Why did the Indians not kill the crazy woman and Caleb? They took her husband and killed two of her kids, why not all?
"We are what we are, and we're doing the best we can"
I think from what I remember the Indians were superstitious about the insane and probably thought it would be "Bad Medicine" to actually kill her. Family yes, but left her alone.
Just my thoughts.
John in San Antonio
From books & history:
the crazy woman was there when they attacked her family. She killed some of the attackers with a hatchet, while the rest left with her husband in tow. They scalped him alive, then tortured him till he went insane, then they let him go.
In the movie, Hatchet Jack was based on the husband, after he went insane.
The way that U wander is the way that U choose, the day that U tarry is the day that U lose
He lived after a scalping?
I had a fish named Sam he lived in a bowl........
She went crazy and Jeremiah told her that she had been 'touched' and the Indians wouldn't bother her because of the crazy woman's 'bad medicine'. They thought best to avoid crazy people.
shareThe same idea is touched upon in another western I saw years ago--can't remember the title, but it starred Sam Elliot--in a scene where there is a tribe of indians approaching, and Sam's character instructs the settler to stand up on his wagon and begin preaching from his bible in a very loud voice, so that the indians will figure him for a crackpot and not harm him or his family.
shareIt's not exactly clear why she was not killed during the raid, but it is clear that she went insane as a result of the raid - seeing her children killed and her husband hauled off to who knows where. Her entire life as she knows it has suddenly collapsed around her. It is also made clear when Jeremiah says at one point, "They will not harm you now, on account of you are touched(insane)".
shareThey don't show this in the movie, but the woman killed 4 of the Blackfeet Indians with her ax as they were killing her family. In the novel "Mountain Man" and the non-fiction "Crow Killer" which are the basis for the movie, they explain this. Her name was Jane Morgan and she lived about 19 years after it happened, never leaving the spot. The Indians left her alone and the mountain men brought her things and looked after her.
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