Chapter titles and summaries for Cold Mountain

The shadow of a crow

Hospital.  Blind man.  Begins the journey through the window

The ground beneath her hands

Helpless.  Monroe’s death.  Visit to the Swangers.  Arrival of Ruby

The color of despair

Journey.  Three home guards. Recalls 1st meeting of Ada. Ferry ride w/woman

Verbs, all of them tiring

Ruby & Ada begin reclamation.  Ada recalls Inman meeting.  Barters Piano

Like any other thing, a gift

Inman meets Veasey/Laura.  Meets Gypsies.  Reads Bartram. Dreams of Ada

Ashes of roses

Ada learns more.  Travelers.  Remembers Charleston, Blount, gown & Mirror

Exile and brute wandering

Veasey joins him.  Women washing. Honey. Catfish. Odell the peddler

Source and root

Ada & Ruby to town.  Birdlore. Ada decries war.  Home guard horror-jail.

The story of Monroe & Ada’s mother.  Ruby’s crow philosophy.

To live like a gamecock

Water-logged bull. Junior and the home guard.  Lula. Guard.  Shot.  Kills Jr.

In place of the truth

R & A have a thief.  Scarecrow. Inman’s letter.  Ada remembers last meeting

The doing of it

Hill country.  Goat woman.  Healing.  Sleep.  Food. No lasting memory of pain

Free will savages

Ruby finds Stobrod.  Returns with fiddle.

Bride bed full of blood

Wet crow.  Young widow.  Feds.  Hen pecks.  Hog killing. 

A satisfied mind

Apples for Ada. Chops wood.Letter to Lucy.  Pangle & Stobrod.  Ruby’s story

A vow to bear

Inman buries the child.  Eats well. Hanging bones.  Bear and Cold Mountain

Naught and grief

Stobrod’s tale.  Homeguard ambush.  Pangle dead.  Georgia boy survives

Black bark in winter

Ada & Ruby go to Stobrod.  Cold Mountain’s in your way. Dressed in britches

Footsteps in the snow

Inman finds Ada gone.  Follows the footsteps.  They meet, hunters in Winter

The far side of trouble

One night w/o Inman.  One night w/Inman  Three nights with Inman

Spirits of crows, dancing

Ambushed on the fifth day.  Irony galore.  Teague shot.