The Sign of the Beaver: Chapter 22 Summary & Analysis

Though he’s sure Attean won’t come, Matt continues to watch for him for the next several days. He’s shocked when four days later, Attean and his dog appear in the clearing. Matt runs to Attean, and Attean asks if Matt changed his mind. Matt says he hasn’t, and Attean says he gets it—if his father were still alive, he’d wait, too. To his surprise, Matt realizes he’s earned Attean’s respect by “doing nothing, just by staying here and refusing to leave.”

Attean says that Saknis sent a gift and unstraps a pair of new snowshoes from his back. He then gives Matt maple sugar, a gift from his grandmother. Matt asks Attean to tell his grandmother that he’ll help gather sap next year. Attean, though, says that his tribe isn’t coming back. Saknis says that more white men are coming to cut trees down, build cabins, and plant corn. There’s no space for them to hunt. Matt notes that Saknis wants Attean to learn to read, but Attean scoffs—neither his grandfather nor his father could read, and they’re both mighty hunters. And he won’t need to understand treaties because they’re going far away, where there are no white men and no need for treaties.

Matt asks something he’s been thinking about for a while: did Saknis once own the land where Matt’s father built the cabin? Scornfully, Attean asks how a man can own land. Land, he says, is like air—it belongs to all people and animals. Matt thinks Attean is willfully misunderstanding him, but then he suspects that Attean might be the one who makes more sense. Deciding it’s better to just not talk about it, Matt asks where Attean and his family are going. Attean says they’re going west—fewer white men are there. Matt has heard of settlers going west, but he doesn’t want to tell Attean that. People say the land in that direction is endless, so there’s no doubt enough land for white settlers and Native Americans.

Then, Attean says he has a gift for Matt: his dog. The dog is no good for hunting now, as he’s so slow, but he’ll be a good companion for Attean’s medabe, his “white brother.” Matt knows that despite Attean’s careless attitude, he loves the dog—and it’s a big deal that Attean called Matt his white brother. Matt knows he has to give Attean something. He runs inside and finds his father’s watch. Matt’s father won’t understand, but Matt runs with it outside to Attean anyway. Though Attean certainly doesn’t need a watch to tell time, he accepts the watch carefully and lets Matt show him how to wind it. The boys shake hands, and then Attean walks into the woods, telling the dog to stay. The dog is confused and whines, so Matt strokes it.