The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 6, July 1902 - April, 1903 Page: 19
401 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Louis Juchereau de Saint-Denis.
possible, only men of family, who would be more circumspect in
their conduct, and who would go with the expectation of making
homes for themselves in the new country. With wives and mothers
in the company, and actual settlers equipped with agricultural
implements-plows and hoes--and oxen, the expedition began to
look, in a degree at least, like a sane attempt to occupy and colon-
ize the eastern wilderness.
On the 30th of September the viceroy, the Duque de Linares,
appointed Domingo Ramon captain of the soldiers and leader of
the expedition. Saint-Denis must have made a favorable impres-
sion on the Spaniards, for he was offered a place in the company
of Captain Ramon, which he accepted, receiving the title of cabo
camboyadar (chief guide), at a salary of five hundred dollars a
year.' If an answer was made to his proposition to open up trade
in cattle, nothing of it appears in the record, and we can not be
sure that he went so far as to broach the subject of a general com-
mercial treaty. Apparently, in entering the service of Mexico, he
gave up the original object of his journey. It is possible, however,
that he was merely shifting from one expedient to another.2 The
traffic in horses and cattle was to have been only an introduction
to a larger trade. If he could accomplish his purpose more easily
and directly by employing other means, he was willing to alter his
plans accordingly. The establishment of the missions would bring
the Spaniards nearer to the French, and would furnish a more
convenient market for his goods. Moreover, by assisting in found-
'He was called also conductor de iveres (Texas MSS., 213). It is inter-
esting in this connection to note the double part that Saint-Denis was
playing. He accepted office under the Mexican government, receiving a
year's salary in advance, to abet an'enterprise which was in direct opposi-
tion to the interests of his own government. At the same time, under
date of September 7, he wrote to the governor of Louisiana advising him
that the viceroy was about to send a party to establish a mission among
the Tejas. He asked that a brigantine be sent to Espiritu Santo bay, and
declared that it would be necessary for the king of France to demand that
the boundary of Louisiana be fixed at the Rio Grande.
'Le Page du Pratz, who had excellent means of knowing the truth, hav-
ing written his Histoire de Louisiane with the memoirs of Saint-Denis
before him, says (I 14): "The viceroy, the Duque de Linares, had
naturally an affection for France, and promised to make a treaty of com-
merce as soon as the Spaniards should be settled at the Asinais." There
is nothing in the Spanish documents to support such a statement.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 6, July 1902 - April, 1903, periodical, 1903; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101028/m1/23/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.