
son to the “all volunteer”
army reminded me of my
pent up feelings about
my experiences being a
draftee.
It aggravates the heck
out of me when I see cur-
rent high-ranking offi-
cers/officials bragging
about their all-volunteer
force while denigrating
draftees - e.g., former
Sec. of Defense (Donald)
Rumsfield when promot-
ing his autobiography.
Certainly any leader of
a group would like to have
all volunteers, because
that would make his or
her job easy as far as
persuading them to follow
a certain routine, blend-
ing into the group, buying
into the mission, etc. But
the intangibles brought
to the group by non-vol-
unteers can be invalu-
able — e.g., the sense of
independence that pro-
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Country Slaughter House
Smoked Hams
Smoked Turkeys
1 Smoked Sausage
Pork & Beef, Pori
Venison, Beef
Dried Sausage
Pork & Beef, Venison
1 Bacon
Reg., Peppered
1 Gift Boxes
Beef Sides
& Quarters
1 Custom
Meat Processing
Smoked Sausage
Beef, Venison, Pork
• Jerky
Beef, Turkey,
Elk & Buffalo
Cajun Boudin
• Hamburger Meat
• Buffalo
Hamburger, Strip,
Snack Sticks, Ribeyes
3857 Burroughsville Rd.
If Miles South of Hwy. 59
(361)573-9043
1-800-750-0128
motes a type of free-spir-
it which can invigorate a
group; the belief that we
are here to get the job
done and not to stay any
longer; the lack of fear
of questioning superiors
because we are not here
to make a career but to
go home; etc.
with RA prior to their
SSN. Draftees were in for
two years and early out
if they had less than
5 months after returning
from Vietnam. Their dog
tags were stamped with
U.S. National Guard and
they had a different clas-
sification altogether.
Empirical research
has demonstrated that
diversity in group and in
problem solving — such
as race, education, cul-
ture, religion, demo-
graphics, etc. can lead to
improved group perfor-
mance and better solu-
tions to problems. And
diversity is exactly what
the draft brought to the
U.S. Army.
And what over-arches
all the soldiers — whether
regular army or draftee
was their American cul-
ture and their basic belief
that America was worth
fighting for.
This is what makes the
military non-volunteer -
i.e., the draftee, unique to
their group, i.e, the U.S.
Army, while other groups
lack such over-arching
beliefs.
Note: Regular Army are
the volunteers, usually for
3 -year enlistments. Their
dog tags were stamped
At the same time, an
Army composed of all
draftees would not be
very effective, because
there would be no con-
tinuity of mission, no
institutional memory, no
expertise gained from lon-
gevity, etc.
That is why the regu-
lar Army inductees and
career soldiers are need-
ed also. A blend of regu-
lar Army, career soldiers,
and draftees are needed
to ensure a quality citi-
zens army.
I was drafted in Sept.
1969. I would have pre-
ferred to have waited for
another 9 months due
to graduate work and a
pregnant wife, but when
the draft notice came,
I did as I was told and
reported.
At Fort Bliss I vol-
unteered for the infantry
and Vietnam because I
figured that was why I
had been drafted. Also,
Concealed Handgun
License Class
Saturday — July 16 or July 30
8am — 6pm
Location: 150 Black Bear
_Sanpia, Tx (Near Lacarto)
Cost: $120.00 Includes Photo.
Bring semiautomatic gun & 50 rounds
(or available at the class)
To enroll call: lames Doughty 361-547-8188
Fingerprints: www.l1enrollment.com
State Register: www.txdps.state.tx.us
1-800-224-5744
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I did not want to be
clerking state-side in the
monotonous, routine jobs
that I had observed at
the induction centers
(someone has to do that,
but that was not for me).
the line via the draft.
James “Thurm”
Thurmond
SGT, 7/17th Air Cav, US
Army
Vietnam - 1970-71
Frankly, I think that I
was a good soldier just
like most of my army bud-
dies in Vietnam and the
millions of other draft-
ees in USA history. And
of course what made us
good was good support
and guidance by career
soldiers.
Sorry for my soapbox
comments, but I get so
tired of people with no
knowledge of the draft
talking about it. In fact,
I think it ought to be
reinstituted to broaden
the base of the US mili-
tary and to connect the
American public to the
tribulations of warfare
sacrifice.
Also, and I wouldn’t nec-
essarily think it helpful
to war efforts, but there
would be more anti-war
protests if young people
actually had their lives on
Lions’ Fourth
was huge success
Editor:
The Woodsboro Lions
Club wants to thank
everyone who made our
4th of July Celebration
a success. We especially
want to thank the City
of Woodsboro for allow-
ing us to use Woodsboro
Veterans Memorial Park
and providing sanitation
facilities; those who par-
ticipated in the parade;
and those who helped
with the horseshoe event.
Thanks especially to the
community for your sup-
port this year as student
scholarships and services
for the needy (eyeglasses/
exam, medical expenses,
Punt, Pass and Kick, and
Art contest for the stu-
dents, etc.)
(Continued on 5A)
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Nelson, Kenda. Refugio County Press (Refugio, Tex.), Vol. 51, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 14, 2011, newspaper, July 14, 2011; Refugio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth740312/m1/4/?q=green+energy: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dennis M. O’Connor Public Library.