Well, this poem was told to me by my old friend Rex
McDonald, who was a marvelous storyteller.
And they were true stories too, I mean.
That would be Bill.
Is that your uncle?
Oh, he's my grandfather's friend.
Uh-huh.
Anyway, Rex was a marvelous, marvelous storyteller.
And I thought that this was one of his better stories.
It's called-- this is an example of language
changing in the borderlands.
And this is why the borderlands are their own place,
their own unique place.
And as soon as I say the title, you will understand why.
The title of this piece is "A Colt .45 and a Chili Queen."
"I was camped at the Yerba Mansa,
Rex said, when old Lee Howard rode into my camp one night.
I was headed into Mexico.
He told me he was headed South to see his chili queen.
I was 17 years old and afraid of him.
But I had a Colt .45 he wanted.
He said I didn't need--
let's see.
He said I didn't need it, and he probably would.
He kept a- stayin' there in my camp and a stayin'.
Finally, to get rid of him, I let
him trade me that gray mule for the Colt .45.
He decided to clean that gun by the campfire light.
He took it apart and laid the screws down
on his saddle blanket.
All of a sudden, he heard a sound behind him.
He jumped up, and his spur hung on the saddle blanket.
Well, the dust was 3 or 4 inches thick there.
He may have found two or three screws, but that was all.
I come riding into camp the next day.
There was only whittling mesquite pegs
to put in the screw holes.
He told me when these old mesquite pegs get dry,
they'll be hard as iron.
A few days later, we were roping saddle horses
out of the corral.
Him and my uncle Dave got crossways.
Lee said I guess I'd better leave.
My uncle said I guess you'd better.
Lee gathered his camp outfit, packed his mule,
and rode away down the trail, just a frog in the dust.
But that mule didn't want to leave his partner.
He broke into and scattered Lee's gear
all over the country.
I was horseback and headed the mule.
I headed him against a cliff.
Old Lee come a riding up a fumin' and a cussin'.
Drew that Colt .45 out of his holster
and aimed it at the mule.
I sat there on the mule.
I sat there on my horse, watching
what was going to happen to the mule.
Hold it.
Hold it, Lee said.
I'm just going to vaccinate that son of a bitch
once and for all.
God damn you.
[LAUGHTER]
Same thing happened to me as old Lee.
[LAUGHTER]
The mule just stood there and flicked his ears a little.
Then I looked at old Lee.
He was standing with the handle of that Colt .45,
and the pieces is scattered all over the ground around him.
I'd seen old Lee try to shoot a man before
because the man didn't like the bread old Lee was making.
So I didn't laugh.
[LAUGHTER]
I gave him his mule back, and he rode on
off to the Corral de Palos to go to see his chili queen."
[LAUGHTER]