In the Distance

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of violence, sexual abuse, and substance abuse.

A schooner named the Impeccable becomes trapped in ice on its way to pick up a cargo of furs, salmon, and glacial ice in Alaska. One of the passengers, an enormous, white-haired man who is “as large as he could possibly be while still remaining human” goes into the stark landscape to take an ice bath (2). When he returns to the schooner and goes below deck, a man named Munro scoffs, “So you say that wet duck is the Hawk?” and imitates the older man’s bow-legged gait (4). Munro steals a bottle of alcohol from a passenger named Mr. Bartlett and shares it with a group of prospectors. As the men pass around the bottle, they recount stories they’ve heard of the Hawk, saying that he killed a lion with his bare hands, that he was once a chief, that the Union offered him a territory of his own, and that he murdered an entire gang for betraying him. Munro loudly declares that the legends are no more than lies and that he can take on the Hawk anytime.

The swimmer returns to the deck in a coat made from a patchwork of animal skins, including bears, snakes, and pumas.