Sometimes The Magic Doesn't Work

The beauty of the trees,

the softness of the air,

the fragrance of the grass,

speaks to me.

And my heart soars.

~ Chief Dan George

I remember a movie from years ago called Little Big Man that featured Dustin Hoffman and an American Indian actor, Chief Dan George, who had a wonderful role as the shaman, Old Lodge Skins.  In this film, the Cheyenne were beset by troubles from the white man, and the shaman determined that some sort of big magic had to be done to fix the situation, to rectify the laws of nature and protect the Cheyenne. He decided that he would take himself and his assistant, Dustin Hoffman, up to some holy mountain - a long, arduous trip - and then perform some big magic on top of the mountain, and the inevitable result was that the status quo would be restored. So, they climbed up this big mountain and performed these elaborate rites, invoked the ancestors and all the proper spirits. They waited for the results, and there were no results. So, finally, he just turned to Dustin Hoffman and said: "Sometimes the magic doesn't work." [1]


Robert Zoller's memory tricksied him. The plot of the movie goes this way:

Jack aka Little Big Man (Dustin Hoffman) soon becomes a trapper and hermit.  His mind becomes unhinged after coming across an empty trap with a severed animal limb. Poised at the edge of a cliff, he prepares to commit suicide.  Jack suddenly hears the faint chords of the traditional cavalry tune "Garryowen" echoing through a valley and spots Custer and his troops marching nearby. Jack decides to exact revenge.


Custer, who remembers that Jack once tried to assassinate him, hires him as a scout, reasoning that anything Jack says will be a lie, thus serving as a perfect reverse barometer. Jack leads the troops into a trap at the Little Bighorn.  Before the attack, Jack truthfully tells Custer of the overwhelming force of Native Americans hidden within the valley of the Little Bighorn. Custer does not believe him and leads the 7th Cavalry to its doom.


During the frantic battle, Custer begins to rave insanely. Ignoring the closing circle of warriors, Custer points his pistol at Jack. Before he can pull the trigger, Custer is killed by Younger Bear, who removes the unconscious, wounded Jack from the battle by carrying him to Old Lodge Skins' tepee. Having thus discharged his life debt, Younger Bear tells Jack that, the next time they meet, he can kill him without becoming an evil person.


Jack accompanies Old Lodge Skins to a nearby hill where the aged, weary leader decides to end his life. He offers his spirit to the Great Spirit, and lies down to wait for death. Instead, it begins to rain. Old Lodge Skins sighs and says, "Sometimes the magic works, and sometimes it doesn't".


They return to his tepee to have dinner. [2]


Who really killed Custer?  I ain't telling, yet theories abound and stories continue to be told.

Notilia

[1] Excerpt from an Interview with Robert Zoller, principal of the Academy of Medieval and Predictive Astrology, which can be read in full at  Skyscript

[2] Excerpted from Wikipedia's entry on Little Big Man - movie.


Image Chief Dan George (July 24, 1899 - Sept 23, 1981) was a chief of the Tsleil-Waututh  Nation, a Coast Salish  band located on Burrard Inlet in  North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was also an author, poet, and an Academy Award-nominated actor. In 1960, when he was already 60 years old, he landed his first acting job.