The Yeehats are the climax antagonists in Jack London's 1903 short adventure novel The Call of the Wild. They are a deadly tribe of murderous Indians who murder John Thornton and his friends. The Yeehats have been hiding in the forest for centuries, guarding the gold there and killing anyone who goes near it.
The chief was portrayed by Buffalo Child in the 1993 film, who also played a Pawnee warrior in Dances with Wolves.
History[]
As Buck becomes the leader of the wolf pack, the Yeehats attack John Thornton's camp and kill Thornton and his friends and steal his gold.
They do a dance around the wreckage until Buck attacks the chief and tears his throat off. The warrior attempt to shoot arrows at Buck, but he was so angry that he dodged every arrow, making the warriors kill each other by accident. Another warrior tries to shoot at Buck, but ends up accidentally killing his friends. The Yeehats then flee from Buck, calling him the "Evil Spirit".
Some time later, the Yeehats notice some changes between the wolves and tell a story about a Ghost Dog that was too cunning and led the wolf pack and lived in a valley that no one dared to enter, because the dog kills hunters and warriors.
Trivia[]
- The Yeehats are not a real Indian tribe. They were made up by Jack London.
- In the 1976 film, it is implied that they killed Buck's wolf friend as well.
- They are not featured in the 1981 anime film Call of the Wild: Howl Buck. Instead, they are replaced with white criminals.
- In the 1996 film Call of the Wild: Dog of the Yukon, one of the Indians wore white men clothes.
- They did not exist in the 2020 film adaptation. Instead, Thornton's killer is Hal (who does not drown like in the book) and Buck killed him by pushing him into the burning cabin. The omission of the Yeehats was possibly done for ethnic reasons, aside that the film is a kid-friendly version of the novel.