established with fifty-eight families, and a mission some few leagues distant on the banks of the Purificacion. On January 6th forty-four families settled at Padilla, and a mission was established in that neighborhood. It may be mentioned here that for each newly settled place a military governor was appointed with the rank of captain, and a small garrison was left for police duty, and to protect the settlers against the hostilities of the natives. Other towns were located in rapid succession, and at first the colonists had to be content with primitive huts, hastily constructed of branches and leaves, until better accommodations could be secured. During the first years they suffered great hardships, for in many instances the sites selected were unfavorable, either on account of their liability to floods, their sickly climate, or for other reasons. The settlers of the town of Escandon are said to have been driven from their second site by clouds of mosquitoes and other obnoxious insects.
From Padilla, Escandon continued his march some twenty leagues in a north-easterly direction, with a view to establish a general camp from which exploring expeditions might be despatched, particularly to discover the harbor of Santander, at the mouth of the river then called Purificacion, and to-day La Marina. On this march from Padilla the first savages made their appearance, descending in great numbers from the eastern sierras of Tamaulipas, but being overawed by the vast caravan of Spaniards, abstained from attack. About the same time Escandon was joined by another party of settlers from Linares, consisting of sixty families under the conduct of Ladron de Guevara, and efforts were now made to reach the seaboard. After various attempts, on February 17th, the mouth of the Purificacion was discovered; the town of Santander was established with forty-five families, and designated as the capital of the province.[1]
- ↑ The site was subsequently changed and the town flourished, counting nearly 600 inhabitants in 1757.
