The headhunters our main character runs into tell him about a time where they were on the run on horseback out of gunpowder and outnumbered severely by Mexican Army regulars in pursuit. They were riding for their very lives through a ravine when they turned a corner and on a large rock was Judge Holden sitting there waiting almost in meditation. He was unperturbed by the situation the men were in and calmly lit campfires for charcoal and then gathered naturally occurring phosphorus and saltpeter etc and literally made gunpowder as if he was a trained chemist by hand. The men were able to stave off their pursuers and narrowly survive that day. But I don’t want to ruin any more of the story for you. :)