Letter #4- Wild West Horses Part 1
Hi again Reader,
Have you ever wished for something, and then as soon as you forget that you made the wish- it comes true? Well that is exactly what happened to me.
I had been asking to go on an adventure, and as soon as I had forgotten all about this wish, in the morning while I was standing on my head a great black horse appeared upside down. Actually, he was right-side up and I was upside down.
"I am the Great Grandfather of the West where the sun goes down. I request your help in my land." I lowered my feet to the ground, and came up to sitting to hear what I could possibly do.
"The horses are no longer a strong team. They are taking everything personally, and they have kicked up a thunder dust cloud that is very thick. I need you to take this bow and arrow and destroy whatever it is that is making them on edge."
"Of course I will do my best." I promised and climbed onto the Great Grandfather's back. We galloped over to Miggs who was already ready with his bag of apples and instrument, flung on his back.
The Great Grandfather of the West let out a tremendous whinny and a small thunder cloud dropped down in front of us. We stepped onto the cloud and were whisked West. As we travelled over the land, the Great Grandfather told us a powerful story about how to NOT take anything personally. Just before we arrived the Great Horse told us when we had destroyed the problem, to face West and say his name three times and he would bring us back home.
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With those instructions, he handed the bow to Miggs and the arrows to me, and dropped us on the balcony of a quickly moving black narrow gauge railway train.
Chuggachugga chuggachugga chuggachugga. Our heads bobbed up and down, up and down. I rattled left, right, left, right, chuggachugga chuggachugga, chuggachugga, WOOOOOOOOOO blew the whistle. My legs were wobbly and I held onto the wooden rail with all my strength.
Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. I stuck my head over the side and whoosh, was slapped in the face with a cold blast of air rushing by as the train lurched on its narrow rails around a sharp turn.
"Oh wow!" I looked down and beyond the train tracks a sharp cliff dropped vertically down to a rushing river below.
"Holy Cow! Oh my goodness! Amazing! Miggs this place is beautiful!" The Aspen trees everywhere had changed their leaves to glowing gold in the chilly autumn air.
"I think we really are in the Wild West." He replied.
A few minutes later there was a long screech sound of the brakes and the train pulled into the dusty frontier town of Capitan. The thunder clouds hung dark in the sky, clinging to the edges of the sharp mountain peaks. The horses who had been on the train pushed their way past us, shoving and stepping on each other trying to be the first off the train.
"You dirty stinker", one mare said to another, who retorted by letting out an unnerving whinny that deafened even the Peregrine Falcon soaring high above.
We walked around the town and Miggs was thirsty so we stepped into a saloon for a drink of water. The horses here were even meaner than the ones on the train. They threw around cruel words like bullets, shooting each other left and right and then retaliating faster than the next.
"You ain't worth nothing." POW.
Then in quick response,"You are uglier than a bucket full of rotten toads legs." POW. Back and forth like a tennis game of insults. Each cruel word being swallowed up by the other.
Miggs strutted over to the middle of the saloon, stood up on a bar stool and let out a big old shout for attention. "HeeHaw! Attention all of you cowboys! If you horses can keep your big lips shut for five seconds we have an announcement."
I looked at him, wondering what the big announcement was, seeing as we didn't have plan as of yet how to help the Great Horse. Miggs winked at me, and I knew he was up to something.
Besides a few grunts and hoof stomps, the saloon fell quiet and Miggs continued, "At high noon we are calling a shooting competition, bow and arrows only. If one of you horses wins, we will buy you all a round of whatever juice you're drinking and apples for everyone. If we win, you must listen to our story."
I swallowed hard because I knew we didn't have a way to pay for all those drinks and we would be cooked turkeys if we couldn't fulfil our bet. There were a few snarls, spits and grunts, but no one disagreed.
The saloon keeper set up a bulls-eye on the main drag, and everyone gathered to see the spectacle. Wild Jack Mustang was the scariest, darkest horse with ripped ears and ratted tail, but of course the best aim, so he was the natural choice for the horses.
As I was worrying myself into a tizz, Miggs, whispered "just trust, remember we are totally supported". So he was to shoot for our team.
Wild Jack won the coin toss and chose to go first. Three arrows. He stood up tall on his hind legs and let go of the arrows with rapid fire.
One. Bulls-Eye. Two. Bulls-Eye.
Three. One hair to the left of the Bulls-eye. The crowd roared, whinnied and neighed as the dark thunder cloud cracked above and dust blew into our faces.
Next it was our turn. We were putting our trust completely on the fact that those horses needed to know the Great Great Grandfather of the West's story more than they needed another drink. Miggs shot the first one. Bulls-eye. Second. Bulls-eye. We took a deep breath together and he shot the third arrow- Bulls-eye.
With the third arrow, the wind died down, and the stinging dust fell to the ground. A small beam of sunlight broke through the cloud and lit up the horses faces. As the air brightened the horses relaxed and they started to move to a gentler beat.
They seemed pleased to gather around beneath the saloon's balcony, Miggs gave everyone apples anyway and the horses listened while I told the story we had just learned from the Great Grandfather of the West.
The story began, My friend's great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother was named Naupa.
Well my dear Reader, I believe I have written enough for this letter, but I promise I will continue with Naupa's story and how we left Capitan in the next letter.
Lots of love,
Smiles Truth