Chapter 9: April 13, 1912 – Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

On April 13, 1912, Arthur Beaucarne admits in his diary that he studied his teeth in the mirror after Good Stab’s comment about them, feeling self-conscious and vain. Determined to learn more about the Blackfeet man in his chapel, he visits a butcher to buy bacon, intending to use it as barter with another Blackfeet person. The butcher insists the bacon counts as his tithe, implying he expects future sin.

Following directions from the lodging-house denizens, Beaucarne travels to the edge of town where canvas tents stand. There he meets Amos Short Ribs, a Blood Indian with deeply lined skin and no stubble. Beaucarne cooks bacon over a horse-dung fire and asks about “cats” – the term Good Stab used for mountain lion cubs. Amos replies vaguely, so Beaucarne fetches a living cat from a brothel to clarify. Amos confirms he has seen cubs that small, but then asks about a man he calls “the Fullblood” whom he thought he saw leaving Beaucarne’s church. Beaucarne inadvertently confirms Good Stab’s presence. Amos mutters that he thought “they finally got him” – meaning the Fullblood was supposed to be dead – and says “they wanted him for what he was doing to the buffalo hunters.” As Beaucarne presses for details, Amos vanishes.

A well-dressed man appears in Amos’s place, watching the prairie. He identifies himself as “Dove” and reveals he works for the Pinkerton agency. Dove tells Beaucarne he came from San Francisco on the stage, searching for a missing family. He says he has tracked their parts to Miles City and asks, “I can’t say for certain where their skin is.”

Key Events

Beaucarne studies his teeth in his shaving mirror, worried about Good Stab’s earlier remark.
The butcher gives Beaucarne bacon as a “tithe,” anticipating future sin.
Beaucarne locates Amos Short Ribs among the canvas tents and shares bacon.
Beaucarne retrieves a cat from a brothel to use as a visual reference for mountain lion cubs.
Amos asks about “the Fullblood” and confirms that he was attacking buffalo hunters and was believed dead.
Beaucarne accidentally confirms that Good Stab is the Fullblood staying at his church.
Amos Short Ribs disappears, replaced by the Pinkerton agent Dove.
Dove reveals he is hunting a family whose skin has been removed and whose parts are in Miles City.

Character Development

Arthur Beaucarne: This chapter deepens Beaucarne’s vanity and insecurity. He is wounded by Good Stab’s offhand remark about teeth, yet rationalizes it as a test. His attempts at pastoral objectivity fail when he lets slip Good Stab’s location. He grows more paranoid and aware that Indians are not to be trusted naively.

Amos Short Ribs: A Blood Indian who speaks competent English, Amos is wily and evasive. He first pretends not to understand Beaucarne’s questions about cats, then tricks him into confirming Good Stab’s identity. He carries a deep knowledge of the Fullblood’s past and seems to respect but fear him.

Dove: A Pinkerton agent who exudes authority despite being younger than Beaucarne. He is methodical and cryptic, knowing more than he reveals. His final question about the family’s “skin” links directly to the mutilated buffalo hunter that Beaucarne saw earlier.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs Actually Evidenced Here

Vanity and Self-Image: Beaucarne’s examination of his teeth symbolizes his concern with how others perceive him, contrasting with Good Stab’s apparent indifference.
Counting Coup: Beaucarne interprets Good Stab’s remark as a form of counting coup – a ritualized insult that marks an enemy.
Cultural Misunderstanding: Beaucarne’s clumsy attempts to communicate with Amos – from greeting him with “Pikuni” to using a house cat as a reference – highlight the gulf between white and Indigenous perspectives.
The Skin Motif: Dove’s question about where the family’s skin is echoes the earlier image of the flayed buffalo hunter and suggests a larger pattern of skin removal.
Hidden Identities: The term “Fullblood” obscures Good Stab’s true nature, and Dove’s mission involves a family whose parts have been scattered, implying violence and fragmentation.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 9 expands the mystery beyond Good Stab’s personal story. Through Amos Short Ribs, we learn that a Blackfeet figure known as “the Fullblood” was actively hunting buffalo hunters and was presumed dead. This connects Good Stab to a violent history that Beaucarne partly witnessed in the earlier scene of the skinned hump. The introduction of a Pinkerton detective, Dove, brings a larger institutional threat into the narrative. Dove’s search for a missing family whose skin is missing suggests that the violence is not limited to one or two individuals but may be part of a broader, systemic horror. Beaucarne’s inadvertent confirmation that Good Stab is in Miles City places him in greater danger.

3 Specific Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Beaucarne study his teeth in the mirror at the beginning of the chapter? Beaucarne is reacting to Good Stab’s comment in the previous chapter about the quality of his teeth compared to his own. He had never given his teeth thought before, and the remark makes him feel vain and insecure, leading him to examine them in sunlight.

2. What does Amos Short Ribs reveal about the Fullblood’s actions? Amos states that the Fullblood was “doing to the buffalo hunters” something that made people want to kill him. He also says he thought “they finally got him,” implying the Fullblood was a target of a sustained campaign. The phrase connects to the mutilated hunters Beaucarne has heard about from Livinius Clarkson.

3. What is significant about Dove’s final question regarding “their skin”? Dove says he cannot say for certain where the family’s skin is. This directly echoes the fate of the buffalo hunter Beaucarne saw earlier – a corpse without skin. It suggests that the family Dove is tracking has been skinned, tying the Pinkerton investigation to the same violence that surrounds Good Stab and the buffalo hunters.