Sam Eagle Speaker is the main antagonist of the 1974 film The Bears and I.
Role[]
He first meets Bob when he visits their village to meet the chief, Peter A-Tas-Ka-Nay. He then goes out hunting for bears and kills a black bear, who happens to be the mother of the three cubs Bob has been studying. Bob adopts the cubs and names them Scratch, Patch and Rusty.
When Bob and the cubs head out to visit Oliver Red Fern's store, they are attacked by a pack of dogs and the cubs manage to escape. Oliver is convinced that the cubs are better off killed than captured and Sam tries to kill them, but Bob fights him and they are separated. Bob is informed by the chief that he must set the cubs free or their tribe will be plagued with tragedy, but he secretly continues to care for the cubs.
The next spring, the cubs are matured and a national park is being constructed around the Indians' homes under the government. Sam retaliates against the construction workers and advocates a speech to the other Indians about rebelling against the white men. He tries to kill Bob, but he wrestles the knife out of his hands and one of the officials stops him.
When Bob returns to his cabin, Sam shoots Patch and Bob chases him. Bob easily manages to defeat him and heads to his cabin to get a blanket for Patch, but Sam sets his cabin on fire with a bottle of gasoline, causing a raging forest fire. The other people rush over and manage to put out the flames. The chief warns Bob that the Great Spirit would kill Patch, but Bob informs him that it was Sam and the chief promises that he would never return to his tribe.