The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 45, July 1941 - April, 1942 Page: 289
409 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Letters and Documents
two reports were placed before Congress by Jefferson on Feb-
ruary 19, 1806." These historical documents won for him the
commission as Indian agent.'"
This appointment greatly distressed Commandant General
Nemesio Salcedo of Spain's Interior Provinces."' Salcedo had
knowledge of Sibley's exploratory surveys, and upon Sibley's
appointment he declared that Sibley was "a revolutionist, the
friend of change, and a most bitter enemy of public peace."'"
Indeed Sibley was dangerous to Spanish interests, since by 1809
he had succeeded so well as Indian agent that he had practi-
cally diverted all trade of East Texas Indians from the Span-
iards to the United States' factory at Natchitoches.'8
Besides serving as Indian agent, Sibley also busied himself
collecting information concerning the Louisiana boundary and
kept the War Department informed of border activities."' In
these reports he exaggerated the military strength of the Spanish
on the Louisiana-Texas border, and represented many activities
of the Spaniards as violations of United States soil.20 He ob-
served and assisted the Freeman and Glass exploring and trading
expeditions up Red River to chart the country. He observed and
recorded the Aaron Burr and General Wilkinson episode in his
official correspondence. He witnessed the massing of Spanish
troops and of the United States Army along the Sabine when
"4Clarence Edward Carter, Territorial Papers of the United States, IX,
449, note 59.
"5"Historical sketches of the several Indian tribes in Louisiana south of
the Arkansas river, and between the Mississippi and river Grande;" "To
General Henry Dearborn, Secretary of War," Annals of Congress, 9th Con-
gress, 2nd Session, 1087-1104.
6In 1776, by royal order, the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Coahuila,
Texas, New Mexico, Sinaloa, Sonora, and California were placed under
the military and political government of a commandant general, directly
responsible to the king of Spain. From 1800 to 1813, Nemesio Salcedo was
commandant general of the Interior Provinces. Herbert E. Bolton, Guide
to Materials for the History of the United States in the Principal Archives
of Mexico (Washington, 1913), 75-77.
7Isaac J. Cox, "The Louisiana-Texas Frontier," Part II, The Southwest-
ern Historical Quarterly, XVII, 161.
18N. Salcedo to Bonavia, Bexar, April 24, 1809, Provincias Internas, Vol.
201, p. 181, Archivo General de la Naci6n, transcript Bancroft Library
(hereafter Archivo General de la Naci6n will be cited as A. G. N.; Bancroft
Library will be cited as B. L.).
9, 20The political activities of Sibley referred to in this brief biographical
sketch are revealed in Sibley's letters, which are published in this Quar-
terly. These letters were written by Sibley from Natchitoches to the Sec-
retary of War, and were filed in the Old Records Division, the Adjutant
General's Office, Department of War; hereafter cited O. R. W. D.289
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 45, July 1941 - April, 1942, periodical, 1942; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146053/m1/323/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.