Cold Mountain: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

Inman walks through forests, by rivers, and through fields. The weather is pleasant, and he meets few people—mostly slaves. He tries to find the proper path to Salisbury, consulting people he passes along the way. Later he notices a group of beautiful young women bathing on the banks of a river. The women, who seem not to know that they’re being watched, lift up their skirts, revealing their smooth, pale skin. Instead of hungering for the women’s bodies, Inman finds himself hungering for the baskets of food they’ve left near the river. When the women jump into the water, Inman sneaks out and steals some of their food—fish and biscuits.

Inman continues walking along the road. After a time, he crosses paths with none other than the priest he previously tied and gagged, whose face is covered in bruises. The priest, much to Inman’s surprise, doesn’t yell at Inman—he just thanks Inman for saving him from sin. He explains that after Inman left him, the townspeople beat him and banished him from town. He tells Inman that he’ll walk along the road with Inman, “if you don’t mind.” Inman is about to tell the priest to take a different route, but then he realizes that the priest is a beaten man—harmless and docile. He allows the priest, whose name is Solomon Veasey, to walk beside him.

Veasey babbles to Inman about starting a new life out West. He claims he’s headed to Texas to be a farmer. He shows Inman the revolver that he’s going to trade for his first bull and cow. Inman and Veasey eat honeycomb and berries in the afternoon, and Inman notices that Veasey is like a child—naïve and easily scared. Later on, Veasey spots a big catfish swimming in the water, and dives in. Inman watches in amusement as Veasey tries and fails to wrestle the catfish from the water. When Veasey is worn out, Inman draws his gun and shoots the fish, killing it instantly. Inman and Veasey eat the catfish.

In the evening, Inman tells Veasey about his experiences in Petersburg. He remembers fighting beside the troops from South Carolina. Inman’s commander, Haskell, ordered them into the battle, and together the troops ran past mortar fire and loud explosions. Dozens of Inman’s peers died in the fight—explosives tore their bodies to pieces.

The next day, Veasey and Inman arrive at a small country shop to buy food. Veasey immediately draws his weapon and points it at the shopkeeper. Inman, disturbed, takes a heavy object and hits Veasey over the head with it—he has no intention of stealing from the shop. Inman apologizes to the shopkeeper, saying, “He’s but a fool.”

Inman and Veasey continue walking down the road, Veasey rubbing his head where Inman struck him. They come to a large wooden building, an inn. A stranger lets them inside, and Veasey grins, as if he knows exactly what to expect. Inside, there’s a “black whore,” Tildy, who greets Inman and Veasey. Tildy asks Veasey if he has “a lot to give,” and Veasey assures her that he’s rich. Before Veasey and Tildy can leave the room, a stranger stops Tildy and tells her to leave Veasey. Veasey tries to draw his weapon, but he’s too slow—the stranger points his gun right at Veasey. Inman is able to diffuse the situation by drawing his own gun and saying that he doesn’t want trouble. After a tense moment, the stranger lowers his weapon and nods, and Tildy and Veasey leave the building together.

Since Veasey has just left the building to have sex with Tildy, Inman is by himself. He decides to spend the night in the inn, paying about five Confederate dollars for food and shelter for the night. Later in the night, Inman encounters an old peddler whose name is Odell. Odell offers Inman some whiskey from Tennessee, which they enjoy together. Odell tells Inman that he was born rich, but lost his property in Georgia due to the chaos of the war.

Odell continues telling Inman about his life. He grew up on a plantation, and studied to take over the plantation when he grew up. As a young man, he fell in love with a slave named Lucinda, even though he was already married. He also developed a bad gambling habit. A short time later, Lucinda became pregnant. Odell tried to buy Lucinda from his own father, but instead, his father sold Lucinda to another slave owner in Mississippi. Odell, overcome with grief, left his father’s plantation for Mississippi, but never found Lucinda. He’s slowly been losing his money for the last few years, but believes that he still has a huge fortune waiting for him back in Georgia.

Odell finishes his tale, and Inman is so overcome that he says, “It’s a feverish world.” The next morning, Inman and Veasey reunite. Veasey claims that he had a wonderful night, although Inman notices that Veasey has a long scratch on his eye. Together, they set off down the road.