# I: On the Great Alkali Plain explained — A Study in Scarlet > Chapter companion for A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle. ## What happens The chapter opens with a description of the desolate Great Alkali Plain in North America, a barren region that hindered the advance of civilization. In 1847, a dying man named John Ferrier and a little girl, Lucy, are discovered by a massive caravan of Mormon pilgrims led by Brigham Young. Ferrier, the sole survivor of a party of 21, has rescued the child after her mother died. The Mormons agree to take them in only if they convert to their faith, and Ferrier accepts. The chapter establishes the harsh environment and the beginning of Ferrier and Lucy's life among the Mormons. ## Themes in this chapter ### Religious Extremism and Hypocrisy The Mormon pilgrims are portrayed as devout but rigid, demanding absolute conversion from Ferrier and Lucy under threat of being left to die. Brigham Young's speech emphasizes the exclusivity of their faith, reflecting the theme of religious extremism. ### Class and Social Mobility Ferrier's desperate situation and his acceptance into the Mormon community highlight the theme of social mobility through survival and conversion, as he moves from a dying wanderer to a member of a powerful religious group. ## Character check-ins ### John Ferrier A gaunt, dying wanderer who has survived a disastrous journey across the desert with a little girl, Lucy, whom he has adopted after her mother died. He is rescued by Mormon pilgrims and agrees to join their faith. ### Lucy Ferrier A five-year-old girl, the daughter of a deceased mother, rescued and adopted by John Ferrier. She is pale but healthy, and shows a childlike resilience and faith in reuniting with her mother in heaven. ### Brigham Young The leader of the Mormon caravan, a stern and resolute man in his thirties. He dictates that Ferrier and Lucy may join only as believers in the Mormon creed, speaking with the authority of a prophet. ### Joseph Stangerson An Elder in the Mormon caravan, tasked by Brigham Young with caring for Ferrier and Lucy and teaching them the Mormon creed. ## Key lines > My name is John Ferrier; me and that little 'un are all that's left o' twenty-one people. The rest is all dead o' thirst and hunger away down in the south. John Ferrier introduces himself and explains that he and the little girl are the only survivors of a group of 21 people who died from thirst and hunger in the south. _This establishes Ferrier's backstory and the dire circumstances of their journey._ > If we take you with us, it can only be as believers in our own creed. We shall have no wolves in our fold. Brigham Young warns Ferrier that they can only join the Mormon caravan if they fully convert to the faith, as they will not tolerate dissent. _This highlights the theme of religious extremism and the conditionality of their rescue._ > Why not here, as well as in a feather bed, twenty years hence. Ferrier resigns himself to dying on the barren crag, accepting that death here is no worse than dying comfortably later. _This reflects Ferrier's fatalism and the harshness of the environment._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_study_in_scarlet_se/chapters/i-on-the-great-alkali-plain - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_study_in_scarlet_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_study_in_scarlet_se/chapters