Black Rider #18 (1952)

Fort Nobel, Montana: Dick Fenshaw arrives at the fort and meets with Major Denning about rumors of a Blackfoot attack may be mounting on the fort. Confirming the reports from a half-white, half-Blackfoot man named Jim Thunderhead. However, despite this confirmation, the soldiers do not trust Thunderhead due to his mixed race. Furious that he still cannot be trusted after years of faithful service to the fort, Jim storms off intent on joining the Blackfoot tribe and giving them his loyalty instead. As he leaves, Major Denning orders the base to prepare for attack. Meanwhile at the Blackfoot village, Matthew Masters has completed a delicate surgery on the wife of chief Grey Rock. After thanking Masters for his help, Grey Rock tells him that they intend to fight settlers that are encroaching on their land and starving his people, and so in order to protect what is theirs they have decided to go to war. Masters warns Grey Rock that nothing can be accomplished with war and presses him to strive to make peace. Grey Rock still believes that war is the best option and then has his warriors escort Matthew out of their lands. When parting company with his escort one of the warriors warn him to stay away from Fort Nobel, telling him that there is danger both in and out of the fort. suspecting that there is a spy among the fort, Masters changes into the Black Rider in order to thwart a conflict. He rides toward the base and encounters a Blackfoot war party and is forced to confront them. Meanwhile, elsewhere Jim Thunderhead has informed a nearby patrol of soldiers that the woods are full of Blackfeet. They unaware that Thunderhead is trying to fool them into a battle. They ride right into a slaughter just as the Black Rider fights his way through. The Rider holds off the Blackfeet long enough for him and the soldiers to escape back for Fort Noble. Back at the Fort he learns that they were betrayed into walking into a trap by Jim Thunderhead. The Black Rider soon realizes that Jim was provoked due to the soldiers bigoted opinions of his mixed race. Soon news come in that Thunderhead had flooded their ammunition supplies, leaving the soldiers woefully under prepared for the impending Blackfoot attack. The Black Rider points out that the soldiers are in this fix due to the fact that they were cruel to Thunderhead. He then rides off telling the soldiers that he will try to talk to the chief of the Blackfoot people. The Black Rider changes back into his alter-ego of Matthew Masters and meets with Grey Rock and is allowed passage into the village. Along the way to see Grey Rock he spots that John Thunderhead has been tied to a tree and left to die of exposure. Masters slips away and changes into the Black Rider again and goes to free Thunderhead. He then gets Thunderhead to assist him in stopping the impending battle. To this end they go up to the cliff along the path between the fort and the Blackfoot camp. The pair set up a means to cause snow to fall and block the path so that the war is held off. When the Blackfoot army tries to pass through the ridge, they cause snow to fall and block it. The Black Rider then warns Grey Rock that if he continues the attack that he will bury them all in snow. Grey Rock agrees to stop the fight. Having been rejected by both of his heritages and guilt ridden for almost causing a war, Jim then jumps off a cliff committing suicide. With Jim's death, both sides realize the need to foster peace and an agreement between the Blackfoot and the soldiers is made. They erect a statue of Jim Thunderhead in commemoration of the man who brought them together.