The Lost Man

The stockman’s grave is the site of a local legend near the Bright family farm. From the time Bud discovers Cam’s body there, the grave is a motif that runs through the story. Its importance is emphasized in several ways, from Cam’s painting of it hanging prominently over the mantel to the fact that Ilse hid her money and documents there.

Each character has a different version of the stockman legend, offering insight into that character’s state of mind. Cam told Sophie that the stockman “shot himself by mistake. Climbing through a fence and not paying attention. His foot slipped and he accidentally blew his own head off with his gun” (157). Cam assesses the stockman as “stupid” and sees his death as his own fault as the result of carelessness. He makes this assessment during the time he is angry with himself for Katy’s pregnancy and worried about the reappearance of Jenna Moore. Ilse, on the other hand, says the stockman was “trampled in a stampede” (187), a reflection of her feelings at being manipulated and abused by Cam. The version that Nathan relates at the beginning of the novel reflects Cam’s death. The stockman’s camp and horse were abandoned, and the man was found dead, miles away.