No Man's Land: A History of El Camino Real — John Shaqi
No Man's Land: A History of El Camino RealNardini, Louis Raphael
History
No Man's Land: A History of El Camino Real
Nardini, Louis Raphael
El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail (Tex. and La.); Louisiana -- History
Secondly, St. Denis understood the love of a Spanish parent wishing to
see his offspring happily married. He probably thought of his own
marriage to Manuella and how her family risked all their worldly
possessions and position of office to protect his marriage into the Don
Diego Ramone family. The Spanish, to be sure, had their faults, but also
they must be commended for their forgiving and understanding nature when
the welfare of their families was concerned. In this respect Jose
Gonzalez, the Lieutenant Governor of Los Adais, would be no exception.
He knew that this man would have to do a great deal of letter writing
and pretending but in the end would be a forgiving father-in-law. St.
Denis, after weighing the risks, secretly consented to lend his support
to this marriage. Even if the risks had been greater St. Denis would
have given his consent because his whole life, if one studies it
carefully, was full of risks and intrigue. One more incident would have
made no difference to him. The fact is that he probably enjoyed the
entire situation, for this affair would bring a new topic of interest
and conversation to the dull life of the frontier.
The whole procedure of the successful elopement suggests the cool,
calculating mind of one such as St. Denis possessed, not the flustrated
mind of a young lover.
Let us examine the water-route that these two elopers traveled: The
Arroyo Adais, a small stream of water that ran near the Presidio De Los
Adais and then into the Bayou Mayoux. This bayou ran into La Petite
Rigolet (Little River, as it is known today) in turn ran into Bayou
Pierre, which drained into Red River (just above Grande Ecore) flowed
past the French fort at Natchitoches. The distance traveled would be
about twenty-four miles.
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