Note 10 — X AFTER THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE

At this point one must understand the claims of the United States concerning the Louisiana Purchase. The United States claimed the Rio Grande as the boundary of the land previously owned by France because of La Salle’s settlement at Fort Louis on Matagordo Bay in 1685. The Spanish claimed the land as far as the west bank of the Red River, basing their claim on the Domingo Teran del Rios’ expedition of 1690. Both the Spanish and the United States’ officers involved in the meeting in the Adais area were aware of the claims of their respective countries.