Welcome to Gadsonia!

That Arizona is Arizona once was not assured. After the acquisition of the territory from the shifting powers of Mexico, which never actually held claim other than by say-so of this land, there were choices as to what to call the new territory. The two top contenders were Gadsonia, a hopeful attempt to name it after the man who arranged the sale, and Arizona... an Anglicized version of a Spanish interpretation of a Tohono O'odham word describing a "little spring" which ran past a silver mine in the southern part of the territory. Luckily for history, that "little spring" won. I mean, goodness, Gadsonia? Ugh... I'd have to renounce the land of my birth!

I'm just throwing that out there.

Another thing I'd like to throw out there is an event that happened in the early 1870s in, um, Arizona Territory where three Cavalrymen came upon a dead body in the desert between the town of Wickenburg and the southern reaches of the Silver Mountains (in the late 1880s, these mountains would be renamed for two early pioneers, the Bradshaw brothers). It is in the southernmost canyons of these mountains where the Bajazid creek is found and subsequently the basis of these Tales. This body, as found by these soldiers, had with it saddlebags filled with gold.

Another interesting tidbit of history concerning this region is that Jacob Waltz, the man whom the infamous Lost Dutchman Mine in the Superstition Mountains was owned by, had, before his legended mine, claims within the southern Bradshaw range and there are, in the legends and stories associated with this mine, rumors that it was in these mountains, not the Superstitions, in which that mine truly was. Such speculation hints that he basically led others all on a big, giant snark-hunt in order to protect its location. Being that the Bradshaws are rife with gold and the Superstitions less so...

This is all just stuff and stuff, nothing more. Just things that those born generations deep in this land tend to pick up if they are interested in the history of the region. I, uh, fit that mold.

Taking these elements and stirring them around... the body in the desert, the contentious name, the possibility of a Dutchman's mine... well, two Tales were initially inspired and set aside for a good long time. These were two of my earliest story ideas, once again finally finding their way through my keyboard. The first, "Waiting For Ants" (5000 words on the button), initially had in my notebooks the holding title "Three Blind Rats". I chose that name from the air in order to remember I was going to be following three soldiers and what happened to them. That title held no meaning beyond that... though I could not escape the operative word there. It served as a hint as to what might occur even though all I knew was I wanted to follow these soldiers after their discovery in the desert.

As for who these three men were, the depths to their knowledge required only investigation into one. The other two are his subordinates and I needed not to delve into their pasts. The primary though, he just kinda crawled forth and introduced himself as I went along. It was actually a pleasant bit getting to know him as there was no conflict or pause in his revelation. He seemed to need to be as he was and his name was only partially responsible for that.

I must talk about these names. I've mentioned how I've often used place-holders if something isn't inspired at the beginning. Well, my place-holders served in some degree to establish character here, at least in Harry's case. Quickly must point out that surnames here have no meaning or relation to the given names. Those given names were what propelled me in physical description of the three, each of which should be obvious. I will admit to changing those names to the full given names of those whom I began with, just to hide the influence a bit, or at least enough that the casual reader without certain information might not get. Besides, it was funnier that way.

For those who do get the joke... even though it wasn't a joke... do note that single identifying word that could be used to give it all away, or even hint slyly, could not be used. To do so would have been an absolutely horrible anachronism, something I've tried hard to avoid. Thus a study always of what types of gear, specifically firearms, are mentioned. Again, if I have a pistol mentioned clear enough to reveal make, it would ruin it for anyone familiar to see something that couldn't be. It would be like portraying Abe Lincoln doom-scrolling on twitter.

Now this and the other Tale conceived with it, a desire to place a Dutchman in my cheery little valley, were begun as nothing more than knowing I wanted to pursue these lines. I had no idea how either one would turn out when I began, but knowing what needed to be began the first... which takes place a couple months after the 2nd. As "Waiting For Ants" developed, the elements pertinent to the body in the desert and the trail it left gave me the story for the first, which yes, is titled "The Dutchman". The neat thing for me was I did not need but to present that corpse and that of his horse to establish what would be his fate. My three soldiers never went far enough up the canyon to discover even worse.

I do realize that I do not give much in explaining the nature of the horror, but that is because doing so would have violated the character's potential knowledge. When what is happening is happening, pausing to explain something the character's could not know would disrupt the flow and offer too much insight beyond the unknown. Besides, this is a history and through all these Tales, there is but one that actually hints to what is that is. There is a reason for that, or a couple. Those reasons are mine though so stop poking around. I ain't gonna tell you direct.

There is a third Tale sandwiched in between these two, directly following "The Dutchman", but that Tale is yet realized and the hint for its existence does and does not exist in that story.  From that story which is not yet, the Tale "I Met a Man as I Lay in My Grave", soon to be released by Soteira Press in their (pause for confusion) upcoming anthology "Horror USA : Louisiana", was inspired. Trust me, a lot will be explained in that Tale so I highly recommend picking this one up when it hits the shelves. These folk put out a very high quality production. The "man" met here has become an enduring and endearing character, one I've gotten some unexpected mileage out of (pun uncertain if intended).

As for this Tale, "Waiting For Ants", let's just say that operative word I first began with in my holding-title for this story does play a role, but not in the title the Tale now holds. This Tale should also serve as a warning for future characters, but sadly, there was no one around to carry this call. I will say though, the manner in which it all plays out began and once it started, it needed to play out. I do feel bad for Lawrence though. He kinda got it worse and that was not intended. Thing is, when things happen, they happen.