IX After St. Denis
In 1743 Justo Bonev y Morales was sent to replace Winthuisin as Governor. Morales, a Knight of the Order of Santiago, was a man befitting the ideals of St. Denis, who was now a Knight of the Order of St. Louis. These two visited often, two knights on a tiny western frontier. By now the French and Spanish had intermarried frequently so that the Arroyo Hondo barrier stood in name only.
On June 11, 1744, St. Denis died. Morales came to offer his condolences as did many from Los Adais. Indians and slaves alike bowed their heads to the memory of this man.
Governor Morales, in keeping with the false cold front of diplomacy, wrote his superiors, “St. Denis is dead, thank God, now we can breathe easier”.
Captain Caesar de Blanc, a son-in-law of St. Denis, was appointed Post Commandante at Natchitoches and in the same year, 1744, Governor Morales was replaced by Francois Garcia Larios. These two men had no outstanding quarrels, for during these four years both the French and the Spanish prospered, crops were favorable and the trail from Los Adais was traveled daily by each of the nationalities. The Natchitoches area was prosperous and shipped to New Orleans, tobacco, cattle, horses and other farm products. Even those farmers at Los Adais were selling to the New Orleans market. Young Gil Y. Barbo was importing wild cattle and horses, obtained from the plains of Texas, driven over El Camino Real to the Adais-Natchitoches frontier, and on to New Orleans.
There was a working agreement between Juan de Mora and Lt. Derbonne, now retired from the French army and a civilian, farmer, trader and exporter of note in the Natchitoches post area.
In 1748 Pedro del Barrios Jacinto y Esprilla, an Alcolade of the Santo Hernando of all New Spain, was appointed the new Governor of Los Adais. The humdrum life of the frontier was too much for the new Governor so he gave up his position to Jacinto de Barrios y Gauregui in 1750. Barrios remained as governor until 1759, having had the fortitude to be Governor of Los Adais for a longer span of time than any of his predecessors. By now third generation Spaniards were being born on the Texas frontier from San Antonio De Bexar to Los Adais. These people were experiencing a new freedom not felt anywhere else in New Spain. They now regarded this land of Texas as their own. The seat of government was too far away to exercise a cloistered, ruling hand over them.
In 1759 Angle de Martos y Navarette replaced Jacinto Barrios as Governor of Los Adais. Navarette was a merchant and began to liven the frontier. Up to this time the French were supplying the area with all needed material, but when the new Governor came, fine Spanish lace, woolens and linen, finer than any which had previously been offered for sale on the frontier, and nails, which had always been scarce on the frontier, became plentiful.
In 1762 Louis XV gave Louisiana to his cousin Charles III of Spain.
In 1762 Caesar De Blanc was replaced at Natchitoches by Adrian Francois Le Doux as Post Commandante. He was in turn replaced by Angelus La Perrier in 1764. Perrier was the Commandante who received the first Catholic nuns to arrive in Natchitoches; thus 1765 marked the date of the beginning of formal scholastic training in the area.
Through his merchandising endeavors on this French-Spanish frontier Navarette had amassed for himself an estimated eighty thousand dollar fortune. In 1767 Don Hugo O’Connor was appointed Governor of the Adais and Texas country, and in November of that year, on the seventh day, Commandante La Perrier had the sad responsibility of turning over the Natchitoches Post to Don Antonio Ulloa representing the Spanish Government. In this same year O’Connor received a visitor, Padre Jose de Solice, who kept a diary of his visitation which was translated by Reverend Peter T. Forristal and was published as one of the preliminary studies of the Texas-Coahuila Historical Society.
Father Solice records the work of the priests of the Mission de Los Adais. There were 256 baptisms, 64 marriages and 116 burials. At the Natchitoches Post he found records of 20 baptisms, 13 marriages and 15 burials. (Natchitoches was quite often without the services of a priest and the padres of Los Adais supplied their spiritual needs).
Also, in 1767 Athanase De Mezieres, a Frenchman, was appointed Commandante of Post St. Jean Baptiste Des Natchitoches.
In 1770 Baron de Ripperda was appointed Governor of Los Adais and it befell his duty to see to the evacuation of Presidio Senors del Pilar de Los Adais. The Spanish authorities decided that now that the Louisiana Territory was entirely under Spanish jurisdiction, this presidio was no longer necessary.9
Ripperda issued orders that all settlers and army personnel were to be ready in three days to leave the area. Many of the farmers fled to the Natchitoches area with their families and worldly goods.
With Natchitoches now the seat of Government of the Texas area westward to San Antonio, El Camino Real was lengthened at least fifteen miles in extent from Natchitoches to Mexico City. De Mezieres had under his jurisdiction an area extending from Post Du Rapides (Alexandria) to the Ataquapois in Oklahoma southward to San Antonio.
The inhabitants of Los Adais and those residing around the missions in the Nacogdoches area were rebellious and Baron Ripperda extended his ultimatum to five days.
Antonio Gil y Barbo and Gil Flores became the heroes of the evacuation of Los Adais, some five hundred men, women and children moved to the vicinity of San Antonio. The former inhabitants of El Camino Real were not happy. They longed for the fertile soil and forests which abounded in wild game of the East Texas and West Louisiana area. Flores and y Barbo were sent with a petition to the Viceroy of Mexico. The two returned with the news that the people would be allowed to settle in a new area. They moved to a settlement on the Trinity River at Robbins Crossing, the present day location in Madison County, Texas.
Floods and the danger of hostile Indians soon forced the settlers to seek a new environment. They moved eastward to Nacogdoches under the leadership of y Barbo. There in 1779 was established the Town of Nacogdoches.
Y Barbo and a party of followers went back to Los Adais and dug up four of the six cannon buried there just prior to the evacuation of the area. They returned to Nacogdoches and re-established La Presidio de Neustra Senora de Los Delores de Nacogdoches and in the same year Antonio Gil y Barbo was appointed Commandante of the Presidio.
At Natchitoches in 1773 Commandante De Mezieres kept contact with all of this vast area by assigning traders to establish trading posts among the different Indian tribes and suppliers were assigned to each trader:
Pierre Bison was sent to the Calcasieu Indians, the supplier was Reme Poissot; Louis Pablo Villeneuve De Blanc to Caddoquopois, Bisadorewas to supply him; Jose Antonio Bonetis was sent to Atachapois, this man was an independent trader; Pierre Blot was sent to the Nacogdoches Indians and Joseph Blancpain was to supply him; Caesar Barme was sent to the Yatasses near Campti, Louisiana;
Nicholas Chef was an independent trader to the Tokawanes; these were in an area fifty miles northwest of the present-day city of Fort Worth, Texas. It was one of the most remote trading posts from Natchitoches and De Mezieres assigned a supply-patrol of the militia at the Natchitoches Post to supply the necessary trade goods. Sergeant Joseph Trichell, who had been assigned to the Natchitoches Post in 1749, was to command the patrol which consisted of Corporal Nicholas Tournier and an accountant, Nicholas Le Noir. Four musketeers, Francois Hugue, Louis Moinet, Nicholas Pent and Andries Compiere. Domingo De Soto was to act as interpreter.
This patrol was responsible for the arrest of four Englishmen who had crossed the Mississippi River and were trading among the Tokawanes. The four men were William Warden, John Cross, John Hamilton and Jerome Matalinche.
De Mezieres was vexed with Sgt. Trichell for allowing the Englishmen to sell all of their trade goods to the Indians and threatened him with imprisonment, but Trichell explained that the Indians would have gone on the war path if they had not been allowed to trade for the English merchandise. Trichell countered with the fact that all of the profits of the English traders were now in his hands and that there was no difference if De Mezieres had the trade-goods or the profits. De Mezieres paid the Englishmen in French and Spanish coin equal to the original cost of the merchandise, and this same patrol was ordered to escort the Englishmen fifty miles east of Natchez before setting them free. The Englishmen were charged with the Patrol’s expenses.
Luis de Quindise was an independent Spanish trader and was sent to the Adais Indians. Pierre Dupain was sent to the Peticaddo; Andre D’Hutrive was sent to the Bidias on the Trinity River; Alexis Grappe was sent to the Ais and Guierlero Lestage was to supply him.
In 1770 DeMezieres following St. Denis’ method of keeping peace with the Indians, invited the Chiefs to come and stand before him at Post Du Natchitoches to receive presents in the name of the King of Spain. Along El Camino Real traveled such great Chiefs as:
Tinhioune, Chief of the Caddoquopois. Santo, head Chief of the Bidias and Don Melchor, otherwise called Gorgorritos, a sub Chief of the Bidias. Quirotaches, Chief of the Nacogdoches Indians. Christobal, Chief of the Taouaizes. Vigotos, head Chief of the Hasinai Federation of Indians.
Thus, by gaining the friendship and allegiance of the most important Indian Chiefs of the territory, DeMezieres established an easy feeling between the Indians and the Spanish Government.
As of February 16, 1776 DeMezieres sent this Census Report to Unzaga, Governor at New Orleans:
113 homes; 105 heads of families with 86 women; 77 youths able to bear arms; 106 infants; 34 unmarried women; 84 bachelors and non residents engaged in hunting and fishing and trade with the Indians; 2 male and 2 female free people of color; 2 male and 1 female mulattos; 410 Indian and negro slaves (men, women and children); 277 pieces of fire arms; 1258 head horses, 842 head cattle, 3000 head sheep and goats and 783 hogs and 481 mules. There was shipped from Natchitoches: 1000 head horses; 100 mules; 9 quintals of indigo; 15 fenegas of indigo seed; 30,000 packages of tobacco; 120 buffalo hides; 36,000 deer hides; 5000 ambrias of bear oil; 5000 pounds of tallow, quantities of bacon and meats, both salted and dried.