Fox Song

Native Americans have firm beliefs in animal spirits and guides. The belief soon became a conflict with Christians, who believe beast spirits are demons. From the middle ages on, Christians have always viewed the beast spirits as evil and worked to destroy beliefs in them with the Celtic tribes. Exorcisms were done and still are done to rid people of animal spirits. Once again, the beast spirits confront the Christians in the American Old West and even today!



Fox Fire returned to the Nez Perce tribe and told the story of how the cowboy had tried to shoot her as she hid in the bramble and a wild fox had spooked his horse. The horse had killed the cowboy with its hoofs and a fire had consumed his body. She held out the guns to Chief Joseph’s warriors and one man recognized the guns and the horse. The guns and the horse had previously belonged to the tribe and had been stolen last year during a battle.

Chief Joseph admired the woman for her bravery and thoughts to grab the guns as she fled. As the men tended to the horse, a messenger man approached Chief Joseph.

“The Calvary approaches, they must be coming over the death of the cowboy,” he pointed to the sky eastward, “over there.”

Chief Joseph looked at Fox Fire and ordered her to the tent. There would be no way that anyone would take this woman without a fight. “How many?”

“Ten,” replied the scout.

“Fine, we go to meet them.” He and twenty men mounted horses and headed to the east. He had ordered all braves in the camp to stay and be ready for any other attacks. As they rode he wondered how the woman had caused a fire, perhaps it was the buckshot. Surely, they would blame her and he would blame the cowboy’s buckshot.

As they met the troops, a commander rode forward.

“Greetings, Chief Joseph, I will be blunt, you have a woman who has started fires on Federal land, which is a violation of our treaty.”

“I suppose the criminal who told you that did not tell you about his friend firing buck shot at her into the dry brush?” Chief Joseph replied.

“You have witnesses to this event?”

“No, just a small woman who came back with his shot gun after his own horse had spooked and killed him from his own buck shot rampage.”

The Calvary men looked at each other. Evidence of horse and gun stealing, but it would be hard to sustain it since it was by a woman. The Commander decided he would not be able to pursue the case because he had no evidence of a Nez Perce warrior being involved. A case against a squaw was rare and he found it hard to believe that a squaw had taken a horse, guns and started brush fires.

“Could you please, in the future, keep your squaws off Federal Land? We hate to have such discord get back to town. There is a Christian group there that says your squaw comes to town to trade and she has snarled at them like an animal. You best keep that one hidden.”

“She will come to trade as often as she wishes, you can keep your Christian mouths shut. We have refuse your religion, so if she practices ours, she has not violated our laws.”

“I was just warning you that the Christians have noticed her.”
“And we have noticed them,” replied Chief Joseph. “You get no more trouble from her…in town.” He turned his horse and rode back to his tribe.

The Commander shook his head, the Nez Perce and their mystics had probably been story telling that the squaw had magic powers or something. He had no time to pursue magic stories and religious nonsense. He ordered his men back to the fort.


As Chief Joseph rode back, Sun Wolf spoke about Fox Fire. “She has a fox spirit guide and I heard her sing this song about it as she was grooming her horse one day.


Sing Fox

Tell Me My Day

Moon to Dew, Fur to Flames, Churn Smokes Churn

Lead MY Way

Souls In The Sky, Smoke Floats High

Souls Churning, Lives Forever Invisible

Sing Fox

Souls Slips Through The Hand, Time Never Ends

All Will Return Again

“Nice song,” the Chief was impressed. The Eastern tribe who had sent her knew she was magical and he had set the Nez Perce up as the tribe who would forever refuse the White man’s forced religion and he would protect her from the ones who wished to destroy her spirit.