Spanish authorities had received a plea, written…
May 1689 CE
Spanish authorities had received a plea, written in French, in early 1689.
Jumano scouts had received these papers from the Caddo, who asked that they be delivered to the Spanish.
The papers included a parchment painting of a ship, as well as a written message from Jean L'Archevêque.
The message read: I do not know what sort of people you are. We are French[;] we are among the savages[;] we would like much to be Among the Christians such as we are[.] ... we are solely grieved to be among beasts like these who believe neither in God nor in anything. Gentlemen, if you are willing to take us away, you have only to send a message. ... We will deliver ourselves up to you.
De León later rescues L'Archeveque and his companion Jacques Grollet.
On interrogation, the men maintain that over one hundred of the French settlers had died of smallpox, and the others had been killed by Native Americans.
The only people known to have survived the final attack were the Talon children, who had been adopted by the Karankawa.
According to the children, they had been attacked around Christmas of 1688 and all the remaining settlers had been killed.