Heart of the West [Annotated]

48

rangers– Texas Rangers, an elite law-enforcement organization which began in the 1830's, even before Texas became an independent republic. One of O. Henry's hosts during his stay on ranches in South Texas was Leigh Hall, a man from O. Henry's home town in North Carolina, who had been one of the most famous Texas Rangers. Hall had resigned from the Rangers and was managing a ranch when O. Henry was taken to Texas by Hall's parents. Hall probably served as a model for many of O. Henry's Ranger heroes.

49

like Tybalt.. arithmetic—Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Sc. i. Mortally wounded by Tybalt, Mercutio says,

"No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve: ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man. I am peppered, I warrant, for this world. – A plague o' both your houses! – Zounds, a dog, a rat, a mouse, a cat, to scratch a man to death! a braggart, a rogue, a villain, that fights by the book of arithmetic!"

50

Livy (History of Rome, Book II) tells the story of Horatius Cocles. Shortly after the Romans threw out Tarquin and the Etruscans (about 509 B.C.), Lars Porsenna, an Etruscan King, attacked the city. His army had to cross a narrow wooden bridge over the Tiber. Horatius and two companions blocked the way of the Etruscan army while their comrades dismantled the bridge behind them. Horatius' companions retreated to safety just before the bridge collapsed. When Horatius was certain the Etruscans could not cross the river, he prayed to the god of the Tiber, then jumped from the bridge into the river in full armor and swam to safety. For a more complete account, read the original in Project Gutenberg's library: .

51

Spurius Lartius was one of Horatius' two companions defending the Sublician Bridge. O. Henry exaggerates the time devoted to study of the classics in the curriculum for Ranger training.

52

Rio Bravo– Rio Grande. In Mexico the Rio Grande is often called the Rio Bravo or the Rio Bravo del Norte.

53

jacal– (Spanish) a small house or shack built by driving vertical stakes into the ground and filling in walls between the stakes with adobe

54

Diabla bonita– (Spanish) Pretty devil

55

cañoncito– (Spanish) little canyon

56

viva la reina!– (Spanish) long live the queen!

57

kalsomining– applying a whitewash to ceiling or walls

58

slings.. fortune—Hamlet, Act III, Sc. i. Hamlet's soliloquy:

59

Military Plaza– The Plaza de Armas was established about 1722 as the drill grounds for the Presidio San Antonio de Béxar. After the Civil War it was used as an open market. Today it is the site of governmental buildings.

60

norther– a Texas "blue norther" is a cold front. Its arrival is heralded by a blue-black sky to the north, followed by rain and thunderstorms. The temperature can fall 20-40 degrees in a few hours.

61

potrero– (Spanish) pasture, grassland

62

El Amo!– (Spanish) The boss!

63

Cléo de Mérode (1873-1966) was a beautiful Parisian ballerina whose hair style caused a sensation when she danced in a production at age 13.

64

puerta– (Spanish) gate

65

This annotator can find no record of a Lone Wolf Crossing on the Frio, but there are clues that O. Henry had an actual place in mind for the setting of this story. We are told four paragraphs below that this point on the Frio is about 20 miles from the Nueces River. Later we are told that the Arroyo Hondo is near the Lone Wolf Crossing. Hondo Creek enters the Frio in Frio County 5 miles from Pearsall (about 75 miles southwest of San Antonio). At that location the Frio and the Nueces are about 20 miles apart.

66

mescal– a drug-containing liquor made by distilling fermented agave cactus

67

quien sabe– (Spanish) who knows?

68

gannet– a large sea bird

69

gitanas– (Spanish) gypsies

70

plait.. stake-rope– O. Henry probably learned this skill or at least saw it practiced during the two years he spent on South Texas ranches.

71

chivo– (Spanish) goat

72

Quintana Creek is a tributary of the Nueces River in LaSalle County, where O. Henry spent two years on ranches.

73

tienda– (Spanish) store

74

lavendera– (Spanish) laundress, washerwoman

75

El Chivato– (Spanish) literally translated as The Sneak or The Informer but more likely meaning The Villain or The Evil One. This was one of the nicknames of Billy the Kid.

76

frijoles– (Spanish) beans, usually cooked a long time until very soft, with various seasonings added

77

Que mal muchacho!– (Spanish) What a bad boy!

78

alma– (Spanish) soul, spirit; in this sense a "soul-mate"

79

chica– (Spanish) girl, little one

80

caballo– (Spanish) horse

81

muy caballero– (Spanish) very much a gentleman

82

canciones de amor– (Spanish) love songs

83

pantalones and camisa– (Spanish) trousers and shirt

84

Pues– (Spanish) Well then

85

Valgame Dios!– (Spanish) God help me!

86

rift.. loot– Tennyson, Idylls of the King: Merlin and Vivien:

87

spavined crowbait– a lame, emaciated horse (from spavin, an inflammation of the tarsal or ankle joint of a horse, causing lameness, and an appearance that causes carrion birds to think a meal is in the offing)

88

apples of silver—Proverbs XXV: "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver."

89

apples of the Hesperides– the eleventh labor of Hercules was to retrieve the golden apples of Zeus, which were guarded by a hundred-headed dragon and by the Hesperides, daughters of Atlas

90

Percival De Lacey– possibly derived from Maurice De Bracy in Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe

91

blind-bridle– a bridle with flap-like extensions partly covering the horse's eyes to prevent him from looking to the side or turning his head to the side

92

star wayno– probably a corruption of "esta bueno" ("that's good)

93

orchestrion– a large mechanical instrument capable of imitating various musical instruments or even an entire orchestra. It usually included components of an organ, piano, and percussion instruments. Those made by the Seeburg Company were also called nickelodeons because they played when a coin was inserted into a slot. The Seeburg Company later made "juke boxes."

94

O. Henry was not fond of national bank examiners. One (F. B. Gray) accused him of embezzling funds from the First National Bank of Austin, where he worked as a teller. The owners of the bank wanted to let the matter drop, possibly because some of them were guilty, but the examiner persisted. O. Henry (then William Sidney Porter) was convicted and spent three years in prison. To this day no one knows whether he was really guilty; he often claimed he took the blame for what others had done, but occasionally he made comments that might be construed as admissions of guilt.

Prison was good for O. Henry in one respect: it gave him the opportunity to write. At least a dozen of his stories were published (under various pen names) before his release in 1901, including "Georgia's Ruling," which, to this annotator, is one of his three best stories.

95

"The Cowboy's Lament"– better known as "The Streets of Laredo," possibly written by Francis Henry Maynard:

96

Colorado-claro– light brown (taken from the nomenclature of cigar wrappers)

97

Danaë– (Greek mythology) Danaë was the daughter of King Acrisius of Argos. Because of a prophecy that Danaë's child would kill him, Acrisius had Danaë, who was childless, shut up in a bronze tower to prevent her from ever becoming pregnant. Zeus became enamored of Danaë and appeared to her as a shower of gold through the ceiling, impregnating her. When she gave birth to a son, Perseus, Acrisius had Danaë and Perseus locked in a wooden chest and set adrift in the ocean. They reached land and safety. Perseus grew up to be one of the great heroes of Greek mythology; slaying the gorgon Medusa was one of his many adventures. At an athletic contest he threw the discus, which by accident flew into the crowd, striking and killing Acrisius, who happened to be a spectator at the games.

Presumably O. Henry's metaphor refers to a shower of gold.

98

lèse-majesté– (French) an affront to royalty

99

Momus– (Greek mythology) the god of ridicule and mockery

100

In Shakespeare's As You Like It the erudite Jaques, one of the banished duke's attendants in the Forest of Arden, is cynical and sarcastic.

101

now in his sere and yellow leaf—Macbeth, Act V, Sc. iii:

102

oriflamme– the red-orange flag of the Abbey St. Denis, used as a standard by early French kings

103

Rat-trap– O. Henry was married twice, once in his twenties (she died a few years after they were married) and again near the end of his life. Both marriages were somewhat stormy, and he often complained that marriage was too confining.

104

muchacha– (Spanish) young girl

105

seidlitz powder– a medication made by mixing powders of sodium potassium tartrate, sodium bicarbonate, and tartaric acid, used for its laxative effect or to treat hangovers

106

Annie and Willie's prayer– probably refers to a poem by Sophia Snow called "Annie and Willie's Prayer" which parodies "'Twas the Night before Christmas":

107

Violet de Vere– name of a poem by Robert William Service (1874-1958) about a strip-teaser brought before a judge for disturbing the peace. Violet is released when she reveals that the judge owes her money.

108

Fredericksburg is in the Hill Country west of Austin and north of San Antonio. It is near but not "on" the Pedernales. Fredericksburg was settled largely by Germans (as was most of Central Texas), and as recently as the 1940's German was commonly spoken in its cafes. Even today (2004) the main street (named Der Hauptstrasse) boasts an array of German restaurants. Austin had a large German population when O. Henry lived there in the 1890's, and when he was publishing a weekly humorous newspaper called _The Rolling Stone_ he lost many subscribers and advertisers by satirizing the Germans. Note his treatment of a German accent later in this story.

109

scat– skat, a popular German card game

110

Donnerwetter!– (German) an exclamation, literally translated "thunder-weather!"

111

Ausgespielt– (German) finished

112

Spiel! Zwei bier!– (German) Play! Two beers! Hondo Bill's German vocabulary was limited.

113

Gott in Himmel!– (German) God in Heaven!

114

megrims– depression, unhappiness

115

steam piano– calliope. Joshua C. Stoddard (1814-1902) invented the calliope in 1855 and formed the American Steam Piano Company to manufacture it commercially.