Herbert Eugene Bolton's The Padre on Horseback is a vivid portrait of Eusebio Francisco Kino, the intrepid Jesuit missionary who explored and evangelized the Pimería Alta region—modern-day southern Arizona and northern Sonora—during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Kino's remarkable journeys on horseback took him across vast deserts and rugged mountains, where he established missions, mapped uncharted lands, and built lasting relationships with Indigenous peoples, particularly the Pima. Bolton captures Kino's dual role as a missionary and explorer, detailing his relentless efforts to introduce Christianity while advocating for Native rights against Spanish colonial exploitation. Through meticulous research and engaging storytelling, the book follows Kino's discoveries, including his definitive proof that Baja California was not an island but a peninsula. His dedication to both faith and science made him a pivotal figure in the history of the American Southwest. Rich with historical insight and adventure, The Padre on Horseback brings to life the legacy of a man whose influence extended beyond religion to geography, diplomacy, and frontier life. This classic biography is essential reading for those interested in Southwestern history, early exploration, and the cultural intersections that shaped the region.
Author
an American historian who pioneered the study of the Spanish-American borderlands and was a prominent authority on Spanish American history. He originated what became known as the Bolton Theory of the history of the Americas which holds that it is impossible to study the history of the United States in isolation from the histories of other American nations, and wrote or co-authored 94 works. Bolton was born on a farm between Wilton and Tomah, Wisconsin in 1870 to Edwin Latham and Rosaline (Cady) Bolton. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he was a brother of Theta Delta Chi, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1895. That same year he married Gertrude Janes, with whom he eventually had seven children. Bolton studied under Frederick Jackson Turner from 1896 to 1897. Starting in 1897, Bolton was a Harrison Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and studied American history under John Bach McMaster. In 1899, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and then taught at Milwaukee State Normal School until 1900.
