Simon the Fiddler

At an upper-end saloon one night, a man loudly demands a song about the Confederacy, but the band ignores him, knowing that he just wants trouble. The man approaches the stage and demands the fiddle so that he can play it himself, and three soldiers approach and start a fistfight, which the band gets caught up in. The provost marshal’s men eventually arrive and arrest anyone they can, including the band. The marshal charges them with disorderly conduct and barely believes that they were not in the Confederate army. Eventually, a soldier says that he has a letter for Simon Boudlin, and Simon narrowly manages to retrieve it. In it, Doris tells him that he must not write again, as Colonel Webb has commanded it, and writes honestly about her unhappiness since the letter is being delivered through soldiers instead of the mail. He writes her back a letter anyway, intending to find a different way to get it to her. Damon recommends that he use Mercedes to get her the letter, like in shows in the theater. He addresses the letter to Mercedes, and they begin to write to one another using the maid as a proxy.

The band decides that they want to move on, but they aren’t sure where to go, since the Union will demand paperwork anywhere they go, and they are now on paper in Houston. They decide to wait until something turns up.

A man approaches the band and offers them a job playing at a wedding. English is not his first language; he speaks Spanish and communicates easily with Doroteo about the job. The man who sent him offers them $25 in gold each, an exorbitant price, but the location, Doroteo’s hometown, is not safe. They turn the job down, but when the man mentions that the wedding is for Solomon Bradford’s granddaughter, Simon realizes that he must go to discuss the land he wants. They agree to go if the man pays them ahead of time so that they can pick up another revolver.

They travel to Nueces Strip for the wedding, where “the world’s authority lay in firepower and the loyalty of those who rode with you” (189), and Simon writes to Doris that he is going to inquire about land. The journey is hard and dangerous, but the man sent by Bradford, Rosillo, keeps them safe.

They reach the Bradford house and find that the old man, Solomon, is aged and absentminded; it is hard to get a straight answer from him. They go to the adjoining village to clean up. None of the people will talk to Doroteo.

Simon tries to talk to Solomon Bradford as the preparations for the wedding commence, but the old man’s fading memory and confusion make him unpredictable and difficult to communicate with. Simon realizes that neither he nor Bradford could write up a convincing enough legal document to pass inspection. He finally gives up and asks Bradford where he is from; when he says West Virginia, he plays “Shenandoah” to communicate with him. Bradford’s mind clears enough to understand what land Simon is asking for.

That night, Bradford and Simon create a document selling Simon 415 acres of land in Grayson County. The next day, they play for the wedding, which is a beautiful affair. Doroteo attempts to speak with a young woman repeatedly, but she continually ignores him, until he finally manages to get through to her.

The next day, they leave without Doroteo, who only joined the army in the first place after the girl flirted with another man. Realizing that they will not get him back from his new life in his homeland, Damon and Simon travel to San Antonio alone.

Walking to San Antonio wears them out. When they stop to rest, Simon, worrying about the reliability of his land deal, goes swimming in the river. He and Damon discuss how much they miss their companions; the next day, they cross the river and continue to the village of San Patricio. A letter reaches Simon there; Doris tells him that he can’t write to Mercedes anymore, because the Colonel has started to take her letters as well. They replenish supplies and join a freight convoy to get a ride to San Antonio.

Simon reflects on his childhood; his parents weren’t married and his uncle, an old man named Walking David, raised him. Simon was tormented from an early age by the fact that his father, Henri Boudlin, a fiddler himself, had left his mother and not married her before her death by cholera. Simon was frustrated that she was evidently not good enough to marry and came up with tall tales about his father to reason through his absence. He is thus even more determined to marry Doris Dillon correctly and someday tell his father, “[a]llow me to introduce my wife. I hear you never had one. I recommend it” (216).

Simon talks with the driver of one of the wagons and discovers that he is from Kentucky and knows Simon’s hometown. The wagons pass by several abandoned mission buildings and Simon wonders if Doris will be able to manage his need to be alone.

When they finally reach San Antonio, it has been a year and a half since Simon has last seen Doris. The city is under heavy military rule. Damon and Simon go into an elegant hotel and realize that not only is the music played there much more formal than they are accustomed to, but their band lacks a guitar and drum player and is hardly usable anymore. They visit the Alamo and contemplate the scenery. After talking to a quartermaster, Simon learns where the Webbs live and learns that the sergeant he talked to is still around; they leave before anyone can ask for passes or discharge papers.

Simon thinks that he sees Mercedes, but she slips past him. He and Damon play in a hotel and are advised to find new band members to keep the rhythm better, but they get a job anyway and a room in the hotel. They get decent food and baths at the hotel. Simon hears that he may get money from the destruction of some of Walking David’s land but thinks that it is unlikely.

A waiter tells them that the women always come into town for daily shopping. Unable to find Mercedes, Simon goes near the Webb house to observe it; he contemplates how far he has come on little but letters and imagination. He gets a glimpse of Doris leaving a carriage but leaves soon after, feeling guilty.

The hotel’s manager asks them to take on an unruly musician friend of his for their band. Lester Pruitt can hardly play the fiddle but can play a bodhran, so they allow him to come on if he cleans himself and his behavior up. They buy new clothes and prepare for a performance.