W.
Michael Farmer tells me
his favourite of his own novels is HOMBRECITO'S
WAR, which was a WWA (Western Writers of America) Best First Novel finalist and a New Mexico
Book Award Finalist for Historical Fiction. In writing it, Michael says he ‘discovered the pure
joy of writing, learned there were infinite subtleties to balance in writing a
good story, and that fiction really was a way to find the truth behind a historical
story.’
In HOMBRECITO'S WAR Michael
writes about the ‘Fountain murders.’
COLONEL ALBERT FOUNTAIN (1838 -?1896) had a colourful, adventurous life
before coming to a mysterious end.
In 1860, working as a journalist, he narrowly escaped a firing squad in
Nicaragua. Later, serving in the American Civil War brought him to New Mexico,
where he was wounded fighting Apaches. He went on to become the lieutenant
governor of Texas, killed at least one man in a duel and worked as a judge and
attorney - unsuccessfully defending BILLY THE KID in court.
In 1896 Fountains and his 8-year-old son, HENRY, vanished in
the desert near White Sands, believed murdered. Local ranchers, who may have
been part of a rustling ring Fountain was investigating, were considered
suspects, to the extent there was subsequently a shoot-out between them and the
law, including PAT GARRETT.
In HOMBRECITO'S WAR Henry Fountain survives,
to make bloody war on his father’s murderers, in the ways taught him by Yellow
Boy, his Apache mentor.
About
the White Sands area of south eastern New Mexico - according to Wikipedia:
‘The desert is located in the
Tularosa Basin of New Mexico. Its white sands are not composed of quartz, like
most desert sands, but of gypsum and calcium sulfate. Unlike other desert
sands, it is cool to the touch, due to the high rate of evaporation of surface
moisture and the fact that the sands reflect, rather than absorb, the sun's
rays.
At 1185 meters above sea
level, there are approximately 442 square kilometers of dune fields and is
known to be the world's largest surface deposit of gypsum.’
A
western set in the White Sands region, FOUR FACES WEST (1948) starring JOEL
McCREA, featured CHARLES BICKFORD playing Pat Garrett, although it wasn’t about
the Fountain disappearances.
CHARLES
BICKFORD as Pat Garrett in FOUR FACES WEST (1948)
Reviews:
‘A
superlative read. … a powerful story.’
This book
is a fantastic read… The author uses unique phrases that paint enjoyable mental
images that I have never experienced before.’
‘This was
a very enjoyable book, which surprisingly, drew me in emotionally. …I cried
more than once. The story is told with wonderful details of the landscape.’
‘An outstanding fiction writer.’
‘We all
LOVED this book, even though none of us is much of a fan of the western genre…
Farmer paints a vivid picture of southern New Mexico and tells his tale well.’
‘As good
as it gets.’
https://www.amazon.com/Hombrecitos-War-W-Michael-Farmer/dp/159526082X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
