The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, July 1962 - April, 1963 Page: 78

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Southwestern Historical Quarterly

town lands, he shall give the remainder to the fifteen families, as-
signing to each the tract which it should have for its farm.
The lands remaining after this measurement has been made, the
governor shall declare unappropriated lands, so that from them grants
may be made to the families who in the future may decide to settle at
that town.
To each of these fifteen families he shall give possession of the
tract of land assigned it, and title to the enjoyment of the possession
of the same in the name of his Majesty, and by virtue of this order,
and ley iv, tit. xii, book v of the Recopilacidn de Indias, charging each
family to plant trees on the boundaries of its tract of land, and to
make use of the waters of the above mentioned Arroyo and of the
San Antonio River. The governor must remember that, in this divi-
sion, he shall apportion the tracts of land and the water equally among
the families, and that if, in any of the directions he cannot make any
one or any number of squares, on account of the land being occupied,
he shall make them in the other directions. He is likewise reminded
that this order must be kept in the strong box of the city council, so
that what should be done in the future may always be evident.
At eleven o'clock on the morning of March g, 1731, after more
than three months of overland travel, the Islanders arrived at the
site of the presidio of Bexar, near which their future homes were
to be established. The presidio consisted of quarters sufficient
to house about fifty men who, in reality, lived with their families
in huts scattered about the post. With the families of the soldiers
lived some few settlers who, without authority to make a settle-
ment, had come from Coahuila as early as 1715. These persons
had selected some of the most fertile spots along the river for their
fields, the possession of which remained undisputed until the
appearance of the Islefos upon the scene. The only other settle-
ments near the site of the prospective villa were those connected
with the missions, San Antonio Valero (the Alamo) just to the
east across the San Antonio River, and Concepci6n and San Jose
to the south. Lands had been granted to the missions before
arrangements were made for the coming of the Islanders, and
they were cautioned by the viceroy to refrain from infringing
upon territory already held by the missions. The result of this
condition is made clear by the report of the presidio captain, Juan
Antonio Perez de AlmazAn, who, in the absence of the governor,
was authorized to carry out the instructions of the viceroy.

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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, July 1962 - April, 1963, periodical, 1963; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101196/m1/92/ocr/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

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