Hell's Bottom, Colorado Read online

  WINTER ROADS, SUMMER FIELDS

  Marjorie Dorner

  TRIP SHEETS

  Ellen Hawley

  ALL AMERICAN DREAM DOLLS

  David Haynes

  LIVE AT FIVE

  David Haynes

  SOMEBODY ELSE’S MAMA

  David Haynes

  THE CHILDREN BOB MOSES LED

  William Heath

  PU-239 AND OTHER RUSSIAN FANTASIES

  Ken Kalfus

  THIRST

  Ken Kalfus

  PERSISTENT RUMOURS

  Lee Langley

  HUNTING DOWN HOME

  Jean McNeil

  SWIMMING IN THE CONGO

  Margaret Meyers

  TOKENS OF GRACE

  Sheila O’Connor

  THE BOY WITHOUT A FLAG

  Abraham Rodriguez Jr.

  AN AMERICAN BRAT

  Bapsi Sidhwa

  CRACKING INDIA

  Bapsi Sidhwa

  THE CROW EATERS

  Bapsi Sidhwa

  THE COUNTRY I COME FROM

  Maura Stanton

  TRAVELING LIGHT

  Jim Stowell

  THE PROMISED LAND

  Ruhama Veltfort

  JUSTICE

  Larry Watson

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  Interior design by Dale Cooney.

  Typeset in Granjon 12/16

  by Stanton Publication Services.

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  © 2001, Text by Laura Pritchett

  All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher: Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415.

  (800) 520-6455 / www.milkweed.org/ www.worldashome.org

  Milkweed Editions, a nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges the Star Tribune Foundation and the Jerome Foundation for providing special funding for this book. Milkweed also received support from the Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Foundation; Bush Foundation; Faegre and Benson Foundation; General Mills Foundation; Marshall Field’s Project Imagine with support from the Target Foundation and Target Stores; McKnight Foundation; Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts; Norwest Foundation on behalf of Norwest Bank Minnesota; Lawrence and Elizabeth Ann O’Shaughnessy Charitable Income Trust in honor of Lawrence M. O’Shaughnessy; Oswald Family Foundation; Ritz Foundation on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Phelps Jr.; John and Beverly Rollwagen Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation; St. Paul Companies, Inc.; U.S. Bancorp Foundation; and generous individuals.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Pritchett, Laura, 1971–

  p. cm.

  Contents: Hell’s bottom—A fine white dust—Summer flood—An easy birth—Jailbird gone songbird—Dry roots—Grayblue day—Rattlesnake fire—A new name each day—The record keeper.

  eISBN : 978-1-571-31855-8

  1. Colorado—Social life and customs—Fiction. 2. Ranch life—Fiction. I. Title

  PS3616.R58 H45 2001

  813’.6—dc21

  2001030966

  CIP

  This book is printed on acid-free, recycled paper.