Annotations to Blood Meridian: Chapter IV
[44] “filibusters”—in this context, a mercenary adventurer, generally paid in spoils of war.
[44] “manada”—a herd of cattle or horses.
[44] “Comanche”—the Nermernuh people of present-day Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. For an extended look at this Plains tribe, see Episode I:
[44] “del Norte”—better known today as the Rio Grande. Captain White’s band of mercenaries has now crossed into Mexico.
[44] “buckbrush”—a flowering shrub.
[44] “pricklypear”—a flowering cactus, native to the region.
[44] “spirit level”—(from Johnson Levels): “a tool used to indicate how parallel (level) or perpendicular (plumb) a surface is relative to the earth. A spirit level gets its name from the mineral spirit solution inside the levels.”