. . .Natchitoches Indians, thence to travel westward over the Buffalo Trail to the Hasinai Indians and there procure guides to the Hidalgo Mission.

Father Hidalgo could have acquired knowledge of the Caddo area from the reports of De Leon, Teran and Father Massinetes, but he would have not had the knowledge of the waterways, which could have only been obtained from the Natchitoches Indians who may have come to the Campti from their location on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain; information was given to Flores and Colliea and passed on to Hidalgo.

The letter was an invitation “to come and trade” with the Hidalgo mission, the word “trade” being used as bait could have come from two sources, that of Bejoux to the Ais and that of Flores and Colliea. It is possible that Hidalgo wrote the letters very early in the year so that one could be sent to the Ais Tribe ahead of the arrival of Allarge Bejoux. The later two letters were carried in t. . . Read More