Summary

Ten-year-old Jack Crabb’s father, who Jack himself describes as a lunatic, is leading his family to the western prairie. Jack’s father is a self-taught preacher and convert to Mormonism, believing that the western tribes are the remains of the lost tribe of Israel. Since he cannot speak Hebrew, however, his attempts to communicate with the Native Americans they meet are not successful.

The end of his meetings with the Native Americans demonstrates how poorly he understands them. Being out of coffee, the folks in the wagon train offer whiskey to a group of Cheyenne who visit. Moments after drinking, the Cheyenne lose control, kill the men, fight each other over the remaining whiskey, and rape most of the women. Jack’s older sister, the six-foot-tall Caroline, is not molested, and she wraps her bullwhip around the neck of the Cheyenne who’s trying...