Dave's Anatomy: My History As a Writer, #68: "Horse Latitudes"

Horses have been companions to the human race for a thousand years. It's debatable who first tamed them, but from Japan and China to the edge of Europe, they were beasts of burden, vital to the economy and culture of everyone from the Mongols to the Knights of the Round Table. Spanish invaders brought horses to the new world; some got away, went wild, and the native tribes learned to ride them and use them as a decisive weapon against their enemies, both European and native. It has only been about a hundred years since horses faded from the scene, replaced by mechanized vehicles.

In the tale "Horse Latitudes," Sossity Chandler is on a cruise with her boyfriend. She enjoys the relative anonymity; though a lot of people on the cruise know who she is, and though she has agreed to do a short concert beyond the voyage ends, the people on board generally respect her privacy and she is able to relax and enjoy herself.

Horses painted by Chirico

But she is also getting visions of horses. And the horses are not particularly friendly. As C. S. Lewis wrote in a poem about two horses of the future, "the look / Of half-indignant melancholy and delicate alarm’s gone." These horses, and the ones Sossity sees, are rather ferocious and dangerous. And, of course, wild horses are dangerous and formidable. Sossity sees one in the water beside the boat and in her dreams. More disturbingly, one night she dreams she is adrift at sea and horses are trying to kill her by dragging her down into the sea; she is rescued, though only after much mayhem, death, and horror.

Hobnobbing with other passengers, she learns, from a Professor of Spanish literature, that they are in the "horse latitudes," and near a place called "Horse Island." The Horse Latitudes were located in parts of oceans where ships were often becalmed. Legend had it that ships transporting horses to the new world sometimes had to throw them into the water to drown because they were stalled and running out of food and water for the horses. Scholars today say that this was probably an "urban legend" of the time and did not really happen. Still, paranormal stories allow one to push the limits. Sossity learns that Almagro, the Captain of the ship, comes from a Spanish family that raised and transported horses in 1600s—and is still in the horse-raising business today.

The most frightening incident happens when Sossity goes out one night to smoke some joints with other passengers. Making her way back to his cabin, she is cornered by three large horses that surround her. They are soaking wet and seem to study her with their big, serious eyes. After a few moments, they disappear. She thinks the whole thing a drug-induced hallucination, but the next day, Almagro has his crew cleaning up a pool of salt water that has somehow appeared on the deck of the ship. Sossity also learns that one of Almagro's relatives came to Horse Island a short time ago and ended up dying of anthrax.

Once on Horse Island, she is able to forget her fears. She enjoys the luxury hotel and amenities of the island. Seeing the herd of wild horses (and is a little unnerved to see three beasts who like the horses who cornered her on the boat), she goes running with other cruise passengers, and has a good time. She sees Almagro uses a taser on a horse that is trying to menace him. She talks to him and learns more of his disgust for horses and for his family's horse-raising.

One morning she goes for a run with a group of women staying at the hotel. When she returns, she founds the horses have attacked.

Mayhem has broken out. The horses have come into the hotel, chased people across the grounds, and, in some cases, trampled and stomped people. She thinks of Diggory, her boyfriend, and runs toward the hotel. After a while she finds him safe, protected by police with rifles. Meanwhile, Almagro has learned of the incident and given his crew instructions to kill all the horses. He and his girlfriend appear in a jeep, but before they get to the hotel, horses descend on and kill them. Sossity is near-by. The three horses she saw on the ship gather around her, as they did the night she first saw them—not to harm her but to protect her. When Almagro is dead, the horses—including the ones guarding Sossity so she will not be harmed—depart for sanctuaries in the hills. They have had their revenge and the anger of their memories can rest.

Almagro and his girlfriend are dead. A few tourists have been hurt, none seriously. Eight horses were killed. The Police Chief countermands Almagro's order and says the horses are not to be harmed. They are too valuable as tourist attractions to be destroyed.

"Horse Latitudes" appeared in a print magazine called Brain Soup, which only went for one issue. I don't believe it is available today. Another story to resubmit.

For additional comments, check out my Writer's Page.

I would love to hear your comments. Some people are afraid of horses. I never was, though I have not been around them a lot and have hardly ridden. Some people, though, find them frightening.

Happy reading.

The historical novel was invented by Sir Walter Scott. 

Sir Walter Scott

In 1814, he penned a book called Waverly. It took the revolt of Bonnie Prince Charlie, an exiled member of the royal Stuart family, who had been kicked off the throne of England and replaced by the House of Windsor (who are still in power in England). Charles Stuart tried to get the throne back, won a couple of initial battles, but his army was badly defeated at the Battle of Cullendon Moor in 1746. Charles escaped and the cause of the Stuarts was at an end. What Scott did that was innovative was to take a character, stick him in the middle of this historical event, and weave a story about how the series of events affected him.

Scott created a genre still followed today. Such novels as The Red Badge of Courage, Gone With the Wind, War and Peace, and, more recently, All the Light We Cannot See, are historical novels that follow this strategy. Short stories can do the same thing, and an early story of mine called "The Horses of Hoddington Marsh," plugged into the historical genre. It was also a paranormal story, so it mixed up genres a bit. Still, it showed that embedding story in historical reference is a good way to create unique and often compelling tales.

Thinking about historical stories brought Boudicca to mind.

Boudicca was a Celtic Queen whose daughters were sexually abused by Roman conquerors. She led a revolt against the occupying Romans, destroyed London, and won several victories until he army was trapped and slaughtered. She committed suicide by drinking poison.

At the same time, maybe because I was teaching Wuthering Heights, I had been thinking about British moor ponies—wild horses who live free in England's swampy midlands. Certain herds have lived in the same location for thousands of years and are protected by law. Thousands of years . . . ponies . . . Boudicca . . . the wheels began to turn.

I took my main character, Sossity Chandler, who is going to do a concert tour in England. Her children are with their father (in the aftermath of a painful divorce).  Sossity never tours alone and is traveling with Lynette, her cousin, a hard-luck girl who is living an unhappy life as a single mother. On the way over, Sossity dreams of English moor ponies, Boudicca, and of a young girl named Rowena who is commissioned to care for "the sacred horses of Hoder's Marsh." The dream is vivid—so much that when Sossity sees an icon in an Anglican church, she is struck by the resemblance of the saintly figure to the young girl she saw in her dream.  Locals tell her the figure is Saint Rowena, a pagan girl who converted to Christianity, married a Roman governor of the province, promoted the new Christian religion, and is believed to be a healer and protector by the pious.

She also learns that the Horses of Hoddington Marsh are dying from a mysterious disease. And she notices the tension in Lynette's life when an English soccer star, Mark Renbourne, arrives to coach a youth team in town. The dreams of the horses and of Rowena continue. The tension between Sossity and Lynette increases. Led by what seems to be promptings from the horses, Sossity finds that illegal chemical dumping by a local factory is killing the horses. Also, she discovers that Mark Renbourne is the father of Lynette's child, still loves her, and doesn't understand why she has left him and moved to Canada.

Saint Rowena is the saint of healing and restoration. Lynette and the horses are restored to wholeness by her invisible and indirect intervention. And Sossity too. She is hurt physically when she treks into the marsh to discover what is killing the horses; and emotionally by the divorce and her absence from her children. Restoration, she discovers, does not necessarily bring suffering to an end, but it brings understanding and the patience to endure it.

Combining the historical and the paranormal created a memorable story. History can be a spring to story—and not just to the recreations of the past authors usually end up doing in a purely historical novel. Postmodernism allows one to play with timelines and narrations, as in The French Lieutenant's Woman. 

Paranormal writing allows us to use magic and time-travel. And history offers many fascinating characters one can creatively work with. It's good raw material by which to construct stories of various types.

If you like writing about medieval or pre-medieval matters, read The Last Minstrel. The title is taken from a poem by Sir Walter Scott! It is a story of magic, sorcery, music, and love.

Or, if a full-length novel involving historical and paranormal elements appeals to you, you will like The Sorceress of the Northern Seas.

 

For other works, check out my Writer's Page.

I would love to hear your comments.