by Jeff Guinn
The youngster hustled to set out shirts and trousers, drawers, and socks. McLendon made his choices based on price and practicality: denim rather than gabardine pants, because they were cheaper and more durable. The shirt he selected was light brown; he thought the dust inevitably kicked up by stagecoach teams would show less on it.
“Can I put these fresh things on if I promise to pay for them?” he asked, and the clerk nodded enthusiastically. So McLendon went into the back of the store, shucked off his old garments, and put on the new ones. The clean clothes felt wonderful. He wished he could have bathed first, but he’d attend to that next at the boardinghouse. He tucked his old shirt, pants, and drawers under his arm, went to the counter, and handed over twelve dollars.
“No charge for a hero,” he was informed. “My boss would agree, and, if not, I’ll pay this myself.”
McLendon thanked him. “Would you dispose of these for me?” he asked the clerk, indicating the old clothes.
The boy reached out and took them. He spread them on the counter and touched the bloodstained shirt reverently with a fingertip.
“Could I keep this, sir?”
“What for?”
“Oh, you know,” the young clerk said, suddenly sounding very shy. “This shirt is special. Why, it was at the battle of Adobe Walls. It’s part of history now, just like you.”
McLendon considered that. “Yes,” he finally said. “I suppose it is.”
NOTES
Buffalo Trail is history-based fiction. With the exception of Cash McLendon, all the main characters really did exist. In general, the battle happened (mostly) as described, though I’ve conflated some events for storytelling purposes. For those who want more of the real history, I have three books to recommend: Billy Dixon & Adobe Walls: Life and Adventures of “Billy” Dixon by Billy Dixon (Leonaur Press); S. C. Gwynne’s justly acclaimed Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History (Scribner); and, above all, the comprehensive and masterful Adobe Walls: The History and Archeology of the 1874 Trading Post by T. Lindsay Baker and Billy R. Harrison (Texas A&M University Press). If more fiction is what you crave, you must read Jan Reid’s Comanche Sundown (TCU Press), a brilliant novel based on much of Quanah Parker’s life.
You can visit the Adobe Walls battle site if you’re willing to endure some rough-and-tumble driving. Take Texas Highway 207 north of Borger and Stinnett, then turn east at the appropriate highway marker. After following narrow blacktop and dirt roads for another fifteen or sixteen dusty miles, you’ll be there. I promise, it’s worth the effort. On the way home, stop off in the town of Canyon to visit the amazing Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, which has a display of Adobe Walls memorabilia, including Quanah’s eagle feather war bonnet.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Above all, thanks to the wonderful staff at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, who patiently answered all of my questions and offered additional information that proved invaluable—for instance, about Mochi’s probable presence at the battle. My imagination took it from there.
Anne Collier provided last-minute research assistance. My agent, Jim Donovan, was always supportive, and Christine Pepe, Michael Barson, Kelly Welsh Rudolph, and Ivan Held at Putnam were there when I needed them.
As I wrote, my usual team of readers followed along, providing constructive criticism. James Ward Lee, Carlton Stowers, and Mike Blackman always make my books better.
Cash McLendon will be back soon.
Everything I write is always for Nora, Adam, Grant, and Harrison.
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