The Digital Yoknapatawpha Project

This lawman appears in the narrative of Nathaniel Burden's adventures on the frontier before the Civil War. He is "treed in a dance hall" in Texas (247).

Juana is the Hispanic wife of Nathaniel Burden and the mother of Calvin Burden II. Born in Mexico, she waits a dozen years to get married and legitimize her child. In 1866 she comes to Jefferson with her husband and father-in-law. She dies not long after her son is killed by Colonel Sartoris, though in the account of her family that Joanna - who is named after her - gives Joe Christmas, she does not mention the cause of Juana's death.

The messenger in Light in August who tells Nathaniel Burden’s family about the "trouble" he got into in Mexico refers to the Mexicans as "them Spanish" and alludes to their animus against “white men” (244). He obviously thinks of Hispanic/Spanish as non-white, but our database follows the practice of identifying both Hispanic and Spanish racially as 'white.'

He is killed by Nathaniel Burden, after claiming that Nathaniel stole his horse. The messenger who reports this event to Nathaniel's family says that "Folks claim the Mexican never owned no horse" (244).

These "folks" appear in the novel only at second hand, when the man who tells Nathaniel Burden's family in Missouri about him mentions the trouble he got into in Mexico for killing a man who called him a horse thief. According to the messenger, "folks claim it wasn't the Mexican's horse noways," because, they say, the Mexican "never owned no horse" (244). It's not made clear whether these "folks" are Mexicans too, or as seems more likely are among the "Easterners" who have recently come west (244).

She is one of three daughters of Calvin Burden I and Evangeline. "Vangie" is presumably a nickname for "Evangeline," which is her mother's name. Unlike their older brother Nathaniel, who is dark like their mother, all three daughters have blue eyes.

In 1863 this second "word-of-mouth messenger" brings news of Nathaniel Burden from Old Mexico to the Burdens living somewhere west of St. Louis. The messenger is "going east to Indianny for a spell" (245), so presumably that is where he is from.

The "word-of-mouth messenger" brings news of Nathaniel from Colorado to the Burdens living at that time somewhere west of St. Louis (243).

She is one of three daughters of Calvin Burden I and Evangeline. Unlike their older brother Nathaniel, who is dark like their mother, all three daughters have blue eyes.

She is one of three daughters of Calvin Burden I and Evangeline. "Beck" is presumably short for Rebecca. Unlike their older brother Nathaniel, who is dark like their mother, all three daughters have blue eyes.