The Northern Woods: Ten Indians Summary

Nick is returning home from a Fourth of July celebration on a wagon and they pass by a group of nine drunken Indians. A few derogatory remarks are exchanged about Indians and the boys in the wagon tease Nick for spending a lot of time with an Indian girl named Prudence Mitchell, but Nick denies everything. He gets home and eats dinner while his father sits with him, who tells him that he saw Prudence and another boy playing in the woods. Nick is very upset by this and even cries, thinking his heart is broken, but he soon forgets about it and falls asleep.

The Northern Woods: Ten Indians Analysis

By depicting a large group of drunken Indians, this chapter plays into common racial prejudices against Native Americans, which is only slightly countered by...