Benjamin Whitemoon
Benjamin Whitemoon, "Ben" to his friends, was an elder of the Navajo tribe which lived in and around Dead River. He was very much a believer in the old ways, and well-respected within the town. He maintained a close friendship with Ray Spruce, the white man who owned Dead River's only store, although his relationship with Ray's wife Martha was tepid at best. Because over the years Ray Spruce had allowed the tribe to take merchandise from him without payment, a grateful Benjamin sought to repay him for his kindness. The tribe was poor however.
As part of a traditional debt repayment practice, Benjamin decided to give Ray the tribe's sacred ancestral jewelry, the ilinii, as a "down payment" of sorts. If the tribe could not repay their debts to the Spruces in five years, the jewelry would be theirs to keep. Initially, Ray tried to politely refuse, but Benjamin explained to him that as long as Ray had the ilinii, then he and his tribe were "borrowers, not beggars," and urged Ray to keep them as it would be considered an insult to give them back before the tribe repaid its debt. Ray agreed.
Benjamin left the store in good spirits, and even stopped on his way out to say hello to Old Chief Wood'nhead, the wooden cigar store Indian which Ray displayed outside the shop. To his surprise, Benjamin thought he saw Old Chief Wood'nhead move. He shrugged it off however and went on his way. Mere minutes after he left, his own nephew, Sam, would rob the store, murder the Spruces and take the ilinii. But in the night, Old Chief Wood'nhead came alive and exacted vengeance against the killers.
The following morning, Benjamin awakened, apparently from a nightmare, and found the pouch containing the ilinii in bed with him. Filled with dread he drove to the Spruces' store and found what he had apparently foreseen in his dream; Ray and Martha murdered and the store ransacked. All was not lost however. Although Old Chief Wood'nhead was still where he always was, he was holding a bloody scalp in one hand. Realizing what had happened, Benjamin solemnly thanked Old Chief Wood'nhead for what he'd done.
Comments
- Benjamin Whitemoon appeared in Old Chief Wood'nhead.
