The Texas Boys - by Thomas J. "Texas" Pilgrim

A Texas Tom Sawyer?  What if there was a Texas version of Mark Twain's classic Tom Sawyer?  What if it contained the first authentic account of cattle trailing and cowboy life ever written?  What if it also contained the first Mexican-American protagonist in literature?Well, there is such a book.The Texas Boys by Thomas Jefferson "Texas" Pilgrim is the story of Charley Zanco and his friend Nasho on the Texas cattle trail. Written in 1877, it is all that and more. Is that his real name? Yes. Thomas J. Pilgrim, Jr., called "Texas" by his family, was the son of the first Anglo teacher in Texas. His father settled in Austin's colony in 1829 and taught the three Rs to the youngsters in the vicinity of San Felipe de Austin.Texas Pilgrim was born in 1847 on the family ranch near Gonzales. He trained as a lawyer, served as clerk in the Texas House of Representatives and taught school at Prof. Bickler's English and German Academy in Austin. So why did he write The Texas Boys? The year previou