The Key West Citizen Newspaper, March 28, 1940, Page 4

PAGE FOUR E] Camino Real “The Old Spanish Trail” By ALBERT C. ROSE Senior Highway Engineer, Bureau of Public Roads, United States Department of Agriculture Peececenacanerccocescese El Camino Real. the royal highway, was the name used by the Spanish conquistadores to designate a of the routes used by their governmental agencies for land communication. The plur- al form was applied to the far- flung network of roads, called Los Caminos Reales, radiating from a center at Mexico City, the capital of New Spain. This story is in- tended to present the broad his- torical background leading up to the dveelopment of the Spanish roads in the New World. It is not possible within the limited space to present the technical historic facts upon which this narrative is based. At the very outset it should be made clear that the available his- torical data relating to Los Cami- nos Reales is often fragmentary and even obscure. Therefore, those who seek to unravel the tangled thread of the events now as much as four centuries old, should approach the study with an open mind and a humble spirit. Due allowance should be made for the obstacles in the path of a gen- eral agreement in all particulars. To begin at the beginning of the development of Los Caminos Reales, the Spaniard Hernando Cortez, in command of twelve galleons and over five hundred men, landed at Vera Cruz, thence he marched westward and con- quered the Aztecs under their leader Montezuma and _ seized Mexico City. From that time on the Spaniards spread their do- minion north and southward along the mountainous backbone of the continent through the region now known as Central America. In their conquest of the new terri- tory the conquerors developed a vast system of roads extending in many directions and finally our attention will be concentrated up- on the single route leading north and eastward around the borders of the Gulf of Mexico to’ St. Augustine on the Atlantic coast of Florida. The other main roads may be the subjects of future stories. The first of the great roads de- veloped by the Spaniards during the sixteenth century led north through the present Queretaro, Zacatecas, Durango, through the desert region adjacent to Chihua- hua, across the Rio Grande river at El Paso del Norte (Northern Ford) and up this river to Santa Fe, in New Mexico, founded about 1605, prior to the time when the first English settlers arrived on Ceocveccenacaaacnesecosces \times the West Indies were the center of Spanish influence, set- tlement and trade in the New , World. The main settlement was on the Island of Hispaniola, {known as Haiti or Santo Domin- go, on the northern border of the Caribbean sea. The imports from the mother ;country were designed to suit |the needs of colonists and includ- 'ed such articles as grain, provi- sions, arms, ammunition, clothes, seeds, instruments of agriculture, as well as cattle and horses, and even black and white slaves. The exports consisted of brazil and other native woods, dye stuffs, medicinal herbs, cotton, hides, ‘native handicraft wares, silver and gold. It is impossible to evaluate ex- actly the precious metals export- ed from America in Spanish colonial times but estimates made at the beginning of the seven- teenth century indicate that up- wards to two billions of dollars worth of registered gold and sil- ver had poured into Spain since the discovery of the West Indies. This is a tidy sum when it is con- sidered that the purchasing pow- er of gold probably was at least four times that of today. Further- more, this estimate does not in- clude the untold wealth that was transported through surreptitious channels and concerning which no governmental records are available. When the knowledge of the ori- gin of this immense store of treas- ure began to seep through the channels of communication into the Old World, the Spaniards adopted a policy of rigid secrecy regarding the location of the routes to and from their golden bonanza. No maps or charts were permitted to be published which would indicate the way to New Spain and all foreigners were banned from the crews of vessels sailing for the West Indies. This studied secretiveness accounts for the fact that no official map of the | western discoveries was published in Spain before the y¢ar 1790. Also it explains why naval ma- rauders searched the Spanish gal- leons for the precious maps al- most as eagerly as for the gold stored in hidden compartments. Furthermore, this secretive con- duct answers ‘the question as to why it is difficult today to find reliable Spanish maps showing in detail the land routes used by the conquistadores to connect their 1 |the existing continental boundar- ies of the United States. Because of the limitations of this story, the northern and wes- tern branches of this emblematic date palm tree will be reserved for more detailed examination at some convenient time in the fu- CHANGES IN WORLD TRADE ROUTES CAUSE THE DISCOVERY | Beginning at this date the Span- THE KEY WEST CITIZEN ture. In order to provide a histori- | expedition into the Tejas country cal background for the eastern branch, perhaps it will help to} present in chronological order the | dates of the main events leading explorations | establishes a second mission on and including their settlements in; the Neches river called Santa up to the Spanish the New World. , {over portions of the present El AND EXPLORATION OF THE NEW WORLD BY THE SPANIARDS (1453 to 1564) 1453—The capture of Constan-;and over five hundred men. He | tary and civil settlements, known to ‘Tespectively as missions (Francis- tinople by the Turks blocks fur- ther intercourse between Europe | Mexico City and conquers the | Can. and the Far East by way of the. ancient trade routes leading} through the Mediterranean sea. 1454—Pope Nicholas V decides the Portuguese have the exclusive | right of exploration and conquest! in the employ of Spain, after dis- founds Vera Cruz, marches Aztecs. Pedrarias founds Panama City |into which explorers first pene-|iatds at the Presidio del Norte and opens a road across the isth- | tated from Sante Fe. mus. 152 1—Magellan, a Portuguese /and make no further attempts to |=! Camino Real, where he is re-! THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1940 a Natchitoches, Louisiana, on El/first Anglo-American colony to | Camino Real. Texas and esablishes El Camino 1714—Returning to Natchez to|Real as the northern boundary. report to Governor Cadillac, St. | |Denis begins another trip to the jana builds a rude chapel north- | west of the present site of Crock- jett, Texas. A few months later he weeks, following substantially El} Camino Real, brings his party to the presidio attached to the mis- | Spanish trails, leading from Mexi- sion of San Juan Bautista, two | co City to the Spanish possessions leagues across the Rio Grande|in North America, has been pre- river and a few miles south of | sented by the foregoing prelimi- the present Eagle Pass. The nary remarks and chronology. In grossing of the river at the Paso presenting this information, the ly |de Francio (French Ford) is the emphasis has been placed upon ), Presidios and pueblos. These |SOuthernmost terminus of El - A the Old Spanish Trail, El Camino | Camino Real in Texas. The Span- |Real, esbadiig pothiraxtwrard from Mexico City to St. Augus- tine, in Fiorida, concerning which road the following statements are | Maria. His explorations are made A general outline of the main | Camino Real. liards from Mexico establish in | Texas several ecclesiastical, mili- ;are more numerous in east Texas jtake St. Denis into custody and, 1693—Spaniards abandon Texas | bring him to Mexico City, over! ade: First—The location of the Old Mexico completes her long struggle for independence from Spain. Rio Grande. A march of six | EAST AND WEST SECTIONS OF THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL ARE WELL ESTABLISHED |Spanish overland trail between }Pensacola and Tallahassee, in Florida, has been established with reasonabje certainty. Fourth — The location of the |Spanish overland trail between ,; Tallahassee and St. Marks, on ;Apalachee bay, and St. Augus- |tine, in Florida, has been estab- lished with absolute certainty. | Fifth—There was sporadic trav- |el over the continuous overland and the combined land and water routes connecting Mexico City | with St. Augustine. on the route to the Indies toward | covering the straits named after French penetration arises again in the south and east by way of.the him, sails across the Pacific ocean , 1716. coast of Africa. land is killed in the Philippine | 1696 — Don Andres d’Arriola 1488—Bartholomeu Diaz, Portu- | Islands, named after Philip II of | builds Fort San Carlos near the guese navigator, rounds the Cape of Good Hope. 1492 — Sovereigns Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain supply Christopher Columbus, a Geno- ese, with a squadron of three small caravels with which he sails from Palos in Andalusia, on Aug- | Spain. | 1528—Panfilo de Narvaez lands with Spanish settlers, equipment ‘and horses near Tampa bay in Florida. He and his followers travel over portions of what is now called the Old Spanish Trail. |His secretary, Cabeza de Vaca, |Present site of Fort Barancas, in Florida, and seems to have named the place Pensacola. It becomes an important town on the Old Spanish Trail. 1699—French settlement found- ed at Mobile bay on the Old Spanish Trail. occupy the province until fear of | Wired to make a written state- | | ;ment of his aims. This documet | causes the Spanish authorities to recommend the restablishment | of their decaying missions along} El Camino Real in Texas to pre- lvent the threatened |ment by the French. | 1716—Spanish Captain Domin- |go Ramon, in company with the |French St. Denis, leads a colon- izive expedition from the Presidio del Norte over the El Camino in} Spanish Trail from Mexico City; Sixth—The main route from through Texas to Natchitoches, in | Mexico City to St. Augustine was Louisiana, has been established overland to Vera Cruz, thence by with certainty. the Gulf of Mexico to the captain- eneoa ate Second—The existence of Span-|cy-general at Havana, Cuba, |ish overland and water routes be- |thence by the Gulf to St. Marks, tween Natchitoches in Louisiana,'on Apalachee bay, thence over- and Pensacola, in Florida, has /land to the east coast of Florida. been established with reasonable! Seventh—The mileage overland certainty. jon the Old Spanish Trail between Third—The Mexico City and St. Augustine is estimated as follows: location of the ust 3, 1492, westward across the |crosses the mouth of the Missis-| Pierre le Moyne d’Iberville Atlantic ocean in search of ajsippi river. ‘builds Fort Maurepas near the route to the Indies. Driven south-| 1531—Francisco Pizarro begins present site of Biloxi, Mississippi, westward by the prevailing west- | his conquest of Peru. He captures 'He establishes upstream the first ward winds, north of latitude 335! Atahualpa, the Inca chief, and of- degrees, he reaches Guanahani,|fers him freedom in return for a now identified as Watling Island | room full of gold. He begins ship- in the Bahamas, ‘on'October 12,}ment of gold.to ‘Spain by way of | 1492. He touches upon the coast|the Isthmus of Darien (Panama). of Cuba and establishes a small| 1533—Cartagena, the capital of post on the Island Espanola or;the Spanish viceroyalty in South settlement in Louisiana, 40 miles above the mouth of the Missis- sippi river. 1702—Mobile, on the Old Span- \ish Trail in Alabama, founded by | the Frenchman, Pierre le Moyne, Sieur d’Iberville, and his brother loesnee ine Lapis of El coming | Mexico City 2a tween the presidio an ESS e rive! acroas the itso Giendal river 15 | mee eranen on Erenchi Ford on the Rio Grande river }San Antonio later is called the | Nacogdoches, Texas Old Presidio Road. | Natchitoches, Louisiana ; They establish a mission in the Natchez, Mississippi village of the Nacoches Indians | Mobile, Alabama in Texas, four leagures further ; Pensacola, Florida inland from the original mission | Tallahassee (Ft. San Luis) jof San Francisco de los Tejas es- | St. Augustine, Florida ae by Father Massanet in| (1690. 0 760 920 1,220 - 1,320 1,455 Hispanola, now ‘Haiti. 1493—At the request of the} Spanis! ereigns, Pope Alexan- | der VI, in order to forestall any | disputes which might arise be- tween Portugal and Spain, de-| cides the Spaniards have the right | to claim all land west of a line drawn north and south and 100} leagues west of the Azores. | 1494—By common consent be- tween Portugal and Spain, the line, dividing their claims in the New| World is shifted to about longi- | | America, is’ the first Spanish city James. This was the capital of ; eee mission es- tablished by the Spaniards as 1712-14 — Antoine Crozat, a ' their farthest east eatpeat in French merchant, receives from Texas to forestall threatened in- |his government a monopoly of the vasion of the French from the | trade in Louisiana. He wishes to Red river. Nacogdoches becomes trade with the Spaniards in| an important town on El Camino | northern Mexico but is prevent- Real. The section of El Camino! the Culiacan in Mexico after nine|¢d_ by the exclusive Spanish Real between Nacogdoches and/| years of wandering. |commercial policy. To overcome’ San Antonio becomes known aa 1537—Viceroy Mendoza having | this obstacle Governor Cadillac |the Old San Antonio Road. established a printing press in of Louisiana selects Louis Such- | 1718—San Antonio town, mis- Mexico City publishes the first rau de St. Denis, an experienced |sion and presidio cortstructed by | book on the continent of America, Indian trader and explorer, to' the Spaniards on El Camino Real founded on the northern coasts of | Louisiana until 1720. the continent and called the; Spanish Main or mainland. 1534—Cortes reaches the Pa- cific and begins settlement of lower California. 1536—Cabeza de Vaca reaches Overseas Transportation Company, Inc. Fast, Dependable Freight and Express Service —between— MIAMI AND KEY WEST tude 50 degrees west of Green- 1539—Hernando de Soto lands wich. This line passes through the} at Tampa Bay, in Florida, with mouth of the Amazon river on)six hundred and twenty-five men the east coast of South America;and two hundred and thirteen and makes possible the later set-} horses, among them his favorite tlement of the Portuguese in Bra-|mount Aceituno. He begins a 3- zil. , year march north and west follow- 1496—After this date Santo Do-|ing Indian trails. Near Alachua, mingo on the Island of Hispaniola/in Florida, he traverses what is becomes ‘the seat of Spanish Yule | now called the Old Spanish Trail. in’ America. 1540 — Maldonado enters the 1497—Vasco de Gama, a Portu-}harbor now known as Pensacola guese navigator, sails around the! bay, on the present Old Spanish coast of Africa and opens the Trail. De Soto designates this lo- Cape route to Calicut in India.|cation as a base of supplies for the Atlantic Coast, at Virginia, in ports in the New World with the 1607. From this great central road there stemmed during the seven- teenth and eighteenth centuries eastern branches at what is now Dolores Hidalgo, Zacatecas and Durango, which joined at Saltillo, and thence ran north and east across the Rio Grande river at Presidio del Norte (Paso de Fran- cio or French Ford), through mod- ern Cotulla, San Antonio, Nacog- doches, Natchitoches, Natchez, New Orleans, Mobile, Pensacola, and Tallahassee to a terminus on the east coast of Florida at St. Augustine, founded by the Span- iards in 1565, under the leadership of the Spanish naval captain, Pedro Menendez de Aviles. In the latter part of the eight- eenth century, a western branch of the great north road was open- éd to travel. This route passed through present-day Santa Cruz, Sinaloa, Arispe and Nogales, down the valleys to the Santa Cruz and Gila rivers to Yuma, where the Colorado river was _ crossed, thence westward across the desert to San Diego, thence northward roughly paralleling the shores of the Pacific ocean through Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, to a northern extremity at Sanoma, a short distance north of San Fran- cisco. The purpose of these three main north roads was to connect Mexico City with its northern states. Later these outlying pos- sessions served as buffers against the border pressure of France, England and Russia. Tn- addition to these three main north roads, there were _ cannec- tions leading from Maxico City to the Gulf of Mexico at Vera Cruz, two hundred and fifty miles dis- tant; a route to Acapulco on the Pacific ocean, and a southern road winding through Guaiemala to San Salvador, all opened shortly * after the Spaniards set foot New Spain. These land routes in the New World, during the sixteenth cen- in various land settlement. From the foregoing remarks it may be seen that the main Span- ish Los Caminos Reales leading northward may be likened in their direction and arrangement to the branches of an immense date palm tree rooted at the beautiful City of Mexico. It seems permissible to use this figure because even though the date palm is not na- tive to this locality, neverthe- less, many of these trees do give color to the local landscape. The central branch of this fig- urative tree reaches almost due north and the foliage covers the western tip of the region now called Texas and central. New Mexico. The left branch projects northwestward and the leaves hide a portion of Southern A zona and California. The princi- pal right branch arches gracefully eastward and its luxurious fol iage screens from view land are now embraced in eastern Te: Louisiana, southern Mississippi, and Alabama and northern Flori- da. In the allegorical e the dates on this imaginar palm tree may be used to represent the localities in which occurred important historical events. The cluster of dates near the trunk of the tree may be assum- ed to portray Texas, the largest state in area in the Union. The large dates farther to the east which almost touch the waters of the Gulf of Mexico represent New Orleans, second largest seaport in the United States and the gate- way ta the Mississippi valley, the richest agricultural region in the world. Further,to the north Natchez, founded by the French as Fort Rosalie, in 1716, at a strategic crossing of the Missis- sippi river at the northern margin of the swampy region to the south. To the southeast is Biloxi, Mis sippi, founded in 1699, the first French settlement within the pres- Portugal and Spain’ begin their careers as great commercial and colonizing nations. 1503 Spaniards’ establish sugar plantations:on’ the fertile soil of Hispaniola and Cuba. They exhaust the surface gold on the islands of the West Indies and be- gin their search for gold else- where. 1512—Juan Ponce de Leon be- gins the first recorded explora- tion of the coast of Florida. { 1513—Vasco Nunez Balboa, a Spanish explorer, crosses the Isth- | mus of Darien (Panama) and dis- | covers the Pacific ocean. ! 1514—Havana and Santiago are } founded by the Spaniards on the | Island of Cuba. 1519—Hernando Cortes sails} from Cuba with twelve vessels SPANIARDS ESTABLISH SETTLEMENTS IN NORTH AMERICA |», Jang” from Mobile to New Or- (1565- 1565—John Hawkins, an Eng-| lis' Florida coast. Pedro Menendez , de __ Aviles | founds St. Augustine, the first jhis expedition into the interior. | | Francisco Vasquez de Coronado | |begins northern journeys from| }Compostela, in Mexico, in search | of the fabulous Seven Cities of | Cibola and explores as far east as ‘the present Central Kansas. 1559—The Spaniard Tristan de, iLuna attempts a permanent set- | {tlement at the harbor of Santa Maria (Pensacola) on the Old Spanish Trail. 1562—The foregoing explora- tions do not result in permanent settlements and now not a white man of any nationality is alive upon the soil now occupied by the United States. Philip II of Spain, discouraged by unsuccessful at- ;tempts to settle North America, | sinpi river. Florida is ceded to orders stopped all further efforts to colonize Florida. 1672) English expedition, and the estab- vigator, sells negroes onthe! lishment there ofa nest of Eng-|of French exiled. from Arcadia, in lish pirates, interfering with the shipment of treasure to Spain. 1671—The English freebooter, approach the Spanish officials.! |In company with the missionary | |Fray Francisco Hidalgo, who iI jeager to establish a _ mission} | among the Asenais Indians in! east Texas, St. Denis agrees to} |gain commercial access to the |Spanish trade as far southwest | jas the Rio Grande river. Over | |the present Old Spanish Trail he \leads his party in five canoes! |from Mobile to Biloxi, up the! land of the Natchitoches. Here | | begins the march overland, with | \thirty Indian guides and burden |bearers, following generally a Camino Real in Texas, 1713—The French build an ex-| treme western frontier post at | SPANIARDS ATTEMPT TO CONSOLIDATE THEIR POSSESSIONS IN THE GULF REGION (1763-1800) 1763—By a treaty made at Paris | ‘between Spain and France, and California is made at San Diego. | between Great Britain and Por- tugal, all that portion of Louis- in Texas, | Jean Baptiste le Moyne, Sieur | de Bienville, founds the French | settlement of New Orleans on the | Old Spanish Trail in Louisiana. | 1719—Pensacola captured from} the Spanish by the French gov- ernor de Bienville of Louisiana. | 1723—Frenth ‘relinquish pos- rn of Pensacola to the Span- | Ish, 1729—Tradé between Pensa-| cola and New Orleans carried on | by boat supplemented by land | routes between Pensacola and} Mobile. | : 1762—By a secret treaty Louis- jana is transferred from France to Spain. Also Serving All Points On Florida Keys Between Miami and Key West Express Schedule: (NO STOPS EN ROUTE) | LEAVES KEY WEST DAILY (Ex- | CEPT SUNDAYS) AT 1:00 o'clock. pete at Miami at 7:00 o'clock LEAVES MIAMI DAILY (EXCEPT SUNDAYS) AT 1:00 o'clock A. M. and arriving at Key West at 7:00 o'clock A. Local Schedule: (Stons At All Intermediate Points) LEAVES KEY WEST DAILY (Except Sundays) at 8:00 o'clock A. M. and arriving at Miami at 4:00 o'clock P. . M. LEAVES MIAMI DAILY (Except Sun- days) at 9:00 o'clock A. M. and ar- riving at Key West at 5:00 o'clock FREE PICK-UP and DELIVERY SERVICE First Spanish settlement in| The mission established here is t a uis- | the first of a series of twenty-one iana lying east of the Mississippi \extending to Sanoma, north of iriver, the Iberville river and San Francisco. 2 |Lakes Maurepas and Pontchar- | 1776—William Bartram, cele- train, is ceded to Great Britain. |brated American botanist and Louisiana province is ceded to!Ornithologist, describes the rem-| | Spain by Louis XV of France and ‘nants of the Old Spanish Trail | | Mobile becomes part of the Brit-| Office: 813 Caroline St. FULL CARGO INSURANCE Phones 92 and 68 WAREHOUSE—Cor. Eaton and Francis Sts. : 4 <-1,-_ {Visible between St. Augustine | ish territory east of the Missis-|.54 Pensacola in Florida. He| \Great Britain, also, and Pensa- | ‘T@vels west from Pensacola by |cola becomes the seat of their | administration, At this date there is “no road | 1780—Mobile is captured from | the English by Spanish forces. | 1783—England returns to Spain | j | k her Province of Florida by terms leans. 1765—After this, year hundreds Canada, come to Louisiana and | take up their homes in the Atta- |Kapas country where their des- permanent settlement -made by Sir Henry Morgan, with 2,200 men | cendants live to this day. “Evan- For Shaves That Look And Feel Like “A Million,” Try This New Gillette Europeans within the present transported in 57. vessels, | geline,” written by Henry Wads- continental limits of the United marches across the: Isthmus of States and which eventually be- | Panama, sacks and burns the City comes the eastern terminus of the of Panama and seizes immense Old Spanish Trail. plunder. He is a leading example 1588—Spanish Armada defeat-|of the buccaneers who terrorized ed by the English. This marks the | the region of the Gulf of Mexico beginning of the decline of Spain, for many years. The name*is de- as a power in the Old World. rived from the French word “bou- 1605—About this date Juan de canier” meaning a curer of wild | worth Longfellow, presents the |romantic story of these Arcadian |people living beside the Spanish Trail. i 1766—Antonio de Ulloa, a dis- tinguished Spanish naval officer | and scholar, arrives in New Or- | leans to take possession of Louis- | iana for his king. | of a treaty made at Versailles. The | territory of the United States of | | America is, recognized as extend- jing west of the Mississippi river j|and south of latitude 31 degrees. 1796—According to Collot, there lare no roads leading from Natchez | lor New Orleans over the route later known as the Old Spanish | Old |Trail and boats are the sole out- Blade let for trade. There is a pathway leading from Natchez to Point Coupee. 1800—Spanish rule in Louisiana comes to an abrupt end when Louisiana is retroceded to France. is| ent boundaries of the “United tury, were connected with the Old World at Seville, Spain, by fleets of galleons which. sailed across the Atlantic ocean. One of these fleets, called the fleet of Tierra Firma, had for its destina- tion Cartagena, the first Spanish settlement on the northern coast of South America. Another naval group, known as the Fleet of New Spain, headed for the Antilles and the Gulf of Mexico. In those early States. Still further east is Mobile, Alabama, established in 1702 as the French entrepot to Indian trade in the interior among the Chickasaws (to the northwest), the Cherokees (to the northeast) and the Creeks (to the southeast) along the Tombigbee and Ala- bama rivers. The date dangling from the farthest eastern-tip of the branch is St. Augustine, the ‘oldest European settlement within Onate makes the first permanent settlement in New Mexico at Santa Fe. 1633—-Apalachee (Tallahassee) founded by the Spaniards on the Trail iri Florida. pture of the island of Jamaica by Oliver Cromwell’s EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT OF THE MISSISSIPPI | |meat. Originally they killed cat- tle in the West Indies, cured the beef, and smuggled the product jinto the Old World. Later these shore settlements provided the ‘buccaneers with a base of opera- ; tions to repair their ships and to |obtain supplies of food. VALLEY BY THE FRENCH DIVIDES THE SPANISH TERHI- TORY TO THE EAST AND WEST (1675-1762) 1673—Louis Joilet, a merchant, commissioned by Frontinac, gov- enor of New France, explores the Mississippi river as far south as the Arkansas river in company with the Jesuit Missionary Jacques Marquette. ‘ 1682—Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, makes a_ proclamation near the mouth of the Mississippi river where, in the name of Louis XIV of France, he takes posses- sion of all lands drained by that river, and as far east along the Gulf of Mexico as the River of Palms draining into Sarasota bay, | in Florida. The French thus gain} by way of the Gulf of Mexico, La Salle attempts to settle a colony jin the new French, territory.,He misses the mouth of the Missis- sippi and lands at Matagorda bay in east Texas in 1685. 1687—La Salle explores north- eastward in search of the Missis- | sippi river. He is killed by one of his followers and is buried west } | i } } 1768—American immigration to|In the United States there has the Gulf of Mexico begins. | grown up an understanding of the 1769—An August 18, Louisiana supreme importance to the Union is formally transferred to Spain |of free navigation of the Missis- and Spaish law and language re- |sippi river and the unrestricted place French among officialdom. juse of the Port of New Orleans. GULF COAST AND MISSISSIPPI VALLEY COME INTO THE POSSESSION OF THE UNITED STATES (1803-1819) 1803—Under the administration | from Natchez east to Fort Stevens of President Thomas Jefferson, is the first road opened across the | Louisiana province, lying almost | Mississippi territory. entirely between the Mississippi} 1812—The side-wheeler steam- riyer and the Rocky Mountain di- | boat “New Orleans” docks at the vide, is purchased from Napoleon City of New Orleans on the even- Bonaparte of France for the rela- | ing of January 10. She is the first tively small sum of eighty million ‘steamboat to descend the Missis- francs, equivalent to fifteen mil- | sippi ahd Oblo-sivers from Pitts- lion dollars. | The transfer stimulates Ameri- | >urgh and the pioncer steamboat can trade as the Mississippi river |0n the Mississippi river. face from smart and burn caused by misfit blades. Gillette alone, with its world- renowned facilities, could and sell at only 10c ette Blades Are Produced By The Maker Of The Famous fp .is freed from foreign interference. | 1815—In a decisive battle of the of the Brazos river along the Old| Trading paths now begin to be | War of 1812, the Americans under Spanish Trail. La Salle is prob-|improved to accommodate an es- General Andrew Jackson defeat ably the first white man to set tablished commerce. This date is the British led by General Edward foot on the Texas section of Ela milestone in the history of west-| Pakenham at the Battle of New Gillette Blue Blade ~ Camino Real or the Old Spanish | Trail. | 1689—Spanish Captain Alonzo ward expansion by the United { States beyond the Mississippi H river i , 25¢ Orleans. This engagement is fought after the Treaty of Ghent was initiated because the news of | control for the next century of de Leon finds four survivors of, 1804—Portion of the Louisiana|the peace had not had time to} ———-—----~—-~—-———— the area traversed by tion of the road now Old Spanish Trail. } 1684—Returning from France! Texas. } 1690—De Leon leads a second | a por-ithe La Salle expedition living Purchase lying south of latitude | travel across the Atlantic ocean. called the among the Tejas Indians in east 33 degrees is organized as the ter- | ritory of Orleans. t 1807—“Three chopped way” 1819—Florida is purchased by | the United States from Spain. 1821—Stephen Austin brings SUBSCRIBE FOR THE CITIZEN—20e WEEKLY.