Buffalo Medicine by Don Coldsmith

Author:Don Coldsmith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2012-05-09T04:00:00+00:00

19

It was some time during the night that Owl’s medicine coyote came to him in a dream. He had been restlessly tossing, the transparent visions shimmering and fading like mirages in the prairie sun. He saw again the miseries of captivity, the escape from the Head Splitters, the recapture, and the death of Willow. Then, she was still there, smiling sadly and sympathetically as he sweated under the ore sacks. Her gentle yet determined face encouraged him, as her memory always did. Again, she vanished, to be replaced by the cruel leer of El Gato. The overseer, too, now disappeared in a flash of fire from the smoke-log, and Owl was running, climbing, lungs bursting. Then he was tired, cold, and hungry, and sank down in despair to rest.

Just at this time in his vision, when depression was overwhelming, a coyote trotted into his dream. The animal approached and sat on its haunches near him, looking directly into his face. Owl recognized his medicine beast.

“Do not despair, my son,” came the soft chortling voice. Owl looked at the coyote dully, without spirit.

“The answer is very near,” continued the gentle chuckle.

Even in his dream state, Owl was irritated. He had given the escape his best effort, and now felt the weight of failure falling heavy on his shoulders. Worse, even, was the diminishing likelihood of his survival. And here was the completely inappropriate advice of the mystical dream coyote.

“Very close by,” continued the voice. “You have only to think and look. I will be with you, my son.”

The expression on the face of the dream beast was so compassionate that it was impossible to remain frustrated. Owl felt a warm, comfortable emotion spread over him, and he was reassured. He reached out a hand to touch the coyote, to retain the sense of closeness, and the animal vanished instantly. His hand came in contact with the smooth stone against which he camped. He was alone in the night beside the embers of his fire. One cannot touch a medicine animal.

Still, the feeling of close comfort persisted. Owl remained wide awake, his senses alert. He took small sticks and fanned the embers to blaze again, all the while pondering the meaning of the vision. The rest of the night was spent in meditation, sitting over the tiny fire with his rabbit fur robe wrapped around his shoulders.

He was puzzled about the cryptic message, “The answer is very near.” Was this to indicate nearness to this place, or in the nearness of time? Owl was inclined to believe that both might be implied. At any rate, it could do no harm to remain here in waiting for a short while.

In addition, he was comfortable here. There was a peaceful lack of urgency in the place, and it was pleasant to be here. This was in direct contrast to his feeling for the place as he made camp the night before. It was strange how the message in his vision had changed his attitude. Where he had previously been anxious, depressed, and impatient, he was now relaxed and expectant.

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