There is horror to every killing. Even when it’s justified. Even when I killed, I was horrified. But watching Sam kill was like watching a lion hurl itself into a deer. His fury was so magnificent, there was no time for horror. Not even for the men he killed.
The best way to know if land is truly undiscovered is to seek words to describe it. When you can’t, you know it’s virgin land. Untouched by our dirty hands. To see it is to be silenced by it. Made speechless by its endless uniformity.
So much I don’t know about life. We learn to read, we learn rules, learn scripture and manners, and how to avoid saying or doing things that make others uncomfortable. All those things seem to be the opposite of life. Seem to strangle it.
Rumors and dreams built this whole world. Every inch of it.[to Elsa]
Plenty of ladies in this world. Pretty short on decent men, though.[Margaret Dutton: How am I supposed to make her a lady when you keep treating her like a man?]
Our wagon drive is over. Where we bury her is where we stay. That is our home.[to Margaret, about Elsa]
One trait all animals share, people included: no matter where we are or where we wish to be, if we’re there longer than a day, we try to make a home of it.
It’s all a mistake. The right choice is luck, that’s all.[to Elsa]
It seems the farther we get from civilization, the more of its rules we leave behind. Its traditions. Its inhibitions. The farther west we travel, the more those rules and customs become a burden.
If everything is what you need, gold can buy it.
I’m a woman. I pick myself up.
I know death now. I’ve seen it. It had no fangs. It smiled at me. And it was beautiful.
