Stand to Horse

To Ritchie Peters, a raw recruit in the First Dragoons, the winter of 1859 when he was first stationed at Santa Fe was a tough one. The Apaches attacked and raided in even the foulest weather, and the dragoons had no choice but to go after them, often to meet death by violence, starvation, or freezing. Ritchie slowly adjusted to this life of great hardships, but also of deep loyalties and friendships, and eventually came completely under the spell of this strange and fascinating country. He had "drunk of these waters" and was "part of this land."