The Anaconda Copper explores the moral quandaries of Sheriff Whelan Dowd, also known as 'Stack.’ The town folks call him ‘Stack’ in honor of the Anaconda Stack, the tallest masonry smokestack in the world, which looms over the town like a massive phallus. He was gifted and cursed with an appendage so large, it caused real damage with women.
Of The Anaconda Copper, Peter wrote:
The life of a small town sheriff is difficult for different reasons than that of a big city cop. In small townships, the sheriff often becomes the factotum. He may moonlight as a mechanic or run a general store. His budget comes from county taxes, which fall short. He may need to repair the brakes on his cruiser and replace missing letters in the office typewriter. He doesn't do it for the love of money; he must love the law and the people of the town he has sworn to protect.
The autonomy and power are perks of the job. Most sheriffs will not abuse this privilege, but there are temptations. Autonomy allows the sheriff to budget his time as he sees fit. He makes his own schedule. Far more dangerous is the power he has over the lives of his citizens. Strong morals must prevail over temptation, be it greed, envy, lust or any other sin. This story concerns a sheriff who struggles to balance his personal sense of right and wrong with his primal urges. His morals are his own, but you must judge if they are virtuous or sinful.
This afterword by Peter Schutes was a rare glimpse into the phallic psychology that drove his fantasies. We can only assume after reading it that the man was enormously endowed, and suffered great loneliness because of it. Like the sheriff, his manhood was a legend that preceded him, so that he often became defined by it, rather than by his character, which was just as extraordinary. We glimpse the bitterness that resulted.
Drugs don’t appear in every novel, but they certainly take center stage in this one. Amyl Nitrate and Quaaludes were not illegal in the early 1960s, although both required a prescription. Some of Peter’s books glorify modern drug use and condemn alcohol, which was a common attitude in his early years as an author. He mentions Alcoholics Anonymous. To know what he did about that program may mean he spent time in those rooms. It isn’t explicitly stated, for that would be a violation of one of the traditions.
This Afterword contains spoilers, so be warned:
The modern world despises differences. Most people seek comfort in sameness. Some people cannot seek sameness for any number of reasons. Perhaps they lost an arm in combat. Or maybe, like Cleve, they are two-spirit. Sheriff Dowd was different in several ways. He could not hide his huge appendage any more than a sailor could hide a missing arm. He was teased and ridiculed, yet no one felt sorry for him, for their jeers were covering over a deep insecurity. His cock dwarfed all others. All men felt small around Stack.
Stack was doubly burdened, for his early experiences with women created a complex. After Preston Twomey’s initiation, he started a double life. This was a work of fiction, for every man he encountered wanted to have sex with him, even after seeing his grotesque penis. In truth, such a deformity frightens men. It draws them in with curiosity and fantasy, but once they realize the pain they would endure, it is all too much, and they leave. This is the curse of the extremely endowed.
Each encounter depicted is a possible situation where the Sheriff might have a chance in the real world. A young man with Amyl and quaaludes or an ex-army man who served many soldiers in the line of duty - both are potential mates. There are men who have spent years inserting large objects in their anus - they, too can handle a man like Whelan Dowd. Luckily, Stack was able to switch roles. This made it easy to find pleasure with a more rigid man like Guido Facchino.
The most preposterous fiction comes with the character of Lars Johnsson. He was teased in Sweden before he got to Anaconda, so he knew to hide his huge shame from others by avoiding showers and other public nudity. He is exactly like Sheriff Dowd, willing to be man or woman, and equally endowed. This is a match made in Hollywood. In life, the men who bear the curse of abnormal size are seldom so lucky.
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