Chapters 13 through 18 Summary and Analysis

Bruce is accepted into the Motilone tribe. He points to himself and says, "Bruce Olson," which is crudely repeated as "Bruchko" and becomes his name among the people. Bruce soon begins to entertain the children by pretending to remove his eyeball, clean it off or even swallow it, then replacing it. By listening carefully, he begins to pick up words, to distinguish present and past tense, and to write down what he learns. The adults are also captivated by his antics though it soon becomes uninteresting to the Motilones and to Bruce. He clumsily tries to imitate the craft of arrow making and watches as the women weave. He sees there is little overt emotion among the people and little need for discipline of children.

One day, Bruce steps in a pile of manure just outside the door of...