Lonesome Dove: Chapter 41 Summary & Analysis

One day, when the herd is near San Antonio, something spooks the mules and they take off with the wagon and Lippy, whose coat is caught in a crack on the seat. Jim Rainey tries to stop the mules but only alarms them further and they run pell-mell off a creek cutbank. The wagon slams down and tips over, burying Lippy and smashing in half. In an instant, Gus and Pea Eye get the wagon off Lippy, who’s covered in mud and half drowned but otherwise fine. Still, the whole affair horrifies Newt, who still hasn’t gotten over Sean’s death. 

When he’s recovered, Lippy reports that he heard a shotgun shot just before the mules spooked. He speculates that a bandit was shooting at them. In fact, although no one in the company will ever know it, the shotgun blast came from Bolivar, who was drifting into a pleasant dream about his daughters when the shotgun in his hand accidentally discharged. When the mules spooked, they threw him from the wagon seat. Bolivar has had enough of the drive—he didn’t really believe it when Gus said they’d go north for months, because Gus is full of hot air. He’s tired, and he misses his family. He turns in his resignation to Call, who ropes a horse for him as a parting gift, and then rides south, back toward Lonesome Dove.