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24
COMPANY OF THE INDIES.
[1719.
ences, was forced to give up his task in despair. One of
his achievements was the laying off of the San Antonio
road, traces of which still exist.
Company of the Indies.-Finding that he was sinking
money, Crozat (about 17 19) gladly gave up his charter to
the Company of the Indies. Under the management of
the company, in spite of the stringent laws of Spain, a cer-
tain amount of trade was carried on between Louisiana
and Mexico, Texas being the thoroughfare. Attempts
were made at colonizing, but they were unsuccessful.*
Spain Colonizes.- The Spanish authorities finally
became convinced that to make Texas prosperous, mis-
* The story given below is recorded by several Texas historians; while it is full
of interest, yet the author cannot vouch for the accuracy of all its details. "In
1719 the Company of the Indies sent out a thousand colonists to Louisiana. It
happened that the captain of one of the ships, making the same mistake that La
Salle made, sailed past the mouth of the Mississippi and entered Matagorda Bay.
A boat was sent out for fresh water. While the sailors were thus occupied, Mon-
sieur de Belisle, a French gentleman, having obtained the captain's permission,
went on shore to hunt. He was accompanied by four of his brother officers. Some
hours passed, and the hunters did not return. The ship was ready to sail. The
captain grew angry at being thus detained. 'I '11 give them five minutes more,'
he finally said; 'if they are not here then, I shall wait no longer.' The moments
passed, the men were nowhere in sight. The captain kept his word, the ship sailed
away. The feelings of the officers, when they returned, may be more easily im-
agined than described. There they were in an unknown country, with no signs
that human footprints had ever trod those wilds. They had no food, no hopes of
seeing another ship enter that bay. For days they wandered about from place to
place, living on bugs, worms, and roots. Belisle gave the little dog he had brought
with him to his companions for food. But the animal managed to escape. The
four men died of hunger, leaving Belisle expecting to share the same fate. Just as
he lay down to die, he heard a rustling sound in the bushes, and, turning, saw his
dog with an opossum that he had caught. Revived by food, he determined to
leave the coast and journey inland, hoping that he might there find some traces of
men. Day after day he wandered on his lonely way, living on insects and roots, till -
oh, joy to say it-he saw footprints. Following them, he found a group of Indians
seated around a fire, drying buffalo meat. They seized him, tore off his clothes,
divided them among themselves, and looked so fierce that he fully expected to be
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Pennybacker, Anna J. Hardwicke. A new history of Texas for schools : also for general reading and for teachers preparing themselves for examination, book, 1895; Palestine, Tex.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2388/m1/36/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.