The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967 Page: 597
728 p. : maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Notes and Documents
that of an enlightened eighteenth-century Frenchman, is unique,
for only churchmen and government representatives customarily
traversed Texas in this era. His account is especially interesting
when contrasted with those of two other travelers who followed
his general path in the same year. Fray Gaspar Josh de Solis in-
spected the religious establishments.s NicolAs de Lafora accom-
panied the Marques de Rubi on an inspection of the military
installations.9 Solis, looking at the Indians with the eye of a
missionary, saw them as men condemned by original sin. Lafora,
a military man, saw them as potential enemies. Pages, by con-
trast, saw them as Noble Savages.
This first description of Texas in English was widely read at
the time of its publication. It is still entertaining, and if due
allowance is made for the author's predilections, it is worthy of
notice. The author's punctuation and spelling have been retained.
At Nachitoches [Natchitoches] I was anxious for intelligence re-
specting the first Spanish settlement; and learned with pleasure that
it is about seven leagues distant,1o is the residence of the governor of
Tegas [Texas], and is named Adaes or Adaisses.11
Having spent only three days at this post, I prepared to set
out for Adaes, and with this view hired one of the inhabitants
as a guide, who was more dismal in his aspect and brutal in his
sMattie Austin Hatcher (ed.), "Diary of a Visit of Inspection of the Texas
Missions Made by Fray Gaspar Jose de Solfs in the Year 1767-68," trans. by Mar-
garet Kenney Kress, Southwestern Historical Quarterly, XXXV (July, 1931),
28-76; and Paul J. Foik (ed.), "The Solis Diary of 1767," trans. by Peter P. For-
restal, Preliminary Studies of the Texas Catholic Historical Society, I (March,
1931).
'Lawrence Kinnaird (ed.), The Frontiers of New Spain, Nicolds de Lafora's
Description, 1766-1768 (Berkeley, 1958), hereafter cited as Lafora's Description;
and Vito Alessio Robles, Nicolds Lafora, Relacidn del Viaje que Hizo a los
Presidios Internos Situados en la Frontera de la America Septentrional Pertene-
ciente al Rey de Espaia (Mexico, 1939).
"The old Spanish league measured 4.23 kilometers or 2.63 miles.
"Los Adaes was about fifteen miles west and slightly north of Natchitoches on
the Arroyo Hondo, a tributary of the Red River. Los Adaes was the capital of
Spanish Texas from 1721 to 1773. First settled in 1716, it became a key frontier
outpost when a presidio was established in 1721 to keep watch on the French in
neighboring Natchitoches. The cession of Louisiana to Spain removed Los Adaes'
reason for being, and the government ordered it abandoned in 1773. Although
some settlers remained in the area, Los Adaes lapsed into insignificance. Carlos
E. Castafieda, Our Catholic Heritage in Texas, 1519-1936 (7 vols.; Austin, 1936-
1959), IV, 37-39; Herbert E. Bolton, Texas in the Middle Eighteenth Century
(New York, 1962; first published in 1915), 377-393.597
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967, periodical, 1967; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101199/m1/627/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.