How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"Well, here's where we all find out if we was meant to be cowboys," Augustus said. (31.1)
[…]
"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's living," Augustus said. "I doubt it matters where you die, but it matters where you life." (46.36)
This is ironic, considering Gus does care where he's buried. But maybe Gus's motivation is to make Call have an adventure of his own and return to Lonesome Dove. When Gus dies, Call can live. But does he?
Quote #5
All his life [Call] had been careful to control experience as best he could, and then something had happened that was forever beyond his control just because he had wanted to find out about the business with women. (46.80)
Call learns that he can't really control his experiences. He should listen to Gus's river analogies, which we have below, to understand that sometimes you just have to roll with life. The more Call tries to control things, the worse things seem to go for him.
Quote #6
Thus the sight of the road of bones stretching over the prairie was a shock. Maybe roads of bones were all that was left. (54.91)
Gus ponders his own insignificance. According to him, all he—and everyone, really—is is a bit of bones that will end up buried in the ground. This is a recurring image.