Avenging Victorio

A rag-tag group of Apache warriors, led by an elderly man in his late seventies, took on the U.S. Army’s Ninth Cavalry in revenge for the death of the great Apache war chief Victorio. Using guerilla warfare, they led raids through New Mexico, slaughtering men, women, and children and evading the Cavalry and the Buffalo Soldiers. In the end, they won! Interesting historical characters abound. Billy the Kid was killing people in the southern part of the territory. The New Mexico Territory was governed by Lew Wallace (author of Ben-Hur and territorial governor). Colonel Edward T. Hatch (the chile town of Hatch is named for him) was in charge of the U.S. Army’s Ninth Cavalry. And the great Apache war chief Victorio had been killed by the Mexican Army. After Victorio (a supposed treasure trove is named after him) was killed, the elder war chief Nana led the Apache to victory.

A rag-tag group of Apache warriors, led by an elderly man in his late seventies, took on the U.S. Army’s Ninth Cavalry in revenge for the death of the great Apache war chief Victorio. Using guerilla warfare, they led raids through New Mexico, slaughtering men, women, and children and evading the Cavalry and the Buffalo Soldiers. In the end, they won! Interesting historical characters abound. Billy the Kid was killing people in the southern part of the territory. The New Mexico Territory was governed by Lew Wallace (author of Ben-Hur and territorial governor). Colonel Edward T. Hatch (the chile town of Hatch is named for him) was in charge of the U.S. Army’s Ninth Cavalry. And the great Apache war chief Victorio had been killed by the Mexican Army. After Victorio (a supposed treasure trove is named after him) was killed, the elder war chief Nana led the Apache to victory. David DeWitt makes the transition from cookbook author to novelist with ease in Avenging Victorio. He demonstrates considerable flair for characterization and for action as he convincingly presents both sides of the conflict between white settlers and Apache natives in this well researched and fascinating historical novel. New Mexican chile impresario David DeWitt’s new novel tells the story of the Apache Nana and his clan avenging Victorio’s defeat at the hands of General Edward Hatch, for whom the chile capital is named, in the southern mountains of New Mexico. It also tells the tale of the hidden Bridal Chamber cache of gold, silver and precious stones that still lures treasure seekers to Victorio’s Peak. A tasty historical novel of the territory in the 1880s.

Dave DeWitt is one of the foremost authorities in the world on chile peppers and spicy foods. Dave researched and wrote numerous magazine and newspaper articles on chile peppers in the late 1970s. In 1984, St. Martin’s Press published his first cookbook, The Fiery Cuisines, co-authored with Nancy Gerlach. That book is still in print more than twenty years later by Ten Speed Press. In 1987, Dave and Nancy approached a local publisher, and the three launched Chile Pepper magazine with a mere 212 subscribers. By 1995, with Dave as the editor-in-chief, the magazine had surpassed 50,000 subscribers with a total circulation exceeding 80,000. The magazine was sold in1996 and Dave launched Fiery Foods & Barbecue Business Magazine, a trade publication. The earlier Chile Pepper magazine project led to numerous books, including The Whole Chile Pepper Book (Little, Brown, 1990), which now has nearly 100,000 copies in print and recently had its tenth printing. Dave has 31 published books to his credit and continues to write books at the rate of one or two a year. He is also producer of the National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show, the trade show for the multi-billion dollar Fiery Foods and Barbecue industries, now in its 13th year. His book The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia (William Morrow, 1999) won the award “Best Spice Book in English” at the 1999 World Cookbook Awards at Versailles. His latest book, again with Nancy Gerlach, is Barbecue Inferno: Cooking with Chile Peppers on the Grill (Ten Speed Press, 2001). Other notable books by Dave and his co-authors include: The Pepper Garden, Peppers of the World, Hot & Spicy & Meatless, The Healing Powers of Peppers, and The Hot Sauce Bible. In 1995, his book, A World of Curries, was nominated for a James Beard Award. Dave is coproducer, writer, and host of Heat Up Your Life!, a three-part video documentary series on chile peppers and spicy foods that will run on PBS or a cable channel. He is also publisher of the Fiery Foods & Barbecue Super Site, at www.fiery-foods.com. National TV appearances for Dave include “American Journal,” Cable News Network, “The Today Show,” “Home with Gary Collins,” “Scientific American Frontiers,” “Smart Solutions,” and “CBS Sunday Morning.” He has also been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, American Way, Smithsonian, and approximately 200 newspapers across the country.