Guns
Throughout the book, guns can be seen as an important symbol, one that strikes the reader and reverberates across all pages of the book. As can be expected, these weapons are often most significant during portions of the book with high climatic action, usually when two opposing sides or ideas represented by certain characters are in the midst of conflict. Guns are also usually seen as a symbol of justice and goodness, as represented by the cowboy Lassiter. Multiple times throughout the entirety of the book, Lassiter uses his guns to protect the people he loves, protect weaker individuals in need of help, or fight against the evils of the community, for example, the Mormon elders or their mercenaries.
Amber Spring
Amber Spring was the spring that used to be owned by Jane's father, and was given to her when he passed away. The spring is a massive source of water and is the reason Cottonwoods was created as a town and is able to survive. Amber Spring is an allegory for hope and resilience in the novel. Despite southwestern Utah being an arid wasteland, especially in the late 1800's, the spring allows people to flourish in essentially the middle of nowhere. After being persecuted in Ohio, the Mormons and their religion are able to survive and persist in Cottonwoods, Utah, all because of Amber Spring. The idea of hope and resilience is maintained throughout the book and is exemplified in certain characters.
Mormon Elders
The Mormon Elders are a symbol for lack of morality and righteousness, which is ironic considering the fact that they are heads of their religion and religion is supposed to be based around physical, mental, and spiritual morality. Instead, these elders are essentially corrupt criminals, scoundrels who do anything to get what they want: power, wealth, and influence. They hire mercenaries to target the people who oppose them instead of changing or discussing opposing ideas. They allow criminals to roam free and attack people of their own faith, who are often robbed of personal items such as cattle and farmland. These elders should be righteous and open to all but instead, as can be seen throughout almost every single chapter, they are the symbol for the opposite.
Sage
Sage is a wild plant that can often be found in the deserts of the southwestern United States, with vivid purple flowers, and it is spread throughout the book. Sage is a symbol for life amid harshness. Cottonwoods, Utah itself is not exactly a dream land. It is built in the middle of a desert and is surrounded by miles upon miles of sand, canyons, and plateaus. The whole place seems devoid of life yet there is one thing that is constantly springing up, constantly spotted alongside the ground, and it is sage. This thick plant is constantly surviving amid the harshness and is a symbol for life and prosperity. Sage proves that despite all the odds, all the cards stacked against it, life will go on.
Rustling
A recurring motif in the novel presented by the author is the concept of rustling. Rustling is the act of stealing cattle from others and usually selling it once more in order to gain profit, and the people who perform these actions are known as rustlers. The idea of rustling is central to many important conflicts that occur in the story. Part of the corruption of the Mormon elders is due to the cattle rustling that takes place beneath their supervision. They allow rustlers to harass and steal from the people of Cottonwoods, who are all of the same faith as the elders, in return for the rustlers essentially acting as a standing army for the elders that will do their bidding. Rustling also takes place against the main protagonist of the novel, Jane Withersteen, when most of her wealth and cattle that was given to her is stolen and she is forced to flee as a result. The constant harassment and assaults she faced up till this point were all based on rustling. There are many other instances of rustling taking place in the novel and every few chapters we see this taking place, leading to rustling being one of the recurring motifs in this novel.
