Chapter 6

"I'm sure Tim enjoys the holidays and would like to celebrate them according to your family traditions. You can set up a Christmas Tree in the living room if you want," said William. He reminded himself that the needed to purchase presents for the family before he left for the winter holidays.

"Thanks," Ken said as he turned onto the street to the house. Upon turning the corner, he slowed the car and came to a stop. He ran a hand over the pistol he carried under his jacket. Pointing down the road, he said, "Something is happening up there."

William looked ahead at the pickup trucks, beat up old cars, and the two police cruisers that lined the road in front of his house. He recognized many of the men standing around the entrance to his driveway. The last time he had seen them, they were dressed in their tribal costumes. However, this time the men were wearing blue jeans and heavy coats to protect them from the weather.

In a quiet voice, he said, "Listen to me. This is very important. I want you to pull into the driveway and park the car. I will get out and greet the people there. While I am greeting them, you are to get out of the car and build a bonfire in the middle of the front yard. Once the fire is started, you are to go in the house. You will remain in the house until after I enter the house. You are not to say a single word to anyone. Do you understand my instructions?"

"Sure. Park in the driveway. You get out. Then I get out and build a fire. I go in the house and don't leave. I'm not to talk to anyone," answered Ken. He didn't understand the significance of the instructions. Skeptical, he said, "Now what do you really want me to do."

"Exactly what I said. It is very important that you do what I have asked."

"What should I do when I get in the house?" asked Ken eyeing the crowd in front of the driveway with suspicion. It was a rough looking crowd and the men didn't appear to be very pleased with the presence of the police.

"You and your family can eat dinner, watch television, or look out the window. I don't care. You are not to interfere with anything that goes on. You are not to leave the house until after I come in."

Looking down the street in concern, Ken asked, "What's going on?"

"It is a tribal thing," answered William wondering why he had not had a vision of anything like this happening. So many Medicine Men gathered in front of his house meant that something major was about to happen.

"Are you going to be safe? Ling will kill me if I let them harm one hair on your head."

"Yes, I'll be safe. It is a tribal thing," answered William. "Now let's go."

Ken slowly drove down the street towards the house. A police officer stepped in front of the car holding out his hands in the universal gesture commanding the driver to stop. Ken stopped and waited for the officer to come to the window. Ken rolled down the window letting the cold December air into the Hugger. The officer recognized Ken and said, "Hello Ken. Your wife called us when a bunch of Indians showed up and camped out on the front lawn. There are a hundred of them. We chased them off the property, but they wouldn't leave the area."

William leaned over and said, "That's my house. I'll be meeting with them tonight in my front yard. I'd appreciate it if you'd have a man stay so that we won't be disturbed."

"What's going on?" asked the officer. He had visions of drunken Indians running around yelling and screaming.

"A gathering of medicine men. There will be dancing, but it won't last too late."

"Keep the noise down or we'll have to break it up," said the officer. He could imagine the calls they'd get in the station from the people in this neighborhood.

"It is a gathering of medicine men and you are not to interfere. If you interfere, I shall have to place a call to the Bureau of Indian Affairs within the Department of the Interior."

Irritated at having a kid threaten him, the officer said, "We'll see about that."

Clearing his throat, Ken said, "Larry, let me warn you. The last thing you want to do is treat him like a kid. He has the private telephone number of the Grand Druid. I'd bet that he has the number of the President of the United States."

Deciding that he didn't want to get into an argument with the local police, William pulled out his cell phone. He was looking up the number in the phone book function of the cell phone when a black car with a Bureau of Indian Affairs seal on the side pulled up beside them. After a slight delay, three other cars pulled up behind them.

The officer stepped back with a look of concern. The kid had just barely finished threatening him with Feds when the Feds showed up as if by magic. Considering the warning Ken had given him, he was glad that he hadn't pushed the issue.

A well-dressed man got out of the first car and walked over to the officer. With a gesture, he let the officer know that he would be dealt with in due course. He looked in the Hugger at William. He'd heard of William Redman Carter although he had never seen the young man. Wanting to make sure that he had the right person, he asked, "Are you William Redman Carter?"

"Yes, I am," answered William looking at the identification the man held up.

"I'm Mike Clarkson from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. We've had a special request from Awa Tsireh that we make sure your meeting tonight would not be disturbed." He didn't know what was going on, but in his entire time with the Bureau he'd never heard of such a request being made. His boss had told him that several of the tribes were willing to drop lawsuits to ensure that this meeting went off without a problem.

"Thank you. It is getting close to sunset and I must prepare. If you'll be so good to let me get to our meeting, I'd appreciate it."

"Go ahead," answered Mike. He stepped back and watched as the car headed off down the street. He was thinking that William didn't look like much, but there were a lot of stories about him being a powerful Medicine Man. Judging by the crowd at the end of the street, it was likely there was a little truth to those stories.

Turning to the other cars with Bureau markings, Mike said, "Spread the word to the neighborhood that they are not to disturb them. I'll get the local cop here to prevent traffic from entering the street."

Ken pulled into the driveway while eyeing the large number of men gathered on the street. Once he had stopped the Hugger, William said, "Remember what I told you to do."

Without waiting for an answer, William stepped out of the car and walked to the rear of it. He opened the back and sat down. His position would allow him to greet his visitors and give him a place to stack the cartons of cigarettes that he was about to receive.

Ken slipped out and went to the woodpile to get logs with which to build a bonfire. It was several minutes before the police allowed the men onto the property. The men, each bringing a gift of tobacco, came one at a time to William and introduced themselves to him. Each man was a Medicine Man of a different tribe.

When the last man had introduced himself, William looked over and saw that Ken had started a monster fire with flames that rose at least six feet into the air. The men had gathered in a great circle around the fire. Three with drums and two with rattles had taken seats on blankets. The rest stood waiting for William to join them.

It was three hours later when the prayers and dancing ended. The men, bodies warm from all of the activity, sat down around the fire which had burned down to hot coals. William sat down next to Kotyit, his mentor from the Native American College. The old man brought out a pipe, loaded it with tobacco in the manner passed down through the generations, and lit it. He exhaled a great puff of smoke to the sky and handed it to William. William inhaled and exhaled the smoke to the sky so that it would carry his words to the Great Spirit. He passed the pipe to the man seated beside him.

After the pipe had gone around the circle, Kotyit turned to William and asked, "Do you remember the letter you gave to me on the first day you came to the school?"

"Yes, I remember the letter," said William. He did remember it, but had forgotten about it. He hadn't understood the full implications of the contents, but had passed it to Kotyit in the hope that the instructor would understand it. That had been the last he'd seen or heard about the matter.

"Your father, Ed Biggers, wrote in that letter of a place that he discovered. A number of us have gone to that place with your father. He is a good man with much power. More important for tonight, he was a wise man to have informed us of that place.

"We looked at the place and studied it. We sought out the stories of its beginning and found that there were none. After much talk, we can say one thing with great certainty. It is a place of great evil. Because of it, a great curse lies upon all of us. That site must be cleansed and the curse lifted," said Kotyit in a slow measured pace that gave a stately majesty to his words.

"What is the nature of this curse?" asked William feeling uneasy that he knew nothing about this matter.

"For over three hundred years it has sucked the strength from of our people. It is why our people do not have the will to fight. It is the reason we have been defeated and sent to reservations. If it continues, we will even lose the reservations," said Kotyit. One of the symbols of their loss was that they had to hold this meeting in English. The old trade languages had been lost.

When William nodded, Kotyit continued, "This is a matter that concerns the future of all the tribes, but the cleansing that will lift the curse can only be done by one person."

"Who can do such a cleansing?" asked William afraid that he knew the answer.

"Talks With Animals," said Kotyit.

Hearing his name, William couldn't help grin a little. Every time he heard it in English, he thought of Dr. Dolittle. His amusement didn't last long as the seriousness of the situation returned. He asked, "What must I do?"

"In two weeks time, we shall meet in Arizona. There we shall build a sweat lodge. You must undertake a vision quest. On the day after the shortest night, you will do what must be done," answered Eskieah.

William considered the matter. They wanted him to do it on mid- winter's day. He wondered if they were forcing him to chose between service to the Great Spirit and service to the Gods and Goddesses. He asked, "Why that day?"

"We have deliberated on this matter for many years. It must be that day," answered Eskieah.

Gesturing to the large circle, William asked, "Why are all the tribes represented here? You alone could have asked me."

Sam White Deer of the Mohawk tribe said, "The evil is great and you are one man. There is a chance that you will fail. It will take all of us just to contain this evil. Although for how long, none of us are willing to guess."

"If you believe there is a chance I will fail, why ask me to do it?" William asked. Looking at the wisdom gathered here, he couldn't help wonder why they would trust something so important to him.

"You have two great powers within you. You have the power of the true people and the power of the white man in equal balance. Only you can enter that site with any hope of living," answered Kotyit.

"You must remove the curse from within the site," said Sam White Deer.

William looked around the circle of men. They represented the full spiritual power of all the tribes and each of them looked scared. Twin Elks said, "You are our only hope."