Doom

Doom was born "Ikkemotubbe" (346), but in the story he is mainly called by the name he prefers, Doom, which he acquired from a Frenchman in New Orleans, where he spends seven years. Earlier he had renamed himself David Callicoat (346), appropriating the name of a steamboat pilot. But his real ambition is to be "the Man," the chief of the Choctaw tribe in the story, even though, as descended from the Man's sister, he is not in the line of succession (346). According to his uncle, the reigning chief, even as a boy Doom has "a bad eye" (346). Taking matters into his own hands, he becomes the new Man after returning from New Orleans by ruthlessly poisoning and intimidating his relatives who are rivals for the position. Doom is a slave trader who enhances his home by bringing a grounded steamboat across land to his plantation. We see him ruling his people through violence but also acting as an arbiter of disputes.