Hell of a Horse

by Barbara Neville

He vaults onto Magpie and looks down at Zastee.

  “It’s simple,” he says, with a sly grin. “A fourth husband is cheaper than a servant.”

  I scoff.

  “Catch you two later,” I say. “And, um, thanks for the memories.”

  “Cheers,” says Táági, reaching for Z’s hand, then thinking better of it.

  As he limps slowly away, Z turns and grins at us, looking fulfilled and much more grown up.

  We wave as we trot off down main street. Our amazing horses are happy to be together once again, side by side.

  “Still the enemy,” I say.

  “What?”

  “Zastee, it was a temporary truce,” I say. “Sleepin’ with the enemy don’t realign the war.”

  “Shit, babe.”

  I shrug. “Can’t fight the feelin’.”

  “Takes time, like anything else, I guess,” he says. He takes my hand and kisses it. “Feels powerful good to have you back.”

  We head off into the proverbial sunset; ready to skip this crazy white eyes town and be civilized horseback Injins once more.

  Author’s Postscript

  A fair number of the scenes and actions in my books come from my real-life experiences.

  The cliff sequence in the prologue is a real event. The horse’s name was changed to protect the innocent. Okay, his name was Sam. One hell of a cow horse. One time, while we slept peacefully in our tent, he spent the night gathering cattle. Had twenty head all circled up for us by morning. He was so damn proud of himself. Here’s what happened:

  In Idaho once, in the Seven Devils Wilderness country along the Snake River. It was pitch dark, pouring rain. Sam and I were soaked to the skin. Sam wouldn’t move. Just like in the story. I dismounted and, stupidly, tried to get him to walk…and stepped right off into oblivion.

  My hold on the reins saved me. Sam backed up, pulled me up a (much shorter) cliff. Hell of a horse. Our way out was still blocked by a four-foot diameter downed tree, the cliff, the pouring rain, the pitch dark and a rain swollen creek.

  I wandered around found a lightning struck tree and, using my pocket knife and magnesium fire starter, built a pitch wood fire. Sam stood and I sat by it. Didn’t have any roof though. The rain eventually stopped, we dried out. It was a long damn night. I rode out easily in the sunny first light the next day.

  A number of week to ten day long (store bought) snowshoe and mountain ski trips; carrying, at the start, a thirty-five-pound pack in the steeply glaciated North Cascades gave me fodder for the snow country settings.

  The skunk spray in the face happened when I was camped out near Grey’s Lake, Idaho. It still impressed my old friends and ranch hosts when I walked in their front door over a week later.

  Been involved in little blasting during my prospecting days, too.

  On the other hand, I’ve been in way less gunfights and bar fights than Cha’a and friends.

  Cowboy Dictionary

  Some unconventional spelling is used in the Cha’a Many Horses and Spirit Animal books to impart an authentic cowboy feel to the narrative. The author rode and worked with various cowhands, prospectors and other bush folk who spoke as Cha'a, Güero, Ma'cho, Buffalo, Sir Jacob and the other characters do. Ma'cho’s Injin speak is his own.

  Cowboys are fond of colorful and obscure language. It is a source of humor and a sign of their unique culture. Their stories are passed back and forth, repeated over and over during the long hours on the trail and around the campfire. Accents are accentuated, especially in front of dudes and tales get taller with the telling. All in good fun. Here is a guide to the more unusual vernacular terms:

  About, as in ‘I don’t know what he’s about’: what he is doing or thinking.

  Acrost: across.

  Adit: entrance, tunnel.

  Agin: again.

  Ah: I, myself.

  Ahi: (Hawaiian) tuna.

  Air: are.

  Aholt: hold, as in ‘grab aholt of that shovel’.

  Ajo: (Spanish) garlic.

  Alto: (Spanish) tall.

  Amigable: (Spanish) friendly.

  Amigo: (Spanish) friend.

  An’: and.

  Ancho: (Spanish) wide.

  Anothah: another.

  Apache: a derivation of the Spanish phrase Apache De Navajo first recorded in 1620. And, possibly, from the Spanish word ‘mapache’ meaning raccoon.

  Apacheria: Apache territory.

  Apsáalooke- the Crow.

  Ariding: riding.

  Ahorseback: on horseback.

  Ashdla’i = (Apache) five.

  Askcents: accents.

  Atcha: at you.

  Atween: between.

  A’twitchin’: twitching.

  Aught: 0, or double aught: 00 horseshoe sizes, more aughts is smaller.

  Awl: all.

  Ayuda: (Spanish) help.

  Bac: (Papago) water.

  Bandido(s): (Spanish) bandit(s)

  Bannock: an unleavened flat bread popular on the trail.

  Barabra: an ancient Egyptian term for the Nubian people of the Sudan, reprised in the twenty-third century.

  Barrancas del Cobre: Copper Canyon in Chihuahua México. Six canyons which, combined, are larger than the Grand Canyon.

  Belagana: (Navajo) white person.

  Berserkers: Ber (Bear) serk (shirt) The warriors often fought nude or unarmored, or wearing a bear, wolf or other skin to strike fear in the enemy. The went into a frenzy from eating Amanita Muscaria, a hallucinogenic and even deadly mushroom. Numb to pain, and in an uncontrollable rage, they were tough to beat.

  Bienvenidos: (Spanish) welcome.

  Bigan: (Apache), (began) hand.

  Bilii’: (Apache), (billy’e) horse.

  Bolillos: (Spanish) Sandwich sized hand-formed loaves of Mexican bread, often baked in a stone oven.

  Bonnet: (Brit) the hood of a vehicle.

  Boot: (Brit) the trunk of a vehicle.

  Borracho(s): drunkard(s).

  Borrachones: (Spanish) drunken ones.

  Boudins: (bow-deens) intestines. At a fresh kill, mountain men squeezed the green contents out of the buffalo small intestine, straight into their mouths. It was said to primary source of fresh vegetables.

  Boys: Cowboys generally refer to each other as boys, less often as men. Shorthand for cowboy.

  Bruddah: (Hawaiian pidgin) brother.

  Brujo, bruja: shaman, witch.

  Buffler or Buff: buffalo.

  Bullwhip: a single-tailed whip. Used for working livestock in open country.

  Cabron: (Spanish) asshole.

  Cain’t: can’t.

  Camino: (Spanish) road or trail.

  Campesinos: (Spanish) rural people.

  Caravanserai: An inn built around a large court for accommodating caravans along trade routes in central and western Asia.

  Cerveza: (Spanish) beer.

  Cha’a: (Apache) (like ‘cha cha cha’, the dance, plus a second ‘ah’, so cha’ah) beaver.

  Chameleon camo: camouflage cloth that changes to match the background, almost instantly.

  Cheesecharger: a backup battery for robots that also gives them the appearance of being one hundred percent human.

  Chingada (o): (Spanish) fucking.

  Chubasco: (Apache) a violent squall with thunder and lightning.

  Cidiot: city idiot, a person not conversant with country ways. Considers country folk to be ignorant, inbred hicks.

  Cleah: clear.

  Cojones: (Spanish) testicles.

  Compañero(s): partner, companion.

  Conversatin’: conversing.

  Crick: crick.

  Dalaá = (Apache) (rhymes with doll + ‘ah ah’) one.

  Da kine: (Hawaiian pidgin) the kind, a placeholder name like whatsit or whatsamajigger.

  Dasn’t: dare not.

  Dayum: damn.

  Den: then.

  Descargando: (Spanish) shooting, discharging.

  Dese: these.

  Detectivos: (Spanish)
detectives.

  Diablo: (Spanish) devil.

  Dii’d or dii’i =(Apache) (say the letters, d e e) four.

  Dijeron: (Spanish) they said. From the verb, ‘decir’ (to say).

  Dint: didn’t.

  Disremember: forget.

  Doan: don’t.

  Donde: (Spanish) where.

  Duster: Originally a long loose canvas coat worn over clothes by horsemen to shed the trail dust.

  El paso: (Spanish) the pass.

  ‘Em: them.

  Enemigos: (Spanish) enemies.

  Estacion: (Spanish) station.

  Estrella: (Spanish) star.

  Ever’one: everyone.

  Ever’thang: everything.

  Ever’thin’: everything.

  Ever’thing: everything.

  Everyt’ing: (Hawaiian pidgin) everything.

  Excellente: (Spanish) excellent.

  Factotum: a jack of all trades.

  Fam’ly: family.

  Fav’rite: favorite.

  Ferengi: (Farsi) foreigner.

  Ferrocarril: (Spanish) railroad.

  Fijate: (Spanish) To notice, or pay attention.

  Fincas: farms.

  Fingahs: fingers.

  Fingerspelling: the gestures used in the American sign language alphabet.

  Four-in-hand: A team of four horses, rigged so they can be handled by one driver, pulling a carriage or wagon.

  FTL: faster than light.

  Gawds: gods.

  Gelding: a neutered male horse.

  Getcha: get you.

  Gigante(s): (Spanish) giant(s)

  Git: get.

  Glory Hole: a ragged hole where miners extracted a massive high-grade ore body.

  Goldarn: Gawd (god) damn.

  Golliwog: a British/African person.

  Goneznán: (Apache) ten.

  Góshé: (Apache) dog.

  Góst’áí: (Apache) nine.

  Gostán: (Apache) six.

  Gosts’idi: (Apache) seven.

  Goyaałé: (Apache) He who yawns (also known as Geronimo).

  Gracias: (Spanish) thank you.

  Gran Desierto del Altar: (Spanish) the Altar Desert of mostly in northern Mexico. Some overlap into Organ Pipe Cats National Monument. A unique part of the Sonoran Desert.

  Graupel: (German) clumps of wet snowflakes frozen together by tiny balls of ice.

  Green, green broke: a horse that has only had a rider on his back a few times.

  Güero, güera: (Spanish), (gwero) A blonde, light skinned person.

  Guerrero: (Spanish) warrior.

  Gut: intestines, cleaned and dried, they are tightly sewn together with tiny stitches to make waterproof rain gear and dry bags.

  Habañero: (Spanish) a tasty and very spicy orange pepper.

  Haboob: sandstorm, dust storm.

  Hafting: the process of securing a projectile point, such as a stone arrowhead to a split shaft. Such as a spear, hatchet or arrow.

  Hair drop: A decorative item, tied to a man’s hair which might include quilled or beaded leather and even a buffalo tail. Hair drops could be more than two feet long.

  Hand: a unit of measure for horses, originally the width of your hand, now standardized at four inches. Rather than fifteen hands, two inches, we would say ‘fifteen two’. A horse who is fifteen two is sixty-two tall at the withers.

  Haole: (Hawaiian) A non-Hawaiian person. It actually means white, but is also used to describe black white and red white people. Hence, non- Hawaiian.

  Hapa: (Hawaiian) half or part Hawaiian (as it is used by Sky).

  Hawses: horses.

  Heah: here.

  He’p, he’ped: help, helped.

  Hisself: himself.

  Hondo: The sliding loop on a cowboy’s rope which helps it slide freely to tighten the catch loop.

  Howzit?: a Hawaiian greeting, how is it going?

  If’n: if.

  ...in’: any verb ending in ‘ing’ is generally pronounced with a silent ‘g’. As in, ‘I was pointin’ my gun at the varmint’.

  Ikaz: (Apache) agave, century plant.

  Indaa: (Apache) white person.

  Isdzán: (Apache) woman.

  I’se: I was.

  Jaagé: (Apache) antelope.

  Jes’: just.

  Jillion: Not a number, it means too many to count.

  Kabósari: (Tarahumara) owl. Shrouded in mystery, they can be a sign of impending death.

  Kahuna: (Hawaiian) an important person. Also, can mean a wise man or shaman.

  Ka'igwu: the Kiowa.

  Kalenjin: An African tribe of legendary runners.

  Ketoh: (Navajo, Hopi) similar to a cowboy cuff, a bracer is used by archers to protect the forearm from the bowstring.

  Kidlin’s: little kids.

  Kin: can (verb) or relatives.

  Kinda: kind of.

  Knapping: to chip and shape a conchoidal fracturing stone; usually flint, chert, or obsidian, into an arrowhead, spearhead, knife or other tool with a hammerstone. Antler tines are used for pressure flaking the fine cutting edges.

  Komantsia- (Ute) anyone who fights me all the time. Origin of the white eyes tribal name for the Comanche.

  Longcoat: a duster or overcoat.

  Long pig: human meat.

  Lo tengo: (Spanish) I got it.

  Lupan: (Apache) wolf.

  Machaca: (Spanish) a spiced, marinated, cooked, shredded and dried Mexican beef or pork. Similar to beef jerky.

  Ma'cho: (Apache), (short a, not hard a) wolf. Also spelled Ba’cho. Pronounced: Mba’cho.

  Madam Pele: The Hawaiian goddess of volcanos.

  Mañany: mañana, tomorrow.

  Marching soldiers: the classic regimented clouds that pass many hours in advance of a front.

  Mas: (Spanish) more.

  Mattah: matter.

  Mecapl: a Tarahumara shawl strap. Also used as a tumpline.

  ‘Member: remember.

  Mescal: any tequila not made in the state of Tequila, Mexico.

  Metates y manos: (Spanish) mortars and pestles. Grinding stones for hand grinding grains, spices, and such.

  Mil: (Spanish) thousand.

  Monstruos: (Spanish) monsters.

  More’n: more than.

  Mota: (Spanish) weed.

  Mountaineer: a 19th century word for mountain men.

  Muy: (Spanish) very.

  Myse’f: myself.

  Naki: (Apache), (rhymes with hockey) two.

  Nantan: (Apache) grey.

  Nantan Lupan: the Apache name for General George Crook. It means Grey Ma'cho.

  Nary: not any.

  Naught: none, zero.

  Ndee: (Apache) man, the people. Tone of the Apache tribes’ name for themselves.

  Near side: the left side of a horse when facing forward. The side people commonly mount from. If not trained to it, mounting a horse from the off side could cause a wreck.

  Nemene: the Comanche name for themselves. Meaning ‘human beings’ or ‘the people’.

  Nevah: never.

  Nicked: (British) stolen.

  Niitsitapi: (Blackfoot) the people. The Blackfoot name for themselves.

  Noctilucent: Literally, shining at night.

  Norte: (Spanish) north.

  Nikon: (Comanche) the wanderers. Quanah Parkers birth band.

  O’: of, pronounced like a short ‘a’.

  Off side: the right side of a horse when facing forward.

  Ohuí: (Tarahumara) bear.

  Ol’: old.

  On song: (Brit) performing well.

  Oro: (Spanish) gold.

  Othah: other.

  Outfit: ranch or rig, as in saddle and bridle.

  Overland trout: bacon.

  Oyate: (Lakota) tribe, people, nation.

  Palo Duro: (Spanish) the Ironwood tree. Literally: hard branch.

  Pannier: pronounced ‘panyard’. From the French, A bag or box hung on each side of a packsaddle to carry cargo.

  Pantera: (Spanish) pan
ther, cougar, catamount, puma. There are a plethora of common names for American this cat.

  Papeles: (Spanish) papers. Used as a shorthand to mean identity papers.

  Paseo: a walk or stroll.

  Pee waddin’: two versions: 1. Black powder guns used a rag wad which was tamped in between the powder and the shot. In cannons, another wad held the ball in place. If the wadding was not tamped properly the bullet could fall out when the ship rolled. 2. A reference to urinary weakness caused by fear. Thus, the saying implied the worst, i.e. ‘scared the pee waddin’ (shit) out of me’.

  Pendejo: (Spanish) dumbass.

  Pemmican: a mixture of dried meat and wild berries, pounded into a powder and mixed with lard.

  Persistence runner: a human who runs animals down afoot.

  Philosophizers: philosophers.

  Pickaninny, pickaninny: A racial slur for African descent children. From the Spanish word pequeño, meaning small.

  Pinche: (Spanish) fucking.

  Pissed: a Brit term for drunk.

  Pistola(s): (Spanish) pistol(s).

  Pistolero: (Spanish) gunslinger.

  Planchas: (Spanish) slabs.

  Plata: (Spanish) silver.

  Plews: pelts of furbearing animals.

  Por favor: (Spanish) please.

  Port: left side of any craft when facing forward, commonly boats, airplanes, spacecraft.

  Possibles: food and gear, whatever a person who only goes to town once a year may possibly need to survive until the next trip into civilization.

  Powah: power.

  Poor, poorly: underfed, ill or out of shape.

  Primo: (Hawaiian) best, number one.

  Pronghorn: Called antelope locally in the West, but actually their own unique species, true antelope are African. A case of convergent evolution. When spooked the white fur on their butt goes erect and flashes in the sun. Very curious, they can be hunted by waving flags to attract them.

  Pues: well, since, then. A preamble word as in “Pues, vamos a ver.” (So, let’s see what happens.)

  Pupus: (Hawaiian) hors d’oeuvres.

  Purt: pretty.

  Pyrenean Mountain Dog: known as the Great Pyrenees in the U.S.

  Quahadi: (Comanche) the ‘antelope-eater’ band of Comanche.

  Que pasa?: (Spanish) What’s up?

  Que paso?: (Spanish) What happened?

  Que lastima: (Spanish) What a shame.

  Querechos: Coronado’s name for the Apaches.

  Querido or querida: (Spanish) dear, beloved.

  Quien fueron?: (Spanish) Who were they?

  Rancherias: (Spanish) small, rural settlement.