SANTANDER ESTABLISHED.

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established with fifty-eight families, and a mission some few leagues distant on the banks of the Purificacion. On January 6th forty-four families settled at Padilla, and a mission was established in that neighborhood. It may be mentioned here that for each newly settled place a military governor was appointed with the rank of captain, and a small garrison was left for police duty, and to protect the settlers against the hostilities of the natives. Other towns were located in rapid succession, and at first the colonists had to be content with primitive huts, hastily constructed of branches and leaves, until better accommodations could be secured. During the first years they suffered great hardships, for in many instances the sites selected were unfavorable, either on account of their liability to floods, their sickly climate, or for other reasons. The settlers of the town of Escandon are said to have been driven from their second site by clouds of mosquitoes and other obnoxious insects.

From Padilla, Escandon continued his march some twenty leagues in a north-easterly direction, with a view to establish a general camp from which exploring expeditions might be despatched, particularly to discover the harbor of Santander, at the mouth of the river then called Purificacion, and to-day La Marina. On this march from Padilla the first savages made their appearance, descending in great numbers from the eastern sierras of Tamaulipas, but being overawed by the vast caravan of Spaniards, abstained from attack. About the same time Escandon was joined by another party of settlers from Linares, consisting of sixty families under the conduct of Ladron de Guevara, and efforts were now made to reach the seaboard. After various attempts, on February 17th, the mouth of the Purificacion was discovered; the town of Santander was established with forty-five families, and designated as the capital of the province.13

13 The site was subsequently changed and the town flourished, counting nearly 600 inhabitants in 1757.

From the new capital Escandon proceeded north in quest of the valley of Flores. Crossing the Rio Conchas, and passing along the banks towards its mouth at Salinas bar, he came upon a friendly Indian chief who had formed a settlement of Pintos. Leaving several Franciscan friars with the natives, he pushed forward to the Rio Bravo del Norte, expecting to meet with some families coming from Linares and other places, with whom to form a settlement. He soon arrived at Camargo, which had been provisionally founded by one Barrero from Nuevo Leon, and formally established the town on March 5th, leaving Captain Falcon in command. A little to the south a mission was erected with the Franciscan, Juan García, in charge; this friar was also the first curate of Camargo. Thence proceeding west, the town of Reinosa and a mission were established, with families from Nuevo Leon under Captain Cantun. After despatching Captain Basterra to form a settlement on the Nueces River, Escandon returned to Salinas, where, with families brought by Captain Merino, he founded San Fernando. On this return march the natives showed signs of hostility, and an inclination to dispute the passage. They were appeased, however, by Escandon's kind words and by presents.

About April 27th Altamira was located near the coast, and on May 9th the city of Horcasitas was founded with more than ordinary pomp. Ten days after this, Santa Bárbara and the mission Soledad1 were established, after which Escandon returned by way of Tula to Querétaro, to report on the progress of his enterprise. Remaining there during the whole of the following year, he prepared a second expedition. At no time during the colonial history of New Spain had so many settlements been founded in such

14 The mission Santa María de la Soledad a quarter league east of Santa Bárbara, was given lands by Escandon in the king's name, the same as all the other missions. Pinart, Col. Doc. Mex., 361.

PACIFICATION OR EXTERMINATION.

345

a comparatively short period, and with so little bloodshed. True, here and there the natives were obstinate and unwilling to submit to the strangers, and in several instances Spanish settlements were attacked by the nomad tribes still scattered in the recesses of their mountain retreats. Thus it became necessary at times to send a force against them. This, however, seems never to have been done unless the Indians first gave sufficient provocation by their hostile attitude. Indeed, as a rule Escandon managed the aborigines with great skill and judgment, never resorting to hostile measures when with inducements and promises he could attract them to the missions, after which they would generally become good settlers. It is evident that this leader pursued a wise policy in making the lot of the subjugated natives as comfortable as possible. We find no signs of encomiendas or congregas, the same policy being observed as in Sierra Gorda. It is indeed refreshing to record a circumstance of this nature-so much at variance with the general conduct observed by nearly all the conquerors and pacificators of earlier times-and even at the present day the name of Escandon is esteemed and honored in Tamaulipas.

Many other settlements and missions were founded during the second expedition, the details of which are similar to those of the first, and of little interest to the general reader. All these new settlements, as I have mentioned, were placed in charge of a military commander, while one or more Franciscan friars took charge of each mission. Thus the government of the new colonies was at first purely military; yet it cannot be denied that, for the time being, and under a man like Escandon, this was the best fitted to keep the Indians under subjection, and to prevent civil dissensions among the colonists themselves. At all events we do not hear of any abuses committed by the commanders appointed by Escandon, and the progress of the colonies evidenced the success of the system. Never

theless even in 1757 Indian hostilities had not entirely ceased;15 and for this reason it was recommended by Inspector-general Tienda de Cuervo, who made an official visit to the province in that year, to take final measures to complete the pacification of the territory. Though Spanish dominion was permanently established, he was aware that to ensure the peaceful and steady development of the country, another campaign must be inaugurated; the natives who remained obstinate must be pursued to their last haunts; they must either be obliged to settle in the missions or be exterminated. The recommendation was approved by Viceroy Amarillas, and it is claimed that the campaign was a success, and that soon after the establishment of San Carlos all hostilities and depredations by the Indian tribes of the neighborhood ceased. Many of them, seeing they were pursued even to their most secret haunts, had preferred to join the missions; but others, more warlike, receded beyond the boundaries of Coahuila and to the Rio Bravo. They were gradually surrounded, and confined by the encroaching Spanish settlements to the most remote parts of the province; and being obliged to withdraw, they joined the wild tribes of Coahuila, Sonora, and New Mexico, who long afterward continued to harass the settlers on the borders of Mexico and the United States. In 1792 a last raid was made

15 According to a statistical report made by the inspector-general José Tienda de Cuervo in 1757, Escandon had founded 24 cities, towns, and villages, with nearly the same number of missions; there were 8,993 inhabitants; 20 missionaries; 3,473 Indians settled in the missions. The stock of the colony consisted of 58,392 horses; 1,874 mules; 24,747 horned cattle, and 288,363 sheep and hogs. The cost of the political and religious administration was 45,095 pesos annually. Hist. Arch. Genl. Mex., liv. Navarro, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da ép., i. 291, gives the area of Nuevo Santander in 1810 as 5,193 square leagues, one partido, 26 curacies, 8 missions, 18 villas, and 11 pueblos; and a population of 56,715, consisting of 14,639 Spaniards, 13,251 Indians, and 28,825 of mixed blood. In Certifn de los Mercedes, MS., Pinart, Col. Doc. Mex., 39, the cost of the presidio at Camargo in 1758 is given at 3,225 pesos; that of Santander at 32,927 pesos. See also Humboldt, Tab. Estad.. MS., 7-40; N. Mex. Cédulas, MS., 303-22; Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, ii. 19. The prospects for agricultural development were very poor, according to a report of Bishop Candamo in 1791. Gonzalez, Col. Doc. N. Leon,

123-25.

by the savages on Laredo, but they were soon repulsed and driven beyond the frontier.

At the time of Cuervo's arrival at Soto la Marina he found a schooner belonging to Escandon anchored in the harbor. This is the first craft known to have traded between Vera Cruz and Nuevo Santander. The master, Bernardo Vidal Buzcarrones, informed Cuervo as to the general condition of the coast, anchorage, and the different sand-bars he had examined at the mouths of various rivers. According to his opinion prospects for shipping were not at all encouraging, as during the greater part of the year only small craft were able to cross the bars and find a safe harbor. Then Cuervo made a tour of inspection with the schooner himself, during which he came to the same unfavorable conclusion.

More improvements were made in 1763. The sites of Escandon, Búrgos, and Reinosa were changed; new settlements were founded, and the settlers received assistance from the government. For fifteen years the lands in the vicinity of the colonies had been used in common, but in 1764, by order of Viceroy Cruíllas, they began to be segregated. The following year the town Cruíllas was founded, and in 1766 San Carlos was established. From this time until the end of the century the colonists were enabled to breathe more freely; all the settlements rapidly improved; several mines were discovered and worked; stock-raising increased; and merchants and dealers from Mexico, Huasteca, Sierra Gorda, San Luis Potosí, and other parts of the country began to frequent the flourishing towns of Nuevo Santander.16

16 In 1779 Manuel de Medina was governor of the province, and in 1787 Melchor Vidal de Lorza was appointed. In 1791 and 1799-1800 the conde de Sierra Gorda, probably a son of José de Escandon, is again mentioned as governor, and at the outbreak of Hidalgo's revolution we find Manuel de Iturbe é Irreta at the head of affairs in the province. See Medina, al Regente Romá, MS.; Gomez, Diar., in Doc. Hist. Mex., 2d ser., vii. 278; Alaman, Mej., ii. 94; Gonzalez, Col. Doc. N. Leon, 153; Dice. Univ., v. 458; Zamacois, Hist. Mej. vii. 191. In the latter part of the eighteenth century the missions of the custodia of Rio Verde and San Pablo de Michoacan, Tula, Palmillas,