Montana 1948

Chapter One begins with David’s description of the town of Bentrock, his family, and his life. The town is small and composed primarily of farmers and ranchers and such small business and local government officials as one would expect in a rural county seat.

David’s father Wesley Hayden has a special role as sheriff, an office that he inherited from his powerful father. David’s mother Gail would much prefer that David’s father practice law and live elsewhere, so as not to be dominated by David’s grandfather and his family.

There is actually not much for a county sheriff to do in Mercer County, Montana. Life is so hard for the farmers and ranchers in the desolate northern plains that “so much of your attention and energy went into keeping not only yourself but also your family, your crops, and your cattle alive, that nothing was left over for raising hell or making trouble” (Chapter 1, p. 4).

David is disappointed that his father does not fit the typical image of a western sheriff.  His father wears a shirt and tie just like a small businessman. Sheriff Hayden does not wear cowboy boots or a Stetson hat or carry a gun. The gun he does have is a small .32 caliber pistol that he keeps in a dresser drawer. 

David’s impression of his mother is based on her relationship with his father and her attitudes about his own life and future. Gail knows that Wesley, a trained and licensed lawyer, cannot be his true self as long as he follows in his father’s footsteps in the small town. She wants her husband to get out of his father’s shadow, to move away, and to take up a career as an attorney.

David’s mother is concerned about David growing up to be wild. She thinks he is too interested in the landscape and activities such as fishing and hunting that are readily available just outside of town. She wants him to be more civilized than is likely as long as they live in rural Montana.

When the housekeeper/babysitter Marie Little Soldier gets sick with a fever and a serious cough, David’s mother is very concerned and she encourages her husband to call his brother, Frank, the doctor.

Marie insists that she does not need a doctor, and Wesley attributes her resistance to Native American superstition. Marie asks David to intervene and keep Dr. Hayden away from her, but David cannot persuade his parents that Marie is right.

Dr. Hayden comes to examine Marie, who insists that Gail be in the room with her while the doctor is present. After Dr. Hayden leaves, Marie tells Gail in private why she didn’t want the doctor near her. 

David eavesdrops on his parents as Gail tells her husband what Marie has confided to her: that Dr. Hayden has been sexually molesting and raping Native American girls. 

Gail wants her husband to do something about Dr. Hayden’s crimes. Wesley doesn’t want to get involved since Dr. Hayden is his brother. He does, however, agree to hear Marie’s accusations. 

After their closed-door conversation, David sees his parents emerge “grim-faced and silent.” David begins to understand that his Uncle Frank is not who he thought he was. Uncle Frank is, in fact, someone who has hurt people and broken the law.

David’s parents conduct an informal investigation by speaking to their next-door neighbors, Len McAuley, the deputy sheriff, and his wife Daisy. Len does not reveal anything, but David overhears Daisy tell Gail that it is known around town that Dr. Hayden “doesn’t do everything on the up-and-up.” Daisy qualifies her statement with “Just the squaws though.”

Gail and David know that Uncle Frank is guilty.  David feels that his father knows that his brother is guilty, too. But Sheriff Hayden doesn’t want a scandal in town, and he doesn’t want to upset his parents.