Aguayo, while en-route to Los Adais, received word the war between France and Spain had ended and there would be no war on the frontier, never the less, Aguayo established the missions and the Presidio San Antonio de Bexar at San Antonio. At the tribe of the Adais he began proceedings to establish a presidio there. France, too, had their “man of the minute” in the person of St. Denis.
LA PRESIDIO DE SAN ANTONIO DE BEXAR
La Presidio de San Antonio de Bexar, established by Aguayo in 1722, was located at San Antonio, Texas.
The work of Aguayo in establishing the presidios along El Camino Real gave permanence and protection to the Spanish settlers who were to follow, from San Antonio to the Adais in Louisiana, seeking a new kind of freedom. Their source of food and other essentials was so far away that they learned to live “off the land”, and became dependent on no one. As far as they were concerned the head of the Spanish Government was so far away he was only a figure of speech to them. This freedom was bred into their descendants—the seed cast by Francois Hidalgo, fortified by Aguayo, nourished by El Camino Real and the Neutral Strip was to blossom into the State of Texas at San Antonio.
PLAN OF FT. DEL PILAR DE LOS ADAIS
1. House of the Governor. 2. Church, which was enclosed within the Presidio. 3. Houses of the Soldiers stationed there. 4. Powder Magazine. 5. La Mission San Miguel de Cuellar de Los Adais. 6. Priests’ home. 7. Dwellings of the Adais Tribe of Indians. 8. The Rancho of La Lima, possibly the first merchant and Indian trader of the Spanish in this area.
With St. Denis came the balance of power, which is necessary on any frontier. The Spanish had the French out-numbered ten to one, but they also knew that the tribes of the Caddo Federation favored St. Denis and the French. The gold piasters were of special attraction, as they would have been in any locality, to St. Denis, who was an accomplished trader. Aguayo was quick to realize that the Spanish must trade with the French for food and their very existence. He turned a deaf ear to Captain Reynaud, St. Denis and Bienville, who was now the Governor of Louisiana, and their protests concerning the building of a presidio at Los Adais, and on October 12, 1721 celebrated the rebuilding of the mission. On November 1st in the same year was celebrated the re-establishment of La Presidio de Nuestra Senora del Pilar de Los Adais—the Presidio housing the Governor of all the province of Texas.
In 1722 St. Denis was made Post Commandante of Fort St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches and all of the Red River Territory.