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10 Tamale Ridge by: Chuck Cusimano

dressed in all the best parade clothes and turned his upper lip at Uncle Trent, still wearing the

same clothes that he had been wearing when he rode into town. When Uncle Trent saw how

fancy dressed Emilio was, he took off his felt hat and beat the dust off of his own simple clothes.

Making a big impression wasn’t important to Uncle Trent but action was. I have heard that in

his estimation, he would rather be around someone who worked hard and got dirty than someone

who never did any hard work and stayed clean.

Men like that he called “dandies” and from what he could tell, Emilio Sanchez was a dandy in

every sense of the word. Uncle Trent stood in the middle of that dusty street and faced right

up to Sanchez. Seth said he never batted an eye lid.

Emilio carefully looked over both horses that Uncle Trent brought into town. Since the

gringo rode one and led the other, Emilio just naturally assumed that the horse that Uncle Trent

led wasn’t broke to ride.

“I think I better ride the bronco, instead of the keeds horse the gringo rides!”

Emilio stated loudly to all within hearing distance. To this, the crowd roared their approval.

“No one rides the bronco like Emilio,” one of them shouted.

Another said:

“Geev heem the espuelas Emilio!”

Uncle Trent told Emilio,

“Señor, you better not try to ride the garañón. He won’t let nobody but me ride him.”

“The gringo is worried that Emillio will ride the red horse to hees death!”

Shouted Emilio and with that statement, made a grab for Tamales’ mane. At first Tamale just

stood there but when those Mexican spurs hit his side, he jumped with all four feet off the

ground. When he hit the dirt again he was already going the other direction.

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