The Half-Breed; A Tale of the Western Frontier is a fictional story written by Walt Whitman in 1845, which was originally published under the name of "Arrow-Tip". Walt Whitman was an American journalist and poet from West Hill, New York. The Half-Breed; A Tale of the Western Frontier, was published anonymously in the Aristidean and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. The story takes place west of the Mississippi River in a little town called Warren.
The Half Breed is a tale of the relationship between local Native Americans and the white settlers who are the inhabitants of Warren and the idea of Westward Expansion. Walt Whitman was known as strong supporter of Westward Expansion. The main characters get along until a thief is caught and a white man, Peter Brown, is thought to be dead. This reveals some possible hidden agendas from a few of the characters, along with some underlying suspicions from the townsfolk. There is a character of "mixed-blood", Boddo, who is described as a half white and half Native American hunchback of the town. He does not seem to be respected by the people of the town due to his appearance. Once revealed, Boddo's story helps the audience understand why the short story was given his name. This interesting tale gives a great idea of the attitude around this time period, while adding mystery and stories of betrayals.
Background
Walt Whitman wrote The Half-Breed; A Tale of the Western Frontier during the lead up to the Mexican-American War, while he was editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. He frequently voiced his opinions of Mexico, especially regarding the wars between the United States and Mexican territories. When talking about how Mexico will be affected by the war, Whitman says "Mexico will be a severed and cut up nation. She deserves this, -- or rather her government deserves it, because Mexican rule has been more a libel on liberty than liberty itself". He was a believer of manifest destiny, and wanted the United States to expand as far as it could. Therefore, he was supportive of wars fought between anyone who wanted to get in the way of that. As Shivley states, "Whitman supported the Wilmot Proviso that would exclude slavery from conquered territories and called for an end to the war. Those like Whitman who could not support the extension of slavery founded the Free Soil Party".
The Half-Breed is one of Whitman's earlier works, and his second-longest, just behind Franklin Evans, a temperance novel. Throughout his works, Whitman alludes to Native Americans and contributes to the "vanishing Indian" trope. There are arguments of Whitman's racial bias towards Native Americans. Some argue that he shows "fondness for Indian subjects" because of his frequent inclusion of Natives in his narratives. Others argue that the representation of Native people feeds into negative mindset towards Natives. For example, Some say that in The Half-Breed Whitman "lapses into the stock racial profile of an 'apathetic" and expressionless Native American." The silent Native character, mixed in with Whitman's inclusion of expansion, feeds into the vanishing Indian trope. Whitman also made the decision to end Arrow-Tip's life in the story, which also plays into the trope.
In The Half Breed, Whitman seems to include another political statement. Many say he is creating an argument against capital punishment. In the story Arrow-Tip "dies as a result of mistaken testimony, revenge, and a precipitant legal hanging." Arrow-Tip's unnecessary death highlights the dangers that capital punishment comes with. By choosing to end Arrow-Tip's life, the townspeople took responsibility for him. Whitman's possible statement shows that some people will be wrongfully accused, and the aftermath of that situation is messy and difficult to deal with.
Whitman published The Half Breed under the name Arrow-Tip in The Aristidean in March 1845. The novelette was republished under its current name in June 1846 in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
Plot
The story opens with Boddo, who is an ill-respected, physically-deformed and unattractive man of white and Native American parentage, as he travels to tell Father Luke about a wedding that is set to take place between the blacksmith Peter Brown and his intended. On the day of the wedding, Master Caleb leaves, only to witness the Native American Arrow-Tip coming over the hill. A few days later, some items are stolen from Mr. Thorne. Arrow-Tip is automatically assumed to be the thief despite no evidence to suggest this. Shortly after, Arrow-Tip uncovers the thief to be none other than the town hunchback, Boddo.