50 pages • 1 hour read
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Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Rafferty visits the mission and parish house, where he speaks with Reverend Stephen Welles. Rafferty asks him about the loss of the Little Elk’s medicine bundle 30 years prior. It is revealed that Henry Jim gave the bundle to Welles, who then sent it to Adam Pell, director of the Americana Institute in New York. Welles refuses to help Rafferty retrieve the bundle, as he views it as a relic of the past that could hinder the tribe’s “progress.” Welles states his views on the cultural divide between the Indigenous Americans and white settlers, emphasizing the former’s resistance to “civilization” and their eventual extinction if they do not embrace change. Rafferty leaves the conversation conflicted and feeling like an outsider due to his delicate position in the community.
Henry Jim rides through the valley to visit his relatives and relay how the long-standing quarrel with Bull is being mended. He speaks to various families and explains that they are working to bring back the medicine bundle and urges them to put an end to their own disputes. As he travels, he is joined by other men who support his mission.