11/12/2023 0 Comments True son the light in the forest![]() ![]() Soon after, he is forced to act as a decoy, luring a boat full of white settlers close to where the Indians lie in wait to ambush them. When Half Crane’s family scalps a group of the whites, including a young girl, however, True Son begins to question his tribe’s ways. True Son, as bent on revenge as the others, is at first eager to exact justice. Half Arrow and True Son join the others in their quest. His reunion is interrupted by Little Crane’s family, who swear vengeance on the settlers. True Son is warmly welcomed by his Indian friends and family, especially his father, Cuyloga. Later, they cunningly make their way through the forest, back to the Lenni Lenape tribe. Vowing revenge, Half Arrow and True Son attempt to scalp Wilse but have to settle for beating him and cutting off his hair. John joins Half Arrow and is told that his Uncle Wilse has been responsible for the murder and scalping of Little Crane. They are Half Arrow, his “cousin” and Little Crane, a friend searching for his “white squaw.” That night Half Arrow comes to the Butler house, calling John. Then, one day, two Indians visit John’s home town. Shortly after the parson’s visit, John becomes seriously ill the “white doctor’s” medicine cannot effect a cure. John’s apparent dissatisfaction with his new life and his refusal to adjust to it prompt a visit from the local parson, Reverend Elder, a man whom John immediately distrusts: he recognizes Elder as the captain responsible for the senseless slaughter of a group of Conestogo Indians. His plans are foiled, however, when he is caught by his Uncle Wilse. ![]() Delighted, John plots to travel to Corn Blade’s home and speak with him. This man, says Bejance, can fluently converse in the Lenape language. Bejance does, however, tell John of a man, Corn Blade, who lives on a nearby mountain. Sensing a bond and hungering for some contact with the language he speaks best, John engages Bejance in conversation, only to discover that the man has forgotten all but a few words of the Indian dialect. One day, John meets Bejance, a Negro basketweaver who also once lived among the Indians, albeit a different tribe. His Uncle Wilse, who has deemed all Indians savages, treats John especially harshly, antagonizing him openly. Preferring his previous way of life, John baffles his relatives and neighbors. A stranger to the white man’s ways, he detests their clothing, their language, their homes, and their behavior. ![]() Missing his Indian parents, John wants no part of this home and family. At home in Paxton township, he is greeted by his father Harry, his invalid mother Myra, his young brother Gordie, and his Aunt Kate. When word reaches his village that the Indians must surrender their white prisoners, True Son is returned to his white relatives and a society he no longer knows and cannot understand. Taken hostage by the Lenni Lenape Indians at the age of four, True Son (John Butler) lives among the tribe on the banks of the Tuscarawas for eleven years. ![]()
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