Posted by Vickie on July 04, 2000 at 19:27:31:

Bendigo is one of the few men who can stay awake read after working
hard all day. He must have been real hungry.
Mike, you and Elyse have helped me with Cain. To me he is the deepest
character, reminding me of the Colorado at its' most turbulent in the
Grand Canyon. It is good he had metal to hammer out, while Bendigo
could ponder while working outside. Remember when Mrs. Macken
jumps all over Bendigo (Beginning of Chapter 5) re: a school for Bud:
"...Happiness for a man usually means doing something he wants to do
very much, something that gives him a sense of achievement...What do
you wish to become?...And then what, Mr. Shafter? What happens
when you have seen most of it, and you are no longer a young man,
and you take stock of your life?"
Ethan foretold the regrets to come, Ruth Macken is voicing her own
panic, while Bendigo is discontented with worry. He is still at that age
where he is highly self-conscious.
LL could build an adventure, a history lesson, a high romance, and
furnish a survival kit, to boot. But more than that, he taught us about
the trials, concerns, and dreams at different ages and circumstances in
the characters he placed in a beautiful landscape. His stories may
appear simple and "an easy read," but he was much bigger than that.

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