59 [ Cross] Year....... of....... 1781 Number 92. Proceedings carried out in the matter of Juan Jose Flores, citizen of this presidio and the villa of S[a]n Fern[an]do, taking out one hundred twenty head of cattle to the province of Coahuila, fourteen of these beasts being branded and one hundred six being unbranded. He has duly bound himself to abide by the consequences of the lord commandant general's findings with respect to the ownership of unbranded cattle, in view of the petition made by the owners of ranchos on Cibolo Creek and the San Antonio River; in virtue whereof he must pay the sum of 212 pesos. v // [ Blank]
60 Senor Governor and Military Inspector General of this Province: Sir: Juan Joseph Flores, citizen of and belonging to the comercio-of this villa of San Fernando and the royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Vexar, appears before Your Lordship in the most proper form provided by law and according to his rights and states [the following]: At the present moment I am ready to go out to effect the roundup of the tenth part of my bovine livestock, with which I must close out the obligation that I have to render annually to my amo, Don Fran[cis]co de Yermo, magistrate and collector of tithes for this province; I shall go with said cattle to Rio Grande Presidio, place of de Yermo's residence. At the same time, I am short a certain quantity of tomines: having lent some to certain individu.als at this presidio, it is impossible for me to collect them in view of the insolvency of those individuals. This insolvency should not serve as an excuse with respect to the sum that I customarily give my amo every year. Therefore, it has become necessary for me to appeal to the righteous support of Your Lordship, earnestly begging you to deign to issue me a permit to round up and take out whatever cattle bearing my own brand I can find in the
61 pasture lands of my rancho, plus whatever unbranded cattle I might be able to pick up therein, obligating myself, as I do obligate myself, to the prompt payment of whatever duties may belong to His Majesty, according to rate schedules In effect or dispatched by the lord commandant general for the corresponding revenue branch. Thus I am hopeful that I will be able to fully cover the need in which I find myself. For all of which: I beseech and entreat that Your Lordship be pleased to command, and that you will command, the execution of what I ask above; wherein I will receive all mercy and justice. I also beg you to accept my use of this ordinary paper, for no stamped paper is available in this province. And I swear that I do not act from malice and [that I will pay] the necessary part [of court costs] et cetera. Ju[a]n J[ose]ph Flores [L.S., 1 p., in E. 7/11/1781-11/24/1786] Decree The foregoing having been presented, let this petitioner be issued a permit to lv take out // the cattle that he can legally prove are his tithe. With regard to cattle bearing his own brand, he may take such beasts out provided he prove
they are his own property. But he is forbidden to take out cows, because of the disastrous consequences that a shortage thereof would entail for the breeding and increase of cattle, for such increase must be pursued. And with regard to unbranded cattle, he may take out those that he makes certain are caught only in pasture lands of his rancho; he shall be admonished against contravening this provision. He must pay [the duty of] four reals per head for all unbranded cattle, in accordance with the lord commandant general's orders, informing this governorship of the place into which all the cattle [that are to be exported] have been herded, so that a person can be dispatched to count, inspect, and make a record of them and to enter said record in the book, in compliance_-with superior orders which so dispose. I thus dispose and command, 2 and I affix my signature hereon, I, on // Dom[ing]o Cabello: colonel in the royal armies; governor and commandant of arms of the province of Los Texas and its missions, conquered lands, and frontiers; captain of the cavalry company of the royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar; and inspector general of militia units and presidial troops of said province by commission conferred by the lord commandant general of the Interior Provinces of this kingdom of New Spain. Done in this royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar on the eleventh day of the month of July
63 in the year seventeen eighty-one, in the presenc'e of attendant witnesses with whom I am acting in the absence of a notary, on this ordinary paper, for no stamped paper is available; in witness whereof I attest. Cabello [Rubric Jose Plazido de Monzon. Pedro Dias del Castillo [D.S., 172 pp., in E. 7/11/1781-11/24/1786]
64 2v [ Cross ] Most Illustrious Lord Governor: Sir: Familiar with the true meaning of the immediately preceding decree, which Your Lordship was pleased to issue in consequence of my petition of the eleventh of the current month, and considering that the exportation of young male bovines and bulls exclusively is of no special, benefit to me--[this] because of the small price that male bovines bring when they are sold and [because of] the scanty number of such beasts that I shall be able to round up on account of their scarceness in the pasture lands of my rancho--i again present to Your Lordship my supplications, in the same correct terms as my petition, that you not only forgive the impertinence of this new petition, but that you also deign to grant me the indulgence of allowing me to take out as many cows, bulls, and young male bovines as I can round up--to a maximum number of two or three hundred head--from the pasture lands designated on my rancho and the realengos places called Las Tetillas, Los Olmos, and [the one extending] upland from the headwaters of the arroyo of Alonso. I ask this for the reasons given above, for only in this way will I be able to defray the
65 expenses of the roundup. In my previous petition I made known to Your Lordship the need in which I find myself.- In this matter I am hopeful Your Lordship will deign to decide what may be to your greater pleasure. May God Our Lord protect Your Lordship's worthy life the many years that it merits. Bexar, July 19, 1781. Your Lordship's devoted and faithful servant, who venerates you, Ju[a]n J[ose]ph Flores [L.S., 2v p., in E. 7/11/1781-11/24/1786] Decree The new appeal of the petitioner having been examined, the ruling issued on the eleventh of the current month--whereby he may take out all 3 cattle that he proves to be part of // his tithe--is reiterated. With regard to cattle that bear his brand and that he proves to be his own, one third of such bovines can be cows, another third bulls, and the remaining third can be young males. And with regard to the unbranded cattle that he seeks permission to catch in the pasture lands of his rancho and in the realengos places called Las Tetillas,
66 Los 0lmos, and [the one extending] upland from the headwaters of the arroyo of Alonso, he is given permission to round up such cattle, provided he makes certain that they are caught in the said places and that he abides by the decision made.with respect to their value--which [decision] the lord commandant general may make when he settles this question, now pending in his tribunal. Petitioner shall execute a guaranty, in competent form, to pay the duty of four reals that the said lord commandant general has imposed against each head of unbranded bovine livestock caught, and he shall inform this governorship of the place into which he will have these livestock herded, so that a person can be appointed to go out to inspect and count the herd--in order that a record of the number of beasts and their brands can be made, the entries that are ordered formalized, and so that the 3v corresponding permit can be issued for the // unhindered exportation of the livestock. The petitioner is to be notified of this decree, by one of the attendant witnesses with whom I perform judicial acts. I thus dispose and command, and I affix my signature hereon, I, Don Dom[ing]o Cabello: colonel in the royal armies; governor and commandant of arms of the province of Los Texas and its missions, conquered lands, and frontiers; captain of the cavalry company of the royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar; and inspector general of militia units and presidial troops of said province
67 by commission conferred by the lord commandant general of the Interior Provinces of this kingdom of New Spain. Done in this presidio of San Ant[oni]o de Bexar on the twenty-third day of the month of July in the year seventeen eighty-one, in the presence of attendant witnesses, with whom I am acting in the absence of a notary, on this ordinary paper, for no stamped paper is available; in witness whereof I attest. Cabello Jose Plazido de Monzon Pedro Dias del Castillo [D.S.,,2v-3v pp., in E. 7/11/1781-11/24/1786] [Record of] Notification At the royal presidio of San Ant[oni]o de Bexar on the twentyfourth day of the month of July in 4 the // year seventeen eighty, I. Jose Plazido de Monzon, one of the attendant witnesses with whom the lord governor of this province performs judicial acts [state the following]: In order to carry out what is commanded in the immediately preceding decree, I went to the house and residence of Don Juan Jose Flores and made known to his person the said ruling.
68 Apprised thereof, he stated that he was ready to provide the corresponding surety by means of two creditable subjects, both of this.presidio, and that with regard to giving notice of the place at which the cattle were-to be herded together for the purposes prescribed, he would do so as soon as his roundup wascomplete, at which time he would produce the four reals payable for each head of unbranded bovine livestock, in accordance with the regulation established and imposed by the lord commandant general of the Interior Provinces of this kingdom of New Spain. The foregoing is everything he had to say in this matter, and he has affixed his signature hereto, as have I. And that it may be on record, I make this [document] a part of these proceedings. Jose Plazido de Monzon Ju[a]n J[ose]ph Flores [A.D.S., 3v-4 pp., in E. 7/11/1781-11/24/1786]
6gz 4v Decree Whereas Juan Jose Flores has informed me that he has herded together, at one of the corrals of La Espada Mission, the cattle that he seeks'to drive to the province of Coahuila, and since said cattle must be counted and inspected to determine their number and type, I have appointed Don Fran[cis]co Flores, first-ranking alcalde of this villa, to so count and inspect them. The said alcalde has now C, orally given me notification that the number of unbranded bovines is one hundred six head and that of the branded ones fourteen, the latter all bearing the brand of Don Viz[ent]e Trabieso. Juan Jose Flores shall be notified that he must duly present creditable guarantors and that such guarantors do bind themselves and pledge their property-- both owned and to be owned--to the consequences that accrue from the exportation of the afore-mentioned one hundred six head of unbranded cattle, and [that they do bind themselves] to the payment of the duty of four reals per head, belonging to His Majesty, for the capture of the aforesaid one hundred six head of unbranded cattle. Thus, after what is set forth above has been complied with, and when the places wherein the unbranded cattle were caught have been indicated, the permit to export these beasts plus the fourteen branded ones--for a total of one hundred twenty head--can be issued. ^ Notification of the foregoing [to Juan
70 Jose Flores] W is entrusted to one of the attendant witnesses with whom I perform judicial acts. I thus dispose and command, and I affix my signature hereon, I. the aforesaid governor. Done at this royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar on the fourteenth day of the month of August in the year seventeen eighty-one, in the presence of attendant witnesses, with whom I act in the absence of a notary, on this plain paper, for no stamped paper is available; in witness whereof I attest. Cabello Josef Plazido de Monzon Pedro Dias del Castillo [D.S., 4v-5 pp., in E. 7/11/1781-11/24/1786] [Record of] On said day, month, and year, I, Notification Jose Placido de Monzon, one of the attendant witnesses with whom the lord governor of this province performs judicial acts, [state the following]: In fulfillment of what is commanded in the immediately preceding decree, I went to the house and residence of / Juan Jose Flores and made known to his person the said ruling. Apprised thereof, he stated that
71 he brings forward as guarantors Don Bartolome Seguin and Don Joaquin Flores, citizens of this aforenamed presidio and villa of S[a]n Fern[an]do. [He] also [stated that], with regard to the four-real duty for each one of the hundred six head of unbranded cattle--which he rounded up in the area of the oak grove of Las Tetillas and the arroyo of Los Nogales downstream as far as the arroyo of El Chuliyo, turning along the arroyo of El Mesquite--he is ready to produce the money on the spot. This is everything he had to say in the matter, and he has affixed his signature hereon, as have I. And that it may be on record, I make this [document] a part of these proceedings. Josef Plazido de Monzon Ju[a]n J[ose]ph Flores [D.S., 5-5v pp., in E. 7/11/1781-11/24/1786]
72 6 // Decree In view of what has been expressed by Juan Jose Flores--who is a citizen of this presidio and the villa of S[a]n Fernando and who,has been advised that the one hundred six head of unbranded bovines which he is to export have been valued at twenty-two reals per head, this being the price that has been set for Flores by virtue of his having assumed all the expenses of herding and rounding up said bovines-- let the instrument be drawn up whereby the guarantors bind themselves and pledge their property, both owned and to be owned, to the payment, if legally required, of the two hundred ninety-one pesos and four reals at which the said one hundred six head of unbranded cattle have been valued. In this way whatever consequences for this matter may. emanate from the lord commandant general's decision with regard to the petition that has been made to him will be provided for. I thus dispose and command, I, the aforesaid governor. Done in this royal presidio of S[a.]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar on the fourteenth day of the month of August in the year seventeen eighty-one, in the presence of attendant witnesses, with whom I am acting in the absence of a notary, 6v // on this ordinary paper, for no stamped paper is available; in witness whereof I attest. Emended: "-one pesos and four reals at which"--_. Valid. Ca bello
73 Josef Plazido de Monzon Pedro Dias del Castillo [D.S., 6-6v pp., in E.;7/11/l781-11/24/1786] Script At the royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar and the villa of S[a)n Fern[an]do on the fourteenth day of the month of August in the year seventeen eighty-one, before me, Don Domingo Cabello--colonel in the royal armies; governor and commandant of arms of the province of Los Texas and its missions, conquered lands, and frontiers; captain of the cavalry company of the royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar; and inspector general of militia units and presidial troops of said province by commission conferred by the lord comman-.dant general of the Interior Provinces of this kingdom of New Spain--there appeared Don Bartolome Seguin and Don 7 Joaqu1n // Flores, both of this community and both of 'whom I certify that I know. They stated that by these presents they have given their certain guaranty, in common, each on his own, and jointly, in favor of Don Juan Jose Flores, [member] of the same community, for the value of one hundred six head of u.nbranded cattle which the said Don Juan Jose Flores is taking from lands whose status is in
74 litigation between the residents of this community and the mission of El [E]sp[ir.i]tu S[an]to of the presidio of La Bahia. The value of said cattle amounts to two hundred ninety-one pesos and four reals, and [for this sum] the said guarantors bind their persons and their property, both owned and to be owned, in case the said cattle [should be adjudged to] belong to the mission of El [E]sp[iri]tu S[an]to and [in case] the said Don Juan Jose Flores should not make payment in consequence of what the lord commandant general may decide in this matter with regard to the appeal that has been made to him. In virtue thereof, the said guarantors submit to the authority and power of the judicatory and to all His Majesty's magistrates, of whatever district they might be, especially to those of this villa; whereby said guarantors may thus be made to 7v keep and fulfill their pledge, renouncing, // as they do renounce, their home and community rights and [their rights to invoke] the law Si cumbenerit de 'urisdictione omnium judicum, together with the general exemptions from testifying. In testimony thereof they convenanted, and they have signed this [instrument], as have I, the aforesaid governor, in the presence of attendant witnesses, with whom I a.m acting in the absence of a notary, on this ordinary paper, for no stamped paper is available; in witness whereof I attest. n
75 Dom[ing]o Cabello [ Rubri.c ] Barttolome Seguin Josef Plazido de Monzon Joachin Flores Pedro Dias del Castillo [D.S., 6v-7v pp., in E. 7/11/1781-11/24/1786] Decree Whereas the amount of the value of the one hundred six head of unbranded cattle that Juan Jose Flores, citizen of this'- presidio and the villa of S[a]n Fernando, is exporting to the province of Coahuila has been guaranteed in competent 8 form, and // since the said Juan Jose Flores has rendered in cash the fifty-three pesos in duties that belong to His Majesty for the capture of the afore-mentioned one hundred six unbranded beasts, let the said Flores be issued a permit for these cattle and for the fourteen branded beasts that he is also taking to the said province. And let the corresponding entries be made in the register of duties collected on mestenas and in the book that contains the record of livestock exported from this province, so that these details can be on record for all time. I thus dispose and command, I, the aforesaid governor. Done at this royal
76 presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar on the fourteenth day of the month of August in the year seventeen eightyone, in the presence of attendant witnesses, with whom I am acting in the absence of a notary, on this ordinary paper, for no stamped paper is available; in witness whereof I attest. Cabello Josef Plazido de Monzon Pedro Dias del Castillo `., [D.S., 7v-8 pp., in E. 7/11/1781-11/24/1786]
77 8v // Decree Juan Jose Flores has rendered the sum of fifty-six pesos for the capture of the one hundred six head of unbranded cattle that he has exported to the province of Cohahuila, as is evident from the immediately preceding decree. But since he has not paid sixteen of the twenty,reals at which each of the said beasts has been valued in consequence of what was set down by the lord commandant general in a decree issued the fifth of November, 1782, and published by bando the 13th of July, 1783--wherefore two hundred twelve pesos are to be exacted from the said Flores and placed in the chest designated for the safekeeping of funds belonging to this revenue branch--let these proceedings be included in the inventory of documents that are to be turned over to the Senor Captain of Cavalry Don Rafael- Martines Pacheco, upon whom has been conferred the honor of being appointed governor and commandant of arms of this province of Los Texas. [Let them be turned over] at the 9 same time as the other papers // pertaining to said governorship are given to him. He may thus be pleased to command that the exaction of the afore-stated sum be effected. I thus dispose and command, and I affix my signature hereon, I, the previously-mentioned governor. Done at this royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar on the twenty-fourth day of the month of November in the year seventeen eighty-
78 six, in the presence of attendant witnesses, with whom I am acting in the absence of a notary, on this ordinary paper, for no stamped paper is available; in witness whereof I attest. Cabello Jose Plazido de Monzon Pedro Dias del Castillo 9v // [Blank] [D.S., 8v-9 pp., in E. 7/11/1781-11/24/1786]