# The Pocket Hunter — The Land of Little Rain character guide

> The Pocket Hunter in The Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Pocket Hunter

**First appearance:** 0006-the-pocket-hunter

## Snapshot

A garrulous desert prospector who reads creeks and piñon crops like scripture, and once slept warm inside a flock of wild sheep on snowbound Waban.

## Who they are

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.

## Relationships

### [Bill Gerry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_land_of_little_rain_se/characters/bill_gerry)

_friendship_

Bill Gerry and The Pocket Hunter share a camaraderie rooted in the solitary pursuit of mineral wealth in the desert.

## In the story

### [The Land of Little Rain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_land_of_little_rain_se/chapters/the-land-of-little-rain)

Introduced as a solitary figure who searches for minerals in the desert, embodying resilience and self-sufficiency.

### [Water Trails of the Carrizo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_land_of_little_rain_se/chapters/water-trails-of-the-carrizo)

Referenced indirectly as the type of 'true idler' who spends days and nights beside water trails, observing the comings and goings of wildlife.

### [The Pocket Hunter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_land_of_little_rain_se/chapters/the-pocket-hunter)

The central figure of the chapter, a seasoned prospector who lives a nomadic life in the desert, surviving storms and finding shelter with wild sheep.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_land_of_little_rain_se/characters/the_pocket_hunter
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_land_of_little_rain_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_land_of_little_rain_se/characters