White Fang Summary Pages 1 - 50

White Fang Summary Pages 1-50

 

Chapter 1

     White Fang startson the Northland, a very cold place, on the river,  whilea group of dogs pull a sled carrying a coffin while two men, Bill and Henry, who are friends are driving the sled towards its destination. While driving, Bill and Henry hears various sound making them know that they are followed by a pak of wolves. Wolves are hunting men because food are really scarce. They stopped and set a campfire noticing the wolves that were chasing them watching was a distance. Bill said to Henry that while he was feeding the dogs he noticed that there were seven dogs instead of six. One Ear, did not get a fish because he had exactly six fish for each of his dog. As they were talking about the seventh dog, they felt they are surrounded.

     They finally went to sleep. While they went asleep the dogs draw closer towards them. The dog snarled at the pack of wolves waking Henry out. Henry woke Bill and told Bill that he notice that there is five dogs instead of seven dogs. He realized that Fatty is gone. Bill and Henry think that Fatty commited suicide by running into the pack of wolves. They don't understand why he should do that.

Chapter 2

     Bill and Henry have dinner while smoking on there coffin set up a new camp. Now again a Frog, their strongest dog, is missing. They quickly eat there breakfast and leave with their four dogs. While traveling to there destination, they realized that there is a she-wolf trying to lure the dog out of the path and eat it. Now Bill and Henry realized that they need to tie the dog far away from each other to be able to stop the dogs from biting each other ropes. The she-wolf followed visibly so Bill and Henry tried to shoot it. While shooting, the she-wolf could always escape.

Chapter 3

The next day begins well as none of the dogs have escaped. They set out, and soon get into trouble as the sled overturns on a bad part of the trail. The sled is jammed between a tree and a rock, and the dogs are taken out of their harness in order to untangle the sled. As they are let out, One Ear runs away and meets the she-wolf. She lures him away, and he is attacked by the circling wolf pack. One Ear runs with great energy to escape, but his case is obviously hopeless. Bill goes to help him with the rifle. From the distance, Henry can hear the last of Bill's ammunition, as well as One Ear's cry as he dies. He knows that Bill has been eaten also.
Henry sits for a while, and then rouses himself. He attaches the two remaining dogs to the sled and, putting himself into a harness, starts off again. Soon he makes camp, making sure there is plenty of firewood. As he begins to go to bed, the wolves are already too close. They circle the fire, waiting. Through the night, the wolves approach closer, and sometimes he has to take burning wood from the fire and warn them back with it.
In the morning, Henry takes the coffin off the sled and ties it up in a tree, to save the body from being eaten. Then he sets off again, and camps long before dark, using the last hours of day to chop firewood.
As the morning comes, the wolves do not leave like they normally do. Henry tries to get the sled on the trail again, but when he leaves the fire the wolves attack, and he has to stay with the fire. Day passes again, and as night comes, Henry can no longer stay awake. After dozing once, he wakes up to find the she-wolf a yard away. He thrusts a burning stick into her mouth, forcing her to retreat.
To keep awake, he ties a burning pine knot to his hand, and it wakes him up every few minutes. However, he doesn't fasten it well, and so falls asleep. He wakes to find a wolf is chewing at his arm. Henry scoops up hot coals and flings them around himself, scorching the wolves. He sees that the two remaining dogs are gone. He has a new idea - extending the fire into a larger circle around him. He quickly does this, and it keeps the wolves at bay. The next morning, the fire is burning low. Henry attempts to step outside it to fetch wood, but the wolves are ready to attack. He drifts in and out of sleep.
Six men crouching around him prod him and force him to wake up. The wolves are gone! They ask him about Lord Alfred, and Henry tells them that he is hanging in a tree, in his coffin. As Henry collapses back to sleep, he can hear the faint cries of the wolf pack chasing new game.

 

Chapter 4

The she-wolf, hearing the men approaching to rescue Henry, leads the pack away. A large gray wolf, the young leader, runs at the front of the pack. He likes the she-wolf, and is kind to her. He often runs close to her, and she bites him when he gets too close. An old, scarred wolf, One Eye, runs on the other side of the she-wolf. He also runs too close to her at times, and she is forced to snap at him. Sometimes both of them crowd around her at once, growling and threatening each other. At times, a young three-year-old wolf, normally to the right of One Eye, tries to run with the she-wolf, and the young leader and One Eye threaten him.
Soon the wolf pack splits in half, and the she-wolf, the young leader, and One Eye lead their half down to the Mackenzie River. The wolves leave one by one, and soon there is only the young leader, One Eye, and the three-year-old, all pursing the she-wolf.
The three-year-old, in a moment of ambition, rips One Eye's ear, and a battle starts. It is not a fair fight, however, because the young leader joins in, and the three-year-old is soon beaten. He dies for love of the she-wolf. One Eye and the young leader look to the she-wolf for approval. As the young leader turns his head to lick a wound on his shoulder, his neck is left open, and One Eye slashes his throat open. Although the young leader tries to fight back, soon the loss of blood is too much, and he too loses his life for the she-wolf's love.
Soon One Eye and the she-wolf become comrades, hunting and chasing as the days pass by. They travel across the country, and down the Mackenzie River. One night, One Eye and the she-wolf halt suddenly as they hear the sound of men and dogs. It is an Indian camp. However, One Eye convinces her to continue their journey.
Soon they come upon a rabbit, and chase it for food. As One Eye is about to pounce, the rabbit steps into a trap made out of a small tree and flies into the air, out of his range. Not understanding, One Eye crouches in fear. He goes to get the rabbit again, and the she-wolf solves the problem by biting off the rabbit's head. They eat the rabbit together and continue on.

Chapter 5

The wolves hang around the Indian camp for two days, until rifle fire chases them off. The she-wolf takes One Ear on another short journey, searching for a cave. Traveling up a frozen stream, she finds it. Inspecting it, she collapses inside.
One Ear is hungry, but its clear the she-wolf has no desire to go hunting. He returns after eight hours, unable to catch any game. When he returns, he hears strange sounds, and is warned away by the she-wolf. After sleeping at the cave entrance, he can see inside when the sun rises. His mate has had puppies. The she-wolf is very wary of One Ear, and growls at him when he comes too close.
Soon he leaves, realizing he must get food for his newly born young. Meeting a porcupine, he knows its tricks; he was a victim of its quills before. At the sight of the wolf, the porcupine rolls up into a ball of quills. One Ear lays down a foot away, waiting for it to unroll. Eventually he just gives up and moves on.
The urge to find food for his young still drives him. Capturing a small bird, a ptarmigan, he begins to bring it back to the cave. On the way back, he sees a large female lynx crouching next to the porcupine he left behind. Neither of them moves for half an hour as One Eye watches. Finally, the porcupine decides that the predator has gone away. It begins to unroll. Soon the lynx is on it, but is hurt by the quills. In anger, she attacks the porcupine, and her nose is filled with quills.
In pain and agony, she finally leaves the porcupine, crying out as she makes her way on the trail. One Eye, seeing the injured porcupine, approached the animal. Cautious of the quills, he watches as the porcupine dies, and drags the animal with him to feed his babies. When he arrives at the cave, the she-wolf is grateful for the food. However, she still won't let him get too close to the wolf cubs.

Chapter 6

The young wolf is gray like his father, and all his brothers and sisters have their mother's reddish tinge. His eyes have not been open long, but he can see well, and he plays with his brothers and sisters. He has slept most of the first month of his life, but now he can see the walls of the cave. He knows nothing of the outside world, although he can see that one wall is different than the rest. This wall is the source of light, the mouth of the cave. His brothers and sisters always crawl towards the light, and the she-wolf always forces them back. In this way they learn that their mother can also punish as well as care for them. He learns that when he goes towards the light, his mother hurts him. He is a fierce cub and a meat-eater. He is the most aggressive of the litter, and growls louder than any of them. Every day, the light from the mouth of the cave calls to him.
He also knows that his father enters through the wall of light. Seeing him pass through, he tries to go through other walls, but simply injures his nose. He accepts disappearing into walls as something specific to his father.
Soon there comes a shortage of food, his mother no longer gives milk, and there is no meat. The cubs stay in a coma from lack of food. One Eye travels far to find food for the children, and the she-wolf eventually leaves them to also look for food. When the cub is able to eat and be strong again, he finds out he only has one sister left. Soon she does not move any more. The food does not come in time.
Later, after another famine, his father does not come back. The she-wolf knows why he doesn't return, but she has no way of telling the cub. She had found him near the lynx's lair, no longer alive. From that point on, she will always avoid that area of the forest.