Caddie Woodlawn

Mr. Tanner, the circuit rider, greets Caddie and asks when the Woodlawns plan to make a lady out of her. Mr. Woodlawn takes responsibility for Caddie “running wild” (15). When Caddie’s sister Mary died, Mr. Woodlawn asked that they let Caddie run with the boys to be healthier. Seven years later, Caddie is strong and able to best her brothers in many adventures and feats of strength.

The adults talk about Indian massacres, which seem so near compared to the faraway events of the Civil War. Mr. Tanner doubts whether they can trust the local Native Americans, but Mr. Woodlawn feels confident they can be trusted. Mr. Woodlawn shares how he fixed the entire local tribe’s guns to gain trust and friendship. Mr. Tanner recounts his own adventures travelling “most of western Wisconsin” (19). Mr. Tanner feels at home with the Woodlawns, especially because they are from Boston, and he enjoys reminiscing about the past there. For the children, none of whom remember Boston except Clara, it is hard to believe that anyone would miss Boston, as Wisconsin is beautiful and ripe for adventure.

After dinner, Mr. Tanner grabs a broken clock from his saddle bag and asks Mr. Woodlawn to repair it. People from all over bring their broken clocks to Mr. Woodlawn, and when he has a spare moment after working his farm and being the “master mechanic at the mill” (20), he fixes them.

When the children go to bed, Caddie eavesdrops on the adults’ conversation. She hears her father say that if he didn’t have his family to think of, he would fight for abolition in the war. When Mr. Tanner points out that his position is unusual for an English aristocracy, Mr. Woodlawn, an Englishman, scoffs and says, “I am proud to say that I do not see things from the aristocratic point of view” (25).

The Woodlawns head to the schoolhouse for Mr. Tanner’s sermon. Inside, Caddie sees Sam Hankinson and his three mixed-race children, but their Native American mother remains outside.

After the circuit rider leaves, the children talk excitedly about Uncle Edmund’s arrival, as he always show up to hunt the pigeons that arrive in the fall. Mrs. Woodlawn is excited to see her brother but dreads the chaos that he brings with him with his tricks and jokes. However, when the pigeons arrive, Uncle Edmund does not surface. As the birds descend on the farm, the boys go out to hunt them. Though she likes hunting, Caddie does not join them because there are so many birds and it feels like a slaughter. She knows that everywhere they go, they are hunted, and she feels like they are “a doomed race [… who] like the Indians, were fighting a losing battle with the white man” (30). Caddie’s dad, Mr. Woodlawn, tells Tom and the men hunting the birds to drive them away but only kill what they can eat—exercising moderation.

After the pigeons are gone, the Woodlawns receive a letter that Uncle Edmund will be on the next steamer. Mrs. Woodlawn tells Tom and Clara they can go meet Edmund because they’re the oldest. Shortly after Mrs. Woodlawn delivers that news, Warren and Caddie plot a way to tag along.

As soon as the wagon leaves, Caddie and Warren run to the horse and mount it. Hettie tries to tell her parents, but they can’t hear her over the sound of the wagon’s wheels. When Edmund arrives, he greets Mr. and Mrs. Woodlawn, Tom and Clara, and Warren and Caddie. The Woodlawns turn in shock to find Warren and Caddie sitting on the riverbank. Mrs. Woodlawn looks angry, but she is quickly gathered in Edmund’s warm embrace, as are the other family members. As the family walks away from the dock, Uncle Edmund gives Caddie a book. When Caddie opens it, a fake snake springs out. After everyone gets a good laugh, Tom tells Uncle Edmund that Hetty would be more likely to fall for that prank.

Tom, Warren, and Caddie are all eager to join Edmund on a hunting outing, but as usual, he will only take one of them. Uncle Edmund settles on Caddie because she is quiet, finds game wonderfully, and doesn’t criticize him.

Uncle Edmund, Caddie, and Nero, the family dog, head out to hunt, with Caddie expertly taking the canoe across the river and Uncle Edmund awkwardly steering the raft. As Caddie passes Uncle Edmund on the river, she challenges him, saying that on the way back she’ll switch boats and still beat him to the other side. Edmund accepts the challenge, offering Caddie a dollar if she beats him back. Once on shore, Edmund claims he has forgotten his game bag and goes to retrieve it, brushing off Caddie’s offer in his stead.

On the way home, Caddie and Nero take the raft and Edmund the canoe. She draws side-by-side with Edmund when the raft’s logs suddenly begin to separate. Caddie tries to pole more quickly, but her efforts are in vain, and she and Nero plunge into the water. Caddie is angry but struggles to articulate her feelings. Once in the canoe and safely ashore, Edmund offers to give her the dollar if she doesn’t tell her mom what happened. Caddie is indignant that she won’t be bribed, but Edmund urges her to dry her dress in the sun and let him retrieve the raft parts. Caddie agrees, and while she waits, her good nature prevails. When Edmund returns, Caddie sees that he is exhausted, and she feels he has done his penance. When Edmund offers her the dollar, Caddie debates whether to take it because she didn’t beat Edmund and she intends to tell her mother everything. Edmund gives it to her anyway.

The night before his departure, Edmund asks to take Nero to St. Louis to be trained as a hunting dog. Mrs. Woodlawn tells him no, citing that he is irresponsible and nearly drowned Caddie the previous week. Edmund continues to work on her, and Mrs. Woodlawn gives in to him. When the children go to see Edmund off, Caddie gives Nero a fierce hug and whispers that he should come back again someday. Tom, Warren, and Caddie walk solemnly home, thinking that “Edmund’s visit had not been as satisfactory this year as they had expected” (53), and they are saddened by the absence of Nero’s bark upon their return.

However, their sadness falls to the side because it is a busy season on the farm. Mrs. Woodlawn’s turkeys, which she has raised from hatching, are ready to go to market. Mrs. Woodlawn expects to make a great deal of money, though Mr. Woodlawn is less convinced. After the children return from picking cranberries, Mrs. Woodlawn returns from the market with a full load of turkeys still in the back of the wagon. Mrs. Woodlawn explains that no one would buy them and laments that “in this barbarous country all folks want to eat is salt pork” (57).