The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-11-22

honos me with her love and confidence. so
long shall that love and confidence be
may take from me my nfe. Senior, but you
cannot take from me my honor. The
tyrant ordered 81; Denis to be treated as a
passed and the brave young Frenchman
showed no signs of yielding, the wretch
sent a courier bearing this cruel message
to Donna Maria, Marry me. and st. Denis
shall be released refuse and your lover
shall surely die" The fearless young girl
declined the tyrant's offer in emphatic
terms. and at once applied to the Viceroy
in the City of Mexico telling H;gar him the
moved by the piteous appeals Of the beau
tiful girl: and he released st; Denis. AS
soon as St Denis was liberated ne married
Donna Maria and resumed his journey TO
the City of Mexico. Here his pleasing ad-
dress won all hearts. The Viceroy offered
him position under the Spanish govern
ment and gave him full authority 10 pun
ish his enemy. ST. Denis showed that mag
nanimity was numbered with his many
other fine traits Of character, for he re-
fused to make any trouble for the man
who had so cruelty wronged him. After a
short stay in the capital he returned TO his
government in northern Texas.
HIS WORK IN TEXAS.
1t is not known as to what kind OF au-
thority was granted TO him by the Spanish
officials in Mexico. He built fort at
Nacogdoches and laid off a city. He or
dered the lands surveyed and granted titles
to the settlers. He established trading
posts at various points in the interior and
rapidly accumulated a large fortune. He
possessed the happy faculty of making
friends of every man who came in contact
with him. He was called the Just chief"
by the Indians, and his fame for fair deal
ing was we'll established with all the tribes
within reach or the capital While in the
height of his power two Indians one day
came to his house and told him that they
had seen white man with a tribe of coast
ne xkh hal him as r1Fi
Denis at once offered them large sum OF
money If they would go and rescue the
white man and bring him to Nacogdoches.
The Indians went away, and in a few weeks
they appeared at st. DeniSs house with
naked half-starved human being who was
besmeared with dirt and painted like an
Indian. st. Denis ordered bath for the
poor shivering creature. and sent suit
of his own clothes to the bathroom. When
the man had been washed and clothed he
appeared before his benefactor. st. Denis
no sooner looked at him than he was
was Belisle, whom st. Denis thought he
killed with his sword in Paris. Belisle was
equally as much aStoniShed. They were
Frenchmen, and they instantly embraced
each other and buried all past differences.
Belisle's story was a short one, but full of
sufferings. He had recovered from the
wounds inflicted by the sword of ST Denis,
and not long afterward he joined colony
OF adventures who sailed TO join the Lou
isiaEa company at the mouth of the Mis-
sissppi. Like La Sale. they lost their way.
and sailed too far west. Belisle, with two
comrades. went ashore on the coast OF
Texas to enjoy hunt They got lost, and
the ship sailed away and left them. After
wandering through the forests for many
days BelisleS two comrades persisted from
hunger. Belsle fell in with some coast In
dams. who treated him very cruelty. They
stripped him of his clothing and would
have tortured him to death with fire had
not an old squaw interfered in his favor
He had been prisoner with the Indians
for long time. st. Denis gave Balisle an
office in his government. and put him in
the way of making money. st. Denis was
slain in battle with the Indians on the
frontier of his country, and after his death
the affairs of the colony fell into disorder.
At the time of st. Denis's death there were
| about three hundred white people who
claimed the protection of his government.
and they were nearly all in prosperous cir
| cumstances. Many of them had accumu-
| lated fortunes trading with the Indians.
| and St Denis himself was said TO have had
| Had ne lived few years longer he
would have anticipated the work OF
tablished a government in Texas that
Mexico could not have overthrown one hum
| dred years before the battle of San
| Jacinto fought He was a well-bal
| anced man. and one born to command. No
| man ever thought of disobeying his orders.
| Enough is known of his extraordinary ca
| reer to force us to the conclusion that he
| was the greatest man that ever attempted
to establish a government in Texas. There
was no man in the government capable of
turned to the Louisiana possessions. The
Natchez Indians furnished Donna Maria
with a guard OF honor that escorted her
and her treasures to her fathers home
| at the Preside San Juan on the shores of
| the Rio Grande. Thus ended the first
dream of empire In northern Mexico. 1t
was 100 years before this dream entered
| the brain of other ambitious spirits. 1t
was fatal dream that ruined Burr, and
| ended in the death of Nolan, Long. Ed
| wards Austin, Travis. Magee. Fannin and
| thousands of others who trod the pathway
of glory which led to the battlefield and