The Captain is the protagonist of the novel, the glue that holds everything and everyone together. He is 72 years old for much of the novel’s narrative present. His birthday is on March 15. He was born and raised in Georgia. He is an educated, well-read man. He loves the printed word, and after having suffered the loss of his own printing press because of the Civil War, he travels Texas reading US and international news to people who cannot read and/or live in small, isolated areas of Texas. He is a man who has fought in two wars: the first in 1812, when he was only 16, and the second being the Mexican-American war. Thus, he is no stranger to violence and battle, though he avoids it as best he can. However, when push comes to shove, he is not a man to be taken lightly. He was married, but his wife has already passed. He has two daughters.

Captain Kidd embodies the frontier, wild-west spirit of the quintessential Texan towards the end of the 19th century, but these traits are combined with the civility and education of an open-minded gentleman. He is tough, ingenious, loves freedom, his family, and lives by a strict code of honor.