# A Cycle of the West — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for A Cycle of the West by John G. Neihardt.

- [The Song of Three Friends](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/the-song-of-three-friends.md): This chapter introduces the three friends—Mike Fink, Frank Talbeau, and Little Jim—and explores their deep bond, their shared adventures, and the tensions that arise among them, particularly over a woman, setting the sta
- [To Hilda](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/to-hilda.md): This chapter presents a brief, poetic epigraph in ancient Greek, quoting Sappho's fragment about a sweet apple reddening at the top of a tree, forgotten by the pickers because they could not reach it. The excerpt evokes 
- [The Song of Three Friends](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/the-song-of-three-friends.md): The chapter introduces the legendary band of a hundred men who answered William Ashley's call in the spring of 1822, setting out from St. Louis up the Missouri River. It focuses on three friends—Will Carpenter, Mike Fink
- [I: Ashley’s Hundred](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/i-ashley-s-hundred.md): The chapter introduces the hundred men who answered William Ashley's call in the spring of 1822, lured by tales of wealth and the allure of the unknown. It reflects on their youth and the fleeting nature of their lives, 
- [II: The Up-Stream Men](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/ii-the-up-stream-men.md): Major Henry leads Ashley's band of a hundred men up the Missouri River, facing harsh labor, changing seasons, and encounters with the Rees. The chapter introduces the three friends—Will Carpenter, Mike Fink, and Frank Ta

> 32 more chapter companions — [open a free preview](https://www.betterreads.dev/reader?bookId=a_cycle_of_the_west_se_609kb&preview=1) to unlock the rest.

- [III: To the Musselshell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/iii-to-the-musselshell.md)
- [IV: The Net Is Cast](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/iv-the-net-is-cast.md)
- [V: The Quarrel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/v-the-quarrel.md)
- [VI: The Shooting of the Cup](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/vi-the-shooting-of-the-cup.md)
- [VII: The Third Rider](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/vii-the-third-rider.md)
- [Vengeance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/viii-vengeance.md)
- [The Song of Hugh Glass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/the-song-of-hugh-glass.md)
- [To Sigurd, Scarcely Three](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/to-sigurd-scarcely-three.md)
- [The Song of Hugh Glass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/the-song-of-hugh-glass.md)
- [Graybeard and Goldhair](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/i-graybeard-and-goldhair.md)
- [II: The Awakening](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/ii-the-awakening.md)
- [III: The Crawl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/iii-the-crawl.md)
- [IV: The Return of the Ghost](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/iv-the-return-of-the-ghost.md)
- [V: Jamie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/v-jamie.md)
- [The Song of the Indian Wars](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/the-song-of-the-indian-wars.md)
- [To Alice, Three Years Old](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/to-alice-three-years-old.md)
- [The Song of the Indian Wars](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/the-song-of-the-indian-wars.md)
- [I: The Sowing of the Dragon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/i-the-sowing-of-the-dragon.md)
- [II: Red Cloud](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/ii-red-cloud.md)
- [III: The Council on the Powder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/iii-the-council-on-the-powder.md)
- [IV: Fort Phil Kearney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/iv-fort-phil-kearney.md)
- [V: Rubbed Out](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/v-rubbed-out.md)
- [VI: The Wagon Boxes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/vi-the-wagon-boxes.md)
- [VII: Beecher's Island](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/vii-beecher-s-island.md)
- [VIII: The Yellow God](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/viii-the-yellow-god.md)
- [IX: The Village of Crazy Horse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/ix-the-village-of-crazy-horse.md)
- [X: The Sun Dance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/x-the-sun-dance.md)
- [The Seventh Marches](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/xi-the-seventh-marches.md)
- [XII: High Noon on the Little Horn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/xii-high-noon-on-the-little-horn.md)
- [XIII: The Twilight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/xiii-the-twilight.md)
- [XIV: The Death of Crazy Horse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/xiv-the-death-of-crazy-horse.md)
- [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/endnotes.md)

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters