Roughing It · Chapter
VII explained
The narrator describes arriving in Overland City after a long stretch of solitude, then continuing the journey across the South Platte River in a mud-wagon.
What happens
The narrator describes arriving in Overland City after a long stretch of solitude, then continuing the journey across the South Platte River in a mud-wagon. After the wagon breaks down, he joins a buffalo hunt that ends in disaster when passenger Bemis is chased by a wounded bull and takes refuge in a tree, leading to an elaborate and humorous tale of survival. The chapter concludes with an anecdote about a notorious liar named Eckert in Siam.
Themes in this chapter
Humor and Exaggeration
Bemis's tall tale of the buffalo chase and tree-climbing bull exemplifies the frontier tradition of humorous exaggeration, while the Eckert anecdote highlights the art of lying as entertainment.
Frontier Myth vs. Reality
The buffalo hunt turns from a romantic adventure into a comedic disaster, contrasting the myth of heroic frontier exploits with the absurd reality of a man fleeing a bull and climbing a tree.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Describes the journey through Overland City, crossing the Platte, and participating in the buffalo hunt.
- Boggs
Passenger Bemis who is chased by a buffalo bull and tells an extravagant story of his escape.
- Hank Monk
Mentioned by Bemis as a target of his anger during the buffalo incident.
- Eckert
An Englishman in Siam famous for his lies; tells a story about a cat that eats coconuts.
- Bascom
A planter who invites the narrator to visit Eckert and attempts to draw him out.
Key passages
“It did seem strange enough to see a town again after what appeared to us such a long acquaintance with deep, still, almost lifeless and houseless solitude!”
After so much time in quiet, empty wilderness, seeing a town felt bizarre.
The narrator expresses the shock of re-entering civilization after prolonged isolation.
“The Platte was 'up,' they said—which made me wish I could see it when it was down, if it could look any sicker and sorrier.”
They said the river was high, but I wondered how it could look worse when low.
Twain's characteristic sarcasm about the unimpressive Platte River.
“I made up my mind that if this man was not a liar he only missed it by the skin of his teeth.”
I concluded that Bemis was either a liar or very close to being one.
The narrator's skeptical reaction to Bemis's improbable story.
“Let him shape the conversation to suit himself—let him drop it or change it whenever he wants to. Let him see that nobody is trying to draw him out. Just let him have his own way. He will soon forget himself and begin to grind out lies like a mill.”
If we let Eckert control the talk and don't pressure him, he'll eventually start lying naturally.
Bascom's strategy to elicit lies from Eckert by giving him conversational freedom.