SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: A MAN CALLED HORSE

 "A Man Called Horse" by Dorothy M. Johnson  (first published in Colliers, January 7, 1950; reprinted in John Bull, May 6, 1950; in BAR 1:  Roundup of Best Western Stories, edited by Scott Meredith, 1952; in Westward, Westward, Westward:  Stories of the Long Trail West & the Men Who Followed It, edited by Elizabeth Abell, 1958; in The Hilton Bedside Book:  Volume 5 (Hilton Hotels Corporation), 1960; in Best Western Stories, edited by Scott Meredith, 1964; in Great Action Stories, edited by William KittreWestern Stories:  A chronological Anthologydge & Steven M. Krauzer, 1977; in The American West in Fiction, edited by Jon Tuska, 1982; in The Western Hall of Fame, edited by Bill Pronzini & Martin H. Greenberg, 1984; in The Second Reel West, edited by Bill Pronzini & Martin H. Greenberg, 1985; in The Warriors, edited by Bill Pronzini & Martin H. Greenberg, 1985; in The Best Western Stories  (Hamlyn), 1986; in The Best Western Stories (Mallard), 1990; in Best of the West III, edited by Bill Pronzini & Martin H. Greenberg, 1990; in The Mammoth Book of the Western, edited by Jon E. Lewis, 1991 (revised 2013); in The Western Story:  A Chronological Anthology, edited by Jon Tuska, 1995 (abridged as Western Stories:  A Chronological Anthology, 1999) ; and in Western Movies, edited by Peter Haining, 1997; and included in Johnson's collection Indian Country, 1953 (later republished as A Man Called Horse); adapted as an episode of the television show Wagon Train, March 26, 1958 (67 years ago today!); filmed as A Man Called Horse, directed by Elliot Silverstein, and featuring Richard Harris and Dame Judith Anderson, 1970, and spawning two sequels)

In 1845, our unnamed protagonist leaves his sheltered life in Boston for the far West, hoping to "find his equals."  That June, he became a captive of a small raiding party of Crow Indians, who slaughtered the rest of his party; he was spared because he was bathing in a stream, naked, away from his fellow travelers.  A leather noose was placed around his neck and he was forced to follow the warriors horses on foot.  Several days later, beaten, bloody, exhausted, thirsty, and hungry, he made to the Crow's camp, where, helpless, he was mocked and ridiculed, and made to lap water from the ground like a dog.  A notion hit him then.  He would allow himself to become a dog; he would much rather be like the horses he trailed to the camp, docile and for the most part ignored.  He determined to be a horse.

He was given as a slave to an old Crow woman by her son, the chief warrior of the raiding party.  She lived with the son and his wife and the old woman's younger daughter.  Horse, as he now thought of himself, was obsequious in his dealings with the old woman, who at any time could kill him without a thought.  It was a  dangerous time, because he knew neither the language nor the customs of the tribe; it was safer to be a horse, docile and remaining in the background since any chance of escape was impossible.

Slowly, Horse learns the language, and enough of the customs to be able to work his way into being accepted -- although never fully -- by the tribe,  He marries the old woman's young daughter, a girl of fourteen.  When the old woman's son is killed in battle, he is surprised that custom meant that all possession of man's possessions and those of his family are forfeit, leaving them without shelter or food  for the winter, and relying on scraps that may or may be given by other members of the tribe.

It's a long process to adapt himself to the ways of the warrior tribe, longer still to adopt them.  When he finally has a chance to return to civilization, he puts it off for three years.

A truly classic story -- a fascinating character study and look into tribal customs of a warrior caste, told in plain language that somehow manages to become lyrical.  Bill Pronzini wrote that Johnson (1905-1984) "created novels and short stories of high literary merit that shown her understanding of the forces that shaped the American West."  Johnson was honored with a Spur Award from the Western Writers of America in 1957 for her short story "Lost Sister."  She also received the Levi Strauss Golden Saddleman Award, and was inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame, and was honored by the Western Heritage Foundation.  In addition to A Man Called Horse, two other stories by Johnson became Western film classics:  The Hanging Tree (1959) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)