The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 8, July 1904 - April, 1905 Page: 26
xiii, 358 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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26 Texas Historical Association Quarterly.
of this, he presented himself [in camp] on the twenty-sixth day of
June, with five captains, and twenty-nine Indians.1
These came on horseback, some armed with French guns; they
followed San Denis in single file; as soon, however, as they came to
the camp of the Spaniards, they dismounted, leaving their horses
to other Indians, [who were] on foot (peones). Still in single file
(baxo del mismo orden), they approached our men, who were wait-
ing for them drawn up in two lines, between which were (cuyo
centro ocupaban) Captain Domingo Ramon and the missionary re-
ligious.2
All in turn embraced one another, with especial marks of love and
friendship. After a salute of musketry, they betook themselves to
a hut [covered] with leafy boughs, which the Spaniards had pre-
pared for their reception. There, when all were seated according to
their rank, the Indians gave the sign of peace, using the [accus-
tomed] ceremony. Their chief commander (capitan comandante)
took out a pipe, much adorned with white feathers, filled it with
tobacco, and, lighting it, smoked it first, and obliged everybody to do
the same. All responded with like demonstrations on their part.'
1According to the Derrotero, Ram6n's son came with one Indian on the
26th; Saint-Denis, with more than twenty-five Indians, most of them
captains, on the 27th. The Historia (Sec. 14) says that on June 27th
they met thirty-four Texas Indians, five of them captains.
2The Derrotero (Memorias, XXVII, fol. 154) describes the Spanish for-
mation somewhat differently. "I ordered my soldiers to form in line to
receive them, and I went forward accompanied by all the religious, with
a Holy Christ and Our Lady of Guadalupe as standards." This does not
necessarily contradict the Breve Compendio, however, but may only carry
the description further.
'The Derrotero (fol. 155) gives a more detailed description of the peace-
pipe ceremony. "They fetched a large pipe, which they use only for the
peace [ceremony], took out some of their tobacco, of which they have
much, filled the bowl (chacuaco), and put fire in the middle. The cap-
tains smoked first, in this fashion: they blew the first puff toward the
sky, the second to the east, the third to the west, the fourth to the north,
the fifth to the south, and the sixth toward the earth, which are the signs
of true peace. The bowl is decorated with many white feathers. The
stem, which is about a yard (mas de una vara) long, [also] has white
feathers, from one end to the other. They gave it to me, to smoke in the
same way, making the same demonstration of peace. In turn they gave it
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 8, July 1904 - April, 1905, periodical, 1905; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101033/m1/28/?rotate=90: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.