One of the Earliest Chicano Memoirs
"The Old Guide": Surveyor, Scout, Hunter, Indian Fighter, Ranchman, Preacher. His Life in His Own Words
Notes: The Old Guide is one of the earliest memoirs by a Mexican immigrant and it is particularly interesting for Rodriguez's first-hand accounts of early Texas state history and for his religious work, for which there is no comparable account of Mexican American Protestantism in the 19th century. Rodríguez's story is "as told to" D. W. Carter between 1892 and 1897, and G. B. Winton prepared it for publication.
Rodriguez was born in Zaragoza, Mexico, in 1829, and moved to San Antonio twelve years later, when it was part of the Texas Republic. As an adult, he became a surveyor, and then he served as a scout for the US Army for more than a decade. During the Civil War he turned to ranching. He converted to Methodism and became a minister in 1878. In later life, he was a well-known horseback preacher active in the Mexican American communities around San Antonio.
The book is quite scarce and there are no auction records on RareBookHub. Howes US-Iana (R-399) and other sources give the publication date as 1897 or 1898, based on the dates in the introduction. However, a 1907 article in the Christian Advocate, an organ of the Methodist Episcopal Church, describes the book as having "recently c[o]me from the presses" (Vol. 68, no. 19, May 10, 1907).
121 pages; frontispiece portrait of the author. 12mo. 7-1/4 by 4-7/8 inches.
Edition + Condition: Corners rounded, some staining to pages. Recently respined with paper matching the original covers. In a custom chemise and slipcase.
Publication: Nashville, Tenn. and Dallas, Tex. Publishing House of the Methodist Episcopal Church, [n.d. but 1907].
Item No: #306014
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