Symbolism _Part 2

There is a second group of symbols that does not deal with tarot cards. These symbols are more elusive and vague in their definitions but are nonetheless important. For instance, on the first page, their is a reference to the Kid's birth. It mentions the Leonides, which are a famous meteor shower that happens to have its most famous debut on the Kid's birthday, in 1833. Later in the book, the name of the Pleiades are invoked. They can either represent seven women giving birth or seven orphans who were mistreated and became stars. Interestingly enough, the story explains the Devil's Tower in Wyoming was created when a bear chased the maidens and tried to claw its way up to the heavens.

The hermit mentioned in Symbols_Part 1 makes an interesting statement: "They is four thinks that can destroy the earth, he said. Women, whiskey, money, and niggers." Not only did I think this gave important insight into the time period, but might foreshadow something that has to do with those four things. So far, whiskey has led to the death of a comrade (one of White's one), while money has led to the quest for Indian scalps and lead to a whole lot of trouble. Women and blacks I haven't seen so much as helping to "destroy the earth" as providing useful thoughts on prejudice. Women and blacks are viewed us a subclass of humanity evidenced by the treatment of the black John Jackson by the white: "You don't get your black ass away from this fire I'll kill you graveyard dead." Also, the few women that help the Kid are left unthanked: "As he passed the house the woman came padding out after him. When she saw him put his foot in the stirrup she began to run. He swung up into the broken saddle and chucked the mule forward. She stopped at the the and watched him go. He didn't look back."

One last symbol would be the Mennonite that talks about the Wrath of G-D. "The wrath of G-D lies sleeping. It was hid a million years before men were and only men have the power to wake it. Hell and half full. Hear me. Ye carry war of a madman's making onto a foreign land. You'll wake more than just the dogs." What he means is that humans have the power to choose right from wrong like nothing else. So, their actions speak directly as to who they are and what type of person they are. G-D's wrath is used as a means of solidifying his argument that people have what's coming to them.