Page 84 - Gilbert & Me_Neat

beautiful love story between two people who are caught up in the strife and conflict of their two
peoples, and the relationship between man and the environment.

Briefly, Lieutenant John Dunbar is an American Soldier, sent to hold a Fort on the American
Frontier in the far west. He gets there to find the place deserted and in need of some repair. He
sets about this task and is befriended by a wolf, who he calls ‘Two Socks’ on account of the fact
that the wolf has two white front feet. Anyways, during his sojourn, he is visited by some Indians
– Sioux Indians. Although, they don’t actually meet initially; they are intrigued by the smoke
they see coming from the Fort, which had previously been unoccupied. They visit a number of
times for face-to-face talks, which were strained because neither spoke the others language.

Eventually, through sheer determination and persistence, a friendly relationship develops
between the by-now seemingly abandoned Lieutenant and the inquisitive Indians. They exchange
gifts and share food, and then he’s invited to visit their camp. It’s a big moment. He discovers
they have a white woman living among them. The story is that while still only a child, these
same Indians attacked her family because, basically, the white people were encroaching on the
Indian hunting grounds (true) and driving them off their land (also true). The girl gets away and
is discovered wondering around lost. She’s adopted by the Indians, and quickly becomes part of
the tribe.

One night, the Lieutenant is woken by a thunderous noise which turns out to be a migration of
huge numbers of Buffalo. By this stage he know the Indians have been waiting for this event, so
he sets off in the middle of the night to report the whereabouts of the buffalo, and is rewarded by
being invited to join the hunt. This is the first sad part: before the spot the main herd of buffalo,
the hunting party comes to a horrific site: many buffalo have been killed, but not for their meat –
just for their skins and tongues. And, the lieutenant knows who did this – the white man. He’s
embarrassed and distraught at the knowledge.

Anyways, they go ahead with the hunt. During this, the Lieutenant saves the life of a very young
Indian Brave and this act alone, proves to the Indians that he can be trusted. He’s welcome into
the tribe and even given his own tepee.