II. SAN ANTONIO. (1714-1794.) 1. A BOLD RIDER.

 In 1714 Juchereau St. Denis rode across Texas, in an oblique¹ line from a trading post in Louisiana to a presidio on the Rio Grande River. This was the same St. Denis who afterward², as already related, rescued his comrade-in-arms Belleisle from captivity³. He had secret orders from Cadillac, the governor of Louisiana, and his busy brain was teeming⁴ with carefully laid plans of his own. His escort consisted of twelve white men and two or three Indians. He took his bearings as he went, carefully marking the way from river to river, from prairie to forest, from Indian village to buffalo⁵ range; thus sketching⁶ out that long thoroughfare which afterwards became famous as the “Old San Antonio Road.”

 

Much of the way lay through the lands of unfriendly Indians; but St. Denis rode as jauntily⁷ as if the men at his back were a thousand instead of a dozen.

 

And when one day he drew rein⁸ on the brow of a certain hill, and gazed down into the lovely cup-like valley where a few huts marked the beginnings of San Antonio, he might, for all signs of fatigue⁹ upon his handsome young face, have just quitted the governor’s residence.

 

“A beautiful site for a city,” he said to Jallot, his confidential¹⁰ servant. His pleased eyes roved over the smiling valley, through which the river ran like a silver thread. Graceful¹¹ trees lined the river banks; the tender grass was studded with a thousand flowers of varied¹² colors; there was a life-giving softness in the wind that came from the low mountains to the northward¹³.

 

 

THE MISSION OF SAN JOSé.

 

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St. Denis journeyed on to St. John the Baptist, carrying this lovely picture in his heart as he went. St. John the Baptist was a presidio on the Rio Grande River. It was built by Captain Alonzo de Leon, after his return from Fort St. Louis in 1689. Its commandant, at the time of the visit of St. Denis, was Don Pedro de Villescas. To Don Pedro St. Denis unfolded his mission—the opening of trade between Louisiana and Mexico. The friendly commandant could do nothing without first consulting his superiors; so he asked St. Denis to wait until a letter could be sent to the governor of the province at Monclova. St. Denis waited, and while he was waiting he fell in love with Donna Maria, the commandant’s daughter.

 

The young French officer was so dashing, so courtly, and withal so good looking, that it is no wonder Don Pedro’s daughter loved him in return; and there were at least two very happy persons at the Presidio of St. John the Baptist.

 

But when the courier came back from Monclova, St. Denis was seized by order of the governor, and was carried under guard to that city.

 

The governor of Coahuila was, as it happened, a rejected suitor of Donna Maria Villescas. Filled with jealous rage, he threw the young Frenchman into prison and threatened him with death unless he would give up all claim to his promised bride.

 

This St. Denis gallantly¹⁴ refused to do. After some months the governor sent him to the city of Mexico, denouncing him to the viceroy as a spy against the government. He was again placed in prison, where he was treated with great severity.

 

Donna Maria, however, was not idle all this time. She had sent several spirited letters to the governor at Monclova, and she now wrote to the viceroy himself. Her letter had the effect of loosening the chains of her lover.

 

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Marquis de Linares, the viceroy, when he saw his prisoner, was so charmed that he offered the young Frenchman an important post in the Spanish army. But St. Denis would not consent to abandon his own flag. The viceroy then gave him a handsome horse, and parting from him with regret, sent him back to the presidio, where he married the loyal Donna Maria.

 

Before leaving the presidio on his return to Louisiana, he made secret arrangements for smuggling¹⁵ goods into Mexico.

 

The viceroy, having a hint of this, did not trouble St. Denis again; but he decided¹⁶ to establish posts and missions throughout the New Philippines—as Texas was still called—with garrisons¹⁷ armed to prevent contraband¹⁸ trade. Captain Domingo Ramon was appointed to carry on this work. He set out at once from St. John the Baptist for San Antonio, with a company of soldiers and several friars under his command. St. Denis, in high spirits and sure of his own success in spite of Captain Ramon, rode with him, acting¹⁹ as his guide.

1 oblique   

adj.斜的，倾斜的，无诚意的，不坦率的

参考例句：

• He made oblique references to her lack of experience.他拐弯抹角地说她缺乏经验。
• She gave an oblique look to one side.她向旁边斜看了一眼。

2 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

3 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

4 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

5 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

6 sketching   

n.草图

参考例句：

• They are sketching out proposals for a new road. 他们正在草拟修建新路的计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "Imagination is busy sketching rose-tinted pictures of joy. “飞舞驰骋的想象描绘出一幅幅玫瑰色欢乐的场景。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

7 jauntily   

adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地

参考例句：

• His straw hat stuck jauntily on the side of his head. 他那顶草帽时髦地斜扣在头上。 来自辞典例句
• He returned frowning, his face obstinate but whistling jauntily. 他回来时皱眉蹙额，板着脸，嘴上却快活地吹着口哨。 来自辞典例句

8 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

9 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

10 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

11 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

12 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

13 northward   

adv.向北；n.北方的地区

参考例句：

• He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
• I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。

14 gallantly   

adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地

参考例句：

• He gallantly offered to carry her cases to the car. 他殷勤地要帮她把箱子拎到车子里去。
• The new fighters behave gallantly under fire. 新战士在炮火下表现得很勇敢。

15 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 garrisons   

守备部队，卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I've often seen pictures of such animals at the garrisons. 在要塞里，我经常看到这种动物的画片。
• Use a Black Hand to garrisons, and take it for yourself. 用黑手清空驻守得步兵，为自己占一个。

18 contraband   

n.违禁品，走私品

参考例句：

• Most of the city markets were flooded with contraband goods.大多数的城市市场上都充斥着走私货。
• The customs officers rummaged the ship suspected to have contraband goods.海关人员仔细搜查了一艘有走私嫌疑的海轮。

19 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。