Chapter 113
“You must learn to call me by another name,” I continued, laying a hand over a strong brown arm shaped exactly like his father’s as I told him he must become William Cuthan Strobaw, the issue of William Joseph Strobaw and his wife, Butterfly. I told him he must cut off his shining glory, his long hair, and learn to wear trousers and call me Father. And I told him why.
“When I die, William, this property will be willed to you. The official records show my marriage to your Aunt Butterfly, and the birth of a son to that union. Her death certificate has been filed showing she died giving birth to a child…you. According to the white man’s official records, something by which he lives and dies, you are my son, and in this bag—” my hand touched a parfleche on the table “—is a birth certificate making this an official fact.