Chapter 23 Summary

Matt continues his life much as he began it at the beginning of the story. He continues to have to fill cracks in the log cabin with mud, and he now takes the kernels off the cob instead of watering and weeding it. He has found berries and nuts that he thought of before only as squirrels' food. The biggest difference is the cold. He is constantly trying to stay warm, and he begins to use skills he observed among the Indians to make clothes, create warm insulation in his moccasins and even make a fur hat.

Doing all this work generally left for women, Matt's thoughts often turn to his mother, and he can almost see and hear her moving cheerfully about the cabin. He begins to make presents for the family he is sure will arrive at any time. For his...