The Land of Little Rain · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in The Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
The Pocket Hunter
major
Also known as Pocket Hunter
He wanders the desert chasing leads and strikes, yet what he truly depends on for a sense of home are the bear at Pine Creek, the juniper at Lone Tree Spring, and the quail at Paddy Jack's. His talk is compounded of miner's superstition and genuine, fascinating gossip about the ebb and flood of creeks, though he holds stubborn miner's prejudices against coyotes and believes in toad venom and snakebite charms. He matters because his wanderings stitch the scattered places of the land together, and his storm-bound night among the wild sheep becomes one of the book's central images of a human briefly accepted by the wild.
Seyavi
supporting
Also known as old Seyavi
She cuts willows twice a year by a creek that never quite reaches the river, and her baskets carry a touch beyond cleverness because the weaver and the warp lived next to the earth and were saturated with the same elements. She once danced wreathed in white clematis, singing that her heart trembled like the twining flower, and though she fed her son meadowlarks' tongues to make him quick of speech, in later years she is loath to admit it. She matters because her craft and reticence embody a whole way of counting time and making art that the book mourns even as it records.
Winnenap
minor
A Paiute man who appears in the narrative as a guide and local figure.
Amos Judson
supporting
Also known as old Amos Judson, Judson
In the Homeric age of settlement he shot Jesus Montaña over the Greenfields water and passed into tradition, and every subsequent owner of Greenfields bought the ranch with Amos in full view. His long feud ends not with gunfire but with Diedrick's large wife sitting on the headgate with a long-handled shovel, knitting through the sun while the water ran into her ditch—and Amos, too much of a gentleman to fight a lady, gave up. He matters because his stubborn, violent, finally almost comic claim to water distills what the desert thinks as it slips past the gardens.
Salty Williams
minor
Also known as Salty
A colorful desert character known for his salty demeanor and stories.
Mr. Fanshawe
minor
A gentleman traveler who appears briefly in the desert landscape.
Bill Gerry
minor
Also known as Bill
A miner and friend of the Pocket Hunter in the desert camps.
Petite Pete
minor
Also known as Pete
A small-statured man who works in the mining towns.
Roeder
minor
A local figure in the mining community of Jimville.
Naboth
minor
A biblical name used for a character in a parable-like story.
Jim Calkins
minor
Also known as Jim
A miner and acquaintance in the desert settlements.
Wilkins
minor
A minor character in the mining camp narratives.
Dimmick
minor
A resident of the desert town mentioned in passing.
Tony Sevadra
minor
Also known as Tony
A Mexican or Spanish-descended character in the grape vine town.
Jesus Romero
minor
Also known as Jesus
A local man in the little town of the grape vines.
Father Shannon
minor
Also known as the Father
A Catholic priest who visits the desert communities.
Timmie O'Shea
minor
Also known as O'Shea
An Irish-descended character in the mining camp.
Long Tom Basset
minor
Also known as Tom
A tall miner known in the desert camps.
Three Finger
minor
A prospector with a distinctive missing finger.
Edswick
minor
A minor character in the Jimville area.
Connor
minor
A resident of the desert town mentioned briefly.
Ruffin
minor
A minor figure in the mining community.
Diedrick
minor
A character in the desert narratives.
Ruy Garcia
minor
A Spanish-named character in the grape vine town.
Mr. Harte
minor
A writer or visitor mentioned in the context of desert life.
Jim Jenkins
minor
A minor figure in the mining stories.
Tomaso
minor
A local man in the little town of the grape vines.