Where the Lost Wander

Chapter 5 begins in John’s point of view. At Fort Kearny he goes to see Captain Dempsey, nervous because he isn’t going to deliver all his mules to the fort as he had promised. Dempsey tells him that Charlie—the Pawnee boy with whom John has left his horse, Dame—has been anxiously awaiting John’s arrival. John then tells Dempsey he will sell him five mules and a jack donkey. He will take the rest of the mules on to California.

Dempsey says the army needs mules, not donkeys, and counters by asking John to make up the difference by convincing the Pawnee villagers to move north of the Platte. This way, the fort won’t be caught in the Sioux-Pawnee war. John knows this will put the Pawnee farther into Sioux territory, endangering them. He says the army “ordered” the mules but has not actually purchased them. Dempsey replies that he needs John’s language skills and asks him to take one afternoon to speak with the Pawnee villagers, and John agrees. The captain will send flour and corn to the Pawnee as well, with the promise of more.

Charlie takes off running, leading John to the village. When they are almost there, John offers a switch: He will run, and the boy will ride Dame. Charlie agrees. The village is nearly deserted, its warriors gone off to fight the Sioux and recover their horses and cattle. Only the women, children, and the village’s three elders remain.

John delivers Dempsey’s message, and when the old men ask if Dempsey speaks for all the white settlers or for the Sioux or the Cheyenne, John tells them no. They then ask if he thinks they should move. John doesn’t answer directly. He asks for their reply, and they say they understand their enemies but not the white settlers. They will not leave.

As the load of flour and corn arrives, women unload it and call John “half man.” Charlie bids him farewell and says he hopes John finds his way, making John wonder if “perhaps he wasn’t talking about returning to the fort” (86).

Back at the fort, John gives Dempsey the Pawnees’ answer and writes letters to his father and Jennie. He tells his father about his decision to go on to California and Jennie, that her brother is well. He also tells her the government is giving away land in Oregon and perhaps he will settle there. He wonders if they’ll give the full 320 acres to “an Indian.”

After musing about how, like a mule that can’t reproduce, he doesn’t need to belong, he closes by repeating Jennie’s words, that love is “the only thing worth the suffering” (87). He knows Jennie will understand that he has met someone with whom he cannot part. He reflects that he is falling in love with Naomi.

The point of view switches to Naomi as Abbott tells the group they must cross to the north side of the mile-wide Platte, where there is less sickness. The train has lost 10 wagons and 50 people. The crossing will be difficult, as the bottom is quicksand and the water can swell suddenly with runoff.

Mr. Caldwell learns that John is continuing on with the group and warns Naomi about being dragged off by the “half-breed.” She retorts that if this happened—which it won’t—she would go along with him.

When the May wagon is halfway across the river, it lists to one side and water enters the wagon bed. Naomi jumps into the water to help Wyatt. John picks her up and puts her on his horse, a moment she savors.

Chapter 6 begins in John’s point of view. It takes all day to cross all the wagons, and some families have lost their supplies to the water. That night, there is a bad storm and one family loses their buggy. John is so ill with cholera he wishes he had said good-bye to his father and told Naomi he loves her. She enters his tent to give him medicine and stays until he is better. He tells her she is beautiful, and she falls asleep by his side. When John awakes, Naomi is gone. Webb tells him several wagons have remained behind, including the Mays’.

The point of view shifts to Naomi and goes back in time by about a day. Daniel’s sister, Lucy, dies and is buried. Naomi refuses to die, hoarding her strength for life, not death. She thinks that if all she has is her will, then she “must use it well” (87). She tends to John, then appoints Webb to watch over John and let her know when he wakes up.

Abbott is assessing which families can move on. Mrs. Caldwell, Naomi’s mother-in-law, has given up and lies crying in their wagon; her husband blames Naomi for forgetting Daniel so quickly. Naomi sees John, now somewhat recovered, and says he will ride in Warren’s wagon. When he goes to tend to his livestock—now seven mules, one jack donkey, and Dame, his horse—they are all missing. Naomi suspects Caldwell of setting them loose. John borrows a mule called Tumble from William May to search for them with Wyatt’s help. Wyatt rides Trick, another of the May mules.

Chapter 7 opens in John’s point of view as he and Wyatt search for John’s animals. Like Naomi, John suspects Mr. Caldwell of setting them free. John falls asleep, and when he wakes up the boy Charlie is there with Dame and the donkey. The two animals had returned to the fort, and Dempsey ordered Charlie to catch up with the train and give them back to John.

Riding one mule and leading another, Wyatt appears, pursued by Pawnee warriors. Charlie tells them that John is a friend. Wyatt says the Pawnee have John’s mules.

Charlie and the warriors approach, and Charlie introduces John and his uncle, Chief Dog Tooth. John says he is Pawnee but has no village, only his mules. One of the Pawnee men claims the mules are his, so John shows them his brand on the animals and says it will not go well with Dempsey if the men take them. He offers them one mule as a gift for finding the animals. Dog Tooth demands one of John’s mules and one of the Mays’. John counters with one mule and Dame, who is carrying a mule foal. Dog Tooth agrees.

The perspective switches to Naomi as the family stops to make camp near a creek. Naomi makes stew and takes some to the Caldwells, at Ma’s request. The sons eat hungrily, but Mr. Caldwell refuses. Elmeda allows Naomi to feed her and brush her hair. Naomi then gives her a picture she drew of Lucy.

At breakfast the next morning, John and Wyatt appear with the remnant of John’s animals. Naomi helps John to eat as he rides in Warren’s wagon for the next two days. John tells her the “problem” with her drawings is that none are of herself. She draws a picture of herself on the day she met him and leaves it for him to find.