"THUNDER" (wakiya)
Friday
In the pages of the old west there were many legendary characters. The people of that time (1800’s) learned about their contemporary characters through the pages of the “Dime Novel.” There were serialized stories about “Wild Bill Hickok.” “Geronimo.” “Wyatt Earp” and many others. Many of these novels embellished upon the actual characters and events of that time, propelling them into legendary, super star status. Having said that, many of the events had an actual basis in fact. A kind of a fact based fiction. At any rate these novels were a fine form of entertainment and actual news.Following in this tradition I present my ‘Dime Novel Series.” I as a writer and author have decided to post “excerpts” from my new book THE APACHE KID for “free subscribers,” and the “whole book” in serialized form for “paid subscribers.” By serialized I mean a series of pages twice a week for your reading enjoyment until the novel is finished. The Apache Kid will be the first in this series.Remember! If your a free subscriber you will get an excerpt from a random page. Paid or a pledge will get you the whole book in serialized form. Wopila (Thank You) Aho!THE APACHE KID / EXCERPT PrologueYou would have to be as good a “tracker” as he was to even come close to finding the places he would “hole Up.” He liked to think of them as “snake holes” with a back door. A box canyon with an exit. Trees and water were always a plus but not always available. This time they were. His tools of the trade were laying on a horse blanket. A Winchester 73 lever action rifle, a colt 45 “peacemaker” and three knives, one being a “bone handled” skinning knife. His short lance and bow were attached to his hand tooled soft leather “Indian saddle.” It was handcrafted for him by one of his loyal squaws, who he considered part of his “band.” It consisted of soft doeskin with a horse blanket sewn in for comfort and decorated with beads and designs painted into the leather from various dyes extracted from roots. His “band” were various people who were sympathetic and loyal, and who were scattered around in different locations. Ever since “Goyathlay,” better know as Geronimo, had been packed up and sent off to a Florida prison camp on a train with the rest of the Chiricahua people, few true warriors remained. The ones who remained chose to break up into small bands, some of those formed up with him, or at least supported him. He had just broken down and reassembled his firearms after a thorough cleaning and oiling. It was time for him to just be silent and feel the energy from the “Gan” or mountain spirits, or for that matter all the desert spirits that surrounded him. Brief flashes would come to his mind, thoughts of earlier times. Some were pleasant, some not. At one time he had been the number one scout of the Apache scouts who ……to be continued |
