Juan Seguin by Robert E. Hollmann Page A

land. My parents and I and my brothers and sisters walked up the dusty road toward the Seguins’ house. It was called Casa Blanca , the White House, because the walls of the house were made of white adobe bricks.
    My mother and the rest of us waited in the front yard while my father knocked on the door. Soon Don Erasmo and Juan came out. As my father and Don Erasmo talked together, Juan walked up to me. He was the same age as I was, but he was a little taller than me.
    “What is your name?” he asked.
    “My name is Pablo. What is yours?”
    “My name is Juan. I bet I can ride a horse better than you.”
    I hung my head. “I have never ridden a horse.”
    Juan looked at me with disbelief. “You have never ridden a horse?”
    I shook my head.
    “Then I’ll teach you. Then we can have races to see who rides best.”
    “I don’t have a horse.”
    Juan laughed. “Don’t worry. We have many horses. It’ll be fun. Come on. I’ll show you where we keep our horses.”
    I looked at my mother. She shook her head. “I think you should stay here, Pablo.”
    Juan smiled at my mother. “It’s all right.” He turned to his father. “Father, is he going to work for you?” Juan pointed to my father.
    “Yes, son. He starts tomorrow.”
    Juan looked at my mother. “See. It’ll be all right. You live here now.”
    I looked at my mother. She shrugged her shoulders and nodded. “I guess it’ll be all right. Don’t be too long. We need to get moved in.”
    I followed Juan to a large corral. There were many horses in the corral. Juan pointed to a small black horse that was eating some hay.
    “That’s the horse you’ll ride. He’s real tame. His name is Black Star. When you get to be a better rider, you can have another horse.”
    I looked at the horse. “Are you giving him to me?”
    “Just until you learn how to ride. Then we’ll find you another. We have plenty of horses.”
    “Why are you giving me a horse?”
    Juan looked at me. “I want you to be my friend. I want us to do things together. Do you want to do that to?”
    I nodded my head. “Yes. I do.”
    A large smile crossed Juan’s face. “Good. Now let’s go find a saddle and start teaching you to ride.”
    The next few years went by quickly. Juan and I became best friends as we grew into men. We spent a lot of time riding on the prairies of his rancho. We knew everything about the country. We knew where the water was good to drink, we knew the best places to hunt for food, and we knew all of the roads and trails for miles around.
    Don Erasmo became more and more important. Many government officials stopped by the Casa Blanca. They would discuss the affairs of the government with Don Erasmo. One day a large group of riders came to the rancho. Juan and I watched as they walked into the house with Don Erasmo. Juan’s mother, Maria Josefa Becerra, came outside and began to work in her flower garden. Juan and I walked over to her.
    “Who are those men, Mother?” Juan asked.
    Mrs. Seguin looked at the house.
    “That is the governor and his staff.”
    “What do they want with Father?”
    Mrs. Seguin looked worried as she shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t think your father knew they were coming.”
    Juan and I sat under a tree and watched the door to the house. Finally the door opened and Don Erasmo and the governor walked out side-by-side, smiling and shaking hands. Soon the governor and his party were riding away. Juan and I walked into the house. Don Erasmo was sitting at his desk writing. He looked up as we entered.
    “Hello, boys. Been riding?”
    Juan nodded.”Yes. We finished just as the governor arrived. What did he want?”
    Don Erasmo leaned back in his chair. “It seems that a group of Americans are wanting to come to Texas and start some colonies. The governor has appointed me to tell the leader of the group that his grant has been approved. He can begin to bring his colonists to Texas right away.”
    Juan looked at the letter his