The Buffalo Hunter Hunter

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of animal cruelty and death, graphic violence, death, and racism. 

“[T]here were motherless calves left bawling out in the night, until finally the men of ‘Milestown’ as he still insists upon calling Miles City, went out and dispatched them in a single night, leaving the humps skinned as a warning to any more disturbers of the night’s peace. Apparently they drew all the calves together by draping a buffalo robe over a large bull borrowed from a certain rancher, also nameless.”

This passage introduces the motif of the robe, which refers to both clothing and skin. In this context, the robe is used as a tool for deception, furthering the destruction of the buffalo by tricking them into believing the bull is one of their kind. This hints at Identity as a Product of Moral Action and Memory by foreshadowing how physical appearance will affect Good Stab and the Cat Man’s reception among the Small Robes.

“The depravity of man’s heart knows no floor, and everyone in this hard country has a sordid chapter in the story of their life, that they’re trying either to atone for, or stay ahead of. It’s what binds us one to the other.”

In this passage, Arthur subtly hints at the backstory that defines his moral character. He will use similar phrasing at the end of the letter that Etsy reads in Chapter 24. Here, however, he distracts one from considering what his sins might be by emphasizing that sin is a universal experience. He absolves himself by making sin feel common, even when the magnitude of his sin is grossly distinct.

“I was holding my breath, too—I was making a connection with someone actually in my blood. Being the lone daughter of a father with no siblings, my family tree has been more struggling vine than anything branching into a generations-wide canopy, so finding this unexpected relative has been nothing short of wondrous.”

Jones uses this passage to explicate Etsy’s motivating interest in Arthur’s accounts. The emphasis she places on her blood lineage to Arthur underscores her assumption that she can find a greater emotional connection as she learns more about her ancestor.