Isaac Rice is the protagonist in First Dark: A Buffalo Soldier's Story.  He was the first born (April 10, 1847) of Mark and Eve Rice.  Aunt Ella, the midwife, declared at his birth, and repeated for the rest of her life, that Isaac was the handsomest child she had ever seen.  By age fifteen, Isaac's dark brown face featured a luxurious black mustache and thick smooth eyebrows.  Though Isaac did not think of himself as being handsome, girls and women adored his face and physique.

As promised, here are thumbnail sketches of the women who loved Isaac.

Miriam

At age fourteen, the first girl to get his attention was Miriam.  They were the same age.  She died a year later from sickle cell anemia, at that time, an unnamed mysterious disease.

Bianca

The recently widowed Bianca (born September 8, 1840) was more than seven years older than Isaac when she made him, at age sixteen, the object of her affections.  They were born on the same plantation in Colleton County, South Carolina, not far from Charleston.  Bianca's beauty and brilliance was recognized by the plantation owner's wife who featured her in the service of wealthy and politically important guests.  Isaac was overcome by her charm and determination.  Bianca succeeded in becoming Isaac's first lover.

Rachel

Isaac and Rachel met in the Mississippi Delta during the last year of the Civil war.  Rachel was the first African American Isaac knew who could read and write.  Rachel was born May 11, 1848 in Smith County, Mississippi and raised by her father.  Before she met Isaac, Rachel knew she wanted to be a teacher and had shot two bandits.  Rachel was petite, dark, comely, with full lips, and beautifully proportioned.  She anda Natchez city coulcilman participated in the Natchez delegation to the Mississippi Constitutional Convention after the Civil War.  Until she met Isaac, Rachel had shown no interest in the men on the plantations where she lived.  She loved Isaac at first sight.  Rachel was destined to kill again.

Francesca

Born September 7, 1848 in New Orleans to a white hotel owner and his African American mistress, Francesca was a mulatto too dark to pass for white.  She joined the service of the US Army as a laundress and met Isaac after he enlisted in the Army's 10^th Cavalry Regiment.  They became fast friends, but too soon for Isaac, still suffering from the loss of previous loves.

Alejandra

Though at the time she helped a physician in Chihuahua dig bullets out of two shooting victims she had only limited reading and counting skills, Alejandra became a nurse.  She was born in the small village of Carrizal, Chihuahua on October 11, 1848.  Her ancestors included the enslaved African known as Orestes, who was brought to the mines of Chihuahua by Spaniards.  Isaac was unconscious when Alejandra first saw him.  She saved his life and decided to keep him.

I hope you enjoyed meeting the women who loved Isaac. 

Watch this space as the bibliography of First Dark is released this summer, followed by the novel this fall.

Y'all come on back and visit any ol' time.

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   The Gulf of Mexico near the Rio Grande.
 

Salute and thanks to contributors and new friends!

Travels to follow the paths taken by major characters in First Dark: A Buffalo Soldier's Story ended this week where the Rio Grande flows into the Gulf of Mexico.  Because of the war underway in Mexico and my unwanted encounter with agents in Chihuahua in 1997, the Rio Grande at the Gulf is a stand-in for the final scenes in First Dark that occur on the Rio Pesca near the Gulf, a short distance further south in Tamaulipas.

The most important assets I acquired on this last trek for First Dark was not copies of rare documents, maps, and books.  More valuable has been the people who generously shared their time, resources, and introduced me to their acquaintances - all for the purpose of helping me make First Dark a living experience for readers.  Each person will be saluted on the acknowledgement page in First Dark with their full names and their contributions noted.

In the meanwhile, here are early thanks to my family and Claudia, Pam, Leland, Edgar, Jennifer, Lois, Bubba, Ellyn, Melvin, Neal, Patricia, Tonya, Ike, and Ranger Smith.

Watch this space as the bibliography First Dark is released this summer, followed by the novel this fall.

Y'all come on back and visit any ol' time.

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Right: Bob at Seminole Canyon on the confluence of the Pecos and Rio Grande.                                                                         

 

Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant were war presidents.  The US Army fought Indians before, during, and for many years after the Civil War.  An especially difficult war was waged in the American southwest against Apaches, a very formidable foe.  Walking the battlegrounds of these wars in Mississippi, Texas, and New Mexico helped provide me with better understanding of the conditions under which these nineteenth century wars were waged.  Three young warriors, during the presidencies of Lincoln and Grant, fought against Isaac Rice, beside him, or in one case - both.

Isaac Rice is the protagonist in First Dark: A Buffalo Soldier's Story (coming this fall).  The brave actions of the dedicated young men who became involved in his story helped fill Isaac's life with high adventure and test his mettle in the face of danger that threatened his life on several occasions.  Isaac's three key male antagonists are introduced below. 

(I will introduce Isaac's three female antagonists in my next blog.)

Billy

William Duke was born in Carpenter (Copiah County), Mississippi.  He was a sharpshooter in the 38^th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.  Known as Billy to his friends, William held a strong belief in the tenants of Confederate Vice President Alexander H Stephens' famous "Cornerstone Speech," delivered as the Confederacy was forming.  Stephens' cornerstone was based "upon the great truth that the [Negro] is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition."  William fought at Shiloh and Vicksburg with fervor for this principle and to drive the Federal invaders from his state.

James

Wounded and captured by Confederates in Mississippi while serving in his home state's 6^th Illinois Cavalry, James Darby of Springfield recovered from his wound and later served with George Armstrong Custer's 5^th Michigan Cavalry.  James believed, as Lincoln did, that the Union must be preserved.  At heart, James was a moderate abolitionist.   He fought at Shiloh, was a scout in Grierson's famed raid in Mississippi, and pursed Lee to Appomattox.  After the Civil War, James served in the west with the US Army's 4^th Cavalry Regiment.

Ortega

Trained to be a warrior from childhood, Ortega (Nah-kah-yen) was born in the Sacramento Mountains of southern New Mexico.  Due to the depleted ranks of Mescalero Apache warriors and his heroic deeds as a teenager, Ortega was promoted early and given the privilege of fighting beside experienced warriors against the Confederate, Union, and Mexican armies.  Ortega fought engagements against elements of these armies and raided civilians in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Chihuahua, and Sonora.

Though I used my cell phone, an iron carriage, an air mattress, and public libraries during my travels to follow these nineteenth century warriors, I have a fresh appreciation of what they encountered.  I salute and stand in awe of the Apache warriors and a US Army 10^th Cavalry cartographer who learned their way through the various mountain ranges of New Mexico and Texas. 

Once here, one can admire the beauty of these rocky desert mountains and contrast them to the ponderosa pine covered mountains.  While admiring the beauty of desert plants during the day, or after midnight watching the stars and Milky Way at 9,000 feet above sea level, I remembered reminders from Mescalero friends, rangers, and local librarians to be careful and keep watch for bears and mountain lions.  I paid attention.  An annoying yellow and black persistent fly that sounds like an ordinary house fly also got my attention by continuously buzzing my head in the higher elevations.

My poor arithmetic caused me to be without gasoline in my iron carriage for five hours one night last week at the junction of Texas Farm Roads 505 and 166 - in other words, 25 miles short of my destination and in the middle of nowhere.  So, what to do?   I called AAA and requested gasoline.  After several delays, they delivered.  In the meantime, I set up my propane stove and made dinner.  Since I carry about two gallons of water, washing dishes was not a problem.  Relaxing in my folding sports chair under a rustler's moon, I watched the night sky and took in the sounds of the night creatures - and made notes.  A deputy sheriff (born near Knoxville, TN) stopped by to visit twice at my roadside perch.  I appreciated his attention.

Salute to Claudia Rivers and the collections staff of the University of Texas at El Paso library for sharing highly relevant papers with me last week.

Next time at this location:  Isaac's ladies - the women who loved him.

Y'all come on back and visit any ol' time.

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