Ch 3 – Nuff Sed (Desert Steve), A Human Being Farmed to Death (historical & literary background))

This is part 3 of a series of posts exploring the rich historical and literary background to my novel, Nuff Sed: a Novel of Desert Steve.

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This chapter, “A Human Being Farmed to Death,” jumps five years and covers until 1892 when Steve turns 10 years old.

Historicity and Fiction

The family, farm, and surroundings are all based on my research into what life would’ve been like on a farm living outside of Coffeyville, Kansas at the end of the 19th century. Steve’s parents and siblings are all historical.

Steve’s uncle Robert is a fictional character, introduced to explain and foreshadow (at least in part) Steve’s later aversion to alcohol. However, the use of Coca-Cola in the scene is historical, as the sweet concoction had been marketed beginning in May 1886 (as medicinal).

Steve’s father and his brother’s discussion of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty by president Grover Cleveland, along with a ticker-tape parade, was based on historical events. The parade took place on October 28, 1886.

The US census on June 1, 1890, reported that there were 62.6 million United States residents (there are 332.3 million in 2024).

True to the words of Steve’s father, Grover Cleveland was elected president again on November 8, 1892. He is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms as of the last presidential election in 2020.

Learning how to hunt would’ve been part of life growing up, and the guns used and the hunting of deer are based on my research of those subjects during the period covered.

Part of the literary purpose here is to show Steve’s intelligence, cleverness, work ethic, and his love of working with his hands to create practical inventions, which will come in to play when he founded Desert Center.

Desert Steve’s Quotes

The title of this chapter comes from one of Steve’s definitions, in this case, the definition of “a farmer” from his little booklet entitled _Philosophy and Sayings of Desert Steve_. He also mentioned this in the prologue, to the tax collector when Steve could not afford the taxes on his cotton farm.

Other Historical Events

Benjamin Harrison was elected president in November 1889.

Wyoming became a state in July 1890.

Onward

The next chapter, “He Who Makes a Crooked Trail,” picks up where the last chapter left off, when Steve is 10 years old, and becomes part of a major historical event in Coffeyville.

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