"Those children must get rid of that animal. Our wild brother, the wolf, does not change his nature. Can't you see that the animal is part wolf?" the medicine man warned Cub's parents. But Cub knew his pet better than anyone. He knew that even though Wolf was half wild, he was not a dangerous animal, and would never turn on those he loved. Cub's parents had a different idea, however. They trusted the old medicine man's intuition, and besides, food was scarce-too scarce to have a dog to feed around the house.
In order to save Wolf, Cub decides that he must run away with the dog, and hide out until the Season of New Growth. But Cub soon finds out that life away from home is dangerous and hard. Facing unpredictable weather, wild animals, and fierce tribal enemies, Cub ventures into the forest in search of a safe place for Wolf and himself to hide out. Here, away from friends, with little food or protection, Cub faces the most harrowing experiences of his life-experiences that propel the young Indian boy quickly into manhood.
Cub's family was part of an Indian tribe called the Copena Indians. The Copenas belonged to a group of Woodland Indians who lived in the southeastern United States nearly 2,000 years ago. Margaret Zehmer Searcy was a member of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alabama for 24 years, and is also the author of Eyr the Hunter: A Story of Ice-Age America, Ikwa of the Mound-Builder Indians and The Charm of the Bear Claw Necklace.