The Crossing characters

Appears from the start

The elder son of a ranching family in southern New Mexico. At sixteen he is already a capable horseman and trapper, accustomed to hard work alongside his younger brother. His effort to deal with a wolf crossing north from Mexico becomes a private moral undertaking that draws him away from his family and repeatedly across the border.

Appears from the start

Billy's younger brother and closest companion at the family ranch. Boyd is quieter, more vulnerable, and fiercely independent. The brothers share the work of watching traps and horses, though Billy often assumes responsibility for him.

Appears from the start

A pregnant Mexican gray wolf that has crossed into New Mexico and begun taking cattle. Elusive and intelligent, she defeats the Parhams' early attempts to trap her. Once Billy captures her alive, she becomes the object of his determination to return her to the mountains of Mexico rather than kill her.

Appears from the start

Billy and Boyd's father, a practical New Mexico rancher who teaches his sons to work with horses, traps, and firearms. He treats the marauding wolf as a threat to the family's livelihood and expects Billy to take adult responsibility in confronting it.

Appears from the start

Billy and Boyd's mother, who maintains the family's remote ranch home. Protective of both sons, she belongs to the settled domestic life from which Billy's secret decision about the wolf carries him away.

Appears from the start

An old Mexican trapper whom Billy seeks out for knowledge of wolves. Don Arnulfo offers experience rather than a simple formula, speaking about the animal as a creature whose ways cannot be reduced to tracks and mechanisms alone.

First appears in chapter 2

A nameless Mexican girl who becomes attached to Boyd during the brothers' search for their stolen horses. Poor and self-possessed, she helps care for him after he is wounded and becomes part of the life in Mexico that draws him away from Billy.

First appears in chapter 2

A blind Mexican veteran who gives shelter and conversation to the travelers. His account of violence, suffering, and the loss of sight expands Billy's journey beyond the immediate search for horses, presenting history as something borne by ordinary survivors.

First appears in chapter 4

The leader of a traveling group Billy meets while carrying Boyd's remains north. He and his companions help Billy restore the scattered bones and repair his damaged gear, treating the dead with a care that contrasts with the robbery Billy has just endured.