The Legend of Black Wolf - Sully's Journey Home

Chapter Eight

        "I'm not here to hurt anybody…" Sully paused. "You said they think I'm bad luck and I have to agree." He picked at the grass, fully hoping the braves would come back to end it all. Maybe he could convince this Indian to find Abigail's grave and fulfill his final wish that way. It was the only help he was willing to accept. Cloud Dancing handed Black Wolf half of the bread that Snow Bird had packed for him.

        "White man carries sickness my medicine does not heal. They will not risk the tribe if you are sick. I will speak to my chief. I will tell him the vision shows you have heart sickness." Cloud Dancing began eating the bread, and Sully took a bite while he thought of how truly heartsick he was over loosing his family.

        "Ain't no medicine can fix that." Sully said somberly. The two men looked at each other, wise dark brown eyes meeting sad blue ones in a place where both understood - regardless of age, time, or color. "If they decide to kill me, I won't try to stop them. I just want to be buried next to my wife." Sully blurted out honestly. He didn't know if the Indian would understand all that he had said.

        "Eat." Cloud Dancing said. Hearing that Black Wolf's wife was in the spirit world confirmed at least one arrow from his dreams. It helped Cloud Dancing understand a lot about why Black Wolf was in the state he was in. But he remained silent to wait for the tribe and Black Kettle.

        The braves preceded the rest of the tribe as they came back into the clearing later, looking rather triumphant. The elders were right behind them, looking solemn. Black Kettle was followed by several other members of the tribe, including Snow Bird. Black Kettle took one look at Cloud Dancing standing in guard of a pitiful heap of a gaunt-looking white man and stopped in his tracks. Cloud Dancing was not an impulsive man, and he did not become such a great medicine man by acting hasty. His quick work of the healing circle around the white man showed his conviction for what he must do. Black Kettle took the situation very seriously.

        Sully raised his head and watched the great procession come and stand all around. They stayed well away from the circle. He was surprised to see that an entire band of people had been disrupted all because of him stumbling onto their land. He dared not make eye contact with any of them for too long. Cloud Dancing spoke in his native tongue, and, stepping out of the circle, he and an older Indian, presumably the chief, walked over to a stand of trees to speak privately. One female came to the front of the crowd to stare at Sully, and he wondered if this was the one named Snow Bird. A long braid of black hair fell over her shoulder as she stared, her eyes studying him curiously.

        "This is the black wolf?" Black Kettle asked his medicine man. Cloud Dancing nodded.

        "He wears a black coat." He pointed to the coat that lay outside the circle. The chief made the hand gesture for weapons, and Cloud Dancing shook his head.

        "He mourns two losses. One was his wife. He searches for her burial place." As the medicine man said this, his chief looked back at the white man.

        "You tell Hidden Trees he has a white man sickness." Black Kettle said. "True?"

        "No. He wanted to kill Black Wolf before I could speak with you. I had to stop him until you could come. It would go against the spirits to harm him." Cloud Dancing knew that if it turned out Black Wolf indeed had a sickness, his integrity as a healer would be ruined.

        "Black Wolf?" The chief gestured to ask why a name had been bestowed. To Black Kettle, this was more proof that his medicine man was very serious in the vision he'd received. The tribe held the giving of names to be an honor, one the white man did not deserve unless it was in contempt.

        "The Great Spirit has sent him to us in peace. He gives me no white man's name. He has been Black Wolf to me for a season already." Cloud Dancing explained. His chief was silent a few minutes, turned away from the tribe and facing the open field.

        "Great Spirit is too great for these old eyes." Black Kettle said solemnly.

        The ring of Indians filled the clearing but kept a safe distance. None dared to speak to Sully or raise a hand against him. So far, the circle, somehow, was working. Some murmured to themselves, while most just stood and watched their chief. They were dressed in animal skins with beads of various colors. One had buffalo horns shaped into a hat. Many wore the teeth and claws of birds and mountain lions. They looked ready to make short work of Sully.

        After long minutes, Cloud Dancing came back and resumed his place within the circle. Sitting back down, the tribe looked to the chief for answers. The chief spoke with hand gestures and words, and the tone in his voice was one that was not to be questioned. Sully did not know the words, but he could tell from the look on his face that the chief meant business. What he was saying was going to be followed, that was sure. All eyes were on him as he spoke the decree.

        When Black Kettle had finished, the woman at the front of the crowd sat a pack down near Cloud Dancing, keeping it outside the circle. The two said nothing, but exchanged an intimate look. Then, one of the older looking members spoke with his hand raised over the circle. The four braves watched Sully as the elder spoke and the look in their eyes was one of distrust. When the elder was finished, however, everyone walked back the way they had come, leaving Sully and Cloud Dancing in the circle, unharmed.