The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 10, July 1906 - April, 1907 Page: 30
ix, 354 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Texas Historical Association Quarterly.
the viceroy appointed Don Hugo Oconor, who had recently served
as governor ad interim of Texas.
At first thought it would seem that the issue of this royal decree
marks the definite abandonment by the Spanish government of all
the province of Texas beyond the San Antonio River. It so chances
that this presidial line roughly corresponds to what the French had
formerly claimed as the western boundary of Louisiana, but ap-
parently long since abandoned. But this proposed relinquishment
of the greater part of Texas was to the Indians and not to the
French. Louisiana, west of the Mississippi, was now a Spanish
province, so there was no necessity for a garrison in east Texas
to prevent the extension of its western frontier. The proposed
relinquishment of the greater part of Texas was only the result of
a temporary policy, which in turn would be reversed when New
Spain again felt the necessity for expansion. Meanwhile the ac-
quisition of Louisiana denoted the fact that the Spanish frontier
now extended to the Mississippi, where possible encroachment must
be restrained by her newly acquired citizens. As a matter of fact,
east Texas was never wholly abandoned, and those settlers who re-
moved to San Antonio shortly afterward returned, despite the
express royal order to the contrary.
A prominent figure upon the Texas-Louisiana frontier in the
years following 1770 was Athanase de Mezieres, a Frenchman in
Spanish service as commandant of the post at Natchitoches. He
was well-known and influential among the various Indian tribes of
the border, particularly along the Red River, and had personally
visited most of them. Mezibres was perfectly willing to turn
his influence over the Indians to Sp-anish account. His plan,' in-
dorsed by Ripperda, differed from that of Rubi in that while he
favored abandoning the useless missions and presidios in eastern
Texas, it was for the purpose of erecting a new presidio among
the northern Indians of Texas rather than removing the soldiers
and settlers to the Slan Antonio. The command of this presidio
should be given to Luis de Saint Denis, son of the famous trader
and frontier commander of the preceding generation. For the
successful prosecution of warfare against the hostile Indians, espe-QUARTERLY, VIII 63-68; IX 91.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 10, July 1906 - April, 1907, periodical, 1907; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101040/m1/38/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.