Since his father left to find work in the big city over two years ago, Alfred, his younger brother Elmer, and his mother have been living with his grandparents on their farm. But his grandfather is getting older and finding the farm harder to work. Alfred has a secret plan: to win the relay race at the White River Frontier Days and with the prize money, purchase a tractor for his grandfather. He needs one more horse for his relay team, and the blue roan just might be that horse!
A week later and it is branding day at the ranch. Alfred decides to stay overnight at the ranch in the bunkhouse so he can start work early the next day. At the ranch he meets Mr. Looking Rock's nephew, Johnny Krugerbery. Johnny takes an immediate dislike to Alfred and threatens him in the bunkhouse. However, the round-up and branding goes without incident.
As the summer moves on, Alfred learns some important information about his father. He also begins training the blue roan to become part of his relay team. But when Johnny attempts to take over his uncle's ranch, Alfred and his friends are not only in danger of missing the relay race, but their lives as well.
Instead of continuing on to the ranch, Alfred returns home, only to find his beloved yellow lab, Chepa has died. Devastated, Alfred places Chepa on his horse, Anpo and sets out to bury his dog. But while preparing the grave, Chepa opens his eyes and Alfred realizes that his dog has eaten his mother's dough, causing him to pass out. He returns home, thankful that Chepa is alive.
As the summer moves on, Alfred learns some important information about his father. He also begins training the blue roan to become part of his relay team. But when Johnny attempts to take over his uncle's ranch, Alfred and his friends are not only in danger of missing the relay race, but their lives as well.
Discussion
The Roan Stallion continues the story of Alfred Swallow and his family. Beartrack-Algeo engages her readers immediately with a series of events involving Alfred. On his way to a nearby ranch, Alfred encounters an unusual horse, a blue roan stallion which he identifies as a Medicine Hat horse, he gets caught in a tornado and almost loses his beloved dog Chepa. Beartrack-Algeo moves the story along quickly, having Alfred prepare for the relay race but also get caught up in the events going on at the Looking Rock ranch.
Readers may find this story a bit disjointed. For example, at the end of Chapter 4 Medicine Hat, Alfred's grandfather mentions that Alfred needs to "load your sacred pipe and go to your elder, Peter Flying Crow, to help you interpret your encounter with the sky spirit and the Medicine Hat horse." However, the next chapter skips over this entirely, fast-forwarding to a week later when Alfred is to work at the Looking Rock range. It would have been interesting to read about Alfred meeting Peter Flying Crow and what his interpretation of Alfred's experiences was. Chapter 6 Big Day which focuses on the branding at the ranch, also does the same, ending with Alfred's decision to sleep over at the bunkhouse another night to see possibly what Johnny Krugerbery might be up to. However the next chapter leads off, several weeks into the future with Alfred talking about his training of the roan stallion. Did Alfred learn anything about what Johnny was up to?
In The Roan Stallion, Alfred learns more about his father, whom he is eventually reunited with at the end of the novel. Beartrack-Algeo continues to develop Alfred as a character; he is boy determined to do the right thing and live a life of honor, in the tradition of his people, the Lakota. Alfred shows respect to his elders, to the animals and nature around him. He's also not afraid to confront evil when he and his friends take on Johnny and his gang. But at the heart of this story is Alfred, who seeing the difficulty his grandfather is having in working the farm, is moved to act: his goal is to win the relay race prize money so he can buy his grandfather a new tractor.
Once again, the author also uses the character of Alfred's grandfather to show the impact of the white man on the Lakota way of life. When they are preparing for the relay race, Alfred remembers the day he helped Grandfather build fences for their pasture and how the idea of sectioning off the land and building fences is foreign to the Lakota.
"In the old days there no fences and no land ownership, and the buffalo were plenty. Now we find ourselves fenced in like prisoners on reservations. The government issues a card telling us we are Indians, as if we don't know who we are. We are the People, the allies. They ask us to show them this card in order to get food to feed our starving babies. They ask us to show them this card if we want permission to leave our fenced-in reservation. They want to know where we are going and when we will return. Maybe they approve the request, maybe not. Inside the fenced-in reservations, they gave us small parcels. Giving us our own land back? The land were my people hunted our buffalo and cared for our babies? I don't understand. They expect us to be farmers, to grow crops from the poor seeds they give us, but the crops often die. They expect us to be ranchers and fight over the land they gave us. but the sick cattle they send to replace the buffalo they killed often die. They expect us to build fences on the land they gave us, so here we are, Grandson...building fences."
"In the old days there no fences and no land ownership, and the buffalo were plenty. Now we find ourselves fenced in like prisoners on reservations. The government issues a card telling us we are Indians, as if we don't know who we are. We are the People, the allies. They ask us to show them this card in order to get food to feed our starving babies. They ask us to show them this card if we want permission to leave our fenced-in reservation. They want to know where we are going and when we will return. Maybe they approve the request, maybe not. Inside the fenced-in reservations, they gave us small parcels. Giving us our own land back? The land were my people hunted our buffalo and cared for our babies? I don't understand. They expect us to be farmers, to grow crops from the poor seeds they give us, but the crops often die. They expect us to be ranchers and fight over the land they gave us. but the sick cattle they send to replace the buffalo they killed often die. They expect us to build fences on the land they gave us, so here we are, Grandson...building fences."
The Roan Stallion is a short, heart-warming story set at the beginning of the Great Depression. It has plenty of action, and believable characters who highlight some important virtues such as charity, consideration, industriousness and determination. This short novel also informs young readers about the Lakota people who shared the prairies with the vast herds of buffalo and how their lives were changed forever by the coming of the white settlers. A third installment of this series is much anticipated!
Book Details:
The Roan Stallion by Alfreda Beartrack-Algeo
Summertown, Tennessee: 7th Generation Book Publishing Company 2023
121 pp.
The Roan Stallion by Alfreda Beartrack-Algeo
Summertown, Tennessee: 7th Generation Book Publishing Company 2023
121 pp.
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