- Welcome to Dawson's Landing, a quaint little town in Missouri situated near the big ol' Mississippi river. Our narrator gives us a little tour of the place, pointing out its cool houses and steamboats.
- Not only are we dropped in the middle of this place, we're dropped back in time. The year: 1830.
- The narrator introduces us to some of the important dudes and ladies in the town including Judge York Driscoll and his wife, the Judge's sister Rachel, and his brother Percy Driscoll.
- It's a boy! No, wait, it's two boys: the latest news in town is that Percy's wife had a baby boy. And on that same day, Roxanna, one of Percy's slaves, also gave birth to a boy (yes, take note, this is the prime time and place for slavery in the U.S.).
- However, the good news quickly turns sad. Percy's wife died a week after giving birth. Roxy takes over the care of both children.
- The narrator tells us about another of the town's residents, an interesting dude named David Wilson. Originally from New York, Wilson's an educated guy who's been to college and even spent a little time in law school.
- But Wilson isn't exactly known for his smarts in this town. Shortly after arriving in Dawson's Landing, he got a reputation for being a total idiot after making a remark about cutting a dog in half.
- From then on, Wilson was known as "Puddn'head." Yeah, not very flattering.