Dogmen…*rethinks the hunt*

My previously scheduled entry has been preempted to bring you…My night’s spookiness.

I’m sure regular readers may remember my mentioning of Northern Michigan’s Dogmen…Well…As it is 2007…The next year for the Dogmen to make themselves known…AND…As I’ve just found a site that has the song where listening to it is only a click away for the rest of you.

Apparently a Native American author in the area is using the legend for novel he’s writing. So here is his page Walks As Bear … Now…On the left…Third little icon button down…There you can listen to the song.

Here is a letter written to a reporter by the same man regarding Michigan’s Dogmen.

Bear¹s Den by David Walks-As-Bear

Ordinarily I work Halloween every year. It just seems to happen that way. It¹s never been a biggy for me as I don¹t get spooked by modern-day monsters. But man, sometimesŠ when I¹m driving deep in the dark woods, on a full-mooned nightŠ I fret a little about things changing, eh. November is American Indian Heritage Month. It doesn¹t get a lot of play like Black History or Hispanic Months do but I figure that¹s okay. Squeaky wheels get the grease and heck, we¹re not alone. Folks with Polish, French, Hungarian and other ancestry don¹t have rusty axles, either. Still, since I am Shawnee, I thought I¹d delve a tad deeper into Indian outdoor stuff.

So, there¹s the Legend of the Dogmen here in the Michigan north woods, eh. There¹s even a nifty song about them, eh. It seems like a shape shifting deal to me so, here we go. But first, if you want to learn more about this Mitten State mystery, go to Google and punch-in ³Michigan Dog Man². Now, as a rule, Indians are pretty generic. Like Americans, British or Lithuanians, their cultures and languages will vary a bit from region to region. But overall, everybody follows similar modes. That goes for Indian Warrior societies, too. Now these groups are made up of braves whose primary job is protecting their nation. And they often take the names of animals that they feel most symbolize their warrior prowess.

Back in the 1860s, there was a warrior group of Cheyenne called the Dog Soldiers or Dog Men. For many poor US Army troopers, they were the ³Special Forces² of their times. Like wolves or wild dogs, they were tenacious in their pursuit of their prey and would come back againŠ and againŠ and again until they won victory. Similar warrior societies using the dog or wolf can be found in almost every American Indian nation. The process for a warrior in this society is in learning how to become just as your totem, or symbol. And that lends its way into Indian shape shifting. Now I¹m speaking figuratively not literally, eh.

But depending on your point of view, shape shifting canŠ ³change². For Indians, shape shifting is applied in hunting, song and dance, healing and warfare. A brave will study his spirit animal for many years to learn all of its uniqueness and mannerisms, trying to become one with it or just like it. Ordinarily, Indian shape shifting couldn¹t be more different than the modern horror crud. But there can be exceptions where this homily plays out close to modern day Dracs, and Frankysteins, eh. And maybe, the Northern Michigan ³Legend of the Dogmen² is one such instance, hmm?

The Cheyenne Dog Men supposedly were wiped out by the US Army. But there are stories, carried over from the elders, that tell of some of the Dog Men actually shape shifting into the ‘real dogs’ that they mimicked in battle. Thus, these few escaped the US Army¹s planned killing of them all back in the ³Battle of Summit Springs² in Colorado. Now, be you a believer of this or not, it¹s worthwhile to note that unlike the horror junk you see in movies and on TV, the Dog Men are not going to rip you apart and devour you, eh. They couldn¹t even if they wanted to. That¹s because even if they were bad spirits, most Indians know that you cannot be harmed by evilŠ of any kind unlessŠ you invite it into yourself. Christianity and every other religion on the Earth Mother teach the same thing, eh.

Equally though, the Good Book and all of those other beliefs also speak of spirits that have manifestations here among us two-leggeds, too. Angels are one such example of good spirits and demons are the opposite in that they¹re evil. Well, Shapshifters are usually considered as good, a tad mischievous maybe, but not evil. The same can¹t be said for their opposite skinwalkers, eh. If the Michigan Dog Men are shapeshifters, then they¹d be spooky, alright, as they¹re other-worldly. But not evil, though. So it could be that the ³Dog Men of Michigan² are just old Michigan Indian warriors, going through their seven-year routine of shape shifting. Who can say? But speaking of routineŠ I do personally fret a bit when I¹m driving deep in the dark woods, on a full-mooned night and thingsŠ changeŠ know what I mean? – David Walks as Bear

Anyway…I had some thoughts for something…But they’ve scattered to the winds.
Now…I’m going to hurry past the sliders in the dinning room…As the shade is open, and the bathroom is unfortantly on the other side of them.  Then hurry back in here…Immerse myself in semi-darkness…As the tv will still be on…As it’s always on…Huddle down in my blankie (which is really Harley’s blanket)…Cuddle up to Neville doggie (which Sonja still says is hers, and is trying to un-name him…Though she’s still called him Neville when she’s not thinking about driving me utterly mental. *laughs*)…And attempt to find sleep that is not laced with scary, spooky, or other wise ‘Ahhhhhhhhhhhh’ things.