Little Britches: Chapter 14 Summary & Analysis

After Ralph and his family get their cows, an irrigation fight breaks out between the farmers at the head and the tail of the irrigation ditch. Ralph explains how, while every farmer is guaranteed get their fair share of water from Bear Creek, when the creek is low, the farmers at the head of the ditch sometimes take more than their allotment, depriving those downstream of water for their crops. Ralph describes learning about all this in July when Fred Aultland arrives bruised at their house, claiming to have started a fight. Ralph and his family’s crops had been drying out, and Fred explains that the ranchers upstream have been hogging the water.

Ralph’s father asks if they can take the issue up in court. Fred says there’s no way to prove wrongdoing and that they need to take the law into their own hands, starting that night. After dinner, Ralph asks his father if he’s going to do anything about the water. Ralph’s father answers indirectly, saying sometimes a man “has to do things he doesn’t like to do.” Ralph wakes in the middle of the night and sees lights moving through their oat field. He goes to wake his father, but he isn’t in bed, and his mother sends him back to bed. Ralph sneaks out and realizes the ground is muddy. He hears gun shots in the distance and worries about his father.

Ralph cannot sleep. He hears his father enter the house, coughing, but Ralph leaves for work before his father is up. At breakfast, Ralph’s mother looks like she has been crying, and Ralph notices how muddy the road is on his way to work. He reasons that a large head of water came down at night. Grace brings his dinner pail, and they speculate about what happened. Grace says their father has a large lump on his forehead and suggests he was clubbed with a rifle.

For several weeks, Ralph’s father continues leaving at night and returning with more bruises each morning. Then one Saturday there is a meeting at Ralph’s house with many men, including Fred, Mr. Wright, and Mr. Corcoran. Ralph and Grace sneak outside to eavesdrop on the conversation. Fred asks Ralph’s father to propose a solution, and Ralph’s father  suggests they settle for 80 percent of their normal share of water to end the conflict. Some men resist, wanting to fight longer, but ultimately everyone agrees, and a deal is made. There are no more fights over water that year, and Ralph’s father becomes a hero—at least to some.