Arizona Territory - 1878
"I had a black dream last night. It scared even me. There is a great monster stalking our sacred land - a powerful, evil yeh-yeh. I am afraid for our people. I am glad we are going far, far away."
Nah-ka-yen
Gila River Apache Shaman
Chapter 15 – Where Evil Lurks
About an hour before dark, having calculated he had a sufficient lead on his pursuers, Bartholomew Zachary felt confident enough to stop for the night.
He carefully selected a well protected spot, high on a secluded rocky ridge, and instructed his two traveling companions to make camp.
Zachary was a very careful man. He had to be. Except for his recent 2-year imprisonment in Yuma, he had been on the run a very long time. The hideous liquor-enhanced rampage that had begun his life of robbery, rape, mutilation, and murder had occurred well over 10 years past.
He also told his men not to light a fire. They grumbled a bit, but obeyed him. They didn’t want to pick a fight with Bart the Butcher. No way.
He was a giant of a man, standing 6 feet, 8 and weighing over 300 pounds. He wore a thick, ragged, unkempt black beard that covered his entire sinister face. About all you could see on his gigantic head were his red bulbous nose and his deep, black, soul less eyes.
These eyes were constantly filled with hate and rage. They had been that way since the day he had been fired from his job at the meat processing plant in Omaha.
It had taken Zachary a very long time to find the perfect job for his needs. Since early childhood, he had maintained one constant obsession in life-- food. He could eat, and eat, and eat. His voracious appetite was never completely satisfied.
And the job he had painstakingly found in Omaha had been tailor-made to his enormous dietary needs. As he chopped, quartered, and sliced freshly killed cattle, he would constantly fill his gigantic jacket and trouser pockets with huge chunks of beef.
He would also periodically shove bloody chunks of raw meat into his eagerly awaiting cavernous mouth.
Bartholomew Zachary even grew to love the taste of blood.
His co-workers at the plant would often hoot, point, and laugh hysterically at him as thick, syrupy, crimson droplets of cattle blood slowly trickled down the huge man's beard…
Entertaining Read …….. Recommended … 5 stars
The Review:
The chronicle begins at the Territorial Prison, Yuma, Arizona. The year is 1878.
‘Gold River Canyon’ is an extraordinary and riveting glimpse at the old West. Novelist Kostro has constructed a white knuckle page turner of a tale filled with complicity, historical milieu, and well developed characters. That Kostro has done his preparation for writing is manifest. Kostro’s depiction of 1870s Arizona, the Apache people and their legends, and chronicled actuality is irreproachable.
‘Gold River Canyon’ has a place on the pleasure reading shelf in the home and school library. While written for the grown-up reader ‘Gold River Canyon’ will likewise be relished by competent readers from upper middle grades into high school.
I do not keep all the books I receive for review, Ed Kostro’s ‘Gold River Canyon’ is an edition I will be keeping.
Reviewed by: molly martin
http://www.angelfire.com/ok4/mollymartin
http://www.AuthorsDen.com/mjhollingshead
20+ years California classroom teacher
Read full review : AuthorsDen : as article on mj hollingshead page
Ed Kostro has woven a fine tale of the old west with Gold River Canyon. His knowledge of Apache language and customs adds to its ambience as the story builds to a feverish climax. An intriguing read for a day at the beach. Happy to recommend.
Take care,
Jill
Beautiful cover, fascinating synopsis, and strong story
premise. You are indeed a vastly talented author.