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Visions And Dreams
In the novel Fools Crow, by James Welch, several characters have visions and
dreams. The dreams are so realistic that they are a vision of what's to come in the
future. A lot of the visions and dreams become a message or some type of warning to the
people so that they are aware of thing that are going to happen. Many of these dreams that
the characters have affect them positively or in a disastrous way leading to misfortune.
The first dream is a dream that White-Man's Dog known as "Fools Crow," has while
he is on the first raid against the Crows. He dreamt of a lodge within an enemy camp
containing young naked girls. As one of the girls approached him, he began to awake. After
his awaking, he felt that in his dream he wanted to approach the girl but knew that there
was danger in her direction. He kept thinking that he should tell Yellow Kidney, their
leader, of this dream but his father had told him that it was not wise to speak of your
dreams to others. After the raid, Yellow Kidney did not return with the others. Several
months later he returned to their homestead and began to tell of what had happened to him.
He had entered the enemy camp and discovered the lodge of young naked girls. The girls
were infected with the white scabs disease; he had sexual contact with one of them and
almost died. White Man's Dog felt horrible and blamed himself for what happened to Yellow
Kidney. He thought to himself "Why hadn't he told Yellow Kidney of his dream? Such a
dream would have been a sign of bad medicine and they might have turned back" (76).
The second dream is a dream that Mik-api, the medicine man, has about the raven. The
raven was a bird that had heard a cry of a four-legged creature named the wolverine. The
wolverine had crossed through one of the Crow's caged traps and could not escape. When the
raven tried to free the wolverine, he was not of strength to succeed. He told Mik-api in
his dream that he knew of White Man's Dog and the strength he pertained. "It will
take such a man to release our four-legged brother" (52). Mik-api told White Man's
Dog of this dream and he agreed to find the wolverine and set him free. On his journey to
find the creature, he came across the raven. The raven led him to the wolverine and White
Man's Dog was afraid the wolverine would bite him. The wolverine had been trapped four
days and was so frail that he could not even cry out for help. White Man's Dog released
the creature and the raven told him of what to dream about. "Dream of all that has
happened here today. Of all the two-leggeds, you alone posess the magic of Skunk Bear. You
will fear nothing, and you will have many horses and wives" (58). Because of this
dream and the task that followed, White Man's Dog gained no fear and magic.
Another dream that leads to the future is a dream that White Man's Dog and
Kills-close-to-the-lake both have. In the dream that White Man's Dog undergoes, he runs
into the wolverine again. The wolverine had got himself stuck again and White Man's Dog
had to release him once again. The wolverine thanked him this time by giving him a slender
white stone and told him to carry it with him into battle and sing his song. After the
wolverine disappeared, White Man's Dog noticed that there was someone in the trees that
had been watching them. It was Kills-close-to-the-lake. She was one of his father's wives
and he had desired her many times before. She was naked and did not even try to put her
clothes on. They felt desire for one another and laid together naked and fell asleep. A
few days later, White Man's Dog saw Kills-close-to-the-lake. She seemed different to him
and he saw that she had a finger missing. When he asked her why she had a missing finger,
she told him of her dream. Her dream was almost the same dream but the wolverine bit her
finger off because of her desiring White Man's Dog. He turned her finger into a white
stone, the same white stone that he had given White Man's Dog in his dream.
Kills-close-to-the-lake told White Man's Dog that after the event, she placed the stone
next to him while he was sleeping for good luck and fortune.
In these dreams that White Man's Dog and Mik-api had, the future was definitely known
in them. White Man's Dog gained no fear, good luck, and strength from them as well.
Kills-close-to-the-lake is the one who experienced the misfortune by losing her finger.
Throughout this novel there are many more dreams that the characters have to let them know
of the future and to warn them of danger. It makes you wonder if dreams can really send
out some kind of message to people to let them know about the future.
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