The Wailing Wind
Encyclopedia
The Wailing Wind, a New York Times best-seller, is the fifteenth in the Chee
/Leaphorn
Navajo Tribal Police
series of crime fiction
novels by Tony Hillerman
.
Officer Bernadette Manuelito investigates an abandoned vehicle in Apache County, Arizona
and discovers a body, the available evidence indicates the death is due to natural causes. While awaiting personnel from the medical examiner's office, Officer Manuelito indulges her interest in botany and collects seeds, placing them in an old tobacco tin she finds nearby. But when the body is removed from the vehicle several hours later by medical personnel, it is discovered that the death is a homicide and Officer Manuelito realizes she has inadvertently contaminated or destroyed evidence.
Navajo Tribal Police Sergeant Jim Chee, Officer Manuelito's superior officer, contacts retired Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn for advice on how to resolve the destroyed/contaminated evidence problem. This renews Leaphorn's interest in an old case involving Wiley Denton, a Gallup
oil and gas magnate who shot and killed, in self-defense it was claimed, Marvin McKay who claimed to have found the famous Golden Calf lost gold mine.
When Denton, recently released from prison after serving a short sentence, contacts Leaphorn to find Denton's wife, a friend of Marvin McKay who disappeared the day of the shooting and has not been heard from since, the stage is set for a mystery involving forest fires, protection of Navajo religious sites, lost gold mines, and moth-balled munitions bunkers.
Continuing characters introduced to the series in this novel include:
Other characters introduced in this novel include:
religious beliefs and practices. In The Wailing Wind this includes:
Jim Chee
Jim Chee is one of two Navajo Tribal Police detectives in a series of mystery novels by Tony Hillerman. Unlike his superior Joe Leaphorn, the "Legendary Lieutenant", Chee wants to be a staunch believer in traditional Navajo culture; indeed, he is studying to be a traditional healer at the same...
/Leaphorn
Joe Leaphorn
Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is a fictional character created by American mystery writer Tony Hillerman, one of two officers of the Navajo Tribal Police that feature in a number of novels. The other officer is Jim Chee.- Profile :...
Navajo Tribal Police
Navajo Tribal Police
The Navajo Nation Police is the law enforcement agency on the Navajo Nation in the Southwestern United States. It is under the Navajo Division of Public Safety. It is headed by a Chief of Police, six Police Captains and eight Police Lieutenants...
series of crime fiction
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
novels by Tony Hillerman
Tony Hillerman
Tony Hillerman was an award-winning American author of detective novels and non-fiction works best known for his Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels...
.
Plot summary
When Navajo Tribal PoliceNavajo Tribal Police
The Navajo Nation Police is the law enforcement agency on the Navajo Nation in the Southwestern United States. It is under the Navajo Division of Public Safety. It is headed by a Chief of Police, six Police Captains and eight Police Lieutenants...
Officer Bernadette Manuelito investigates an abandoned vehicle in Apache County, Arizona
Apache County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*23.3% White*0.2% Black*72.9% Native American*0.3% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.0% Two or more races*1.3% Other races*5.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
and discovers a body, the available evidence indicates the death is due to natural causes. While awaiting personnel from the medical examiner's office, Officer Manuelito indulges her interest in botany and collects seeds, placing them in an old tobacco tin she finds nearby. But when the body is removed from the vehicle several hours later by medical personnel, it is discovered that the death is a homicide and Officer Manuelito realizes she has inadvertently contaminated or destroyed evidence.
Navajo Tribal Police Sergeant Jim Chee, Officer Manuelito's superior officer, contacts retired Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn for advice on how to resolve the destroyed/contaminated evidence problem. This renews Leaphorn's interest in an old case involving Wiley Denton, a Gallup
Gallup, New Mexico
- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 20,209 people, 6,810 households, and 4,869 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,513.7 people per square mile...
oil and gas magnate who shot and killed, in self-defense it was claimed, Marvin McKay who claimed to have found the famous Golden Calf lost gold mine.
When Denton, recently released from prison after serving a short sentence, contacts Leaphorn to find Denton's wife, a friend of Marvin McKay who disappeared the day of the shooting and has not been heard from since, the stage is set for a mystery involving forest fires, protection of Navajo religious sites, lost gold mines, and moth-balled munitions bunkers.
Characters
In addition to Chee and Leaphorn, returning series characters include:- Albert "Cowboy" Dashee, Deputy Sheriff of Apache County
- Bernadette Manuelito, patrol officer for the Navajo Tribal Police
- Captain Largo, Chee's superior officer
- Professor Louisa Bourbonnette, Leaphorn's friend and sometimes housemate
Continuing characters introduced to the series in this novel include:
- "Oz" Osborne, Special Agent, FBI
Other characters introduced in this novel include:
- Hostiin James Peshlaki, suspected of shooting at Officer Manuelito
- Hostiin Rodney Yellow, Officer Manuelito's uncle, a shaman and ethnobotanist
- Linda Verbiscar Denton, wife of Wiley Denton
- Marvin McKay, gold prospector
- Peggy McKay, common law wife of Marvin McKay
- Thomas Doherty, corpse found by Manuelito, nephew of a former County Sheriff
- Wiley Denton, Gallup oil and gas magnate
Natural, Cultural & Historical References
Geographic, botanical, animal, historical, and cultural artifacts and events often play key roles in the Chee/Leaphorn series - either as direct plot elements, to explain character motivations or perspectives, or to illustrate cultural orreligious beliefs and practices. In The Wailing Wind this includes:
- BOTANICAL: ChamisaChrysothamnusChrysothamnus is a member of the plant family Asteraceae. It is a semi-deciduous shrub, sometimes also called sagebrush. The native distribution is in the arid western United States and northern Mexico...
, sandbur, goatheadTribulus terrestrisTribulus terrestris is a flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Old World in southern Europe, southern Asia, throughout Africa, and Australia. It can thrive even in desert climates and poor soil...
(plant seeds Manuelito removes from Doherty's clothing); AsterAsteraceaeThe Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
, mountain columbineAquilegiaAquilegia is a genus of about 60-70 species of perennial plants that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere, known for the spurred petals of their flowers.-Etymology:The genus name Aquilegia is derived from the Latin word for eagle , because...
(plant seeds collected by Manuelito near Doherty's body); Thread and needle grassHesperostipa comataHesperostipa comata, commonly known as needle-and-thread grass, is a species of grass native to North America, especially the western third. It has a wide distribution spanning from northern Canada to Mexico.-Description:...
, snake weedGutierreziaGutierrezia is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family. Plants of this genus are known generally as snakeweeds or matchweeds. There are about 25 species found in North and South America. These plants contain chemical compounds which can be toxic to livestock and some are considered weeds...
, Johnson grassJohnson grassSorghum halepense, commonly called Johnsongrass, is a plant in the grass family, Poaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, but growing throughout Europe and the Middle East. The plant has been introduced to all continents except Antarctica and most larger islands and archipelagos...
(plant life encountered by Manuelito while searching for site where Doherty was killed) - CULTURAL/RELIGIOUS: PozolePozolePozole is a ritually significant, traditional pre-Columbian soup or stew from Mexico. Pozole was mentioned in Fray Bernardino de Sahagún's "General History of the Things of New Spain" circa 1500 CE. It is made from nixtamalized cacahuazintle corn, with meat, usually pork, chicken, turkey, pork...
(regional food, served to Leaphorn during investigation); - GEOGRAPHICAL: Chuska MountainsChuska mountainsThe Chuska Mountains are an elongate range on the Colorado Plateau and within the Navajo Nation. The range is about 80 by 15 km , and it trends north-northwest and is crossed by the state line between Arizona and New Mexico. The highlands are a dissected plateau, with an average elevation of...
(Doherty body is found west of this range); Shiprock, New MexicoShiprock, New MexicoShiprock is a census-designated place in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States, on the Navajo reservation. The population was 8,156 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Farmington Metropolitan Statistical Area....
(location of Chee's office); Gallup, New MexicoGallup, New Mexico- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 20,209 people, 6,810 households, and 4,869 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,513.7 people per square mile...
(Denton's home); Window Rock, ArizonaWindow Rock, ArizonaWindow Rock is the seat of government and capital of the Navajo Nation, the largest territory of a sovereign Native American nation in North America. Window Rock contains the Navajo Nation Council, the Navajo Nation Zoological and Botanical Park, as well as the Navajo Nation World War II Memorial...
(Leaphorn's home); Also see plot summary - HISTORICAL: Fort WingateFort WingateFort Wingate is near Gallup, New Mexico. There were two locations in New Mexico that had this name. The first one was located near San Rafael. The current fort was established on the southern edge of the Navajo territory in 1862. The initial purpose of the fort was to control the large Navajo...
(location of old ordinance bunkers & location of historic archives of U.S. Army Surgeon Washington MatthewsWashington MatthewsWashington Matthews was a surgeon in the United States Army, ethnographer, and linguist known for his studies of Native American peoples, especially the Navajo.-Early life and education:...
); Lost Adams DiggingsLost Adams DiggingsThe Lost Adams Diggings is a Southwestern treasure story that refers to the existence of a canyon rich in gold deposits somewhere in western New Mexico in the early 1860s.- The Legend :...
, Lost Dutchman's Gold MineLost Dutchman's Gold MineThe Lost Dutchman Gold Mine is reportedly a very rich gold mine hidden in the Superstition Mountains, near Apache Junction, east of Phoenix, Arizona in the United States...
(famous "lost" gold mines mentioned in the novel)
See also
- Bureau of Land ManagementBureau of Land ManagementThe Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
- Diné Bahaneʼ
- Placer mining