COLLECTED

Written more than 330 years ago—on May 18, 1689, to be exact—a letter recently donated to the UTA Libraries Special Collections paints a vivid picture of an early Texas settlement devoid of people and life. Spanish explorer Alonso de León wrote the letter, detailing the remains of the colony found by René- Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, a French explorer better known as La Salle. It serves as a firsthand account of a settlement located in modern-day Victoria County that was destroyed by disease and war. Sonia Kania, professor of modern languages, translated the letter to English.

“It is true that it was a pity to see the quite considerable ruin that (had) befallen the settlement,” de León wrote. “For there had been a smallpox outbreak in which 100 French died, according to what we learned. The few that remained alive were killed by the Indians months ago, along with two friars and clergymen.”

De León wrote that he and his company found remnants of books and personal possessions that had been destroyed, the bodies of several people, and eight pieces of artillery, which they buried for later recovery. The cannons would remain buried until 1999, when archaeologists recovered them and put them on display at the Museum of the Coastal Bend in Victoria, Texas.

Later in the letter, de León recounts his meeting with the people of the Caddo Nation, where they found two French colony survivors whom the Caddo had rescued. He describes the Caddo’s settlement in detail.

“They are very courteous people, and they cultivate a great deal of corn, beans, squash watermelon, and melons. They say that they have nine pueblos,” de León reported. “The aforesaid pueblo has more than 800 resident property owners. Each one having a large wood house dobbed with clay and thatch roof.”

Ben Huseman, a UTA cartographic archivist, says this letter is a window into the past and a “fantastic” piece of Texas history, allowing people to see 17th-century Texas through the eyes of a Spanish explorer.

“This letter allows our students and researchers to have the opportunity to see a document from that period that relates to the history of Texas,” he says. “It is a tremendous summary of what happened to La Salle.”