Lonesome Dove Characters

A Lot of Conversation, A Little Less ActionThere are two archetypal cowboys—the strong, silent type and the lazy drunkard. Augustus McCrae is a mix of the two. A man with "a voice like no other"...

Call of the WildCaptain Call is the strong, silent type. He's the type of man who is short but seems tall. Yeah, he may not take up much physical space, but his reputation and his presence are both...

Newt-ymologyAll newts are salamanders, but not all salamanders are newts (source). What does this have to do with anything? It's not like there are any salamanders in Lonesome Dove. But we do have...

Her Place out of the SunLorena is a woman of dreams. Here's our first introduction to this beautiful whore with a heart of gold: "Lorena had never lived in a place where it was cool—it was her on...

He Didn't Shoot the Sheriff… But He Did Shoot the DentistEverything is Jake Spoon's fault. When Jake rides into Lonesome Dove, we see it happen through Newt's eyes. Jake Spoon is a hero. Newt's i...

Sheriff of NothinghamSome characters in Lonesome Dove are tragic. Some are evil. And then there's July Johnson, who is just plain pathetic. One of our first impressions of the guys is this: "July J...

Who Runs the World? Girls.Clara Allen didn't end up single-handedly running her farm by choice, but that doesn't make her any less capable of doing it. Basically, all the men in her life are dead,...

The Dish and the SpoonThis isn't Brokeback Mountain, so Dish won't be running away with Jake Spoon, but the two men are still very similar. Dish Boggett got his name because he was so thirsty he on...

Runaway BrideElmira is the worst wife ever. She doesn't eat dinner with her family, preferring to sit in the loft with her legs dangling over the edge instead. She yells at her husband every day ab...

Point ManDeets is the lone black man in the Hat Creek Cattle Company. He's one of the most experienced hands, but, being black, the white men wouldn't ever take orders from him, so he can never ass...

Peas in a PodLike many in the Hat Creek Cattle Company, Pea Eye Parker is a hard-working guy, but he's also somewhat simpleminded. We're told he "looked totally helpless, but that was another case...

Bad Bad Roscoe BrownRoscoe Brown isn't bad in an ironic or cool sense. He's just plain bad at being a deputy. At 48 years old, Roscoe proves that with age doesn't necessarily come experience. When...

The Boot is on the Other FootJoe Boot is Elmira's son from her previous marriage. He's also July's "second deputy" (26.43). Elmira basically disowns him, leaving him to travel with July.Joe is a go...

Not So Plain JaneJaney is a wild child like no other. She runs away from her creeper husband, Old Sam, and she decides to stick with Roscoe to help him out. We're not sure what's in it for her. May...

He Believes He Can FlyBlue Duck is the only character who could be considered an outright villain in Lonesome Dove. He's responsible for kidnapping Lorena and all the other horrible things that hap...

Over the OceanAllen and Sean O'Brien are looking for the American dream, but they basically find an American nightmare. At first, they're hapless comic relief. They're so hopeless that they meant t...

A BA in Cowboy ScienceWe can totally picture an alternate version of Lonesome Dove following the adventures of Wilbarger. He's like Gus, but without the sense of the humor. He's like Call, but with...

Walk the WalkPo Campo replaces Bolivar as the cook for the guys, but these two are very different men. For one thing, Po Campo walks everywhere because he doesn't ride animals. It's not like he's a...

Bell-ivarBolivar is a Mexican cook who stays with the Hat Creek Cattle Company simply because "it was a good deal more relaxing than being a bandit" (1.85), proving that feeding a bunch of cowboys...

Burned BeansXavier Wanz is such an incidental character, he wouldn't get much of a mention, but what happens at the end of the book with him is crucial. Wanz is one man among many who loves Lorena,...

Flock of DovesThere are too many characters in Lonesome Dove to go into detail about every one of them, but many of them are simply supporting characters with only one or two details. If you're try...