Description
Berry, Gladys B. (1992). Mule Woman. Jelm Mountain Press, Laramie, Wyoming. 84 Seiten. ISBN 978-0936204420
Mule Woman is told by untutored Andy Ballard in the musical idiom of the Missouri hill country of 1868. Spelling is purposely phonetic in order to retain the flavor of their speech. Andy, his bride Sybil, and her three brothers, Tilton, Matthew and Promise Blaine are on their way to Oregon. They encounter Indians north of Julesburg, Colorado Territory and Sybil astounds the natives by leading the family mule herd in an attack against them. Because of her control of the mule herd, the Indians call Sybil „Mule Woman.“ and she in turn dubs the Indian leader “Hot Damn.“ The Indians become friends of the travelers and, asking to hear the Jesus-words, return to join the family in their evening devotions. As the travelers resume their journey to Laramie City, Hot Damn tells them the town is „not good“ and the groups separate, with an invitation for the travelers to join the Indians in their camp „beyond the blue mountains“ to the south. The Ballards and Blaines continue on to Laramie City intending to continue to Oregon in the spring. However, the town is run by „riff-raff“ which followed the building of the Union Pacific Railroad and the group meets with tragedy when a friend of Promise’s is killed by a gang of roughs and Promise tries to help his friend’s sweetheart. Within weeks a Vigilance Committee is formed to deal with the lawless ruffians in the frontier town and the Ballards and Blaines become involved in the „clean-up.“ The story graphically depicts life in the end of track town named Laramie City in the late 1860’s.
