The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 2, July 1898 - April, 1899 Page: 163
[335] p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
La Bahia del Esiritu Santo.
not be certainly known now. But it is true he landed far to the
westward of his ,aim;' a circumstance 'having 'a direct connection
with the history of la Bahia del Espiritu Santo.
Having landed and selected the site ,of his Fort Sit. Louis, La
Salle sent out Jean Henrie to explore the -country to the west-
ward; and this man's experience and conduct form an important
link in the chain of circumstances identifying Fort St. Louis with
the "Presidio de la Bahia del Espiritu Santo." After considerable
exploration and the formation of an alliance with an Indian tribe,
he was captured by Spanish scouts from Monclova and taken 'to
Monterey and thence to the City of Mexico, and there made a de-
tailed statement of all he knew of La Salle's expedition. And so
minute was his description of the place where the French landed
and of the site of the fort, that from the descriptive charts of the
coast then in the archives, the viceroy readily determined it was on
Espiritu Santo bay; and he immediately sent orders to Alonso de
Leon, then governor of Coahuila, to march to Texas with what
troops he already had and such as he could readily equip, to take
from the French the lands they might have appropriated in the
province and drive them out, or exterminate them, in order to
secure the dominion and possession of New Spain in that region.
And by means of such description de Leon was enabled to march
directly to the French fort, where he arrived April 22, 1689, and
found it already destroyed and the Frenchmen massacred, as he
stated in his letter of May 16, 1689, to the viceroy, in which he
asked for prisoners 'and permission to construct presidios to pre-
serve the conquest of the country.
Some of the Frenchmen having escaped the massacre, obtained
the compassion of a tribe of Indians near there, and were living
with them when the Spaniards arrived. Two of these sought the
protection of the Spaniards to get out from among the Indians, and
were received with benevolence by Alonso de Leon and sent to the
City of Mexico, where they gave 'the government detailed accounts
of the sad events that happened to the French expedition in which
they had figured.
With such sources of information, after having stood upon the
ruins, de Leon certainly knew the site of Fort St. Louis, and there
being no reason why he should misrepresent it, his report of its
locality may be believed. His standing as an officer of the royal163
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 2, July 1898 - April, 1899, periodical, 1898/1899; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101011/m1/167/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.