 Running
Buck was born to a Kiowa mother who was raped by a white man. Though
loved by his half-brother Red Bear, the young Running Buck faced endless
ridicule and scorn from his tribe, which Red Bear refused to acknowledge.
When Buck was an child, the Kiowa captured a young white girl about his
age. Camille (christened "Little Bird" by the tribe) and Buck became
close and eventually they were promised to each other in marriage.
Desperate to prove himself as a true Kiowa warrior, Buck joined a group
of braves on a hunt despite Little Bird's deep misgivings. When the
braves returned, they found that the village had been raided by Buffalo
hunters, the women and children killed, and Little Bird taken by the white
raiders. It was many years before Buck found Little Bird again, and
was able to reconcile his intense feelings of guilt over the incident.
Coming to
the realization that he had to experience the white world in order to (hopefully)
gain the acceptance he craved, Buck left the Kiowa and eventually was taken
in by a Catholic Mission school. (It's not known where his surname
-- "Cross" -- came from, but it's a logical assumption that the name was
given to him by the sisters of the mission. It would, after all,
symbolize the religion they expected the half-breed to espouse.)
Buck found he was no more accepted by white society than he was by the
native; on a trip into town, he was attacked by a crowd of drunks.
Outmanned and outsized, he was fighting desperately when he noticed that
Ike McSwain -- a mute student at the mission -- was fighting right alongside
him. The two societal misfits forged an instant bond stronger than
brotherhood.
After teaching
Ike to communicate with Indian sign, the two left the mission and made
their way to Sweetwater, where they joined the Pony Express. There,
Buck found a group of friends who valued him for his inner spirit, and
a pseudo-father in stationmaster Teaspoon Hunter. He also found love,
only to have his heart broken by the manipulative Kathleen Devlin.
Buck was also able to briefly return to his people, enduring a pain-filled
ritual that proved him to be a true Kiowa. His skills in tracking
and knowledge of the other Indian tribes who inhabited the Plains proved
invaluable to the Express time and time again. And Buck was able
to weather the death of his beloved friend Ike through the support and
love of his comrades, even as he drew upon his own inner strength to help
another during this trying time.
The onset
of the Civil War saw Buck's future uncertain, but we can be sure that whatever
path he chose, he faced it with the strength of his indomitable Kiowa spirit.
Photo:
ABC promotional photo of Gregg Rainwater as "Buck Cross"
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