The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 1, July 1897 - April, 1898 Page: 220
334 p. : ill., ports., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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220 Texas Historical Association Quarterly.
ments were made; for, indeed, no ruins have been discovered, nor
yet have the names been preserved, and finally the records of the
time breathe no word as to their existence.
In 1693 the missions which had existed in the province were
deserted. The causes which led up to this may, in the main, be
attributed to the outrages committed by the vicious soldiery.
Father Manzanet tells us as much, and it was the same curse which
hounded the missionary movement to its death. After this deser-
tion of the province, there followed a period of twenty years in
which no light burns. What took place of interest to us during that
time, we know not. We can only believe that the wild tribes drove
as madly in the chase as when the century was young and fought
as fiercely. But in strange contrast to this we must think that over
next the setting sun, when the dusk was in the wounded eyes of
some red man, a wandering Franciscan would kneel to invoke a
blessing of the one Father. Besides these restless, devoted friars,
no civilized foot broke into the confusion which reigned as un-
bridles as in the primal age.
The Franciscans clamored for a re-occupation of the country
with all the eager earnestness manifested by the Crusader in his
cry for the redemption of the Holy Land.8 Indeed, the same spirit
which moved the Crusader to pawn his life in battle for the Holy
Sepulchre, urged the Franciscan, barefoot and with the knotted
scourge fastened to his waist, into unknown wilds where dwelt the
savage men whose souls were to be saved. But the government was
deaf, and the time ran on. We are unable to say how long this
chaotic state of affairs would have existed in the province had the
French not begun operations in Louisiana in '713. The fact remains
that nothing was done by the Spanish government toward the re-oc-
cupation till the news reached the viceroy that a French expedition
under St. Denis had marched from Louisiana to the Rio Grande,
across the whole of Texas. St. Denis was arrested, but to this day
the object of his journey has not been determined beyond dispute.
History of Texas, Vol. I., pp. 45, 46, say that settlements were made.
On the other hand, Bancroft, North Mexican States and Texas, Vol. I.,
p. 404, would indicate a contrary opinion.
8 Altamira, Testimonio de un Parecer; Bancroft, North Mexican
States and Texas, Vol. I, p. 405.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 1, July 1897 - April, 1898, periodical, 1897/1898; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101009/m1/242/: accessed May 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.