''Dead Man's Walk'' is a 1995

Western novel Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 20th century and ...

by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the third book published in the ''Lonesome Dove'' series but the first installment in terms of chronology. McMurtry wrote a fourth segment to the ''Lonesome Dove'' chronicle, ''

Comanche Moon ''Comanche Moon'' (1997) is a western novel by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the fourth and final book he published in the ''Lonesome Dove'' series. In terms of chronology, it is the second installment of the narrative. A Comanche Moon ...

'', which describes the events of the central characters' lives between ''Dead Man's Walk'' and ''Lonesome Dove''. The second novel in the ''Lonesome Dove'' series was the 1993 sequel to the original, called '' Streets of Laredo''. ''Dead Man’s Walk'' was later adapted into a three-part miniseries of the same name, which aired in May 1996.

Plot summary

In 1842, young Texas Rangers

Augustus McCrae The ''Lonesome Dove'' series is a series of four western fiction novels written by Larry McMurtry and the five television miniseries and television series based upon them. Overview The novels and miniseries follow the exploits of several members ...

and Woodrow Call are introduced quickly and brutally to the rangering life on their first expedition, in which they are stalked by the Comanche war chief Buffalo Hump. After a narrow escape, the rangers return to civilization, only to quickly join an expedition to capture and annex Santa Fe, part of New Mexico (the part east of the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

) for Texas. The expedition, led by pirate and soldier of fortune Caleb Cobb, is ultimately a failure; of the 200 initial adventurers, only about 40 survive, falling to starvation, bears and Comanches, only to be swiftly arrested by the Mexican authorities. Those survivors are forced to march the

Jornada del Muerto The name Jornada del Muerto translates from Spanish as "Single Day's Journey of the Dead Man" or even "Route of the Dead Man, though the modern literal translation is closer to "The Working Day of the Dead". It was the name given by the Spanish ...

("Dead Man's Walk") to El Paso, and many, Mexican and Texan alike, die along the journey. The Texas contingent is reduced to ten persons when the captives panic after they observe cavalry drilling and are slaughtered in a blood lust as they flee. At their destination, the ten are forced to gamble for their lives by drawing a bean from a jar - a white bean signals life, a black bean death. Call and McCrae are among the five survivors. The last Rangers then return to Texas, escorting a Scottish woman and her son, who have also been held captive by the Mexicans, as well as an African woman the Comanches fear as she is thought to be a feared dark woman on a white horse who will ensure the Comanches’ downfall.

Characters

– Texas Ranger * Woodrow Call – Texas Ranger *William "Long Bill" Coleman – Texas Ranger *Johnny Carthage – Texas Ranger *Colonel Caleb Cobb – pirate who leads the Texas-Santa Fe expedition *

Bigfoot Wallace William Alexander Anderson "Bigfoot" Wallace (April 3, 1817January 7, 1899) was a famous Texas Ranger who took part in many of the military conflicts of the Republic of Texas and the United States in the 1840s, including the Mexican–American W ...

– Texas Ranger scout *Shadrach – Texas Ranger scout *Matilda Roberts – whore, also known as "The Great Western" *Captain Salazar – Mexican Army captain who takes the Texas prisoners in New Mexico *Major Laroche – Frenchman in the Mexican Army, who takes the prisoners to the leper colony * Buffalo Hump – a notorious Comanche war chief and father of Blue Duck *Kicking Wolf – Comanche warrior, accomplished horse thief *

Clara Forsythe Clara may refer to: Organizations * CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization * Clara.Net, a European ISP * Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium People * Clara (given name), a feminine giv ...

– young lady in a general store in Austin, who 'smites' Gus *Lady Lucinda Carey – Scottish nobility, leper *Willy – Lady Carey's son *Mrs. Chubb – Lady Carey's attendant *Emerald – Lady Carey's African attendant *

Maggie Tilton The ''Lonesome Dove'' series is a series of four western fiction novels written by Larry McMurtry and the five television miniseries and television series based upon them. Overview The novels and miniseries follow the exploits of several members ...

– a prostitute who loves

Woodrow F. Call The ''Lonesome Dove'' series is a series of four western fiction novels written by Larry McMurtry and the five television miniseries and television series based upon them. Overview The novels and miniseries follow the exploits of several members ...

and the mother of his illegitimate son Newt.

Background

''Dead Man's Walk'' details the earliest adventures of the young Woodrow F. Call and Augustus McCrae as they join up with the Texas Rangers on a fictional expedition based loosely on the historical

Texan Santa Fe Expedition The Texan Santa Fe Expedition was a commercial and military expedition to secure the Republic of Texas's claims to parts of Northern New Mexico for Texas in 1841. The expedition was unofficially initiated by the then-President of Texas, Mirabeau B ...

of 1841. Although the exact time frame of the story is not given, the historical context of the events occurring sometime in the early 1840s is authentic. The

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

did indeed attempt to annex part of New Mexico, in what historians refer to as the Texan Santa Fe Expedition. As seen in this story, it was a failure. During the course of this book, three other familiar and important characters are introduced. At a general store, McCrae meets

, later to marry Robert Allen and become Clara Allen, Augustus's old flame in the original novel. In the same town, Call meets a prostitute named Maggie, later to become the mother of his illegitimate son, Newt. On their journey, they are tracked by the notorious Comanche warrior Buffalo Hump, future father of Blue Duck, whom they will hunt during their later days as Texas Rangers. Call and Gus also briefly encounter a fictionalized version of

Charles Goodnight Charles Goodnight (March 5, 1836 – December 12, 1929), also known as Charlie Goodnight, was a rancher in the American West. In 1955, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Early ...

, a rancher and future close friend of Call's in ''Streets of Laredo.''

Reception

Reviewing the book for the ''Philadelphia Inquirer'',

John Milius John Frederick Milius (; born April 11, 1944) is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer. He was a writer for the first two ''Dirty Harry'' films, received an Academy Award nomination as screenwriter of ''Apocalypse Now'' (1979), a ...

said "What amazes continually in this book is McMurtry's understanding of the time and the land - how distant we are from it, how we protect ourselves from its truth and ultimately how strong and exciting that truth really is."

Adaptations

In May 1996 it was screened on ABC as a two-part miniseries starring David Arquette as Augustus McCrae and Jonny Lee Miller as Woodrow F. Call.

References

External links

''Texas and part of Mexico & the United States : showing the route of the first Santa Fé expedition / drawn & engd. by W. Kemble.''
published 1850, hosted by th
Portal to Texas History
{{Lonesome Dove series Western (genre) novels 1995 American novels Lonesome Dove series Novels by Larry McMurtry Texas literature American historical novels Novels set in Texas Novels set in Austin, Texas Novels set in New Mexico Fiction set in 1842 Novels set in the 1840s American novels adapted into television shows Texas Ranger Division in fiction