General Alonso de León’s Expeditions into Texas, 1686-1690

255 Pages·2017·14.614 MB·English

by  Lola Orellano Norris

General Alonso de León’s
Expeditions into Texas,
1686–1690
j
number forty-one
Elma Dill Russell Spencer Series in the
West and Southwest
Andrés Tijerina, General Editor
Series Board:
Alwyn Barr
James E. Crisp
Rebecca Sharpless
Eric Van Young

General Alonso de León’s

Expeditions into Texas,

1686–1690
EDITED AND TRANSLATED BY
Lola Orellano Norris
Texas A&M University Press College Station, Texas
Copyright © 2017 by Lola Orellano Norris
All rights reserved
First edition
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992
(Permanence of Paper).
Binding materials have been chosen for durability.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: León, Alonso de, approximately 1610–1661, author. | Norris, Lola
Orellano, 1957– translator, editor.
Title: General Alonso de León’s expeditions into Texas, 1686–1690 / edited
and translated by Lola Orellano Norris.
Other titles: Elma Dill Russell Spencer series in the West and Southwest ;
no. 41.
Description: First edition. | College Station, Texas : Texas A&M University
Press, [2017] | Series: Elma Dill Russell Spencer series in the West and
Southwest ; number forty-one | Includes bibliographical references and
index. | Includes original Spanish texts and their translations into
English.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016047173 | ISBN 9781623495404 (hardcover-printed case :
alk. paper) | ISBN 9781623495411 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Texas—Discovery and exploration—Sources. |
Texas—History—17th century—Sources. | León, Alonso de, approximately
1610–1661—Travel—Texas. | Explorers—Texas—Diaries. | León, Alonso de,
approximately 1610–1661—Manuscripts. | Manuscripts, Mexican—17th
century. | León, Alonso de, approximately 1610–1661—Translations into
English.
Classification: LCC F389 .L45 2017 | DDC 976.4/01—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016047173
(Cover Illustration)
Alonso de León portrait (painting by Erika Buentello)
A list of titles in this series is available at the end of the book.
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Sigla and Archival Location of the Manuscripts xi
Introduction xiii
1.Archival Records and the Exploration of Texas 1
1.1 The Study of Archival Records of the Colonial Southwest 1
1.2 The Earliest Exploration of Texas 9
1.3 General Alonso de León’s Five Expeditions to Texas 13
1.4 The Expedition Diaries 29
2.Transcription of the Spanish Manuscripts 47
2.1 Transcription Methodology 47
2.2 Manuscript 86-A 50
2.3 Manuscript 87-A 63
2.4 Manuscript 88-A 65
2.5 Manuscript 89-B 77
2.6 Manuscript 90-B 95
2.7 Manuscript 90-D 115
3.The English Translations 133
3.1 Translation Methodology 133
3.2 English Translation of Manuscript 86-A 134
3.3 English Translation of Manuscript 87-A 144
3.4 English Translation of Manuscript 88-A 145
3.5 English Translation of Manuscript 89-B 156
3.6 English Translation of Manuscript 90-B 171
3.7 English Translation of Manuscript 90-D 185
Summary and Conclusions 205
References 213
Index 223

Illustrations
Map of all five expeditions xii
Alonso de León 15
Statue of La Salle at Indianola, Texas 29
Stemma for manuscripts of the 1688 expedition 31
Stemma for manuscripts of the 1689 expedition 35
Stemma for manuscripts of the 1690 expedition 39
Manuscript 86-A 49
Manuscript 87-A 62
Manuscript 88-A 64
Manuscript 90-E 76
Manuscript 90-F 94
Manuscript 90-D 114
Buffalo hunt 145
De León with his astrolabe 155
De León and map of the 1689 expedition 170

Acknowledgments
Numerous individuals walked with me through the long process of writing
this book and need to be recognized. Foremost, I owe a debt of gratitude to
Brian Imhoff for introducing me to the riveting world of paleography and ar-
chival research. I still remember my ginger first steps in deciphering portions
of the Domínguez de Mendoza expedition and the exhilaration I felt after
completing the transcription of the text. Everything I know about Spanish
colonial manuscripts I learned from Brian. Another person who was instru-
mental in my understanding of Spanish Texas and who deserves my deep
gratitude is Jerry Thompson.
This book would not have been possible without his constant encourage-
ment and wise counsel. I also greatly benefited from Nancy Joe Dyer’s and
José Pablo Villalobos’s expert advice throughout the extensive research for
this volume and from Stephen Duffy’s keen insights and unwavering support
during the revision process.
The Hispanic History of Texas Project at the University of Houston and the
Department of Hispanic Studies at Texas A&M University provided financial
support for my travels to the archives in Seville, Mexico City, Monterrey, Saltillo,
Austin, and Tulsa. I received generous assistance from archivists and clerks in
locating the manuscripts and processing reproductions. I would like to espe-
cially thank Michael Hironymous at the Benson Latin American Collection at
the University of Texas at Austin, Ingrid Lennon-Pressey at the Beinecke Rare
Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, and Diana Cox at the Gilcrease
Museum in Tulsa. My grateful thanks are also extended to Donald E. Chipman,
the late William C. Foster, and the late Robert S. Weddle for their feedback and
suggestions, and to Jesús F. de la Teja for his thorough response to the manu-
script. Un grand merci à Julien Carriere for sharing his expertise in French.
The team at Texas A&M University Press deserves my very special thanks:
to Mary Lenn Dixon for believing in the project from the beginning, to Jay
Dew for his patience and understanding, and to Patricia Clabaugh and Laurel
Anderton for taking care of all the details in bringing this manuscript to its
published form.