The Boy Who Made Dragonfly [HarperCollins, paperback, 1991]
New York City: HarperCollinsPublishers LTD., 1991.
The Boy Who Made Dragonfly (1972)
The Boy Who Made Dragonfly [UNM Press, paperback, 1986]
Albuquerque: The University of New Mexico Press, 1986.
The Boy Who Made Dragonfly [First Edition, hardback, 1972]
New York: Harper & Row, 1972.
The Boy Who Made Dragonfly, galley proofs.
This is a galley proof of the novel that shows the layout and formatting of the first edition of The Boy Who Made Dragonfly. The proofs are not available online, but may be studied in person at the Center for Southwest Research.
The Boy Who Made Dragonfly, edited manuscript.
This is the second draft and the first manuscript edited by both the publisher and Hillerman. It was typed on a typewriter and was heavily edited. The chapter designations were added in mid-paragraph, suggesting that the chapters were natural breaks in the book, rather than preset chapters.
arroyo
An arroyo is a dry creek or stream bed with nearly vertical walls. Arroyos are ephemeral water ways, and so remain dry most of the time, but can fill and flow with water after a large amount of rainfall. Although they are often naturally created when riverbeds overflow and then dry out again, cutting into the rock outside the streambed, in many desert regions, arroyos are also constructed and used as a means of flood control and irrigation. Arroyos exist throughout the western United States, but are most common in the arid and semi-arid climates of the Southwestern U.S.
bear
In some Native American traditions, the bear is considered the most powerful of all of the animals and is one of the most popular subjects of Native American artists. For the Navajo, historically there were two main species of bear that resided in Navajo territory: the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) and the black bear (Ursus americanus). While the grizzly bear has been hunted to extinction in the Southwest, the black bear still inhabits mountainous areas in the Southwest, including those within the Navajo Reservation. Also known as "Mountain People," bears have complex symbolic and spiritual meanings. Bears are believed to be spiritual guides and represent strength and self-knowledge. The Navajo also believe that bears have supernatural powers, including great healing powers. The bear is a symbol of deliberate action, introspection, soul searching, and insight. In addition, the bear is the guardian of the West.
Bears are also taboo in Navajo beliefs. Some acts revolving around bears can cause “bear sickness.” This is probably due to the bear’s rather human appearance, especially when they are standing on their hind legs. Causes of bear sickness include killing bears or eating their flesh, touching an object a bear has touched, crossing a bear’s path, or drinking from a bear’s watering hole. The chantway ceremony used to cure “bear sickness” is the Mountainway Chant (see Mountainway Chant). Finally, bears are also associated with witchcraft, as they are thought, similar to the wolf, to be an animal whose powers and characteristics shapechangers and skinwalkers prefer to take.