Character guide

Cogewea

major

Also known as Hiawatha Cogewea, the ambitious Cogewea

Book-hungry and saddle-hardened, this half-blood dreamer rides the Pend d'Oreille range while wondering whether any world will ever claim her.

LaGrinder

major

Also known as James LaGrinder, Jim, Old Jim

LaGrinder moves through the Horseshoe Bend roundup as one of its most trusted and capable riders, a man whose skill with untameable bands earns quiet authority among the cowboys. He is protective of Cogewea and quick to bristle when the Eastern tenderfoot Densmore begins circling her, his compressed lips and muttered threats revealing a temper held on a short rein. His suspicion of outsiders gives the early chapters their friction and frames the question of who truly belongs on this land.

Alfred Densmore

major

Also known as Densmore, Sandbar Densmore

A polished Eastern lawyer whose honeyed letters and calculated charm mask an appetite for land, and whose presence unsettles the ranch.

Celluloid Bill

supporting

Also known as Celluloid, Bill

A ranch cowboy whose tall tales and rough humor fill the bunkhouse, part of the rowdy chorus that surrounds Cogewea's days.

Bob

supporting

Also known as Silent Bob

A quiet cowboy who watches more than he says, his silence a steady counterweight to the bunkhouse's louder voices.

Stemteemä

major

Also known as Stemteemä

Cogewea's grandmother, who refuses a modern roof and weaves baskets in her teepee, keeping the old Okanogan ways alive.

Frenchy

supporting

Also known as the unsuspecting Frenchy, Poor Frenchy

Frenchy rides with the H-B roundup crew, pulling on his clothes at the tin-pan breakfast call before the outfit moves across the flats toward the range hills. He is the unsuspecting butt of camp humor, a man whose good-natured credulity invites the cowboys' pranks and keeps the outfit's rough camaraderie humming. His presence grounds the ranch scenes in ordinary working life, a foil whose misfortunes sharpen the reader's sense of the world Cogewea inhabits.

Sis

supporting

Sis keeps the Carter ranch running — feeding the roundup crew, minding little Denny and Percy, and helping Cogewea with the endless housework. Having married a white man who proved good and kind, she wears her racial prejudices more lightly than her sister, and so reads Cogewea's courtship by the Easterner with a tolerance the old grandmother cannot share. Her quiet pragmatism becomes a counterweight to Stemteemä's warnings, making the household itself a battleground over what a half-blood woman's future should look like.

Mary McDonald

minor

Also known as Mary, Miss McDonald

A friend of Cogewea, likely a mixed-blood woman in the community.

Rodeo Jack

minor

Also known as Rodeo

A cowboy known for his riding skills and participation in rodeos.

Shoyahpee

supporting

Also known as Sir Shoyahpee, the hated Shoyahpee, Mr. Shoyahpee

Densmore, called Shoyahpee by the Okanogan, has recovered from illness and stays on at the ranch, hunting, fishing, and pressing gifts on Stemteemä in a calculated campaign for her favor. He is confident, adaptable, and utterly sure of his ability to win Cogewea now that Jim is gone from the outfit — but he has not reckoned with the Indian character. His suit forces the novel's central question: whether Cogewea's love can see past the forked tongue her grandmother warns against.

Leather Slim

minor

Also known as Slim

A cowboy at the ranch, often involved in the range activities.

Wanawish

minor

Also known as Whoa Wanawish

A horse, likely a significant animal in the story.

Julia Carter

minor

Also known as Julia, Carter

A woman connected to the Carter family, possibly a visitor.

John Carter

minor

Also known as John, Carter

A member of the Carter family, possibly a rancher or visitor.

The Dixie Canary

minor

Also known as Canary, Dixie Canary

A nickname for a character, possibly a singer or performer.

Bringo

minor

A character, possibly a horse or a person, mentioned in the narrative.

See-whelh-ken

minor

A character, possibly a spirit or a person, mentioned in the narrative.

The Easterner

minor

A character from the East, possibly a visitor or newcomer.

Mourning Dove

minor

The authorial voice, possibly a framing device or narrator.

The Parisian

minor

A mysterious or flamboyant character, possibly a performer or visitor.

Kitty Pelkey

minor

Also known as Kitty

A woman in the community, possibly a friend or relative.

Sophie Antwine

minor

Also known as Sophia

A woman in the community, possibly a friend or relative.

Harmelt

minor

A character mentioned in the narrative, possibly a cowboy or local.

Chipmunk

minor

Also known as Chipmunk of the Okanogans

A character associated with the Okanogan people, possibly a storyteller.

Green-blanket Feet

minor

Also known as Feet

A figure from a story told by Stemteemä, possibly a legendary character.

Mrs. Carter

minor

Also known as Carter

A member of the Carter family, possibly a matriarch.

Croppy

minor

Also known as Finally Croppy

A horse, likely a notable animal in the story.

Diamond

minor

A character, possibly a horse or a person, mentioned in the narrative.

Halish

minor

A character, possibly a person, mentioned in the narrative.

Jack Galvin

minor

A character, possibly a cowboy or local, mentioned in the narrative.

Verona Webster

minor

Also known as Verona, Miss Webster

A woman in the community, possibly a friend or relative.

Ronan

minor

A character, possibly a local or official, mentioned in the narrative.

Mr. Carter

minor

A member of the Carter family, possibly a rancher or visitor.

Susan Winegarden

minor

Also known as Mrs. Susan Winegarden, Susan

A woman in the community, possibly a friend or relative.

Robert Pelkey

minor

Also known as Robert, Robert Pelkey , Jr.

A member of the Pelkey family, possibly a rancher or local.

Meschell Pablo

minor

Also known as Pablo

A character, possibly a local or worker, mentioned in the narrative.

Jake

minor

A character, possibly a cowboy or local, mentioned in the narrative.

Geezar

minor

Also known as the “ Geezar

A character, possibly a nickname for a person, mentioned in the narrative.

Sophia Pelkey

minor

A member of the Pelkey family, possibly a woman in the community.

La-siah

minor

Also known as Eugene La Fleur

A character, possibly a person with a mixed heritage, mentioned in the narrative.

Mr. Schultz

minor

A character, possibly a local or official, mentioned in the narrative.

Jerry

minor

A character, possibly a cowboy or local, mentioned in the narrative.

Yoom’-tee-bee

minor

A character, possibly a person or spirit, mentioned in the narrative.