Headless Horseman

A Texas deer, dozing in the silence of the night savannah, is startled by the sound of horse hooves.

But he does not leave his green bed, does not even get to his feet. He is not the only one who owns these open spaces - wild steppe horses also graze here at night. He only raises his head slightly - his horns appear above the tall grass - and listens: will the sound be repeated?

The clatter of hooves is heard again, but now it sounds different. You can hear the ringing of metal, the impact of steel on stone.

This sound, so alarming for the deer, causes a rapid change in its behavior. He quickly jumps up and rushes across the prairie; but soon he stops and looks back, wondering: who disturbed his sleep?

In the clear moonlight of the southern night, the deer recognizes its worst enemy - man. A man approaches on horseback.

Seized by instinctive fear, the deer is ready to run again, but something in the appearance of the rider - something unnatural - chains him to his place.

Trembling, he almost sits down on his hind legs, turns his head back and continues to look at his big brown eyes fear and bewilderment are reflected.

What made the deer stare at the strange figure for so long?

Horse? But this is an ordinary horse, saddled and bridled - there is nothing about him that could cause surprise or alarm. Maybe the deer was scared by the rider? Yes, it is he who frightens and makes one wonder - there is something ugly, creepy in his appearance.

Heavenly powers! The rider has no head!

This is obvious even to an unreasonable animal. The deer looks for another minute with confused eyes, as if trying to understand: what kind of unprecedented monster is this? But now, overcome with horror, the deer runs again. He does not stop until he swims across Leona and a stormy stream separates him from the terrible horseman.

Ignoring the deer running away in fright, as if not even noticing its presence, the headless horseman continues on his way.

He also heads towards the river, but it seems he is in no hurry, but moves at a slow, calm, almost ceremonial pace.

As if absorbed in his thoughts, the rider lowered the reins, and his horse nibbled the grass from time to time. He urges her on with neither voice nor movement when, frightened by the barking of the coyotes, she suddenly throws up her head and stops, snoring.

It seems that he is in the grip of some deep feelings and small incidents cannot bring him out of his reverie. He does not give away his secret with a single sound. A frightened deer, a horse, a wolf and the midnight moon are the only witnesses to his silent thoughts.

A serape is thrown over the rider's shoulders, which rises with a gust of wind and reveals part of his figure; on his legs he wears gaiters made of jaguar skin. Protected from the damp of the night and from the tropical downpours, he rides forward, silent as the stars twinkling above him, carefree as the cicadas chirping in the grass, like the night breeze playing with the folds of his clothes.

Finally, something apparently brought the rider out of his reverie - his horse quickened its pace. Now the horse shook his head and neighed joyfully - with an outstretched neck and flaring nostrils, he runs forward at a trot and is soon galloping: the proximity of the river is what made the horse rush faster.

He does not stop until he plunges into a transparent stream so that the water reaches the rider’s knees. The horse drinks greedily; Having quenched his thirst, he crosses the river and climbs the steep bank at a fast trot.

At the top, the headless horseman stops, as if waiting for the horse to shake off the water. The clanging of harness and stirrups is heard - as if thunder rumbled in a white cloud of steam.

From this halo appears a headless horseman; he continues on his way again.

Apparently, driven by spurs and guided by the rider’s hand, the horse no longer goes astray, but runs confidently forward, as if along a familiar path.

Ahead, to the very horizon, stretches the treeless expanses of savannah. On sky blue a silhouette emerges mysterious figure, similar to a damaged centaur statue; he gradually moves away until he completely disappears in the mysterious twilight of moonlight.

Chapter I. BURNED PRAIRIE

The afternoon sun shines brightly from a cloudless azure sky over the vast plains of Texas about a hundred miles south of the old Spanish city of San Antonio de Bexar. In the golden rays, objects appear that are unusual for the wild prairie - they speak of the presence of people where there are no signs of human habitation.

Even on long distance you can see that these are vans; above each is a semicircular top made of snow-white linen.

There are ten of them - too few for a trade caravan or government convoy. Most likely, they belong to some settler who landed on the seashore and is now heading to one of the new villages on the Leone River.

Stretched out in a long line, the wagons crawl across the savannah so slowly that their movement is almost imperceptible, and only along their mutual position V long chain convoy you can guess about it. Dark silhouettes between the wagons indicate that they are harnessed; and the antelope running away in fright and the curlew flying up with a cry indicate that the convoy is moving. Both the beast and the bird are perplexed: what kind of strange monsters have invaded their wild possessions?

Besides this, no movement is visible throughout the prairie: neither a flying bird, nor a running animal. At this sultry midday hour, all life on the prairie freezes or hides in the shadows. And only a person, incited by ambition or greed, violates the laws of tropical nature and defies the scorching sun.

So the owner of the convoy, despite the sweltering midday heat, continues on his way.

Each wagon is drawn by eight strong mules. They're taking large number food supplies, expensive, one might even say luxurious, furniture, black slaves and their children; black slaves walk next to the convoy, and some wearily trudge behind, barely walking, wounded bare feet. In front rides a light carriage drawn by well-groomed Kentucky mules; on her box a black coachman in livery is languishing in the heat. Everything suggests that this is not a poor settler from northern states is looking for a new homeland, and a rich southerner who has already purchased an estate and is going there with his family, property and slaves.

Indeed, the wagon train belongs to a planter who landed with his family at Indianola, on the shores of Matagorda Bay, and is now crossing the prairie on his way to his new possessions.

Among the horsemen accompanying the convoy, as always, the planter himself rides in front, Woodley Poindexter, a tall, thin man of about fifty, with a pale, sickly yellowish face and a proudly stern posture. He is dressed simply, but richly. He wears a loose-fitting alpaca caftan, a black satin vest and nankee trousers. In the neckline of the vest one can see a shirt made of the finest linen, secured at the collar with a black ribbon. On the legs, placed in stirrups, are shoes made of soft tanned leather. The wide brim of his straw hat casts a shadow on the planter's face.

Next to him ride two riders, one on the right, the other on the left: this is a young man of about twenty and a young man six or seven years older.

The first is Poindexter's son. The open, cheerful face of the young man is not at all like the stern face of his father and the gloomy face of the third horseman - his cousin.

The young man is wearing a French blouse made of sky-blue cotton fabric, trousers made of the same material; this suit is the most suitable for southern climate- very becoming to the young man, just like a white Panama hat.

His cousin- retired volunteer officer - dressed in military uniform made of dark blue cloth, on his head he has a cloth cap.

Another horseman gallops nearby; He also has white skin, although not quite white. The rough features of his face, the cheap clothes, the whip he holds right hand, so skillfully clicking it - everything suggests that this is an overseer over blacks, their tormentor.

Two girls are sitting in a “carriole” - a light carriage that was something between a cabriolet and a landau. One of them has dazzling white skin, the other has completely black skin. This is Woodley Poindexter's only daughter and her black maid.

Travelers come from the banks of the Mississippi, from the state of Louisiana.

The planter himself is not a native of this state; in other words, not a Creole. By the face of his son and especially by fine features his daughters, who from time to time peek out from behind the curtains of the carriage, can easily guess that they are the descendants of a French emigrant, one of those who crossed the Atlantic Ocean more than a century ago.

Woodley Poindexter, owner of large sugar plantations, was one of the most arrogant, wasteful and hospitable aristocrats of the South. Eventually he went broke and had to leave his home on the Mississippi and move with his family and a handful of remaining blacks to the wild prairies of southwest Texas.

Mine Reid.

Headless Horseman

PROLOGUE

A Texas deer, dozing in the silence of the night savannah, flinches when he hears the clatter of horse hooves.

But he does not leave his green bed, does not even get to his feet. He is not the only one who owns these open spaces - wild steppe horses also graze here at night. He only raises his head slightly—his horns appear above the tall grass—and listens: will the sound be repeated?

The clatter of hooves is heard again, but now it sounds different. You can hear the ringing of metal, the impact of steel on stone.

This sound, so alarming for the deer, causes a rapid change in its behavior. He quickly jumps up and rushes across the prairie; but soon he stops and looks back, wondering: who disturbed his sleep?

In the clear moonlight of the southern night, the deer recognizes its worst enemy - man. A man approaches on horseback.

Seized by instinctive fear, the deer is ready to run again, but something in the appearance of the rider - something unnatural - chains him to his place.

Trembling, he almost sits down on his hind legs, turns his head back and continues to look - fear and bewilderment are reflected in his large brown eyes.

What made the deer stare at the strange figure for so long?

Horse? But this is an ordinary horse, saddled and bridled—there is nothing about him that could cause surprise or alarm. Maybe the deer was scared by the rider? Yes, it is he who frightens and makes one wonder - there is something ugly and creepy in his appearance.

Heavenly powers! The rider has no head!

Ignoring the deer running away in fright, as if not even noticing its presence, the headless horseman continues on his way.

He also heads towards the river, but it seems he is in no hurry, but moves at a slow, calm, almost ceremonial pace.

A serape2 is thrown over the rider’s shoulders, which rises with a gust of wind and reveals part of his figure; on his legs he wears gaiters made of jaguar skin. Protected from the damp of the night and from the tropical downpours, he rides forward, silent as the stars twinkling above him, carefree as the cicadas chirping in the grass, like the night breeze playing with the folds of his clothes.

Finally, something apparently brought the rider out of his reverie—his horse quickened its pace. Now the horse shook his head and neighed joyfully - with an outstretched neck and flaring nostrils, he runs forward at a trot and is soon galloping: the proximity of the river is what made the horse rush faster.

At the top, the headless horseman stops, as if waiting for the horse to shake off the water. The clanging of harness and stirrups is heard, as if thunder rumbled in a white cloud of steam.

From this halo appears a headless horseman; he continues on his way again.

Apparently, driven by spurs and guided by the rider’s hand, the horse no longer goes astray, but runs confidently forward, as if along a familiar path.

Ahead, to the very horizon, stretches the treeless expanses of savannah. The silhouette of a mysterious figure, similar to a damaged statue of a centaur, appears on the sky's azure; he gradually moves away until he completely disappears in the mysterious twilight of moonlight.

Chapter I. BURNED PRAIRIE

The afternoon sun shines brightly from a cloudless azure sky over the vast plains of Texas about a hundred miles south of the old Spanish city of San Antonio de Bexar. Objects unusual for the wild prairie emerge in the golden rays - they speak of the presence of people where there are no signs of human habitation.

Even at a great distance you can see that these are vans; above each is a semicircular top made of snow-white linen.

Stretched out in a long line, the wagons crawl across the savannah so slowly that their movement is almost imperceptible, and only by their relative position in the long chain of convoys can one guess about it. Dark silhouettes between the wagons indicate that they are harnessed; and the antelope running away in fright and the curlew flying up with a cry indicate that the convoy is moving. Both the beast and the bird are perplexed: what kind of strange monsters have invaded their wild possessions?

What could be surprising for me in sea adventures, when, here it is, the sea, you can see from any window? What could be strange and exciting about traveling to the North, since we don’t live in the Sahara, and minus thirty with an icy wind is not a disaster? But this, this is real exotic.

The scorching sun, cacti, mustangs racing across the prairie and cougars stalking in the night. What else could be more amazing for me, a resident of a northern country?

This book has it all. Love, the kind that makes your heart skip a beat, the same kind that loves “dollars and blood.” There are blond beauties and scorching brunettes here, secret dates and notes flying with arrows into the hands of lovers, jealousy and deceit. There are love triangles, quadrangles and even polygons.

There are duels between hot guys in sombreros and ponchos, where it's all about speed and skill with His Majesty Colt. Here, insults are washed away with blood, insults are not forgiven until coffin board, and vengeance explodes in a cascade of events. And there is a good detective plot with a mysterious headless horseman who appears at dusk and disappears in the midnight shadows, the mystery of a single bullet, chases and an unjust trial. And of course happy ending: What is “Mexican love” without a happy ending?

There is a lot in this book, but the main thing is the atmosphere of a truly unusual adventure for our northern soul. And, yes, there is also an immortal phrase about the Comanches on the warpath.

Rating: 9

I didn’t get to see the steppe burn, I saw the forest burn. I did not have a chance to see a herd of wild mustangs; I herded only two horses. I haven't had the chance to experience burning Mexican jealousy, I'm fine. I didn't get to see the headless horseman, but maybe that's for the best. But I experienced all this, using my imagination, while reading this novel. Exciting adventures, a detective story, and most importantly, because of love, people are ready to do anything, both crimes and desperate deeds.

Rating: 10

It is not easy to write a review of a novel that is already a century and a half old. But I want to.

So, “The Headless Horseman” is a voluminous (both by the standards of that time and by current criteria) work that has come to us through many years. Let me immediately point out that “The Horseman” is a diverse book. If we (conditionally) break it down into components, we get the following:

1) adventure

2) romance novel

3) detective line

4) a touch of mysticism

All these components organically intertwine with each other, creating an overall picture - Texas of the 19th century, the very frontier of clashes between Mexicans and Americans, slave owners and their “toys”, free-thinking and stereotypical thinking people. The atmosphere turns out to be very voluminous and delicious. You really feel the howl of the coyotes, the heat of the prairie and the strength of the mustangs.

The novel pays a lot of attention to issues of friendship, herd instinct, justice. At the same time, Mine Reed does not impose his point of view; personally, I did not find even a hint of moralization on the pages of “The Horseman”. Hence the pleasant conclusion - the book can be read in early age(which I didn’t do at the time, alas).

I won’t say anything about the characters themselves (they are quite formulaic, one-dimensional), but I will note that Reed very timely switches his narrative from one to another.

The result: a wonderful novel that has reached our time and will outlive us, our children and grandchildren. The main thing is not to forget to tell them about the “Headless Horseman”. Otherwise, the Horseman will really be left without her (forgive me for the wayward pun).

Rating: 8

“The Headless Horseman” is a classic of adventure literature, a novel on a par with “Treasure Island”, “King Solomon’s Mines” and “The Children of Captain Grant”, this is exactly the work from which young readers must take all the good things from goodies. And the hero of this novel has many such qualities, the main ones of which are honesty, courage, nobility, strength and dexterity. I think that many adults will also enjoy this novel.

Rating: 10

IN Soviet era this novel was published in millions of copies (but it was still difficult to get! One of the, ahem, paradoxes of that era: they heard - they heard, but no one really read!) Well, when the dashing 90s arrived (and the even more dashing 2000s) , Main Read's Horseman was not at all lucky - his brother from Sleepy Hollow is more popular among the people, known, and in general... True, in the novel there were great points: for example, in the first chapters there is a protracted and exhausting journey across the parched prairie. A young capricious young lady, comfortably dreaming in a carriage during the heat: “I dreamed of Pluto and Proserpina in hell!” And then - the sad face of the real Pluto (a black man), greeting her upon awakening. Who said Captain Thomas didn't have a sense of humor? ;))

And the scenes with Phelim? (typical Irishman, unable to get used to creepy life in Mexico, where snakes and centipedes crawl at every step. And in general, dreaming of returning to Ballyballagh - obviously, because there was plenty of the popular Irish drink there;)) Well, you get the idea;)) While the local whiskey, “Mohonagil bottling”, can only satisfy the old trapper Zeb (and actually he's Zabulon:D Bgg!) In short, these are some unexpectedly colorful scenes. decorate the book. Elena Khaetskaya thought she was too romantic, but this *cough cough* is not 100% true. There is also everyday nonsense here, and elements of horror (in fact, the Horseman himself, about whom, by the way, no one said that he MUST have natural origin! It could well be some kind. Indian demon from hell, or “restless” (hello Fessu & Co =)) or something else. in the same spirit...

Well, of course, the final twist with the amulet is memorable. I remember all sorts of curious little things (what is a “hacienda”? How to scare away coyotes if you suddenly fall into their clutches?..) I remember the old black woman - “I would like your hair, Miss Lou!” - “Only hair?” - “No... I would also like your nice figurine...” =))) By the way, this is also quite a vital detail - such sentimental grandmothers are still not extinct. And even the fact that Louise ultimately forgives her treacherous rival (Isidora) is quite logical. And also spectacular, juicy... in a word, simply talented and imaginative. You can even say - nafEntEzyacheno;))) and this will be true to some extent;)))

Although... The current reader will probably prefer “Lorna Doone” (at least in the format of a BBC series. Well, he will do the right thing - it shows the same things more vividly, more clearly, more realistically. “To everything there is a time, to each his own” 8-)

Rating: 10

But alas, in childhood I passed this novel by, and now, having read it at my rather unchildish age, we have what we have.

And we have a rather mediocre mixture of this women's novel with adventure elements. The first part of the novel is all oohs and ahs, a typical Brazilian soap series. Well, what about without a love triangle? Of course he is present.

The second part is a little more interesting, more action, at least some intrigue, and in fact, our “headless horseman” finally appears.

Yes. The dialogues, the cardboard characters, and indeed the whole love story were annoying. But the intrigue remained until the last (I, for example, did not immediately guess who the rider was, and until the last I thought that it was another person), although it immediately becomes clear that there is no magic here, and everything is simple. It's a pity.

Overall good, yes. But again, considering that if I had read the novel at the same 13-15 years old, the rating would probably have been higher

Rating: 8

Mine Reed for me is a contradictory writer: some seemed naive, such as “Osceola, Chief of the Seminoles,” and some seemed fundamentally uninteresting (novels in nautical theme). “The Headless Horseman” is perhaps the only work of his that captivated me in the same way as Cooper’s “Deerslayer” or Haggard’s “Moctezuma’s Daughter”. And the point is not even that the outcome was clear almost from the very beginning, but in the way the author tells us what is happening: colorfully, in detail, with soul. This is exactly what many people are missing modern authors in any genre. After all, there is nothing out of the ordinary in terms of adventure in the novel: ordinary life ordinary family; inevitable, and therefore ordinary love polygons... And even the crime turns out to be quite ordinary. But it is shown so “tasty” that you want to applaud. And, yes, be sure to watch the film of the same name.

Rating: 10

A book that many read as children and then recommend to their children, regardless of age and generation!

"The Headless Horseman", "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" - this is what needs to be included in school curriculum junior and middle grades, instead of the wretched Harry Potter (I hope we don’t get it)

p.s. Only idiots give downvotes. Write your opinion if you don’t like something.

Rating: 7

I recommend all modern children under sixteen years of age to read it. A noble hero, a beautiful heroine, who have only one thing in common - love. The novel is wrapped in a mystical shell, shrouded in mysterious events and built in a magnificent atmosphere. Yes, it may be simple, but for its time/reader it will always be at its best.

"Headless Horseman" is a novel by Mine Reid, written in 1865 and based on the author's adventures in America.

The novel takes place in the fifties years XIX century in the border areas of Texas. Wealthy planter Woodley Poindexter and his family of son, daughter and nephew move from Louisiana to their new home, Casa del Corvo.

Lost on a scorched plain on the way to their new hacienda, the Poindexter family meets Maurice Gerald, a mustanger living near the military fort of Inge, but a native northern Ireland. Maurice immediately made an impression on all family members, but each in his own way. Proud Woodley treated his savior with respect, and his son Henry fell in love with him almost immediately brotherly love, the young planter's sister Louise immediately fell in love with the mustanger, even despite his modest social status.

Old man Poindexter's nephew, retired captain Cassius Colhoun, immediately hated the new hero, partly because he wanted to marry Louise himself, and partly because of his cowardice and arrogance.

Shortly after the Poindexters settle in Casa del Corvo, the planter throws a large reception to celebrate their successful move and their closer acquaintance with Texas's elite. Maurice Gerald is also present at this reception, who has undertaken to deliver two dozen wild horses to the planter’s family. In accordance with Irish custom, he gives a rare and valuable mustang to the planter's daughter, further inciting love in her heart and hatred in the soul of her cousin. Now he firmly decides to remove the young mustanger from his path. Having conceived cunning plan murder of Maurice, he decides to carry it out the next evening, in the bar of the village that formed near Fort Inge. He allegedly accidentally pushed and doused the Irishman, who responded in kind. The resulting quarrel ends in a duel. Colhoun clearly underestimated his opponent, which is what he paid for, surviving only thanks to the generosity of Maurice. Thus, having won this fight, the mustanger gained respect local residents and the officers of the fort, and also made the retired captain panicky afraid of him.

Colhoun does not deviate from his plan to kill Maurice, but not with his own hands, but by paying another mustanger, bandit Miguel Diaz. Diaz, having learned that the Indians are on the warpath, happily agrees to this matter.

At the same time, after Maurice’s recovery, he and Louise began to correspond secretly using the so-called. “air mail”, and then, unable to bear the long separation, meet in the garden of Casa del Corvo. After them last meeting happened tragic event. Colhoun finds Maurice and Louise in the garden and persuades Louise's brother to kill the mustanger. Thanks partly to Louise's intercession and partly to Henry's prudence, Maurice manages to escape unharmed. Young Poindexter, after listening to his sister, decides that he acted unreasonably, and is going to catch up with Gerald and apologize to him. At night he goes after the mustanger. Following Henry, his cousin Cassius also leaves, but for a different purpose: he knows that Maurice is leaving for Ireland tomorrow, and decides to kill him that night.

The next morning, as they gather for breakfast, the Poindexter family discovers that Henry, contrary to his habit, did not get up on time and did not show up for an early breakfast. He wasn't in the house either. At this time, one of the slaves caught his horse on the prairie, without a rider and smeared with blood. Everyone thinks Henry Poindexter has been killed. A detachment of armed planters and soldiers is sent to search for the body and the killer, who achieve some success in their search and find evidence of the young man’s death. During their search, this party encounters a terrifying headless horseman. Having not found a reasonable answer to what it could be, the detachment goes to spend the night.

That same night, Diaz and his accomplices, disguised as Indians, invade Maurice's home at the Alamo with the clear intention of killing him. Not finding him there, they decide to wait for him in the hut. And soon someone arrived. But not the owner of the house, but the same headless horseman. Scared to death, the bandits quickly retreated. They were the second to see the mysterious headless horseman.

Meanwhile, Maurice's friend, Zebulon Stump, worried about the disappearance of the Irishman, was in his hut along with his servant Phelim, who was scared to death by the Indians. They receive a note from the mustanger, delivered by his dog Tara. They're going to specified place and barely make it in time, killing the jaguar that attacked the guy. Maurice turned out to be very ill, for what reason is unknown. The old hunter Stump and the mustanger's servant Felim take the young man to their house, where he is found search party. Having found Henry's clothes in his hut, the regulators decide to arrange a lynching on the spot. But thanks to the intervention of Zeb Stump, as well as Indian things in Maurice's hut, indicating a possible Comanche invasion, the trial is postponed.

Meanwhile, everyone is sure that Henry Poindexter is dead and Maurice Gerald is responsible for his death. In a state of fever, he awaits his legal trial in the guardhouse of Fort Inge. Some of the mustanger's friends, namely the major, the commandant of the fort, Spangler, Zeb Stump and Louise Poindexter, are sure that it was not Maurice who committed the murder, but someone else. Having won three from the major extra days With the trial delayed, Zeb Stump goes to the prairie, where he is determined to find evidence of his friend's innocence. And he finds them, and now he knows exactly who real killer and what the mysterious headless horseman is. He reports everything to the commandant of the fort, and everyone awaits trial.

Having awakened from his stupefaction, Maurice gives testimony at the trial, which forces many to change their minds regarding the mustanger’s guilt in this crime. Things change even more dramatically when people see a headless horseman approaching the judgment site.

This is where this monstrous secret is revealed. All this time, the headless horseman was Henry Poindexter. And Colhoun killed him. This became known when it was possible to remove from Henry's body a bullet marked with the initials of Cassius Colhoun "C. K.K" ("Captain Cassius Colquhoun"). From Maurice's testimony, it turned out that when they met, Henry and Maurice, according to the ancient custom of the Comanches, exchanged clothes and hats as a sign of reconciliation. Maurice then left, and Henry remained in that place, and after them the retired captain who pursued them arrived there. Seeing a man in Mexican clothing, he mistook his brother for Maurice and shot him with a gun, and then cut off the head of the corpse. Maurice, who lived before among the Comanches, became acquainted with their custom of delivering warriors killed in battle on their war horses, mounted Henry's body on his horse, and tied his head to the pommel of the saddle. Henry himself mounted Henry’s horse, but, not knowing how to control someone else’s horse, he turned it towards the terrible rider. The horse was frightened by the terrible sight and bolted. Maurice hit his head on a thick tree branch, fell from his horse and received a severe concussion. This was the reason for his sudden illness. And the horse with the headless corpse wandered around the prairies for a long time until it ended up at the final trial.

The main characters of "The Headless Horseman"

Maurice Gerald - main character, a poor mustanger in the USA and a wealthy baronet in his homeland.
Louise Poindexter is Maurice's lover.
Woodley Poindexter is Louise's father, a planter.
Cassius Colquhoun - Woodley's nephew, a retired military man with a scandalous reputation, loves Louise, shot himself at the final trial.
Henry Poindexter - Louise's brother, is killed and beheaded by his cousin, who mistakes him for Maurice, his corpse and is the "Headless Horseman".
Old Zebulon Stump is a hunter, a friend of Maurice, who saved his life and proved his innocence.
Miguel Diaz, a Mexican nicknamed "El Coyote", was executed after the murder of Isidora.
Isidora Covarubio De Los Llanos - Diaz's lover, loves Maurice, killed by Diaz.
Major Ringwood - the officer who delayed Maurice's trial for three days.
Spangler is a tracker who participated in the search for Henry or his body, one of the first to see the Headless Horseman.
Pluto is a servant in the Poindexter family.
Phelim O'Neill is Maurice's servant and foster brother.
Tara, Maurice's dog, saved him several times from coyotes.
Sam Manley is the leader of the regulars, the only one of them who believed in Maurice's innocence.
Horsemen, regulars, people at trial, Diaz's accomplices, servants.
Oberdofer - innkeeper

Brief summary of works of art. Sacred texts

PROLOGUE

Chapter I. BURNED PRAIRIE