"The Indian Boy" In A White Man's World

In today's post Herman shows off his skill with a bow and here's another great painting by the amazing Chinese Western artist Zhou Shu Liang.

Doesn't the guy in the back center look like a white kid? It's Herman! lol. The title of this one is called Searching For The Rogue Bear.

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I wonder how many arrows it takes to bring down a big, crazy bear?

Howdy folks, greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas!

We're in a series about the Wild West and the incredible story of an 11 year old German boy, Hermann, who was captured by an Apache war party from his family's farm in 1870 in Central Texas.

He's now 20 years old at this point in the story and has become a full blown warrior who hates and fears the White man. And in fact, has taken many a scalp. He's been with the Comanche for a few years now.

Yesterday's post

In the last post Herman crashed a couple of revival services by joining in with his Indian style of worship which was not appreciated at all! lol...and he continued to adjust to the white man's culture.

Today's story

Herman was an expert marksman and archer so he amused himself by demonstrating his skill to anyone walking or riding by who would cooperate...and almost everyone did. He became known far and wide as The Indian Boy.

He would make blunt tip arrows and the kids, young men and adults would challenge him to hit them at great distances, out to 150 yards.

They'd also wager him drinks that he couldn't hit them. Well, needless to say the saloon and hat business boomed because of all the drinks he won and all the hats he destroyed. He'd shoot their hats off of them if they wanted him to.

Unsurpassed skill with a bow

Normally they'd set their hats out at a hundred yards or so and say there's no way he could hit them but he'd punch a hole through them every time. It became his favorite pastime and everyone in town played along and were amazed and entertained.

He did become somewhat of a terror for strangers traveling through who didn't know that it was a game. lol. He came to know and become friends with everyone in the community after he learned to speak German and English.

The hardest for him to get used to was sleeping inside. He'd grown up spending nights outside under the stars or in a tepee and from the beginning with the Apaches had been trained how to stay awake on watch and spent many, many nights as a watchman.

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After about a year he stopped having urges to go out and attack and kill as he'd become accustomed to.

This is another Zhou Shu Liang painting called Circling The Enemy which is what Herman would do on a raiding party attack, they would swarm, confuse, and terrify the enemy.

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But that lust for blood was fading fast, there was no need for it. His deadly enemies, all whites, he found to be gracious and kind.

Much to his shock they weren't trying to steal the lands of the Indians and kill them all as he'd been told.

They were just trying to live and grow a community. They weren't even at war with the Indians, which blew his mind.

Well I guess Herman's wild adventures are over, the next post will probably put ya'll to sleep!

Thanks for reading folks, God bless you all!
-jonboy
Texas
the gentleman redneck