Page:History of the War between the United States and Mexico.djvu/66

54 from San Antonio; to that and other points on the river; and Canales called them Texans, in one of his proclamations in 1846. They were, no doubt, of Mexican extraction; but, although the authority exercised over them by Texas was somewhat questionable, still it was more decided than that of Mexico. Besides the settlement at Laredo, there were a few straggling huts at Point Isabel, near the Brazos Santiago, occupied by Mexican ﬁshermen and smugglers. During the difficulty with France, and the war with Texas, the goods imported by the merchants at Matamoras were often landed at the Brazos, in order to escape the notice of the enemy's vessels lying off the mouth of the Rio Grande. An agent of the custom-house at Matamoras was sent down to the Point, to collect the duties before the goods were taken over the river; and a revenue ofﬁcer was continued there until the approach of General Taylor with his army, whose main duty it was 'to prevent the smuggling constantly kept up, on account of the neglect of Mexico to occupy the country. Had she supposed her title to be good, is it not likely that she would have taken more effectual measures to protect her revenue than she actually did?

The legal enactments of the Texas Congress in relation to the boundary, could certainly give her no title to the disputed territory, except as they were supported by the military and civil authority which she exercised. She did not fortify the whole left bank of the Rio Grande, nor establish military posts at every prominent point on the Gulf; but her ability to drive the Mexicans from the territory, at pleasure, was demonstrated, and if private individuals returned there and