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
In this same year Benites Franquis de Lugo replaced Sandoval as Governor
of Los Adais. An old enemy of Sandoval, he placed him under arrest and
stripped the ex-governor of his wealth and rank. He was charged with
deserting the post at Los Adais and going to live at San Antonio de
Bexar, thereby neglecting the duties of his office; and for recognizing
the Arroyo Hondo boundary instead of the west bank of the Red River,
thus allowing the French to build a new fort on that side of the Red
River.
The friends of Sandoval appealed to the Viceroy to send witnesses to Los
Adais to investigate the charges of Governor Lugo.
In 1737 Fernandez de Jauregui y Urritgua, who was at that time Governor
of Nueva Leon, a region which adjoined the Coahuila and Tejas country,
came to Los Adais as a _visatador_ (witness). He questioned the
population, visited the post at Natchitoches and made inquiries there.
Lieutenant Gonzalez explained the conditions of the presidio, the
shortage of manpower and food and how nearly all the necessities
necessary to sustain life had to be obtained from the French.
Urritgua left Prudincio de Orbito as temporary governor, arrested Lugo,
sent a message back to the Viceroy clearing Sandavol of all charges and
requesting that the prisoner be restored to his position. In the same
year San Antonious Bazaterra was sent as Governor of Los Adais and all
of the Texas Region. Bazaterra was a merchant from Saltillo in Mexico,
and he used his new position to transport his personal merchandise to
the Adais frontier. He demanded that the Spanish cease trading with the
French.
In April, 1738, he detained and arrested Jean Lagross, a French trader
en-route to the Upper Caddos on the big bend of the Red River. According
to the Arroyo Hondo agreement between Sandavol and St. Denis, the French
traders were to be allowed to pass through the Spanish held Adais land
during the wet season. Jean Lagross had a passport to that effect, but
Bazaterra refused to recognize the passport and had Lagross’ merchandise
burned in front of witnesses.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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