Chapter 31
Buffalo Shoulder was constantly in his cups, half a dram short of an outright sot. Bear Paw, while a good, decent man, tended toward sloth. No, that’s too harsh a judgment. He merely did the minimum required to get by. Little Eagle? Suffice it to say he was an adolescent, with all the ills that condition conveys: a bit of a bite and always seeking advantage over others. Cut was the best of the lot but drawn toward taking personal risks. Otter was a pure delight, mayhap too young and unformed to have developed his own eccentricities. If pressed for a fault, I would say he was too eager to please. Overall, I deemed them as fine a group of people as I have encountered. I did not find James Fenimore Cooper’s “Noble Savage,” but I met many noble men and women.