Ten Indians

“Ten Indians” by American author Ernest Hemingway was first published in his second short story collection, Men Without Women (1927). The story follows Nick Adams, a recurring protagonist in Hemingway’s work who shares traits and backstory with the author. These stories, including “Ten Indians,” were later collected in the anthology The Nick Adams Stories.

The title references an 1864 children’s rhyming and counting song, “Ten Little Indians,” composed by Septimus Winner. It was subsequently adapted as “Ten Little Injuns” and performed at minstrel shows, with verses depicting violence and reflecting disparaging attitudes toward Native Americans. Hemingway examines this anti-Indigenous bias in his short story, considering it in the context of American identity with the story’s Fourth of July setting.

This guide refers to the version published in The Nick Adams Stories (The Ernest Hemingway Foundation, 1972).

Content Warning: The source material uses anti-Indigenous slurs and depicts anti-Indigenous bias.

“Ten Indians” uses a third-person limited point of view, and the anonymous narrator only sparingly reveals Nick’s thoughts and feelings. The story takes place on July 4 as Nick is traveling home with the Garner family—Joe, his wife, and their two sons, Carl and Frank—from a holiday excursion in town.