The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 1, July 1897 - April, 1898 Page: 275
334 p. : ill., ports., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Real Saint-Denis.
275
Spanish law forbade even the entrance of a foreigner into Mexico.
Any goods introduced in the manner here proposed were, of course,
contraband and subject to seizure. The harsher term which we
apply to such an act as the French traders contemplated is smug-
gling. The character of this second trip is, to some extent, cleared
up by the significant fact that the goods were made to appear as
belonging wholly to Saint-Denis.* He probably depended upon
his connection with the family of a Spanish officer- and the favor
with which he was regarded by the viceroy to protect him in the
violation of the law. It is very probable, too, that he sought to
quiet suspicion by spreading the report that he had returned to en-
ter the service of Spain, and that the goods which he brought with
him were his personal effects.f This supposition at least clears up
many of the difficulties, and it is not at all inconsistent with the
character of the man; we learn from Lamothe Cadillac that Saint-
Denis "was not very zealous in the service of the king" of France,t
and Bancroft declares that he was paid by the Spanish government
for lending his aid in establishing the missions in Texas.II
The winter of 1716 was passed by the traders among the Assinais
Indians and the following March found them again on the road
for San Juan, Saint-Denis probably going on in advance. It
seems that a disagreement occurred among the members of the
company while at -San Juan, perhaps as to the price which should
be paid the Spanish officials as hush money, and the secret as to
the ownership of the goods leaked out. As a result, confiscation
*Le Page du Pratz, Histoire de la Louisiane, vol. I, p. 19.
Saint-Denis opposed the organization of this company, particularly
when he learned that some of its members proposed to make the trip
with him. He insisted that these members be instructed to make it ap-
pear that they were his employees and that the goods belonged to him
alone. The HistoricalJournal does not mention this.
t Testimonio de un Parecer, Yoakum, vol. I, p. 391.
: Letter from Lamothe Cadillac in Margry's D6couvertes et 6tablisse-
ments, vol. VI, p. 197.
1I North Mexican States and Texas, vol. I, p. 611.
The Historical Journal, (French's Historical Collections of Louis-
iana, vol. III, p. 49) states that Saint-Denis reached the presidio in
advance of the company, lost his goods by seizure, and had already set
out for Mexico when the rest of the party arrived. The dates in the
various accounts do not agree.
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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/m1/301/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.