José Policarpo Rodríguez

Mexican-born explorer, minister, and writer

• Born: January 26, 1829
• Birthplace: Zaragoza, Coahuila, Mexico
• Died: March 22, 1914
• Place of death: Poteet, Texas

Rodríguez was an important figure in Texas history as a scout for the U.S. government’s exploration missions. His many skills and experiences as a hunter, a surveyor, an interpreter, and a Methodist minister were freely given in community service. On his ranch, he built Polly’s Chapel, a Texas historic landmark, and a one-room schoolhouse.

Early Life

José Policarpo Rodriguez (hoh-ZAY pah-lih-CAR-poh rahd-REE-gehz) was born in Zaragoza, Coahuila, Mexico, west of the present Eagle Pass, Texas. He was one of ten sons born to parents José Antonio Rodríguez and Encarnación Sánchez, who were well educated with suitable financial means. José Policarpo Rodríguez was named after his father José and Saint Policarpo, an early apostolic father in the Catholic Church. His father wanted Rodríguez to be a priest. At age six, Rodríguez attended school at Nadadores, Coahuila, and then at Cuatro Cienegas for a total of fourteen months. After that, young Rodríguez, known as Polly, was home-schooled by his father. In 1841, when Rodríguez was twelve, his family moved to San Antonio, where he became an apprentice gunsmith for three years. At the end of this apprenticeship, Rodríguez joined a team of surveyors. At just fifteen years old, he received the pay and responsibility of an adult. During this time, Rodríguez learned more about hunting and trailing. The surveyor team lived on wild meat, such as deer, turkey, and bear. Another valued food was honey from beehives inside trees. Rodríguez became acquainted with the Indians in the area and learned how to avoid them.

Life’s Work

At age twenty, Rodríguez was hired as a scout by the Whiting and Smith expedition, led by Army engineers Lieutenant William H. C. Whiting and Lieutenant William F. Smith. The mission of this group was to establish a road from San Antonio to El Paso, Texas. Rodríguez faced known and unknown threats as the scout for this team for some three months. The work was difficult, with dangerous confrontations with Indians and natural challenges, such as bears, drought, and rattlesnakes. Whiting, the commander of the expedition, wrote in his diary rave reviews about “this boy Policarpo,” describing Rodríguez as one of the most valued members of the team. Indeed, Rodríguez’s experience with hunting and trailing, combined with his skill as a surveyor, handler of animals, and interpreter, made him a perfect scout. His success in this role gave him additional employment opportunities with the government for twelve years.

On one of his last trips as a scout, Rodríguez camped on Privilege Creek in Bandera County. He decided to buy 360 acres of land and build a home and ranch. During this time, Texas seceded from the Union, which disappointed Rodríguez. He would have to leave his home and family to continue in service to the U.S. troops, so he resigned. Though offered a commission as a captain in the Civil War, he declined and instead worked with the Bandera Home Guards. Their role was to protect the community from Indians and dismiss disorderly conduct. Rodríguez served the four years of the Civil War in this role.

Although Rodríguez was reared Catholic, he detailed his conversion experience to the Protestant faith in his autobiography. He became licensed to preach as a Methodist minister in 1878. His family thought he had gone crazy when he began to pray for others to convert them to Protestantism. He served as the minister at the limestone Polly’s Chapel, a Texas historical landmark built with his own hands on his land in 1882. Rodriguez also helped build a small one-room school on his land.

Three of the women Rodríguez intended to marry died from cholera or other complications. In his autobiography The Old Guide (1898), he explained that he wanted to be married, so he prayed for a wife. Rodríguez revealed a touching story about how he believed his wife was given to him; he knew Nicholasa Arocha was to be his wife when he saw her; they had five children. When she died, he married a second time at age seventy-four and had four more children. His last child was born when he was eighty-four, a year before his death at eighty-five. Rodríguez was buried within view of Polly’s Peak, not far from Polly’s Chapel.

Significance

Rodríguez wrote in his autobiography that he had lived in Texas through its many changes, from its being part of Mexico, to being an independent state, to becoming part of the Confederate states. He was directly responsible for the success of much of the exploration in Texas that occurred during his lifetime. He excelled as a hunter, a surveyor, a scout, a gunsmith, a marksman, an interpreter, a pioneer, a rancher, and a Methodist preacher. The U.S. government employed him as a scout on many expeditions where his skills and experience made the difference between life and death for his team members and the success of the mission. He spent his later years in service to his faith as a Methodist minister. His diverse accomplishments and the stories he recorded in his autobiography leave a legacy for Texans and Mexican Americans.

Bibliography

Hunter, John Marvin. Pioneer History of Bandera County: Seventy-Five Years of Intrepid History. Bandera, Tex.: Hunter’s Printing House, 1922. Brief description of key events in the life of Rodríguez.

Rodriguez, José Policarpo. The Old Guide. Nashville, Tenn.: Publishing House of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1898. An autobiography of Rodríguez, in which he details his life and adventures.

Wooster, Robert. Frontier Crossroads: Fort Davis and the West. College Station, Tex.: TAMU Press, 2006. Discusses the history of Fort Davis, which included the services of Mexican civilian and scout Rodriguez.