Background of "Apache Lament"
Readers have asked for background on my novel "Apache Lament," which recently received the Gold Medallion in Western Inspirational Fiction in the Will Rogers Medallion Awards. Below, I have combined six posts that discuss the geography and history behind the novel.
"Apache Lament" is based on the documented history of the last free-ranging band of Mescaleros in the desert crags between the Pecos and El Paso in Texas.
A way of life was ending for these Apaches, who stubbornly resisted confinement to a reservation. In 1880 and 1881, the band repeatedly raided both sides of the El Paso Road. One Texas Ranger described the "pillages and murders" as having no parallel, considering "the small size of the party"--12 warriors, four women, and two children.
Four attacks were noteworthy. The band swooped down on a wagon train at Bass Canyon near Van Horn in May 1880, and the U.S. Army lost men in skirmishes at Paso Viejo near Valentine and at Ojo Caliente on the Rio Grande. In early January 1881, the Mescaleros attacked the stage at Quitman Canyon near Sierra Blanca.
The Army was determined to track down these hostiles, but it would be left to Texas Rangers to find their trail in the snows of late January 1881.
At the time, Rangers were not the "one riot, one ranger" lone wolves of the 20th century, but organized military units. When the men of Ranger Company A rode out from their Musquiz Canyon camp near Fort Davis, they sought to do what the U.S. Army had been unable to--pick up a fresh Mescalero trail. Near present-day Van Horn, they succeeded and took up the chase on January 25.
Among these 25 Rangers and scouts commanded by Capt. George Wythe Baylor and Lt. C.L. Nevill was 19-year-old Bill Roberts. In 1946 J. Evetts Haley used a SoundScriber machine to conduct two audio interviews with Roberts, by then in his mid '80s. With the demise of SoundScribers, the discs from those interviews became inaccessible, and they languished for many decades in the archives of the N.S. Haley Memorial Library in Midland, TX.
Fortunately, as assistant archivist at the library, I was able to get the Roberts interviews digitized. His riveting accounts, never before accessed by historians, provided the basis for much of "Apache Lament."
When the Rangers pursued the Mescalero band into the snowy Sierra Diablo, the range lived up to its name--the Devil Mountains--and proved an ordeal for men and horses.
Rising almost 3,000 feet above the salt flats north of Van Horn, the range (shown in this photo) tops out at 6,610 feet and is part of the same fossil reef that forms the Guadalupe Mountains 25 miles to the north. Over the last 46 years I've hiked hundreds of miles across this ancient reef and learned much about its geography, flora, and fauna. I write best about places I understand well, and I hope that "Apache Lament" reflects that.
In a contrast of the old with the new, this last stronghold of the Mescaleros looks down on the launch facilities of Blue Origin, the manned spaceflight operation owned by Jeff Bezos.
For this novel, I did considerable research into Mescalero culture and learned that the Mescalero language is unique, standing apart from Western Apache. Throughout, I sprinkled authentic Mescalero words to give the reader a flavor of Mescalero life. Among the terms are "Gáhé," the spirits who commune with the Supreme Being Bik'egu'indáán and who inhabit caves high in mountain ranges such as the Sierra Diablo.
I was indebted to Bill Bentley, who not only shared with me photos from the Diablo heights, but also dared the Gáhé by entering Diablo Bat Cave. He also had to watch for góbitseeghálegóͅlíní ("rattlesnake") and ídóí ("mountain lion"). Had he seen any, he could have shouted "idzúút'i" ("go away!").
I tell the story from the viewpoints of both an Indaa ("white") Texas Ranger and a young Ndé ("Apache") mother. For my characters, I used authentic Mescalero names, including:
Nejeunee: ("friend, kind, or friendly")
Gian-nah-tah: ("always ready")
Too-ah-yah-say: ('strong swimmer")
Nah-kay-yen: ("keen-sighted")
Klo-sen: ("hair hope")
For some characters, I used only the translated names:
Little Squint Eyes
One Who Frowns
Quick Talker
Brushing Against
My sources included two 19th-century books:
"Life Among the Apaches" by John C. Cremony (published 1868)
"The Medicine Men of the Apache" by John Gregory Bourke (published 1892).
Gripping novels, however, involve more than settings and events. They are about people.
In “Apache Lament,” I drew upon the documented story of Sam Graham. Headed west through Bass Canyon near present-day Van Horn, TX on May 12, 1880, Sam and his party were attacked by Mescalero Apaches, who killed his sister-in-law Margaret and wounded his brother Harry. Another wagoner, James Grant, also died, while a Mr. Murphy was wounded.
Sam had done his best, but his Winchester had been no match for the Indians, whose war party became the last free-ranging Apache band in Texas.
Driven by a personal vendetta, Sam signed on with Texas Ranger Company A less than three months later on August 1. If the Rangers could corner the band in the Trans-Pecos crags, Sam could gain vengeance at the muzzle of his carbine.
What happened in the frozen Sierra Diablo on January 29, 1881 provided the basis for “Apache Lament.” The novel is available online in hardcover, paperback, and ebook.
"Apache Lament" is based on the documented history of the last free-ranging band of Mescaleros in the desert crags between the Pecos and El Paso in Texas.
A way of life was ending for these Apaches, who stubbornly resisted confinement to a reservation. In 1880 and 1881, the band repeatedly raided both sides of the El Paso Road. One Texas Ranger described the "pillages and murders" as having no parallel, considering "the small size of the party"--12 warriors, four women, and two children.
Four attacks were noteworthy. The band swooped down on a wagon train at Bass Canyon near Van Horn in May 1880, and the U.S. Army lost men in skirmishes at Paso Viejo near Valentine and at Ojo Caliente on the Rio Grande. In early January 1881, the Mescaleros attacked the stage at Quitman Canyon near Sierra Blanca.
The Army was determined to track down these hostiles, but it would be left to Texas Rangers to find their trail in the snows of late January 1881.
At the time, Rangers were not the "one riot, one ranger" lone wolves of the 20th century, but organized military units. When the men of Ranger Company A rode out from their Musquiz Canyon camp near Fort Davis, they sought to do what the U.S. Army had been unable to--pick up a fresh Mescalero trail. Near present-day Van Horn, they succeeded and took up the chase on January 25.
Among these 25 Rangers and scouts commanded by Capt. George Wythe Baylor and Lt. C.L. Nevill was 19-year-old Bill Roberts. In 1946 J. Evetts Haley used a SoundScriber machine to conduct two audio interviews with Roberts, by then in his mid '80s. With the demise of SoundScribers, the discs from those interviews became inaccessible, and they languished for many decades in the archives of the N.S. Haley Memorial Library in Midland, TX.
Fortunately, as assistant archivist at the library, I was able to get the Roberts interviews digitized. His riveting accounts, never before accessed by historians, provided the basis for much of "Apache Lament."
When the Rangers pursued the Mescalero band into the snowy Sierra Diablo, the range lived up to its name--the Devil Mountains--and proved an ordeal for men and horses.
Rising almost 3,000 feet above the salt flats north of Van Horn, the range (shown in this photo) tops out at 6,610 feet and is part of the same fossil reef that forms the Guadalupe Mountains 25 miles to the north. Over the last 46 years I've hiked hundreds of miles across this ancient reef and learned much about its geography, flora, and fauna. I write best about places I understand well, and I hope that "Apache Lament" reflects that.
In a contrast of the old with the new, this last stronghold of the Mescaleros looks down on the launch facilities of Blue Origin, the manned spaceflight operation owned by Jeff Bezos.
For this novel, I did considerable research into Mescalero culture and learned that the Mescalero language is unique, standing apart from Western Apache. Throughout, I sprinkled authentic Mescalero words to give the reader a flavor of Mescalero life. Among the terms are "Gáhé," the spirits who commune with the Supreme Being Bik'egu'indáán and who inhabit caves high in mountain ranges such as the Sierra Diablo.
I was indebted to Bill Bentley, who not only shared with me photos from the Diablo heights, but also dared the Gáhé by entering Diablo Bat Cave. He also had to watch for góbitseeghálegóͅlíní ("rattlesnake") and ídóí ("mountain lion"). Had he seen any, he could have shouted "idzúút'i" ("go away!").
I tell the story from the viewpoints of both an Indaa ("white") Texas Ranger and a young Ndé ("Apache") mother. For my characters, I used authentic Mescalero names, including:
Nejeunee: ("friend, kind, or friendly")
Gian-nah-tah: ("always ready")
Too-ah-yah-say: ('strong swimmer")
Nah-kay-yen: ("keen-sighted")
Klo-sen: ("hair hope")
For some characters, I used only the translated names:
Little Squint Eyes
One Who Frowns
Quick Talker
Brushing Against
My sources included two 19th-century books:
"Life Among the Apaches" by John C. Cremony (published 1868)
"The Medicine Men of the Apache" by John Gregory Bourke (published 1892).
Gripping novels, however, involve more than settings and events. They are about people.
In “Apache Lament,” I drew upon the documented story of Sam Graham. Headed west through Bass Canyon near present-day Van Horn, TX on May 12, 1880, Sam and his party were attacked by Mescalero Apaches, who killed his sister-in-law Margaret and wounded his brother Harry. Another wagoner, James Grant, also died, while a Mr. Murphy was wounded.
Sam had done his best, but his Winchester had been no match for the Indians, whose war party became the last free-ranging Apache band in Texas.
Driven by a personal vendetta, Sam signed on with Texas Ranger Company A less than three months later on August 1. If the Rangers could corner the band in the Trans-Pecos crags, Sam could gain vengeance at the muzzle of his carbine.
What happened in the frozen Sierra Diablo on January 29, 1881 provided the basis for “Apache Lament.” The novel is available online in hardcover, paperback, and ebook.
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