while these things were taking place in an obscure corner of the new world, there was commotion in the court of spain. word had come over from the “golden west” that france had laid an unlawful hand upon some of the spanish possessions there. letters flew thick and fast between the spanish viceroy in mexico and the spanish king’s[5] ministers. the viceroy was ordered to punish the offenders as soon as ever they could be found; the dark-browed king of spain was very angry.
all this stir was caused by the capture of the st. francis, la salle’s little store-ship in 1684. she was plainly on her way to some new colony. but where had that colony been planted? the wary captain of the st. francis said that he did not know. perhaps he told the truth. at any rate, it was not until 1686 and after a world of trouble that the viceroy in mexico located the spot of la salle’s settlement. spain considered herself at that time the legitimate owner of all that region which we now call texas; she pretended, indeed, to own everything bordering on the gulf of mexico. a military council was therefore held at the new post of monclova, and captain alonzo de leon, the newly appointed governor of coaquila (afterwards called coahuila) (co-ah-wee′-la), was dispatched to find and destroy la salle and his colony. la salle, with a bullet in his brain, had been lying for two years in his shallow grave near the neches river; but the viceroy did not know this.
captain de leon and his hundred soldiers marched gaily and confidently from monclova in a northeasterly direction, across wild prairie and savage woodland. they were used to the ways of the comanches, through whose hunting grounds they marched, and, at need, could take scalp for scalp; they were well fed and comfortably clad; the king’s pay jingled in their pockets,—a brave contrast truly to the starved, ragged, disheartened colonists at fort st. louis!
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but when captain de leon and his men at length found the fort, the unfortunate french colonists, like their chief, had perished. their bleaching bones lay scattered about the door of the blockhouse, where they had made their last desperate stand against the bloodthirsty carankawaes. de leon’s heart stirred with pity as he looked about him, thinking less, perhaps, of the men—for it is a soldier’s business to die—than of the delicate women who had shared their fate.
with the cenis, into whose friendly wigwams they had escaped at the time of the massacre, de leon found several of the colonists. these were afterwards sent back to their homes in france. but among them there is no mention of the sieur barbier and his young bride.
the flag of spain.
de leon, it is said,—though this is a much disputed fact,—called the country about fort st. louis texas, because of his kindly treatment by the cenis indians, the word texas in their tongue meaning friends.[6] on his return to monclova, he pictured this texas as a paradise so fertile and so beautiful that the viceroy determined to establish there a mission and presidio,—that is to say, a church and stronghold,—for the double purpose of reducing and converting the indians.
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in 1690 captain de leon, with several priests added to his company of soldiers, marched again to fort st. louis. the broken walls were restored, and once more the air rang with the cheerful sounds of axe and hammer. the mission of san francisco was begun and dedicated; the spanish flag fluttered in the breeze; a hymn of praise and thanksgiving arose from the chapel; and de leon took formal possession of the country in the name of the king of spain.
the spaniards, harried by the indians and too far from monclova to receive regular supplies, were soon forced to abandon fort st. louis. great was the rejoicing among the lipans and the carankawaes when the pale faces disappeared from among them, leaving the bay once more free to their own canoes, the prairies open to their moccasined feet.
neither france nor spain for a time seemed inclined to trouble herself further about this disputed property.
but in 1719 a french ship bound for the mississippi drifted, like la salle’s fleet, westward to the bay of san bernard. among those who went ashore for recreation, while the sailors were taking on fresh water, were monsieur belleisle, a french officer, and four of his friends. they did not reappear at the appointed signal, and the captain, after waiting for them for some hours, sailed away without them.
belleisle and his companions were in despair at finding themselves thus abandoned; they wandered for weeks along the strange and lonely coast, living, as best they could, upon roots, berries, and insects. finally four of the men died of starvation, leaving belleisle alone. weak and despairing, he made his way to the interior, where he soon fell into the hands of some indians, whom he took at first to be cannibals. they stripped him and divided his clothing among themselves; but instead of eating him, as he expected they would do, they gave him to an old woman of the tribe, who made him her slave but who otherwise treated him with rude kindness. in time he learned the language of his captors and became a warrior, sometimes even leading their savage forays.
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one day an embassy from another tribe came to the camp. belleisle, listening to their talk, heard the name of st. denis. now st. denis was one of his own former comrades-in-arms. belleisle’s heart leaped. he wrote, with ink made of soot, a few lines on his officer’s commission,—which he had somehow kept,—and secretly bribed one of the strange indians to carry this message to st. denis. st. denis happened at the time to be at natchitoches (nack-ee-tosh) beyond the sabine river; when he read the note he was much affected. he immediately sent horses, arms, and clothing to the captive; belleisle, by means of a strategy, escaped with the indian guides and joined his friend.
this adventure of monsieur belleisle caused him later to become a part of the history of fort st. louis.
