The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 8, July 1904 - April, 1905 Page: 4

4 lexas Historical Association Quarterly.
held could base its action. The task fell to Antonio Bonilla,1 then
an officer of the Secretaria de Camara of Mexico. He finished the
work in fifteen days.2
The Breve Compendio, as he called his report, consists of four
main divisions: 1. A description of the Province of Texas as it
was in 1772 (Secs. 1-2); 2. A summary of the history of Texas
from 1685 to 1770 (Secs. 3-24); 3. A summary of Ripperd6's re-
ports made in 1770 and 1772, and of a report of de Mezieres, with
such of the history of Texas from 1770 to 1772 as bears upon these
reports. 4. The conclusion, which is an expression of Bonilla's per-
sonal opinion. Even though Bonilla had as a guide Altamira's Testi-
monio, mentioned in the list on page 1, the Breve Compendio is
quite a remarkable document, especially when one considers what a
mass of material Bonilla used, and what a short time he was at work.
It is written in a spirit of fairness, and so far as I have had time
and opportunity to compare it with other documents, is in the main
correct, notwithstanding some mistakes of detail. Not counting the
copies recently made by students in the United States, there are at
least four copies of the Breve Compendio known to be extant, viz.:
1. A manuscript belonging to the Agricultural and Mechanical
dado en los proprios Auttos, uno y ottro del Sor Audittor Grdl de la
Guerra, 1714. 2. Expediente formado sobre las variaciones, y mutaciones
qe han tenido los Presidios snternos, esquadras, y demas Tropas, desde
qe. los arregl6 el Emmo. Sor. Marques de Casafuerte. "Signed by Domingo
Valcarcel, and dated August 17, 1760. Folios 20-28 are on Texas." 3.
Memoria Acerca de los lim'tles de la Luisiana, sacada de varias Autores y
Mapas, y Cartas Geograficas por el Padre Doctor Don Jose Peredo, Pres-
vitero del Oratorio de San Felipe Neri de Mexico, 1770. 4. Breve Gorm-
pendio, 1772. Full title below, p. 9. 5. Hsstoria dcel Descubs imiento y
poblaci6n de la Provincia de Tejas hasta el avio de 1730. Escrito por el Pe.
Pr. Melchor de Talamantes, c. 1808. 6. Quadernos trabajados por el Pc.
Dn. Jose Antonio Pichardo de la Congregacion de Sn. Felipe Neri; sobre la
linea Divisoria entre las Provincias de los Texas, y Luisiana. Volume
301, Secci6n de Historia, Archivo General.
'Numerous documents among those noted by Dr. Bolton in the Secci6n
de Historia, Archivo General, bear the signature A. Bonilla, perhaps the
same officer. Some of them are dated as late as 1807 (see THE QUAR-
TERLY VI, No. 2, and VII, No. 3).
Breve Compendio, Seec. 25.