Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/366

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346
PROGRESS IN NUEVO LEON.

theless even in 1757 Indian hostilities had not entirely ceased;[1] 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 Cárlos 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

  1. 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 288,303 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 Ios Mercedes, MS., Pinart, Col. Doc. Mex., 39, the cost of the presidio at Camargo in 1758 is given at 3,225pesos; 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.