The real impetus for resettlement of Apalache came from within Florida long before the matter had been settled in Spain. In 1716 and 1717 many tribes from northern Apalache had come to Saint Augustine expressing their allegiance to the interim governor, Juan de Ayala Escobar. Believing that resettlement of Apalache under royal auspices was imminent, Ayala promised the Indians his protection. Then, after two years passed and Caballero failed to make his survey, Ayala was forced to act on his own initiative. On February 20, 1718, he sent out the cavalry captain, Joseph Primo de Rivera, with 50 men to erect a blockhouse on Apalache Bay. To aid the work party, the governor dispatched supplies and building materials to Apalache by sea, and these awaited Primo’s men when they arrived after their land trek to Apalache from Saint Augustine. [Note 63: interim gov to king 2/28/1718; auto 12/10/1717] (Tepaske GSF)