From the Annals of the Franciscans –  In 1709, an expedition led by Franciscan fathers Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares and Isidro Félix de Espinosa reached the site of what is now the city of San Antonio and named the nearby springs San Pedro Springs.   Capt. Pedro de Aguirre and a small company of soldiers accompanied the expedition.  The stated purpose was to befriend (and ultimately convert) the Tejas Indians who were believed to be encamped on the Colorado River. The expedition continued on and reached the Colorado on May 19.  However, the Tejas encampment was not discovered.  In fact, the Tejas were at least another 40-50 miles north of the Colorado.  The friars’ orders did not permit them to explore beyond the Colorado and they also received information that the Tejas were not particularly well-disposed to interference from Spaniards.  Consequently, the expedition turned back and moved south of the Rio Grande.