The Headless Horseman (novel)
Encyclopedia
For other uses, see Headless Horseman (disambiguation)
The Headless Horseman is a novel by Mayne Reid written in 1865 or 1866 and is based on the author's adventures in the United States. The Headless Horseman or a Strange Tale of Texas was set in Texas
and based on a South Texas folk tale.
Reportedly, an Irish adventurer and hero in the War with Mexico, 1st Lt. Reid, writing as "Captain Reid," penned a series of popular novels and attributed his Headless Horseman idea to a South Texas folk tale. Vladimir Nabokov
recalled The Headless Horseman as a favourite adventure novel of his childhood years - "which had given him a vision of the prairies and the great open spaces and the overarching sky." At 11, Nabokov even translated The Headless Horseman into French alexandrines.
's (1820–1906) true story of El Muerto, the Headless Horseman. Taylor was a veteran of the Texas Revolution, the War with Mexico, the Civil War and Indian fights, who is best known as a player in the Sutton-Taylor feud, the state's longest, deadliest feud.
Historian J. Warren Hunter, through his discussions with Taylor, learned a lot of Texas history firsthand at Taylor home in Kimble County. Among the many recollections Taylor conveyed to Hunter, one was a particularly outrageous in that implicated his cronies William Alexander Anderson "Bigfoot" Wallace and John McPeters.
Mr. Taylor claimed the event occurred in 1848. By then, Bigfoot Wallace (1817–1899), survivor of the doomed Mier Expedition, had become a famed Indian fighter. Although McPeters fought at San Jacinto, he is almost forgotten today. During the War with Mexico, both men were Texas Rangers commanded by the fierce Mabry "Mustang" Gray (1817–1848).
As Creed's story appears in Hunter's 1898 manuscript; The Life of Creed Taylor; Bigfoot and McPeters tracked and killed a number of Mexican horse thieves near the Nueces, south of present-day Uvalde. Wallace decided to use the ringleader's body as a warning to others.
Bigfoot decapitated the dead man, called Vuavis or Vidal and the two put his body on a wild stallion that the two had caught and tied between two trees. They thrust his head into his sombrero, secured by a strap and tied to the pommel of the saddle. Then the horse was let loose to roam the hilly countryside.
Creed didn't place himself into the story, but did know the horse thief who lost his head. One of Taylor's friends, Bate Berry (1813–1891), captured Lt. Vuavis during the Siege of Bexar in December 1835. Creed watched as Vuavis, who had deserted, willingly spilled all his Mexican military info to Berry, who had a reputation for scalping enemies. They finally released the shaken captive.
Years later, Vuavis, alias "Vidal," and his gang began terrorizing South Texas ranchers and stealing their cattle. Then Bigfoot and McPeters got on his trail, shortening his career. Travelers and soldiers at Fort Inge near Uvalde soon were reporting sightings of a wily headless rider.
In 1906, J. Warren Hunter (1846–1915) sold his Taylor manuscript to DeShields, who lightly rewrote parts and, 21 years after Hunter's death, published Tall Men with Long Rifles, an account of Taylor's adventures in the Texas Revolution.
In 1924, J. Warren Hunter's son, J. Marvin Hunter
(1880–1957), editor of Frontier Times, took his turn. He personalized crimes of Vidal's rustlers, who were now stealing horses from Creed Taylor. The younger Hunter vividly sketched events, while changing the time to 1850, the year of a sweeping Indian raid that drained frontier manpower, leaving few defenders against bandits. Oddly, John McPeters disappears like ice in a July julep. The younger Hunter declares that Capt. Reid's novel was based on fact.
Folklorist J. Frank Dobie
(1888–1964) next twisted the mustang tale in his 1928 Tales of Old Time Texas, suggesting the headless rider was once a "ghostly guard of the mine of the long-abandoned Candelaria Mission on the Nueces to protect it from profane prospectors".
.
Headless Horseman (disambiguation)
The Headless Horseman is a fictional character in the 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving.Headless Horseman may also refer to:in film* The Headless Horseman , a 1920s horror film...
The Headless Horseman is a novel by Mayne Reid written in 1865 or 1866 and is based on the author's adventures in the United States. The Headless Horseman or a Strange Tale of Texas was set in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and based on a South Texas folk tale.
Reportedly, an Irish adventurer and hero in the War with Mexico, 1st Lt. Reid, writing as "Captain Reid," penned a series of popular novels and attributed his Headless Horseman idea to a South Texas folk tale. Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
recalled The Headless Horseman as a favourite adventure novel of his childhood years - "which had given him a vision of the prairies and the great open spaces and the overarching sky." At 11, Nabokov even translated The Headless Horseman into French alexandrines.
Characters
- Maurice Gerald - horse catcher(mustanger), who loved Henry Poindexter's sister.
- Louise Poindexter - Henry Poindexter's sister, who loved Maurice Gerald.
- Henry Poindexter - Louise Poindexter`s brother
- Captain Cassius Calhoun - Louise and Henry Poindexter`s cousin.
- Zebb Stump - hunter, Maurice Gerald`s friend.
- Phelim O'Neill - Maurice Geralds servant.
- Woodley Poindexter - father of Henry and Louise Poindexter.
Origins of the novel
The novel was reportedly inspired by Creed TaylorCreed Taylor
Creed Taylor is an American record producer, best known for his work with CTI Records, which he founded in 1968. Taylor’s career also included work at Bethlehem Records, ABC-Paramount, Verve, and A&M Records...
's (1820–1906) true story of El Muerto, the Headless Horseman. Taylor was a veteran of the Texas Revolution, the War with Mexico, the Civil War and Indian fights, who is best known as a player in the Sutton-Taylor feud, the state's longest, deadliest feud.
Historian J. Warren Hunter, through his discussions with Taylor, learned a lot of Texas history firsthand at Taylor home in Kimble County. Among the many recollections Taylor conveyed to Hunter, one was a particularly outrageous in that implicated his cronies William Alexander Anderson "Bigfoot" Wallace and John McPeters.
Mr. Taylor claimed the event occurred in 1848. By then, Bigfoot Wallace (1817–1899), survivor of the doomed Mier Expedition, had become a famed Indian fighter. Although McPeters fought at San Jacinto, he is almost forgotten today. During the War with Mexico, both men were Texas Rangers commanded by the fierce Mabry "Mustang" Gray (1817–1848).
As Creed's story appears in Hunter's 1898 manuscript; The Life of Creed Taylor; Bigfoot and McPeters tracked and killed a number of Mexican horse thieves near the Nueces, south of present-day Uvalde. Wallace decided to use the ringleader's body as a warning to others.
Bigfoot decapitated the dead man, called Vuavis or Vidal and the two put his body on a wild stallion that the two had caught and tied between two trees. They thrust his head into his sombrero, secured by a strap and tied to the pommel of the saddle. Then the horse was let loose to roam the hilly countryside.
Creed didn't place himself into the story, but did know the horse thief who lost his head. One of Taylor's friends, Bate Berry (1813–1891), captured Lt. Vuavis during the Siege of Bexar in December 1835. Creed watched as Vuavis, who had deserted, willingly spilled all his Mexican military info to Berry, who had a reputation for scalping enemies. They finally released the shaken captive.
Years later, Vuavis, alias "Vidal," and his gang began terrorizing South Texas ranchers and stealing their cattle. Then Bigfoot and McPeters got on his trail, shortening his career. Travelers and soldiers at Fort Inge near Uvalde soon were reporting sightings of a wily headless rider.
Various retellings
The original story spawned various retallings. After Mayne Reid, James T. DeShields (1861–1948) was the next interpreter. A dry-goods salesman, he wrote pieces for the Fort Worth Press based on material he bought from old Texans. He was known for a novel, Cynthia Ann Parker, but his articles were presented as factual.In 1906, J. Warren Hunter (1846–1915) sold his Taylor manuscript to DeShields, who lightly rewrote parts and, 21 years after Hunter's death, published Tall Men with Long Rifles, an account of Taylor's adventures in the Texas Revolution.
In 1924, J. Warren Hunter's son, J. Marvin Hunter
J. Marvin Hunter
John Marvin Hunter was an author, historian, journalist, and printer who founded the Frontier Times Museum in Bandera, Texas...
(1880–1957), editor of Frontier Times, took his turn. He personalized crimes of Vidal's rustlers, who were now stealing horses from Creed Taylor. The younger Hunter vividly sketched events, while changing the time to 1850, the year of a sweeping Indian raid that drained frontier manpower, leaving few defenders against bandits. Oddly, John McPeters disappears like ice in a July julep. The younger Hunter declares that Capt. Reid's novel was based on fact.
Folklorist J. Frank Dobie
J. Frank Dobie
James Frank Dobie was an American folklorist, writer, and newspaper columnist best known for many books depicting the richness and traditions of life in rural Texas during the days of the open range...
(1888–1964) next twisted the mustang tale in his 1928 Tales of Old Time Texas, suggesting the headless rider was once a "ghostly guard of the mine of the long-abandoned Candelaria Mission on the Nueces to protect it from profane prospectors".
Adaptations
The Headless Rider (Всадник без головы), a 1972 Russian film directed by Vladimir Vajnshtok and starring Ludmila SavelyevaLudmila Savelyeva
Ludmila Savelyeva is a Russian film actress and ballerina. Born on 24 January 1942 in Leningrad, she achieved lasting fame in the role of Natasha Rostova in the 1966-68 film War and Peace, which was six years in the making....
.