One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow

Published in 2019, One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow is a historical novel by Olivia Hawker. The story is set in the Wyoming Territory in 1876 and follows two isolated families, the Bemises and the Webbers, whose lives are violently intertwined after Ernest Bemis murders his neighbor, Substance Webber, for having an affair with his wife. With Ernest imprisoned, the two families—led by the victim’s stoic widow, Nettie Mae, and the perpetrator’s ashamed wife, Cora—are forced into a reluctant alliance to survive the brutal oncoming winter. The novel explores themes of The Necessity of Forgiveness in the Wake of Tragedy, The Redefinition of Masculinity Beyond Patriarchal Violence, and The Breakdown of Traditional Roles and Binaries.

Like Hawker’s bestselling previous novel, The Ragged Edge of Night (2018), the story is drawn from the author’s own family history, a result of her interest in genealogy. The novel is a fictionalized account of her great-grandparents’ lives on the American frontier. One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow was a bestseller and a finalist for the Washington State Book Award. 

This guide refers to the 2019 Lake Union Publishing paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain depictions of graphic violence, illness or death, animal cruelty and death, and sexual content.

Plot Summary

In Wyoming, 1876, 13-year-old Beulah Bemis’s father, Ernest, shoots their neighbor, Substance Webber, after discovering him in an affair with his wife, Cora. Ernest confesses to the Webber family and then rides to the town of Paintrock to turn himself in, leaving Beulah to run the farm. Meanwhile, Substance’s 16-year-old son, Clyde Webber, learns of the murder from Ernest and takes it upon himself to bury his father by the river before scavenging animals can find the body.

Cora Bemis falls into a withdrawn state of guilt and grief, leaving Beulah to manage the farm and her younger siblings, Charles, Benjamin, and Miranda. After three days, the sheriff arrives with news that Ernest has received a lenient sentence of two years in jail. Facing the prospect of a harsh winter alone, Cora, at Beulah’s suggestion, goes to the Webber farm to ask for help. Substance’s widow, Nettie Mae, meets her with fury, scorns her for the affair, and refuses any aid. Though Substance was physically abusive and sexist, she still hates Cora for having an affair with him.

Despite his mother’s anger, Clyde begins helping the struggling Bemis family, starting with their corn harvest. He and Beulah work together, and Clyde is unsettled by her unique, peaceful worldview. Later, Clyde drives to Paintrock and uses his own money to buy a wagonload of firewood for the Bemises. While there, he collects a large crate addressed to Cora from the post office. The crate contains a fine china set and a letter from President Ulysses S. Grant, confirming that Cora is his niece and vindicating her after years of shame over her parentage. She is the illegitimate daughter of Grant’s brother. Nettie Mae, however, dismisses the gift as a bribe for silence about Cora’s “sinful” origins.

Clyde falls ill with a severe fever from overwork. A terrified Nettie Mae is forced to ask Beulah to care for him while she rides to Paintrock for the doctor. Clyde recovers under Beulah’s care. Fearing for her son’s health and realizing he will not stop helping their neighbors, Nettie Mae reluctantly agrees to a plan, brokered by Beulah, for the Bemis family to move into the Webber’s sod house for the winter to consolidate the work. Cora plans to sell the dishware from the president to pay for her and her family to travel to St. Louis come spring, as she’s from there and feels she never acclimated to life on the frontier.

The two families spend a tense winter together. Nettie Mae remains hostile toward Cora but develops a quiet affection for the younger Bemis children, who remind her of the four children she has lost. During a late autumn thunderstorm, a flash flood sweeps Miranda into the river. Clyde heroically rescues her far downstream. Nettie Mae then takes charge, using knowledge from her own daughter’s death, which she attributes to “dry drowning,” to save Miranda’s life. The shared crisis creates a moment of vulnerable connection between the two families.

Beulah and Clyde discover a ewe has given birth to a two-headed lamb. Clyde initially wants to kill the “monster,” but Beulah persuades him to let it live its short life. They keep its existence a secret. The lamb dies naturally the next day. Clyde, mistakenly believing a coyote killed it, flies into a violent rage reminiscent of his father’s. He chases down a coyote and drags it to death with his horse and rope. Horrified, Beulah reveals the truth. She comforts Clyde and guides him through a ritual of touching the dead coyote. With Nettie Mae watching, they bury the lamb and the coyote together, an act that seems to free Clyde from his father’s violent legacy.

In the spring, the Bemis family moves back to their own house, but Clyde and Beulah continue to work the two farms as one, meeting in secret as their bond deepens. A chimney fire breaks out at the Webber house. While Nettie Mae panics, Cora takes decisive action, using knowledge from her city upbringing to save the home. The crisis highlights Cora’s competence and Nettie Mae’s vulnerability, fundamentally changing their dynamic. Fearing the fire could reignite, the family temporarily moves into the Bemis farmhouse. That night, Nettie Mae and Cora confess their respective griefs and fears, finally forming a true bond of friendship.

One evening, Nettie Mae witnesses an intimate-looking meeting between Clyde and Beulah and, fearing for her son’s future, insists that Cora must follow through on her plan to move to Paintrock, after which they’ll travel to St. Louis. A heartbroken Cora agrees. However, a few days later, Beulah is thrown from her horse after a secret meeting with Clyde. After a frantic search, Cora and Nettie Mae find her unconscious at Substance’s grave. Clyde rides all night to fetch the doctor. As they watch over Beulah, Nettie Mae, terrified of losing the girl, reverses her decision and realizes she wants the Bemis family to stay.

Beulah awakens with only a concussion. With the families now united in friendship, Clyde tells his mother he intends to court Beulah. Having reconciled with Cora and accepted her son’s maturity, Nettie Mae gives her blessing. Clyde carves a ring for Beulah from a piece of the coyote’s bone. The two families celebrate their new beginning with a feast, using the president’s china. That evening, Beulah visits Substance’s grave and feels that his spirit is finally at peace.