Although neither Stumpy nor Kentuck survives the flood, other prospectors do. How deeply rooted are the personal changes they have made in the course of the story? Will these survive beyond Tommy and Roaring Camp?

Cherokee Sal dies giving birth to Tommy. Had she lived, what effect would that have had on the behavior of the prospectors and the camp as a whole?

The prospectors adamantly refuse to involve women in raising the newborn. Why do they do this? How would the story change with women’s presence in the camp?