Centennial days in the Pueblo

"Every business, office, dance hall and saloon in Los Angeles had a flag or two flying to demonstrate their Centennial patriotic fervor. And up on Fort Moore Hill, where the American Marines had been besieged during the Californios' brief resistance, there was a bigger flag than usual streaming in the cool Spring breeze. He smiled, wondering if someone had also decorated the nearby gallows."

"Ah shit," he muttered, and began to unfasten the stiff slicker. Then standing up he quickly looped it onto the saddle horn and sheltered himself a little as he dug his light wool jacket out of the saddle bag, slipped into it hurriedly, then untied the wool serape from behind the saddle, pulled it on over the jacket, unhooked the slicker and shrugged back into it.   (TEJON TRAIL)

"When it's roundup time in Texas and the bloom is on the sage,
How I long to be in Texas, just a ridin' on the range.
I can smell the bacon fryin', hear it sizzlin' in the pan,
Hear the breakfast horn in the early morn, drinkin' coffee from a can."

     Looking at her appraisingly over his cup he smiled. "I'd say young Mr. Schmidt has got himself quite a wife: hard-working, good cook, handy with a shotgun-- and very pretty."
     "Well, thank you," she managed, eyes shining, cheeks very pink, and her breasts rising and falling rather quickly under the snug gingham dress.
     He had a feeling that compliments had been in short supply around the ranch lately.      (from TEJON TRAIL)

Thackeray is of course an excellent writer, and an insightful student of human nature; but he has a cold, cynical, somewhat bitter view of things, which often causes him to miss the actual truth about people and their actions. In VANITY FAIR, for example, he often makes a ridiculous observation in order to insert a negative comment about human beings, at least in the England he knew. 

 " ... The trials of the men who had murdered the Lester Mine Company scabs and gunmen had ended up convicting no one; and now, on top of that, the Ku Klux Klan and the Protestant churches were beginning to raise major hell about the road-house bootlegging and prostitution that were running wild around Herrin and Marion..... "   (EGYPT BURNING)

"All around the water tank, waitin' for a train; a thousand miles away from home, singin' in the rain ...."   (old song by Jimmie Rodgers)