Chapter 89

“But you don’t look like an animal,” he finished.

“I am an animal. So are you. So are all human beings.”

“I know that, but you know what I mean.”

I forced the issue. “Not unless you express it, I don’t,”

“He sorta looks like pictures in some of those books. Of animals, not humans.”

“Otter, there are people who deny that Indians are human. And by Indians they mean Yanube and Sioux and Comanche—all of the People. I believe they are wrong. So, too, are they wrong when they claim black Negroes are not human. He thinks, acts, walks, talks, feels love and pain and everything you feel.”

“Dogs feel pain and love and eat and sleep like we do too.”

“Yes, but they do not talk—not in the manner of men—nor think. Humans reason in ways far beyond other animals. He is able to plan things, use his hands and mind to create tools and other useful items. And this, in my opinion gives him a soul. And a soul is both a blessing and a curse.”