The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 72, July 1968 - April, 1969 Page: 473

Book Reviews

One gains the impression that the Morfi document is a far greater
contribution in terms of social than of political history. The ac-
count is sprinkled with comments concerning matters which some
might term trivia (card games, bedbugs, the cost of mules, family
portraits in a library north of Chihuahua City, books read by "His
Lordship," etc.); however, a multiplicity of such references brings
alive the everyday happenings during that inspection tour made al-
most two hundred years ago.
The above data indicate that there is much within this Diario y
Derrotero for the anthropologist, botanist, geographer, geologist, and
historian. The indexes are particularly useful, although at first glance
they appear to be awkwardly arranged, being divided into the fol-
lowing sections: (1) Geogrdfico, (2) Onomdstico, (3) De cargos, ofi-
cios y dignidades, (4) De instituciones, (5) De castas y naciones, and
(6) De archivos, manuscritos e impresos. The thirteen maps are quite
satisfactory.
Southern Illinois University CAMPBELL W. PENNINGTON
San Juan Bautista: Gateway to Spanish Texas. By Robert S. Weddle.
Austin (University of Texas Press), 1968. Pp. xv+469. Illus-
trations, map, bibliography, index. $8.50.
There is a certain sadness at San Juan Bautista, otherwise known
as Guerrero, Coahuila. It is felt in the restless air of the forsaken
community where unheard echoes and unseen shadows are waiting
to ambush its visitors. It takes a skilled mind and trained eye to
identify the intangible essence and grandeur of the seemingly unim-
portant pueblito. Robert S. Weddle had the mind, eyes, and fore-
sight to capture and depict not merely "the Gateway to Spanish
Texas," but the womb from which Christian civilization was
thrust upon the unsuspecting land of the Tejas. The great and mighty,
as well as the famous and infamous of Texas' colonial history, passed
through the portals and cobbled streets of this community, leaving
their imprints on the historical heritage of the land on both sides of
the Rio Grande.
Working first in great detail and later with the broad strokes of
a historian's pen, Robert S. Weddle depicts the people, sites, and
events that served to make San Juan Bautista the parent commu-
nity of Texas. The recurring theme thereof is found in the acute
observation that the children became more successful than the par-

273