Jonathan Keath, known as Jonnie, serves as the novel’s deuteragonist and is a primary foil to his brother, Jim. A dynamic and round character, Jonnie represents the values, prejudices, and fierce determination of the settler world. When he is reintroduced, he is 17 and has borne the full responsibility of his family’s welfare since his parents’ deaths. He is practical, proud, and deeply committed to the goal of claiming land and establishing a permanent home in Oregon. His initial appeal to Jim is born not of sentiment but of desperation; he sees his long-lost brother as the family’s “only chance” (39) to legally claim the land they have traveled so far to reach. This pragmatism defines his initial relationship with Jim, as he must constantly balance his suspicion of Jim’s ways with his reliance on Jim’s superior wilderness skills.

Jonnie’s character is initially defined by an inflexible, “bourgeway” worldview that makes him distrustful of Jim’s Crow identity. He is visibly shocked by Jim’s appearance, particularly his braids and claw necklace, and his deep-seated prejudice is revealed when he refers to Indigenous people as “murderin’, heathen savages” (121). The novel presents this language as part of the settler attitudes shaping Jonnie’s outlook, reflecting the racial hostility that accompanied westward expansion. This mindset is symbolized by his impractical and painful “factory boots,” which represent the unsuitability of his rigid cultural standards in the untamed West. He struggles to reconcile the brother from his childhood memories with the capable but alien warrior who now stands before him. His frustration stems from a genuine desire to reconnect with his brother, yet his preconceived notions of what is “civilized” and what is “savage” create a significant barrier between them.

Despite his initial rigidity, Jonnie undergoes a significant transformation, learning to value and respect his brother’s unique identity. His pragmatism forces him to acknowledge the family’s complete dependence on Jim’s skills, and over time this recognition begins to reshape his attitude toward Jim’s Crow upbringing. He defends Jim to Sally, participates in his wilderness games, and feels shame when he realizes Jim overheard his concerns about him being unable to sign his name. This evolution is most evident after the cattle theft incident, when he is horrified by Jim’s act of stealing a horse, not because of its association with Indigenous identity, but because it violates his own moral code. Jonnie’s development is complete when he finally understands the cultural significance of Jim’s braids and medicine dream, recognizing them not as heathenish but as essential parts of the man his brother has become. His final comment, “You know somethin’? We look alike again” (247), signals his acceptance of Jim as his brother despite the differences created by their separate upbringings, helping bridge the distance that had divided the family.

Sally Keath functions as a major source of interpersonal conflict in the narrative, embodying the most rigid and fearful attitudes of settler society. Though her motivations are rooted in love and protection, her actions create significant conflict for Jim, making her a round but largely static character for most of the novel. Sally’s worldview is shaped by a deep-seated resentment of Jim for abandoning the family, an act she connects directly to their mother’s years of sorrow. This unresolved anger fuels her immediate hostility toward Jim upon his return. She views his “Injun” ways not merely as strange but as a destabilizing influence on the family’s fragile sense of order, especially fearing his influence over their younger brother, Dan’l.

Sally is a fierce upholder of settler ideals of domestic order and propriety, which she sees as a bulwark against the chaos of the frontier. She clings to the physical remnants of her past life, such as the family clock and her mother’s rose slips, as symbols of order and propriety. Her primary goal is to re-establish a proper home, and she wages a constant campaign to “civilize” Jim, criticizing his habits, his smell, and, most pointedly, his appearance. Her demand that he “cut them braids off” and “throw away that heathen necklace” (133) is not just about appearances; it is a demand that he erase the part of his identity she fears and cannot comprehend. The intensity of her reaction reflects the cultural anxieties of many settler communities, where Indigenous identity was often treated as incompatible with the ideals of domestic respectability. While her perspective creates conflict, it is driven by a fiercely protective instinct. Having lost her parents and her home, she fights desperately to preserve the family she has left and to recreate the secure, domestic world she remembers.

Although Sally remains a consistent source of opposition for much of the story, she demonstrates a capacity for change in the final chapters. After Dan’l runs away, she is forced to confront the consequences of her rigid rejection of Jim’s identity. The terror of nearly losing another brother makes her realize the importance of acceptance over propriety. Her transformation is solidified in a pivotal moment of understanding after Jim cuts his braids. She gathers the shorn braids and the coup feather, telling him she will place the feather “under the clock with Pa’s medal” (243). This gesture signals a shift in Sally’s attitude, suggesting a new recognition of Jim’s past and its place in the family’s story.

As the youngest of the Keath siblings, 11-year-old Daniel, or Dan’l, serves as a catalyst for the novel’s central conflicts and as a bridge between Jim and the rest of the family. He is largely static yet psychologically developed, representing an innocent and unprejudiced perspective that contrasts sharply with the fearful judgment of his older siblings. From their first encounter, Dan’l is not afraid of Jim but is instead captivated by him. He sees a heroic figure, admiring Jim’s skills, his scars, and his connection to the adventurous wilderness. His immediate and unconditional acceptance provides Jim with a vital emotional anchor within the family, offering him the sense of belonging he cannot initially find with Jonnie or Sally. Dan’l’s hero worship is uncomplicated; he simply wishes to be “just like you” (73), a desire that both validates Jim and alarms Sally.

Dan’l’s primary role is to expose the tension surrounding the competing expectations placed on Jim’s identity. He moves freely between Jonnie and Sally’s world of domestic chores and Jim’s world of tracking, trapping, and Crow traditions. It is his desire to emulate Jim that leads directly to the story’s climax. When he runs away, leaving a note that he has “gone away like Jim done—to be a Injun” (225), he mirrors Jim’s own childhood act of abandonment. This crisis compels the family to confront the deep division among them and forces Jim to make his ultimate sacrifice. Dan’l’s actions become the immediate cause of Jim’s decision to cut his braids, since Jim fears that Dan’l may imitate his rejection of settler expectations. Jim therefore makes the decision in an effort to guide Dan’l toward stability within the family and the settled life his siblings are trying to build.

Tom Rivers is a classic mentor figure who also symbolizes the end of the mountain man era. As Jim’s trapping partner, he is a wise, world-weary figure who understands that the West is changing irrevocably. He is the first to voice the novel’s sense of an ending, noting that with the beaver gone, “the good old days is about over fer you and me both” (28). Tom provides Jim with quiet companionship and non-judgmental counsel, recognizing Jim’s internal conflict and questioning whether he will be able to adapt to the settled “bourgeway” life. Though he represents a life of freedom and adventure, Tom is also a lonely and tragic figure. His way of life has become obsolete, leaving him figuratively like a “ghost” of a bygone era, unable to settle in the new world being built by the pioneers. His final decision to return to the mountains, even as the trapping frontier disappears, reflects the novel’s sense of irreversible change and clarifies the different path Jim ultimately chooses.