Spanish Exploration of Oklahoma 1763-1793

Spanish Exploration of Oklahoma 1763-1793

The transference of Louisiana to Spain in 1763 had its effect upon the frontier Indian policy of New Spain particularly with regard to the region considered here. With the acquisition of Louisiana, Spain’s frontier advanced from Texas to the Mississippi River, beyond which were the expanding English colonies. As a result of this advance, the Norteños, i.e., the Indian tribes of Northern Texas, the Red River Valley, and adjacent regions, heretofore beyond the frontier and, as we have seen, under French influence, were now brought into the empire. Their location accordingly presented a real problem for they were in a strategic position, on the one hand in the rear of the Spanish Illinois-Louisiana settlements and on the other north of those in Texas. Consequently over these Indians, their former enemies, the Spaniards now had to extend their control.

To meet these new conditions, Spanish officials characteristically made careful preparation by ordering a survey of the whole region so that all frontier relations could be viewed in their proper perspective. The undertaking was entrusted to the Marqués de Rubi in 1767. When his tour of the frontier was completed, he drew up recommendations that were incorporated, practically as submitted in a royal order issued in 1772, known as the “New Regulation of Presidios.” For our purposes here it is sufficient to note that the New Regulations provided for the abandonment of Western Texas since that region was now protected from the English colonists by Louisiana. Meanwhile measures had been taken to win over the Norteños and thereby protect the Texas establishments from attack. Here the Spaniards readily perceived the elements of their problem. For one thing they recognized that the Norteños were subject to the growing influence of English traders who had for many years prior been crossing the Mississippi River to operate among the Indians of the western bank, even as far as present Oklahoma and Arkansas. Secondly, the Spaniards realized that since these Norteños had long been accustomed to the influence of French traders the sensible plan was to utilize the services of the French agents who had remained in the province after the transfer to accustom the Norteños to Spanish rule. This policy was accordingly adopted.

Two Frenchmen appointed as Indian agents, De Villiers and De Mezieres, were to render signal service to Spain in this capacity among the Norteños. Happily the work of Athanase De Mezieres in Northern Texas has been thoroughly studied and his achievements given their proper recognition.

De Mezieres set about immediately to carry out his new duties. In 1770 he secured the attendance of powerful chiefs of the Taovayas, Tawaknoi, Yscanis, and Kichai tribes at a council near present Texarkana. There they promised their friendship and signed treaties drawn up in 1771 at Natchitoches. Next, in 1772, De Mezieres made an extensive journey through the northern tribes to explore their country, learn the strength, and investigate rumors of English trading among them. From Natchitoches he went to the Trinity River, thence up the Brazos to the Wichita Indians in Northern Texas. From there he communicated with the Taovayas, on the Red River. From his reports of this extensive exploration we learn that the Taovayas were procuring English goods in exchange for stolen horses and that the northern tribes were being hard pressed by the Osage. Indeed, his report of the hostility of the Oasge towards the Spanish and their Indian allies is paralleled by similar reports from the Spanish commandant, Don Pedro Piernas, at St. Louis and from the commandant at the Arkansas post.

In 1776 a further administrative change was put into effect on the northern frontier of New Spain. This was the establishment of the Privincias Internas, a department composed of the provinces from California to Texas inclusive, of which El Cavallero de Croix, a great but little known administrator of western North America, was made the first Commander-General. His most important problem was to check Indian raids on the northern frontiers of New Spain, of whom the Apaches of Western Texas were the greatest offenders. De Croix immediately laid plans to use the Norteños, Apache enemies, with Spanish forces in a joint campaign into Western Texas. A council was held accordingly at Monclova, and a later one in January, 1778, at San Antonio whence De Mezieres was summoned from Louisiana. To prepare the Norteños for their role, De Mezieres set out in March to visit the northern tribes. On this occasion he reached the Taovayas villages on the Red River after passing through the northern tribes of Texas about the Brazos. From the Taovayas villages he sent a warning to the Comanches. His visit informed him, too, that in 1777 English traders had pushed their way in the year before into these very villages, on the far side of present Oklahoma, a circumstance that impelled him to write De Croix urging a Spanish settlement among the Taovayas. On his return to Natchitoches he brought back Parilla’s cannon left there after the battle of 1759, recounted above. Shortly afterward De Mezieres was transferred to Texas from Louisiana to control the Norteños from San Antonio instead of Eastern Texas. His death in 1779 and Spain’s entry into our Revolutionary War, partly altered De Croix’s plans in this quarter for the joint campaign against the Apaches. De Meziere’s contribution to our subject is considerable. His marches reveal the importance attached to the tribes of the area within and about present Oklahoma; his reports show that the English have definitely replaced the French as a menace to the frontier here, and finally, his activities center attention on the Taovayas now friendly to Spanish control. In the next decade the Taovayas assume further importance in Spanish frontier explorations.
Vial 1786-1792

Another important problem raised by the adding of Louisiana to the Spanish possessions was that of establishing effective communication between the widely separated centers of St. Louis, San Antonio and Santa Fe. In the solving of this problem, much of the resulting exploration between these points passed through present Oklahoma. Before this time, plans, one of which appeared as early as 1630, had been proposed to establish routes between New Mexico and Texas. Apache and Comanche hostility, however, was the chief factor in preventing the opening of this route. During the eighteenth century the French traders had learned how to conciliate the Comanche and Apache, and De Mezieres and others had in large part transferred this affection for French traders to the Spaniards, so that the foundations were laid for the efforts now to be successfully made. Pedro Vial, another Frenchman, whose experience among the Indians between Texas and New Mexico well fitted him for the undertaking, was in 1786 the first to be commissioned for this purpose. In that year, directed by the governor of Texas, Don Domingo Cabello, Vial set out to explore a direct route from San Antonio to Santa Fe. Leaving on October 4^th, he went north to the Colorado River, turned east to the Brazos, followed that stream sixty-two leagues and then branched off to the Taovayas, northeast on the Red River. Leaving the Taovayas on January 8, 1787, Vial moved along the Red River to a Comanche village where he remained until February 18^th when he renewed his journey up the Red thence north to the Canadian, finally making his way to Santa Fe on May 26^th, after having passed through several Comanche villages. Vial thus established the fact that communication was not impossible and that the Comanches and other tribes were friendly.

In 1788 Vial set out on his return to Texas. This time his objective was Natchitoches. Accompanied by Francisco Xavier Fragoso and thirty soldiers, he left Santa Fe on June 24th, 1788, taking apparently a route between that of his first journey and that of Mares’, to the Taovayas. There his escort left him and after four days returned to Santa Fe. Vial himself reached Natchitoches on August 20^th, passing after leaving the Sabine the ranchos of six Frenchmen and one Englishman. In 1789 Vial again set out from San Antonio for Santa Fe. On this journey, however, he left the Brazos near the junction of the ninety-fifth meridian and the thirty-third parallel and went northwest directly to Santa Fe, consuming slightly less than two months. From the above account of these travels it will be observed that all except the last passed through the Taovayas, a fact which indicates the strategic importance of this part of the Spanish frontier then within present Oklahoma.

Vial’s extensive experience and successes entitled him to further honors and he was accordingly selected by the viceroy in 1792 to open a route between New Mexico and St. Louis. The governor of New Mexico, Fernando de la Concha, drew up Vial’s instructions. Accompanied by two young men Vial was to leave New Mexico via Pecos, march east to the villages of the Magages, thence east northeast to the Missouri River nearest to Los Ylinneses (Illinois). On this journey Vial was careful to note all landmarks, rivers, the direction of their flow, tablelands, etc., and Indian tribes that he encountered. His faithfulness in this respect enables us here to trace the general route of his travels.

Vial set out on May 21, 1792, from Santa Fe. Shortly after leaving the Pecos River they lost a day in camp with a band of Comanches and a Spanish interpreter coming from San Antonio. On the 26^th they renewed their journey to the Canadian River which they reached on the 29^th. Thereafter until June 22^nd the party followed the Canadian along Oñate’s old route. On that day they left the stream to turn northeast towards the Arkansas. Apparently they left the Canadian about the Antelope Hills region. Their northeast journey took them across several streams in this part of Oklahoma and southern Kansas to the Arkansas which they reached on the 27^th. Without doubt they came upon the latter where it turns to the northeast for, Vial, after spending the 28^th in camp, took up the journey on the 29^th. They shortly encountered Indians who took possession of their horses, cut off the clothes of Vial and his companions, and threatened to kill them. However, one of the savages, a former servant in St. Louis, recognizing Vial, interceded and fortunately saved the lives of the party. The explorers were then forced to remain with the hunters until August 16^th when they were permitted to set out once more, though still naked, for the northeast. A ten days’ journey of about fifty leagues brought them to a Cances village on the river of the Kances River. On September 11^th they secured some clothes from a passing French trader and on the 16^th, having secured a pirogue from three other traders going to St. Louis, followed the stream to the Missouri and thence to their destination. Arriving there on October 6th Vial presented his credentials and diary to Zenon Trudeau, the Spanish commandant, and told him that had they not encountered obstacles they could have made the journey in twenty-five days. Vial’s journey is particularly interesting in that it is the first to connect St. Louis and Santa Fe along the approximate route followed takes by the caravall trade to New Mexico.