By 1725 St. Denis had won the Spanish commandant over to his point of view and persuaded him to allow free trade in the area. The French were also allowed at Los Adais on Sundays to attend religious services. (The French, up until a few years later, were without the services of a priest at Natchitoches).
Word reached the Viceroy in Mexico City that Almazon was too lenient with the French and that he was actually encouraging open trade with them. In 1730 Almazon was replaced by Don Juan Antonio de Bustillio y Zavalles, who was quick to realize that La Presidio de Los Adais was entirely dependent on the French for its very existence. He sent a letter to the Viceroy to that effect, further advising that the Spanish settlers of the area scarcely produced enough crops to sustain themselves and their families. Zavalles was an experienced military officer and understood the importance of maintaining a modicum of friendship on the frontier with the French and the Indians. Zavalles in 1730 issued a land grant to Juan de Mora.[7]
In 1730 Natchitoches welcomed the arrival of its first French priest, Father Vietry.
In April of 1731 Zavalles received an urgent message from St. Denis saying that the Natchez Indians were on their way to attack the French Post and asked for assistance. Zavalles sent fifteen men, which may just have been enough to help St. Denis gain a victory over the Natchez Indians. One Spaniard lost his life in the battle.
Zavalles was criticized by his Spanish superiors at San Antonio and Mexico City for assisting the French, but Zavalles reasoned that if the French Post had fallen to the Natchez Indians nothing would have prevented the Natchez from attacking the Spanish presidio. There was also the possibility of the Caddos aligning themselves with the Natchez. Such a procedure had often happened among warring Indian tribes against the white man. It is far better, if a battle is to be fought, that it take place in foreign territory. He reasoned that even if the French lost, there would be other Frenchmen to return and settle the land. If the Spanish had gained control of the Adais-Natchitoches frontier their dominance would not have been for long. As a result of this assistance of the Spanish, food and trade-goods from the French became more plentiful and cheaper in price.
Manuel de Sandoval in 1734 replaced Zavalles as Governor of Los Adais. After a few months on the frontier he left and assigned Jose Gonzales as Governor of Los Adais. Zavalles in the meanwhile was being prosecuted at San Antonio de Bexar because of his leniency with the French. An investigation of the conditions on the Spanish frontier proved that Zavalles was correct in his actions. His rank and prestige were restored. St. Denis took advantage of the unrest of the Spanish, and in the midst of protests and letter writing, he moved the Post St. Jean Baptiste “one pistol shot” distance to the west bank of the Red River.
Jose Gonzales was commandante of an ill-equipped presidio, the crops were failures and the French had control of the food, but the Spanish always had time for fiesta. And the French came to visit and trade. Much to the discomfort of Gonzales, fraternization became the order of the day.
It was the year 1735, when Chamard erected his home and added a chapel so that civil marriages could be blessed by the priests from Los Adais on their monthly visits. Natchitoches was quite often without the services of a priest at this time. Chamard came to the Natchitoches area in 1730 as an agent and notary for the Company of the Indies. Chamard was a very devout Catholic and was a leader in rebuilding the church which had burned in 1734. He set an excellent example on the frontier for those who were not inclined to attend religious services regularly.
V
DOCTORS AND EARLY MEDICINE—1722 TO 1744
Medar Jalot had some learning under the direction of Dr. Ambroise Benoist Gendron of Quebec, Canada. Jalot became a member of a party under the guidance of Henri De Tonty (The Iron Hand) that left Quebec in 1710. They came to Biloxi via the Great Lakes, the Illinois River, the Mississippi River, Lake Manchac and Lake Pontchartrain. Jalot was with the St. Denis expedition to Mexico in 1714 as the valet to St. Denis, and in 1722 was listed in the Natchitoches census. Jalot, although not a doctor by title, served the Natchitoches Post in that capacity because of his skill in treating wounds and body sores. Jalot also had knowledge of many Indian remedies for the sicknesses of the country.