When the Legends Die by Hal Borland
"When the Legends Die" is a novel by Hal Borland that explores the life of Thomas Black Bull, a member of the Ute tribe, as he navigates the complex transition from his traditional Native American culture to a life influenced by white society in early 20th century America. The story begins around 1920, highlighting Thomas's early years spent in an Indian lodge in Colorado, where he experiences profound loss and isolation after the deaths of his parents. As he is taken to the reservation, he grapples with cultural dislocation and the challenges of adapting to a new life, initially struggling with motivation in school and work.
Throughout the narrative, Thomas finds solace in the world of rodeo riding, where he faces both physical and emotional trials. His tumultuous journey reflects themes of identity, resilience, and the search for belonging. Ultimately, after various hardships and the loss of important figures in his life, Thomas retreats to the mountains to reconnect with his roots, leading to a healing transformation. Borland's vivid portrayal of the Ute culture and the character's internal struggles offers readers insight into the complexities of cultural heritage and personal growth. The novel has garnered recognition for its authentic depiction of Native American experiences and the challenges of cultural assimilation.
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Subject Terms
When the Legends Die by Hal Borland
First published: 1963
Type of work: Moral tale
Themes: Family, nature, and race and ethnicity
Time of work: The early twentieth century
Recommended Ages: 13-18
Locale: Southern Colorado and northern New Mexico
Principal Characters:
Thomas Black Bull , orBears’ Brother , a Ute Indian, who becomes a bronc riderBlack Bull , andBessie , his parents, who live in the old way in a lodge on the mountainBlue Elk , an old greedy Ute who betrays his people for white man’s moneyThatcher , a trading post owner, who cares about IndiansRed Dillon , a onetime bronc rider, who takes Thomas to New Mexico, trains him, and uses himMeo , a Mexican cook and once a rider, who lives with Red and Thomas in New MexicoMary Redmond , a nurse who tries to befriend Tom in the hospital
The Story
When the Legends Die opens about 1920, when Native Americans are suffering the shock of giving up a free life to live as white men determine. Thomas Black Bull, or Bears’ Brother, lives his early years in an Indian lodge hidden among the trees on a mountain in Colorado. His family is of the Ute tribe and have escaped from the reservation, where his father was accused of murder. Thomas’ only friend after his father is killed in a snow slide and his mother dies the next year is an orphaned grizzly bear cub, which he found and took to his lodge. He gives himself the name “Bears’ Brother.” When Blue Elk finds him and takes him to the reservation, he is forced to send the bear back to the forest. The teachers and administrators at the school try to get Thomas interested in learning a trade, but he shows no motivation. Finally, though he does not like the job, he spends two years with a sheepherder on the reservation.
It is while with the sheepherder that Thomas learns to ride horses. Red Dillon sees him ride and obtains a permit from the reservation for Thomas to go with him to New Mexico. Red and Meo, an old Mexican who was crippled from having had so many bones broken from riding broncs, live in an old ranch shack. Difficult riding lessons begin for Thomas. Learning to endure pain, Thomas becomes expert, and Red takes him on the rodeo circuit, where he makes Thomas lose some contests to increase betting on the finals. Thomas takes his hate for Red and the others who have mistreated him out on the horses and, in several instances, rides them to death. He has no friends.
Thomas Black Bull finally stands up to Red Dillon and rides to win in competitions all across the United States. He suffers broken bones several times. When he returns to the ranch in New Mexico to recover from a fall, Red rides into town and dies as a result of many years of drinking. Later, when Thomas again returns to New Mexico after traveling a winning circuit, he finds that Meo has died. In all the years of riding, Meo was the closest thing to a friend that Thomas had. Thomas ends this phase of his life by packing his things and burning the barn and shack they had called home.
After the death of Red and Meo, Thomas continues to make the circuit, living in hotels, until one final ride when he is severely injured. He recovers long before expected, but, still unable to work, he returns to the small town where he started in Colorado. To complete his recuperation in solitude, he takes a job as a sheepherder and goes to the pastures on the same mountain where he had lived with his parents. Alone in the mountains, he remembers the old ways. He faces a grizzly, and strange feelings of brotherhood battle with fear as he refuses to shoot the bear. He has faced his hates and fears and found a healing peace at last.
Context
When the Legends Die was selected by Reader’s Digest Book Club and has had nine foreign editions. It vividly depicts the difficulty of leaving one culture and adopting another. Hal Borland lived in Colorado and knew the country and the people about which he wrote. He was awarded the Meeman Award for conservation writing, 1966, and the John Burroughs Medal for distinguished nature writing, 1968.
In writing a book that shows character-in-the-making through influences by man and nature, Hal Borland has painted a bold picture. Many of the characters in When the Legends Die are rough and crude but true to life. Renewal comes not with winning rodeos or with money but with going back to one’s roots, hearing in one’s mind the old chants and meanings, recognizing one’s hate and anger.
When the Legends Die gives insight and understanding of Native Americans. It pictures a culture beautiful but lost in time. Borland wrote many books and articles about nature, including his autobiography High, Wide, and Lonesome (1956). His knowledge of life in the mountains of Colorado and mesas of New Mexico makes When the Legends Die a valuable addition to literature about the Ute Indian culture.