PREFACE

xi.

t ime has been expended i n searching for new data. B r i e f m ention must therefore be made of the various s ources w h i c h h ave been consulted, and of the materials e xploited. I n 1 896 documents relating to the conspiracy w ere d iscovered i n the B e x a r A r c h i v e s at San A n t o n i o , the S panish c apital of the Province of Texas. From e arly i n the eighteenth century, much of the correspondence o f the provincial Governors w i t h the CaptainsGeneral a nd V i c e r o y s of M e x i c o found lodgment i n the m usty files of the archives of the province. a re concerned w i t h the westward It is needof the less t o say that they contain many manuscripts w h i c h growth U n i t e d S tates a nd w i t h the uninterrupted conflict w h i c h w as waged w i t h t he retreating c ivilization o f S pain. T h e v iews of the officers of Carlos I V . i n that quarter as t o the nature of the conspiracy are i lluminating. They r i g h t l y c lassed it as a manifestation of the restless, e ncroaching activity of the nation w h i c h f ate h ad p laced on their borders. T h e archives of the State of T e x a s c ontain materials d ating f r o m the Spanish regime and are of value on m ore than one doubtful point. T h e V i c e r o y a l t y of M e x i c o on account of the p r o m i nent position it held among the Spanish colonies b ecame t he g reat c enter for the accumulation of official correspondence; and the treasure of manuscripts n o w contained i n the Archivo General de Mexico, Mexico City, i s o f inestimable value to the history of the N e w