No Man's Land: A History of El Camino Real

by Louis Raphael Nardini

The alvarez at San Antonio de Bexar did not see the situation as clearly as did the Governor of Los Adais and was inclined to advise against paying Lagross. He first asked Guiterez’s opinion concerning the contents of the message because he was the only one present who would know some of the events that led to the new Governor of Los Adais’ request. Guiterez explained to the alvarez that this particular situation was important because the French trader had married an Ais Indian maiden, therefore, in the eyes of all of the Caddo tribes he was considered a Caddo and the whole Caddo Federacy might take offense if the goods were not paid for; that on the Adais frontier it was necessary to maintain friendly relations with the French in order to purchase much-needed food supplies for the Spanish troops at el Presidio de Los Adais. Jean Lagross was one of the Frenchmen with the Ramone Domingo expedition that established the Spanish missions as far as the Nacogdoches Indians, and from that year, 1716, he had traded among the Indians of this frontier. For the last twenty-five years he had been known favorably in all this country.

“This is no ordinary French trader but one who is loved by the Spanish, French and the Indians, it is best to pay him for his merchandise.”

El Trumpitero had carried his master to San Antonio de Bexar and back to Los Adais in less than three weeks, a distance of over a thousand miles. Another time the horse went to Natchitoches and back to Los Adais for medicine for a sick soldier, over thirty miles, in five hours. Because of his horse Guiterez had become the official messenger of Los Adais, which had by now realized the importance of his horse. The children at Los Adais greeted the horse and waved at him as if the animal was a human being. Jose and his horse were such a common sight at Natchitoches even inside the post.

On each occasion when he arrived at Natchitoches he always felt obliged to go by the house of St. Denis, whose wife was Spanish, and tell her of the news at Los Adais. He was likewise welcomed at the house of Jean Baptist DerBonne who had wed Victoria Gonzalez, the daughter of a past governor of Los Adais. Another hospitable friend, Francois Lemoine, was a cousin of Louis Juchereau de St. Denis of the Lemoyne family as were Iberville and Bienville. This young French soldier had married Victoria Emmanuella Garcia, the daughter of a Spanish sergeant of the Presidio at Los Adais. Thus Jose Guiterez was most welcome at these three homes of Frenchmen in Natchitoches. Aside from bringing news to these three Spanish ladies, they in turn found out through Guiterez what the needs of the women of Los Adais were and then purchased these necessities for them from the stores at Natchitoches because trade between the two posts was forbidden. As a result the Spanish women at Los Adais did their trading through the Spanish women at Natchitoches, which custom continued even when trade between the two posts was not forbidden.

As Jose sat on the bank of the Arroyo Hondo admiring his horse, he leaned against the trunk of a tall, slender tree and began to think about his future. For a long time he had felt that there was something lacking in his life but he had not been able to put his finger on the cause of his unrest. He questioned himself about his status in life, concerning his accomplishments and his ability to support himself and his parents, and came to the conclusion he needed a wife and property of his own—either a farm or a business of some kind. He knew that his parents did not need support from him and that his older brothers actually operated the small rancho and farm—they were all married and therefore would continue to remain on the family estate. According to the custom of the times, the oldest brother would inherit the estate, that is the profits from the operation of it. He, Jose Guiterez, decided he would strike out for himself, perhaps engaging in some kind of business for he did not like rancho or farm work. Being a soldier had too many disadvantages. True, in the end after an enlistment period, a soldier was given a certain amount of land, farm animals and equipment. He could get them from his own family if he needed them. Being a settler on a frontier was just as important as being a soldier, each in his own way was serving the purpose of making the frontier secure.

There was a chatter of birds in the tree tops just above his head which broke his train of thought and brought him back to reality. As he looked upward Jose marvelled at the size and the straightness of the trees from which the chatter of the birds had come. Then he noticed how nearly all the trees were of uniform size, straight, and all nearly sixty feet high. Here was definitely cabin material and even in this small grove there were enough such trees to make several cabins. Odd, he thought, he had passed this place many times and did not notice the surroundings as he did this day. As his thoughts raced ahead he remembered that he had stopped to rest, almost always everyone else who passed this way also stopped. Here would be the place to establish some sort of tavern, wine shop or eating place. Why, he wondered, had not someone thought of this before, to erect such a place here on the Arroyo Hondo where people must pass and where they always stop to rest a while. Jose reasoned that the wine shop, tavern and inn, must be available for the French, Spanish and Indian trade, and regardless of what would be traded to him, whether furs or trade goods, sooner or later he could turn them into gold and silver. Now, for obtaining the land. The east side of the Arroyo Hondo, where he intended to establish this new business, belonged to the French. According to an agreement between St. Denis and Governor Almazon in 1724, the dividing line between the French and Spanish would be the Arroyo Hondo instead of the west bank of the Red River as previously claimed by the Spanish. To acquire this deed would require some tact. First, he would get the land and then a wife who could be able to help him operate his business. Which nationality owned this land on the east bank of the Arroyo Hondo made no difference. Jose decided that he would get a grant-title from both representatives of their respective governments. It would be interesting to see if he, a Spaniard, might obtain a land grant from the French, too, and if this could be done, it would be quite a feather in his hat, making him more popular among his Spanish friends.

The grove of trees and the slight rise of the earth there formed a sort of flat shelf. The land was about ninety toises (540 feet) square and extended from the Arroyo Hondo to the base of Grand Montania, and the trail leading up the face of Grand Montania divided the land. This was a good feature and he would ask for all land on each side of the trail so that no one else could come in and establish another business near this resting place and be his competitor.

Guiterez was excited. Even he, with no experience in the operation of such a tavern, could see the immediate success of it.

El Trumpitero with a loud whinney announced the presence of other horses in the vicinity, and, as Jose looked across the Arroyo Hondo, he could see a small pack train composed of eight horses and three riders. As the train neared and the animals began to ford the stream he recognized the party of Jean Lagross with his Ais squaw wife, Isobel, and their daughter, Francine Manuella, named “Manuella” to honor Madam St. Denis, who was her godmother.

Because of so much rainfall the water of the stream was swift and deep, and Jose rode El Trumpitero out to the ford to offer assistance to the party if needed.