Dark Tower Wizard & Glass: The Powerful Horses of Mejis
Long days and pleasant nights – this article includes all the rest of the powerful horses of Mejis in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower IV: Wizard & Glass.
I say “all the rest,” because this is part 2 of 2 in a series of articles about the horses of Mejis, the town where all the action takes place in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass.
This is also part of a greater series of articles about vehicles and transportation in The Dark Tower.
I noticed that Stephen King puts a good deal of thought and detail into his vehicles and transportation. From sentient, suicidally depressed monorails, to futuristic off roading vehicles, to old fashioned bucka wagons made out of wood, to old Ford pickup trucks, when it comes to Vehicles, Stephen King is no slouch. More links to all the Dark Tower vehicles articles at the bottom of this post.
Here, then, is part 2 of 2 of Dailysack’s article about the horses of Mejis.
May it do ya fine.
Wizard & Glass: Susan Delgado’s Horses of Mejis
Powerful Pylon
Susan Delgado has a few horses, but her main horse is Pylon, so let’s start with him.
Susan and Pylon have a close relationship. She often rides Pylon across The Drop when she’s feeling emotional and needs to get a hold of herself, or as sai King puts it, to “outrun her own thoughts.”
The Dark Tower IV, Wizard and Glass, p. 168
What’s strange about Susan’s relationship with Pylon is the question of ownership. As Aunt Cordelia points out, Mayor Thorin is the one who actually owns Pylon.
She says that Susan should be grateful that Hart Thorin is letting her keep Pylon.
“‘PYLON WAS OURS!’ she shrieked.”
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass, p. 170
Wizard & Glass & Tragedy in Mejis
More than a little heartbreaking. Not saying that’s anything but par for the course in book 4. Yup, it’s true. Wizard & Glass is a real tragedy fest, through and through.
And as ever, smart, strong, beautiful Susan Delgado has got a point: what Aunt Cord is saying is completely ridiculous! How can Mayor Thorin “give” her a horse that she herself raised? As she points out in the quote below, Pylon was indeed hers in the first place:
“As a sign of the Mayor’s honesty, I have a horse I myself helped to foal.”
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass, p. 170
That’s all fuzzy and nice to remember that Susan raised Pulon, but let us not forget the fact that Pylon is a wild animal. In fact, at one point in book 4, Pylon almost killed her — the very same way Pat Delgado, Susan’s dear old da’, supposedly died at the hands of his own horse:
“Rhea!” she cried, and drew back on the reins so violently that the horse skidded, reared, and almost tilted them over backward. That would likely have crushed the life out of his mistress, but Pylon managed to keep at least his back feet, pawing at the sky with his front ones and whinnying loudly. Susan slung an arm around his neck and hung on for dear life.”
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass P.334
Oh The Irony
10th grade was a hard time for a lot of us, and that included me. I had all kinds of priorities, and learning and remembering the 3 kinds of irony to pass 10th grade English was pretty low on that list. I always liked reading, but I never cared much for analyzing text. I was too busy drinking vodka in the park, frying eggs after dark, and setting off fireworks in inappropriate places. I guess the reading happened in between all those things, and that didn’t leave much time to study literary devices.
So as I say, I didn’t do great in 10th grade English, and even today, I’m not totally clear on what counts as irony. Frankly, I give about as many shits now as I did 20 years ago. That’s even after Googling “irony” and being just as mystified today.
The problem with my shitty attitude towards irony is that I couldn’t tell you with any sense of authority whether or not Susan Delgado almost getting killed by Pylon the same exact way her father, Pat Delgado, died, counts as irony. I want to call it ironic. But I just keep remembering my teacher’s test corrections in red pen.
But even if it isn’t, that moment is still an interesting twist.
And it’s close to the end for her.
Mayhap, Susan Delgado would have been better off having been killed by Pylon. Mayhap that would have been more merciful. Mayhap anything would have been more merciful than being burned alive at the Charyou Tree.
Felicia of Mejis
One of Susan’s other horses is called Felicia, an old favorite horse from young sai Delgado’s childhood.
Felicia has a “dark brown coat” that shines “like a dream in the summer sunlight.”
Like Pylon, Felicia was a “gift” from Hart Thorin. The Mayor “gave” it to Susan after the witch, Rhea of the Coos, proved her honesty.
Of course, Felicia had always belonged to Susan.
There’s a nice scene where Felicia and Pylon are standing side by side. Susan Delgado checks out Felicia’s shoes, disapproves, and builds her new ones.
Wizard & Glass: Sheemie Ruiz’s Powerful Pack Mule
Sheemie Ruiz rode a pack mule named Caprichoso, AKA Cap, AKA Cappie.
Although the Bar K bunkhouse technically owns Caprichoso, Sheemie, who works at the Bar K, spends a lot of time with the mule. Ultimately, presumably as a result of much of the Bar K burning down, Sheemie takes permanent ownership of Caprichoso.
It was on Caprichoso’s back that Sheemie rode to Rhea of the Coos’ house with a bottle of graf from Coral. And it was on Caprichoso’s back that Sheemie, Roland, Susan, and their ka-tet conspired to beat Eldred Jonas and his.
Finally, it was on Caprichoso’s back that Sheemie rode from Mejis to Gilead, to the adventures of his new life.
Stephen King, ever the etymologist when it comes to names, apparently put some good thought into the mule’s name. “Caprichoso” in Spanish means “capricious” in English.
Capricious: whimsical, temperamental, willful.
Sheemie’s mule is certainly all of those things.
For one thing, Caprichoso is prone to biting Sheemie Ruiz on the behind:
“The only one to notice him was Caprichoso, who stuck out his long muzzle and took a nip at Sheemie’s butt as the boy passed him. Sheemie, still mostly asleep, reached back and pushed the muzzle away. He knew Capi’s tricks well enough, so he did.”
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass, p.359