Geoff- Post 4

"'They try that the first two or three days after you move them, but they'll settle down. We can handle them, Tayo.' The Mexican cattle settled down and moved more slowly, but they still had little regard for fences. They watered and grazed at the Canoncito windmill for a few days before they started traveling again." (79). Before I go any further, I would like to say these are not any kind of cow I have ever heard of. Some old cowboy wisdom: "You can put range cattle in a pasture, but you can't put pasture cattle on the range." Normally, a cow that has lived in a pasture knows the limits of his area; he walks the fence perimeter daily, and respects that. If put on the range, that cow will search for the fence; he'll keep walking in one direction and you'll never find him. A range cow, however, is of a different mentality; all he cares about is grass, and as long as there is grass and water, he doesn't care about fences. I've never seen Mexican cattle in action, but why would a cow leave an area with plenty of water?
That being said, I think the Mexican cattle are supposed to be symbolic of what Tayo's attitude will become. If you read the blurb on the back of the book, Tayo goes "back to the Indian past". I believe the fences represent boundaries that European values place on Tayo, and that he like the cattle, will break through them due to a primeval drive. Just speculation.
I do not know what to think of the character Josiah. On the one hand, I admire the fact that he is eager to make money by raising cattle. However, it's sort of amoral that he has decided to have a relationship with a character such as Night Swan (was she a prostitute? I sort of got that from reading the part about how her old boyfriend (or customer?) was sought out by his wife).
I'm not terribly fond of the sub-plot the book is spinning off on; I'm much more interested in the outdoor exploits of Tayo and Josiah than Josiah's love life.