Silent Movie

Section 5 Dance for a new Millenium Chapter 4

After a long and extensive man hunt, the cowboy gets his man. In this case the cowboy is a star of western pictures during the silent movie era. His name is Tim McCoy and he writes, directs, and stars in a movie called The Thundering Herd. The silent movie is filmed amidst the salt flats and harsh dry landscape of Death Valley, a place where whirlwinds and dust devils toss tumbleweeds through the walls of mirage oasis.

Unlike many cowboy movies the Indian roles were not filled by half-blood Hispanic actors or dark skinned Sicilians with good tans. Tim McCoy filled the roles of redskins by casting a group of Arapahos. One day during a break in filming, the silent movie cowboy star sends a long black limousine to nearby Pyramid Lake to fetch the former messiah. The long black limousine rolls across the Death Valley sand, plumes of dust rising up from behind the wheels like the wake trailing behind a sailing schooner. The progress of the limousine can be measured for miles, the long black car slowly approaching the movie set, cloud of dust visible nearly forever. The Arapaho actors have no idea who is inside the limousine. The car pulls up to the movie set and the driver gets out, hustling around to the side and opening the passenger door. Wovoka steps out. The actors gasp. They do not need to be told who this is or be introduced. He is Wovoka. The…