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When he agrees to deliver Johanna to her relatives hundreds of miles away, Captain Kidd buys a wagon for the journey. He surmises from the large inscription on the side—“Curative Waters Mineral Springs East Texas”—that the wagon once belonged to some sort of health spa. It’s ironic that the wagon’s lettering seems to offer health and healing to sick people, when Johanna is undergoing a journey of loss and sorrow, leaving the only life she knows and traveling towards an unknown, frightening future. The wagon also contrasts with the duo’s precarious safety: the jaunty lettering is soon riddled with bullet holes from their gunfight with the human trafficker Almay, an episode in which they both nearly die.
At the same time, for Johanna the wagon becomes a marker of stability in an intimidating new world. While it’s an Anglo-American device, it’s also used to travel long distances and sleep in the open—activities which Johanna enjoys from her time with the Kiowa. When she’s frightened by strangers or the clamor of Texas towns, she can retreat into the back and hide until she feels safe. She much prefers sleeping in the wagon to staying in a hotel, and when she reaches the house of her stern aunt and uncle, she insists on spending the first night bunkered down in the back. Finally, when the Captain rescues Johanna from her abusive relatives, he carries her to safety in the wagon. Ultimately, the wagon represents the atmosphere of stability the Captain creates by recognizing Johanna’s complex cultural identity, and the enduring emotional bond that forms between them as a result. Before her wedding, Johanna tearfully tells the Captain, “You are my curative waters,” cementing the connection between the odd little wagon and the unconventional family that forms within it.
The Wagon Quotes in News of the World
The News of the World quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Wagon. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 13
Quotes
As long as they were traveling she was content and happy and the world held great interest for her but Captain Kidd wondered what would happen when she found she was never to wander the face of the earth again, when she was to be confined forever to her Leonberger relatives in a square house that could not be broken down and packed on a travois.
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Chapter 22
Quotes
We will come to visit often, she said. You are my cuuative watah. Then she began to sob.
Yes, he said. He shut his eyes and prayed he would not start crying himself. And you are my dearest little warrior.
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Get the entire News of the World LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Wagon Symbol Timeline in News of the World
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Wagon appears in News of the World. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
After the reading, Britt Johnson takes Captain Kidd to his wagon, where a young white girl, dressed in Native American attire, is sitting in perfect composure...
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...warns her to be careful with Johanna, and the young girl slides down in the wagon and pulls her blanket over her head, as if tired of being watched.
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Chapter 2
In the meantime, Captain Kidd has bought a run-down wagon with the words “Curative Waters Mineral Springs East Texas” emblazoned on the side. The canopy...
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Returning to the wagon, Captain Kidd hitches up his horse, Fancy. People stand in the doorway, shaking their heads...
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Chapter 4
Johanna walks alongside the wagon, singing a Kiowa song about preparing for hard times. For all she knows, she’s heading...
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The Captain sits on the driver’s seat of the wagon, staying out of the drizzle. He motions to Johanna to come closer and shows her...
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...even try to kill him with the gun. After dinner he lies down in the wagon with his newspaper, commenting on the articles as if Johanna can understand. She watches him...
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Chapter 5
...next day, Captain Kidd and Johanna continue towards Spanish Fort. Johanna always walks by the wagon, looking over the river as if hoping to see her tribe. Suddenly she stops and...
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After looking over all the other items in the wagon, the infantrymen finally ride away and Johanna emerges from the back of the wagon, holding...
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...adapt. Arriving at a large barn where travelers park their vehicles, he puts up the wagon’s curtain and gestures for Johanna to gather firewood and set up the stove.
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Chapter 6
Simon finds Doris and along with Captain Kidd they return to the wagon, where Johanna has prepared corn bread and bacon. Doris greets the young girl brightly and...
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Chapter 7
...that Johanna is gone. He and Doris had dozed off and Johanna has left the wagon with her doll. Tracking her muddy footprints, he and Simon set off along the river...
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...her. The Captain grabs her by the dress and runs with her back to the wagon, dragging her “back to her fate.” Back at the wagon Johanna falls asleep, but Captain...
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...have his laundry sent out and find some new clothes for Johanna. Still in the wagon, Johanna clearly thinks that Captain Kidd is giving her away to this stranger. He puts...
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Chapter 11
...loads his guns. He wishes he could return to the road and see if the wagon is visible, but he doesn’t dare. Instead, he lies down on his stomach and looks...
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...which she’s retrieved from inside the flour keg, but he motions her back under the wagon. While the Captain is startled and fearful—he had thought the men would threaten and offer...
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Suddenly, another rifle shot from below hits the wagon, luckily missing the people and horses. From the direction of the shots, the Captain realizes...
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Chapter 13
Suddenly Johanna quiets as a group of well-armed men ride up to the wagon. Captain Kidd wonders if they’ve heard about the shooting or are simply opportunists taking advantage...
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...sent no one to replace them. The men demand a half dollar to let the wagon pass.
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Chapter 14
...Explaining that he can’t afford a hotel and doesn’t want Johanna to sleep in a wagon yard, the Captain asks to spend the night. The owner charges fifty cents, an exorbitant...
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Back at the wagon, the mill owner watches suspiciously as Johanna cleans the wagon and harnesses. As Captain Kidd...
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By eight o’clock Johanna is calm and settled in the back of the wagon. As Captain Kidd heads out for his reading, she reminds him that they have no...
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Chapter 15
...sky clears as Captain Kidd harnesses the horses. Johanna brings a small bundle into the wagon and they set off into the night. When they’ve traveled some miles, Johanna opens her...
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Chapter 16
...tie her shoes, and sing some folk songs. Full of energy, she runs alongside the wagon dancing Kiowa children’s dances. Along the way, they pass an army company who warn them...
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Wary of Native American raids, Captain Kidd rides his horse rather than sitting in the wagon. He’s also concerned about entering Lampasas, which is dominated by a decades-long feud between two...
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...horses. The Captain pulls up the horses and Johanna disappears into the bag of the wagon. Then men ask where the Captain is coming from and going; he coolly informs them...
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Chapter 19
...the young girl, and rides off immediately. When they reach the farm, dogs circle the wagon and bark as the Captain helps Johanna down from the wagon.
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...to pay for Johanna’s return. Captain Kidd responds that he used it to buy the wagon. Wilhelm asks if he has a receipt, which he does not. Wilhelm scrutinizes Johanna, who...
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Chapter 20
...work in the house. Wilhelm asks again if the Captain has a receipt for the wagon.
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While Captain Kidd sleeps in the house, Johanna remains in the wagon. The next day the entire town comes to celebrate but Johanna runs into the barn...
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Chapter 21
...the large, old-fashioned houses until he reaches the main plaza, where he can stable the wagon and horses. His old print shop is there as well, and the next day he...
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Captain Kidd stands up in the wagon and calls to Johanna, who turns to look at him in surprise. Calling his name,...
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