Summary
Chapter 1
The epigraph is a quote by Thomas K. Whipple concerning dichotomies between the past and present, and wilderness and civilization. The novel opens with a man named Augustus observing as pigs devour a rattlesnake. The narrator zooms out to describe the incessantly hot weather and the wildlife in the town of Lonesome Dove. Near the springhouse, Augustus decides to stand in the sun and wait for a rattlesnake to move back into its hole. He thinks about how his partner Captain W.F. Call shoots every snake that he comes across.
The only white barber in Lonesome Dove is a one-legged man named Dillan Brawley who had to saw off a leg for fear of blood poisoning. The family blamed centipedes for rotting it in the first place. The town's only doctor got shot by a displeased vaquero, who subsequently was hanged. For this reason, Augustus and Call serve as the town's informal surgeons. Most people in the town go to a Mexican barber, including Call (who dislikes both Mexicans and barbers).
While Call looks for work to do until darkness falls, Augustus enjoys having intelligent evening conversations with himself. He also drinks plenty of whiskey to ease the difficulty of life in Lonesome Dove. At dinnertime, he yells for the cook (named Bolivar) to prepare something. Augustus sees Call and an awkward man named Pea Eye walking up from the lots. Pea Eye later tells Augustus that Call is in a foul mood due to his failure to break a mare named Hell Bitch. Pea Eye prefers working with Call than with Augustus because Call does not try to engage him in conversation. Seventeen-year-old Newt joins Pea Eye and Augustus, who likes to tell stories about Mexican bandits to stir the boy's imagination. Eventually, Bolivar enthusiastically whacks the dinner bell.
While Augustus examines Call's wound where the horse bit him, Call thinks about how the phases of the moon impact the danger of crossing the river. By the time he is ready to eat, Augustus has already served himself a second helping. In the teasing that ensues, Call expresses annoyance at how Augustus brings up shameful topics like prostitution in front of Newt. Call also instructs Bolivar to not whack the dinner bell at night, but Bolivar quietly asserts his preference to continue doing so.
Chapter 2
Call habitually patrols the river to hone his instincts. As a Ranger captain, he likes to spend evenings away from the social scene in order to better observe the land. He considers Lonesome Dove to be safe country, but old habits die hard, and so he still patrols at night. He also likes to get out of range of Augustus's loud voice. Being a leader is naturally ingrained in Call, but without actual conflicts to take charge of, Call feels ill at ease.
The other men gather on the porch. Bolivar sharpens his knife, which leads to anxiety in Newt and teasing from the others. Augustus's weapon of choice is a Colt revolver. Newt reflects on his love for Lorena Wood despite never having spoken to her. Lorena's status as a sex worker does not bother Newt. Later on, Newt feels relief when Call returns from his nightly patrol. Newt requests to accompany Call the next time the Ranger drives cattle, but Call hesitates because he does not want harm to come to Newt.
Augustus urges Call to let Newt see more of the world and experience more than physical labor on the ranch. At the end of the chapter, Augustus goes to town, presumably to gamble and spend the night with Lorena.
Chapter 3
Lorena yearns to move to San Francisco because of its cooler weather. At twenty-four years old, she still has not ventured a mile from Lonesome Dove, which she finds dull. Augustus (one of her clients) talks a great deal about San Francisco in his general loquacious manner.
When Lorena became an orphan at age seventeen, a man named Mosby Marlin picked her up from Baton Rouge. Instead of marrying her, he took her to his house to live with the mean women in his family. Eventually, Mosby exploited Lorena by pimping her out to make money, and Lorena escaped with a man named Tinkersley. This new man beat her for talking back and pimped her out the same way that Mosby did. When Tinkersley left Lorena in Lonesome Dove, she worked as a cook until Augustus became her first client. She eventually took on more clients, but Augustus remains the most unusual in that he enjoys making fun of things, sharing his opinions just for the sake of sharing them, and paying her fairly. One day, he paid her extra just to talk. Specifically, he requested to hear her origin story, but she decided not to share it.
Chapter 4
Augustus takes his gun with him as he leaves Call sitting on the steps. On the way to town, he jumps at the sight of an armadillo. At the Dry Bean, Lippy bangs out "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" to general distaste. Augustus greets Xavier, the resigned proprietor, who nods stiffly in response. When Augustus sees Lorena sitting at a table with a young man named Dish, he thinks about how she reminds him of Clara Allen, a woman he had loved "hardest and deepest," but who chose to marry someone else (39).
Everyone (especially Xavier) expresses disgust at Lippy's dirty hat. Xavier seizes the hat and throws it outside the door. Dish tries to work up the nerve to act on his special feelings for Lorena, which he communicates by trying to get her to sleep with him on credit. She does not acknowledge him. The group starts a game of cards, and Augustus thinks about how winning brings out a more expressive side of Lorena.
Outside, Dish tells Augustus that he will join the outfit to drive cattle. Augustus gifts him $2 to pay Lorena for her services, figuring that it is best to let young men enjoy life before "life's torments snatched them" (47). Augustus even invites Dish to spend the night on the ranch porch before heading out with the outfit. Back on the ranch, Augustus leaves the pigs sleeping on the porch.
Chapter 5
Augustus describes how he only sleeps four to five hours at a time. He rises at 4 A.M. to prepare his breakfast of sourdough biscuits, which he bakes outside in order to not overheat the house and to watch the beautiful sunrise. He puts his biscuits in the Dutch oven and settles in to read the Bible once the sun rises enough to provide sufficient reading light. Call and the pigs join Augustus. Augustus tells his partner that he only reads the Bible in the morning and evening, and tries to have fun the rest of the time. Call tells him that they came to make money, not to have fun, but Augustus reminds Call that the latter doesn't even like money.
Inside the house, Newt sleeps while holding a knife and fork. Augustus wakes him up lest he accidentally stab himself. Bolivar spills coffee grounds in the eggs and bacon, which irritates Augustus. Dish stumbles in, and Newt tries to make himself look more presentable in the company of one of his heroes. Dish represents Newt's dearest ambition, which is to go up the trail with a herd of cattle. Call considers the day's tasks while he eats his breakfast.
As they talk, Call mentions that the ranch could hire Dish. Surprising everyone, Call says that they are heading to Mexico that night, and will possibly get a herd together to drive. Bolivar remarks that he wishes Deets would return from carrying money to San Antonio because it is Deets's job to carry water. Meanwhile, Dish considers Call's offer. Lorena plays a primary role in his decision-making.
Outside, Call and Dish see a pair of riders in the distance. Call summons Augustus (who is still inside finishing breakfast) to see who is approaching. It turns out to be Deets and an old acquaintance named Jake Spoon.
Chapter 6
The name "Jake Spoon" impacts Newt, who remembers how Jack was one of his mother's clients. His mother, like Lorena, was a sex worker. Jake showed them great kindness and often gifted Newt with candy and pennies. Like Call and Augustus, Jake also worked as a Ranger. When the conflicts settled down, Call, Augustus, Jake, Pea Eye, and Deets formed the Hat Creek outfit. However, this new life did not suit Jake, so he disappeared one day. He never left Newt's memories, and Newt even wondered if Jake was his father.
Jake rides up and inquires about breakfast. Call informs him that Augustus polished off the biscuits. Deets appears to be happy to have done more than what his routine job asked for, and he goes off to take the horses to the stable. Jake asks Augustus to make more biscuits. Call reflects on how, despite liking Jake and knowing him to be a good rider, the man's inconsistencies lead Call to mistrust him. In the past, Augustus predicted that Jake would probably "end up hung" (63). Both Call and Augustus assume that Jake is escaping some kind of trouble behind him on the path due to the state of his skinny horse.
They all stand outside as though waiting for an angry horde to ride up. Jake goes to wash up, and Dish reminds Call that he is willing to wait and see about joining their outfit. Call tests Dish by telling him to work digging a well in the meantime with Newt and Pea Eye. Augustus and Call debate about whether Call should have tasked Dish with working on the well. Augustus fries meat for Deets and Jake, and Call impatiently waits for them to finish in order to interrogate Jake.
Jake tells Augustus and Call about how beautiful Montana is. Call asks whether any Native tribes fought the Army scouts, and the others feel suspicious that Jake would have taken up such a position. Nonetheless, Call seems captivated by Jake's description of Montana. The three men discuss how there will be fortunes to be made once the tribes are "licked" (67). Augustus asks what Jake's real motivation is and what led him to trade his preference for sex workers and clean shirts in for cow dung and trail dust.
Jake reveals that he accidentally killed a dentist in a saloon brawl in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Call has found over the years that it works best to believe only half of what Jake says since he views things through the lens of his own favor rather than the pure truth. The dentist that Jake killed was the sheriff's brother, and Jake had already been instructed to leave town a week before due to a rumor that he fought with guns. This reputation is predicated on a past lucky shot that Jake made when he first started working as a Ranger.
Call tells Jake that he should have left Fort Smith when the sheriff told him to, but Jake excuses himself by saying that he had an appetite for the catfish they served in the town. Ultimately, Jake believes that Call and Augustus won't turn him over to July Johnson.
Both Augustus and Jake once courted Clara Allen, and Augustus asks if Jake visited her on his travels. Jake in turn asks about Maggie (Newt's mother), to which Augustus states that in all likelihood, either Jake or Call is Newt's father.
Chapter 7
Augustus and Jake make small talk about Deets's odd wardrobe. Jake feels sad about Maggie's death, though he assumes that Call also left her in a bad state. Jake reveals that Clara lives in Nebraska on the North Platte. Augustus and Jake go out to the springhouse to get drunk. Jake spots Bolivar relieving himself a ways away, and he expresses his dislike for the cook. When Jake falls asleep, Augustus goes to check on Call's progress with Hell Bitch. Call broaches the subject of going north. His purposeful tone stands out to Augustus, who knows that retirement has not suited Call well. Although they have enough money in their account to be considered rich, neither of the two men feels rooted in Lonesome Dove.
Augustus considers how traveling to Montana will take him through the Platte, where Clara lives. They decide to charge Newt with running the ranch in their stead.
Chapter 8
The heat makes it difficult for Newt and the other workers to think, let alone work. Call passes by riding on the mare, and tells the boys to stop and rest since they'll be going to Mexico that night. They throw knives to pass the time, and speculate about the identity of two riders approaching from the east. The riders stop to examine the elaborate sign that Augustus had insisted on making a few years ago. Over time, he struggled to please everyone by including names and titles, and he also added descriptions about the ranch that infuriated Call.
One of the men named Wilbarger expresses amusement at the sign. The other, named Chick, inquires about the location of the nearest whorehouse because he heard of a yellow-haired girl in Lonesome Dove. Dish lies and states that Lorena is his sister.
Newt feels that Deets is the only one who understands his needs and his sensitivity. Newt also feels that he cannot please Call no matter how hard he tries.
When Dish goes to town to see Lorena, he hears the steady creaking that indicates two people moving about in her bed. His anger focuses first on Xavier and then on the unknown man and Lorena. Dish positions himself with his pistol ready to shoot his unknown rival. Dish walks to the river and back, where he sees Lorena sitting with Jake Spoon. Chagrined outrage floods Dish as he observes Lorena and Jake share a glass of whiskey. Before Dish can leave, Jake sees him and calls him in. Jake buys him a drink and seems glad for the company, while Lorena's indifference causes Dish to lose his grasp on reality.
Chapter 9
Wilbarger rides up to the porch where Augustus sits and nurses his drink. Call, who had been inside tending to where the mare bit him, comes out and they make their introductions. Wilbarger's argumentative temper amuses Augustus, who tells the irritated man that the ranch's horse dealing operations are closed for the day. Call promises to have the horses available by the next day. He also inquires about what Wilbarger's stolen horses look like.
When Wilbarger shares his horse brand, he reveals to Augustus that he studied Latin at Yale College. That a more educated man should pass through town shocks Augustus, who—with his one year of schooling—is used to being the most educated person around.
Although Wilbarger only needs 40 horses, Call resolves to acquire 100 so he can use the remaining 60 to drive cattle to Montana. He tells Augustus that they will steal the horses from the hacienda belonging to Pedro Flores in Mexico.
Dish returns to the ranch so sick to his stomach that he vomits profusely. Newt's worry about Dish causes him to lose his excitement about going to Mexico. When Call perceives that Dish is sick from liquor, he leaves open the possibility that Augustus and Jake tricked Dish into drinking too much. Bolivar rings the dinner bell incessantly, and Jake shoots in the general direction of the house.
Call gives Newt his first gun, causing him to feel like a grown man for the first time in his life. Deets and Newt catch the horses, and the group heads toward Mexico.
Chapter 10
Call puts the horses to travel at the pace of a trot. They see cattle that Call intends to return to pick up the following night for their journey to Montana. Dish seems to have sobered enough to handle any potential issues that may arise. Despite the imminent danger, Augustus keeps talking loudly and joking around, which rankles Call. Of everyone in the outfit, Call trusts Deets the most to pay attention in risky situations. Newt fears getting killed or making a blunder in front of Call.
Deets hears white people singing. Call, Newt, and Deets move closer, and confirm that Irishmen are having a party in Flores's burnt-out camp. Call walks into the firelight and tells the Irishmen to hold steady. One of the men tries and fails to escape on a hobbled mule. Call questions the men, who are brothers named Allen and Sean O'Brien. Call tells them to be ready to leave that night since Pedro Flores will take his revenge on any white person in the vicinity after Call's outfit commits the horse theft.
Chapter 11
Augustus and the other members of the outfit find the horses, but there are fewer than Call thought there would be. Call, Deets, and Newt approach, and Call expresses disappointment at the scant herd of horses in front of them. Newt and Dish catch a few horses in order to go rescue the Irishmen. Augustus notices that the horses are branded with Wilbarger's mark.
As Call considers how to salvage the night, he thinks about how his ability to change course quickly kept him alive as a Ranger. Call decides to split the outfit into three groups with different missions. Deets, Dish, and Jake are to bring the stolen horses back to the ranch. Augustus rides off to collect the Irishmen. That leaves Call, Newt, and Pea Eye to pursue Call's plan to get horses.
Analysis
The epigraph (a quote by professor of English Thomas K. Whipple, from his book of essays Study Out the Land) expresses the distance between the dreams and lived experiences of contemporary American citizens and the country's founding fathers. It is written in the first-person plural, which opens the question of who "we" are in relation to America. The likely answer is the descendants of European settlers due to the line "Our forefathers had civilization inside themselves, the wild outside." This excludes other groups, including diverse Native American tribes, African Americans, and other immigrants from around the world. The division between concepts like 'civilization' and 'wilderness' underlies the Western genre depicting the American frontier.
McMurtry uses colloquialism (informal words and phrasing) to authentically portray regional forms of expression. For example, Augustus says, "You pigs git," which means to leave or move (Chapter 1). Insults, jokes, and sexual innuendos pepper the talk between the men. When Bolivar compares his knife to his wife, Augustus recommends that he "whet" his wife instead and then goes on to ask if Bolivar has any daughters. These and other lewd expressions reveal the way that women were often treated as objects for men's pleasure. Lorena's origin story further exemplifies this.
The details that the narrator provides about the setting (the town of Lonesome Dove) do not portray it as a very hospitable place. The extremely hot climate and potentially dangerous wildlife make life difficult for Lonesome Dove inhabitants. The narrator scorns anyone who is unable "to negotiate a few hundred miles of mesquite thicket without losing their nerve" (Chapter 1). In addition, tensions with local populations seem to arise somewhat regularly. Augustus resolves not to shoot at a rattlesnake because the townspeople will think that "the Comanches were down from the plains or the Mexicans up from the river" (Chapter 1). These racial divisions fuel violence in the town and in the whole country, especially at the frontiers.
At the end of the first chapter, Augustus introduces the theme of nationalism by claiming that Call cannot be considered American since he was born in Scotland. McMurtry portrays the question of who can be considered American as a hot topic of debate. The relationship between personal relationships, laws, and ethics also appears amid the nation-building taking place (particularly on the frontier). This can be seen when Jake assumes that Call and Gus will not hand him over to Sheriff Johnson due to his having accidentally killed the sheriff's brother. Although Call especially took his job as a Ranger seriously, his love for freedom at times clashed with the Rangers' rules. Ideals such as freedom, self-reliance, and hard work embody the young nation's ethos, and greatly contributed to Call's sense of duty when he actively worked as a Ranger. Augustus describes how, over time, the Rangers became obsolete. This came as a blow for a purpose-driven man like Call, which is what drives his desire to push northward and settle in Montana. Despite being aware of the realities of hardship and danger, Call feels a longing to undertake such a risky endeavor.
McMurtry has stated in interviews that his intention with this book was to dispel romantic myths about the American "Wild West" (Monroe). In the first chapter, Augustus expresses this romantic view in the line that reads, "to his eye the long light from the west had taken on an encouraging slant" (pg. 1). The "long light" symbolizes intrigue, or whatever attracts people to the frontier. This could be concepts like freedom, adventure, and challenge. Of all the characters, young Newt most embodies this type of idealization. For example, he drinks in Augustus's embellished stories, and he nurses an obsession with the town prostitute, Lorena, based entirely on her beautiful external appearance.
