The Texan Scout

# Catalog Note: The Texan Scout; or, The Jarocho's Sister

This 1861 dime novel by Harry Hazard opens in October 1835 with a desperate chase across the Texas prairie. The protagonist, Alonzo Starr (called "Lone Star"), a well-armed scout disguised in Mexican ranchero dress, is pursued by approximately forty mounted guerrillas near San Antonio. During a brutal running battle, Starr kills several pursuers with his English breech-loader rifle before his exhausted mustang is shot from under him. Surrounded and unarmed, he fights hand-to-hand with bowie knife and pistols, killing additional attackers before being lassoed and captured. His captors, led by a dark-bearded commander, reveal they work for the guerrilla leader Crispino Montalado, whom Starr apparently knows. The scout is bound and taken captive, facing certain death or torture. The narrative promises future confrontation with Montalado and explores themes of frontier survival and Mexican-American conflict.