(November); "Old Fort Concho," by Paul B. Sturgis (November); "Along the San Antonio Trail," by J. H. Cosgrove (November); "The Poles of Texas," by LeRoy Hodges (December).

The Texas Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy was in session at Fort Worth from December 3 to 7.

A monument to the memory of those who wore the gray, erected by the local chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy, was unveiled at Waxahachie November 2, 1912. The monument stands on the courthouse lawn. The State Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds reports the completion of the monument to Governor George T. Wood at Point Black, San Jacinto county, and of that over the grave of Elizabeth Crockett, wife of David Crockett, at Acton, Hood county. The Thirty-second Legislature authorized the erection of the last two monuments and made the necessary appropriations for the purpose.

Mrs. J. A. Jackson of Austin reports the acquisition of an interesting contemporary picture of Austin in 1839. It is described in the Austin Statesman for October 23, 1912.

AFFAIRS OF THE ASSOCIATION

RESOLUTIONS.

To all the news of the sudden death of Judge Alexander W. Terrell came as a great shock. Notwithstanding his venerable age and his great usefulness in the past, one felt that there was much that he could yet do. No one feels this more keenly than the members of the Texas State Historical Association, whose presiding officer he was. His varied public career, his extensive acquaintance with the public men of three generations, his remarkable memory, his keen analysis of personal motive and character, and his unusual gifts as a conversationalist had given him an extraordinary fund of knowledge and personal reminiscence. For a long time addresses on patriotic or memorial occasions alone, served to make drafts on these riches, but during late years, in response to the insistent demands of his friends, he agreed to write his memoirs. It is hoped that he had made much progress in this undertaking, but the fact that the task was far from complete is quite certain. His election to the presidency of the State Historical Association on March 2, 1908, and his re-election and the exercises that marked the annual meetings since had helped to draw his attention to this kind of work. To the October QUARTERLY, 1910, he contributed an article on "The City of Austin from 1839 to 1865"; to the January QUARTERLY, 1911, he contributed a revision of his memorial address on "Stephen F. Austin," and among the last things to engage his attention was an article now in press and to appear in the October QUARTERLY, entitled "Reminiscences of General Sam Houston." These were, however, only the beginning of many similar articles that he had planned, some of which he had almost completed.

In the death of Judge Terrell the Texas State Historical Association has lost a distinguished member and a faithful and efficient officer, and the state has lost a citizen whose richly endowed mind could have contributed much to recovering the unwritten history of its stirring past.

September 15, 1912.

E. W. WINKLER,
Z. T. FULMORE,
E. C. BARKER,

Committee.

The annual meeting of the Texas State Historical Association will be held at the University of Texas on March 2, 1913. Members will receive further announcements and copies of the program during February.

The publication committee and the editors disclaim responsibility for views expressed by contributors to THE QUARTERLY.

SPANISH ACTIVITIES ON THE LOWER TRINITY RIVER, 1746-17711

HERBERT E. BOLTON

FRENCH ENCROACHMENTS AND OROBIO BAZTERRA'S EXPLORING EXPEDITION, 1745-1746

The activities of the Spanish government in Texas were from first to last inspired largely by fears of foreign aggression. When these fears slept, Texas was left pretty much to itself, so far as the government was concerned, but when serious rumors of encroaching strangers reached the official ears, there was likely to be vigorous proceedings for a time. The occupation of the lower Trinity River in the middle of the eighteenth century was no exception to this rule. Although settlements had been founded in eastern Texas as early as 1690, the authorities in Mexico, and even in the province of Texas itself, seem to have been almost entirely igno*Volumes I-XV published as THE QUARTERLY of the Texas State Historical Association.

'This paper is based entirely upon manuscript original sources. The older works in English which mention the subject are entirely valueless; the treatments given by modern writers in English are so brief as to be very unsatisfactory. The only printed account by an early Spanish historian is that of Bonilla, in his Breve Compendio (translated by West in THE QUARTERLY, VIII, 1-78), which, although written by a contemporary who was in a position to know, contains numerous fundamental errors. At best Bonilla's account is very brief and incomplete, as he devotes only about a page to the matter. The manuscript materials on which this study is based are records in the Béxar Archives, the Lamar Papers, and the Nacogdoches Archives, and transcripts in my personal collection from the archives of Mexico and Spain. What is presented here was practically

rant of the geography of the lower Trinity and the adjacent country until 1745, when they were called into it by tales of a French establishment somewhere on the coast. One previous official expedition to the locality had been made in 1727, it is true, but it had led to no further steps toward occupation, and given no permanent knowledge of the topography or of the natives of the region.

What stirred the authorities to action in 1745 was a letter reporting the rumors alluded to above, written in July2 to the viceroy by Don Joaquín de Orobio Bazterra, captain of the presidio of Bahía del Espíritu Santo, but for the time being in Coahuila. In reply to this communication the viceroy ordered Captain Orobio to proceed in all haste to learn the truth about the French settlement, where and when it had been established, if at all, and what and how many Indians there were in the vicinity. If he should find Frenchmen established or intending to settle, he was to order them to leave forthwith."

The prevailing ignorance of and lack of communication with the coast country between the Guadalupe and the Trinity rivers at this time is amply illustrated by Orobio's difficulties and uncertainty in getting from La Bahía to his destination. His first efforts were directed toward ascertaining whether the investigation.

completed several years ago. Subsequently my manuscripts were put at the disposal of Miss Elise Brown, a graduate student in the University of Texas, as material for a master's thesis. This was written under my direction with the title, "The History of the Spanish Settlements at Orcoquisac, 1746-1772." Though the two accounts are quite different in general, and at variance at some points, I have made some use of Miss Brown's valuable work, and hereby make acknowledgment. In the citations which follow, B. A. stands for Béxar Archives, L. P. for Lamar Papers, N. A. for Nacogdoches Archives, and B. MSS. for Bolton Manuscripts, the title by which my collection is designated.

'In 1727, when Rivera inspected the northern establishments of New Spain, he sent Engineer Francisco Alvarez Barreyto from La Bahía eastward with a detachment of twenty soldiers to examine the coast country as far as the Neches. Barreyto spent thirty-five days on the expedition and traveled 363 leagues, but what he recorded in his reports I cannot say, as I have not seen them, though I do know of their whereabouts, and have taken steps toward securing them. See Rivera, Diario, 1727, leg. 2466.)

July 2.

"The viceroy's order was dated July 18 (Diligencias Practicadas por Dn. Joaquin de Orobia Capn. de la Bahía Sobre establecimiento de Franceses. B. A.). Orobio signed his name as above, but, other Spanish officials frequently wrote it "Orobio y Basterra." The brief form of his name is usually given as Orobio.