Coahuiltecan Indians of South Texas (1763-1821)

 

Although some historians believe that the region around the headwaters of the San Antonio River may have been visited by Cabeza de Vaca during his wandering through Texas, it was not until 1691 that the Spanish officially visited the headwaters of the river and gave it its current name. Father Damian Massanet, the priest accompanying the expedition, wrote:

“On this day (June 13, 1691), there were so many buffaloes that the horses stampeded and 40 head ran away. These were collected with the rest of the horses by hard work on the part of the soldiers. We found at this place the rancheria of the Indians of the Payaya nation. This is a very large nation and the country where they live is very fine. I called this place San Antonio de Padua, because it was his day.”

The next day he recorded,

“I ordered a large cross set up, and in front of it built an arbor of cottonwood trees, where the altar was placed. All the priests said mass. High mass was attended by Governor Don Domingo Teran de los Rios, Captain Don Francisco Martinez, and the rest of the soldiers…The Indians were present during these ceremonies…Then I distributed among them rosaries, pocket knives, cutlery, beads and tobacco. I gave a horse to the captain [the chief of the Payaya].”

Rios, the head of the expedition, noted that the Indians he saw could likely respond to missionary efforts.

It was take twenty-five years before Rio’s claim was put to the test. In 1716, Father Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares passed through the area and was favorably impressed with the promise of the land and its inhabitants. He forwarded the following description of the people he found living near the headwaters of the San Antonio River to his superiors in Mexico City:

“They dress themselves in tanned deerskins, and the women the same, although they are covered to the feet. The men spend little concern on their dress, as some of them go about naked. . . .Their languages are different; only by means of signs are they understood among all the nations. They are governed, and conduct their trade, with signs. Their customs are generally the same. Some are more spirited than others. They are very warlike among themselves, and they kill one another with ease, for things of little consequence, as they steal horses or women from each other. Yet their presence is agreeable. They are of smiling countenance and are accommodating to the padres and Spaniards. When they came to their rancherias they freely give them what they have to eat. They are very fond of Spanish dress. Soldiers often give them a hat, cloak, trousers, or other garment in pay for the work they do….Learning is easy for them, and they acquire use of the Spanish language with facility.”

Olivares’ favorable recommendation resulted in the founding of Mission San Antonio de Valero on May 1, 1718, near the headwater of San Pedro Creek. Thus, the indigenous people of the area began their gradual transition from nomads to townspeople of San Antonio de Béxar.

 

[Source]