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Mustang: Wild Spirit of the West

Marguerite Henry,

Robert Lougheed (Illustrations)

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Jul 17, 2008 Werner rated it really liked it

Shelves: childrens, other-nonfiction, biography

American writer Marguerite Henry, whose life spanned most of the 20th century (1902-97), was best known for her mostly nonfiction books on horse-related subjects, written for children but capable of also being appreciated by adults. Since my wife is an avid horse-lover, it's not surprising that Henry's work is up her alley. We read this one together sometime in the mid-80s (1986 is a guess), as well as the author's King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian, and I really liked both of American writer Marguerite Henry, whose life spanned most of the 20th century (1902-97), was best known for her mostly nonfiction books on horse-related subjects, written for children but capable of also being appreciated by adults. Since my wife is an avid horse-lover, it's not surprising that Henry's work is up her alley. We read this one together sometime in the mid-80s (1986 is a guess), as well as the author's King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian, and I really liked both of them myself.

Here, Henry turned her attention to the plight of the mustangs, wild horses of the American West descended from stock that escaped from the Spanish conquistadores, through the lens of the life story (up to 1966, when the book was written) of the activist who was primarily responsible for preventing them from being slaughtered into extinction in the 20th century. Velma Bronn "Wild Horse Annie" Johnston (1912-1977) was born and raised in Nevada, of pioneer stock; her father was actually fed, as an infant, on the milk of a captured mustang mare when his mother was unable to nurse him, a story Annie's grandmother passed down to her. As a girl, she was given a mustang pony, Hobo, who became a cherished friend. Early in her married life, she discovered that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, at the behest of wealthy ranchers who begrudged the grass the mustangs ate, was sponsoring brutal aerial round-ups of whole herds, and selling them to the pet food industry for slaughter with the intention of totally exterminating the breed. She began a crusade to save them, beginning with her local county commissioners, that ultimately led to her testifying in the halls of Congress. Aerial round-ups were outlawed in 1959 through the passage of the "Wild Horse Annie Law;" and Federal Reserves for mustangs established in the years that followed. (She was also active in promoting the passage of the more comprehensive protections in the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971, though that took place after Henry wrote this book.)

Though the title page doesn't use the stock phrase "as told to..." the author recounts Annie's story(except for the short epilogue, "Roaming Free") in the first person, presumably with Henry's seasoned editing. The result is felicitous; the story reads like a novel, proving that real life can be as fascinating as fiction. We see Annie's pioneer roots, her childhood in Reno and on her parent's small ranch, including her harrowing bout with polio that left her face somewhat disfigured, her dawning love for neighbor boy Charlie Johnston (they married when she was about 18, and he about 24), the couple's early struggles to make ends meet, her discovery of the horrors of mustang slaughter, and the story of her activism, from its local beginnings and leading up to her dramatic, epochal testimony to a Congressional committee. (Many of the highlights of that testimony are reproduced here, including a thumbnail sketch of the contributions of the mustangs to the settlement of the West.) The reading level would be appropriate for the average middle schooler and above, but isn't too simplistic for adults, either; it's a fascinating tale, chock-full of dramatic incident. It makes the issues in the struggle crystal clear, and it's a very real testament to the power of grass-roots activism in a democracy. Annie's undergirding faith in God also comes through clearly (though other sources indicate that her personality was a bit saltier than Henry shows).

From the vantage point of 1966, Henry and Annie couldn't have foreseen that today, almost 50 years later, the mustangs would again be in the crosshairs of extinction, as the same powerful ranching and horsemeat interests (today with the additional market of overseas human consumption of horseflesh!) buy political influence in Congress and the BLM, to defy, circumvent and bend the law in order to turn back the clock. (That's a sobering reminder that, in the scope of history, there are no "lost causes," simply because there are no permanently won causes; every victory for decency and justice has to be embraced, maintained and defended by the succeeding generations, or it'll be forgotten and pushed aside by renascent indecency and injustice. :-( ). But even though the book doesn't mention the current struggle or make people aware it exists, it would still be a good starting point for educating both kids and adults about the issue. It's still a relevant book --maybe even more so today than when it was first published! ...more

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