Chapter 13, On Our Own and Chapter 14, No Man's Land Summary and Analysis

In Chapter 13, Charlie and Sidney go upstream in 1929 to look for better trapping prospects, and Sidney finds moose tracks. The next day, he and Charlie track down the moose: a cow with a nearly grown calf. Charlie fells the moose from 600 yards, amazing Sidney. Trapping is good that milder winter, but prices are low. Dad's health also worsens. In 1931, Dad decides to quit trapping and gets a job as a guard at a jail. Charlie Swanson leaves for Canada. Jimmy and Sidney go trapping on their own, at 14 and 16. Together they build a thirty-foot boat dubbed the Ark and also practice canoe-racing. Periodically, they go into Nulato to sell furs and visit Dad. On the Fourth of July, Jimmy surprises everyone by winning the canoe...