Young Ole Devil (29 page)

i
Rio Bravo: the Mexicans’ name for the Rio
Grande.

ii
Texian: an Anglo-U.S.-born citizen of Texas, the ‘i’ being
dropped from usage after the Mexican War of 1846-48.

iii
Chicano: a Mexican-born citizen of Texas.

iv
In addition to withdrawing, Houston had wanted to adopt
what would one day become known as a ‘scorched earth’ policy. He
had sound reasons for such a measure. By burning their homes, crops
and other foodstuffs which they could not carry with them, the
Texians would have left their enemies with a difficult supply
problem which would increase, rather than diminish, the further
Santa Anna advanced beyond the Rio Grande. Despite having this
explained to them, there had been such strenuous opposition and
refusal that Houston had been compelled to drop the
proposal.

v
Another reason for the nickname had arisen out of the fact
that other men before the old timer in the
cantina
had commented upon him being a ‘lil
ole devil’ in a fight.

vi
What happened to the knife after the Alamo is told
in
The Quest
for Bowie’s Blade.

vii
Until the visits by Commodore Perry U.S.N.’s flotilla in
1853-54, there was little contact between Japan and the United
States of America.

viii
In the game of faro, the first card of the deck is called
the ‘soda’ and the last is the ‘hock’

ix
Joseph ‘Old Joe’ Manton, gunsmith of London, England, an
early maker of percussion-fired weapons.

x
Jonathan Browning, gunsmith father of master firearms’
designer, John Moses Browning. John Moses appears in
Calamity Spells
Trouble.

xi
The Texians had suggested that, after annexation, in view
of the vast area of land which would be involved, Texas could be
divided into three or four separate States.

xii
Creole; a Mexican of pure Spanish blood.

xiii
The
wakizashi
was traditionally carried thrust through the girdle, but
Tommy Okasi had had his fitted with belt slings since arriving in
the United States.

xiv
Due to its Mexican connotations, Texians rarely used the
word ‘cinch’.

xv
A more detailed description of the ‘high cavalry twist’
draw is given in
Slip Gun.

xvi
A description of Occidental archery techniques is given
in
Bunduku.

xvii
The majority of ‘Kentucky’ rifles
were made in Pennsylvania.

xviii
Despite the difficulty of transporting it with the magazine
in position, Jonathan Browning had produced a comparatively simple
repeating rifle that was capable of a continuous fire unequalled by
contemporary weapons. For all its advantages, it never achieved the
fame which it deserved. During the period when he was manufacturing
it, between 1834 and 1842, he lacked the facilities for large-scale
production. In later years he would have been able to do so, but
the development of metallic cartridges and more compact, if less
simple to construct, repeating arms had rendered it
obsolete.

xix
Knobhead: derogatory name for a mule.

xx
Cargador: second-in-command and assistant
pack-master.

xxi
Grulla: a bluish-grey horse much the same color as a
sandhill crane.

xxii
The formation and organization of a mule train, including
the
function
of the
bell-mare is given in detail in
Get Urrea!

xxiii
The investigation was successful. On being told about the
spy and asked if he had seen anything suspicious, First Sergeant
Gladbeck remembered finding Juglares in the wine cellar and
realized that it
was directly beneath the General’s office. Comparing the
time at
which Gladbeck had met the major domo with the information
given in Ole Devil’s report, Houston deduced that Juglares must be
their man. So a trap had been laid. Calling Colonels Bowie and
Travis in for a conference, Houston made sure that the major domo
heard it would be one of considerable importance. He had been
caught on top of the wine-rack and met the appropriate end for a
spy.

xxiv
Aparejo: type of packsaddle used for carrying heavy or
awkwardly shaped loads.

xxv
The full story of why Ole Devil had to leave Louisiana may
be told one day.

xxvi
As the use of a saddle boot as a means of carrying a rifle
was not yet widely practiced, Grivaljo had not noticed the
Browning.

xxvii
Carronade: a short-barreled, large caliber, compact cannon
with a limited range used as a broadside weapon on some classes of
warship.

xxviii
The damage had gone unnoticed and unsuspected
until late that afternoon. On running into a squall, the
Destructor
brig’s violent
motions had completed the work which had been done by Tommy Okasi’s
saw. First one of the carronades, then the others in rapid
succession, broke free. Careering about the heeling deck, the angle
of which had altered with sudden and unexpected speed as the weight
upon it kept shifting, the guns created havoc and chaos. In
addition to killing and injuring several members of the crew, one
of them collided with and brought down the forward mast.

No fool, Lieutenant Givaljo
realized that he had been tricked and drew fairly accurate
conclusions as to why it had been done. However, in view of the
fact that considerable damage had been inflicted upon the brig -
not the least of which was the loss overboard of all the
broadsides
’
armament - he had accepted that it would be impossible for him to
return in the hope of intercepting the ship which he suspected the
Texians were awaiting at Santa Cristobal Bay.

Being aware of what his fate would be when
his superiors heard of what had happened, Grivaljo took the
battered brig into a small, deserted bay on the coast of Texas
under the pretence of making sufficient repairs to let them reach
Matamoros. While the work was being carried out, he deserted and,
later, surrendered to the garrison at a Texian town. On discovering
that he had gone, the rest of the crew followed his example.

xxix
Before their conduct had made the United States too hot to
hold them and they had fled to Texas, Madeline and her husband -
whose full name was Randolph Galsworthy Buttolph - had operated a
high-class combined brothel and gambling house in New York. While
there, Madeline had earned a well-deserved reputation for being
able to quell - by physical means if necessary - the toughest and
most recalcitrant of their female employees or
competitors.

xxx
The self-defense system known as
yawara
had its origins in Okinawa over a thousand
years ago. Having been forbidden by the invaders who had conquered
their home land to own or carry weapons of any kind, the Okinawans
had developed and perfected the use of the innocuous-looking
kongo
stick which became
known as the ‘six inches of death’ because of its lethal
capabilities. It was so simple to manufacture that, if one had to
be discarded for any reason, there would be no difficulty in
replacing it. The
kongo’s
small size made concealment easy and carrying had been no
problem.

xxxi
The
end of the
kongo
which protruded from between the thumb and forefinger was
the ‘point’ and the other end, the ‘butt’.