The Treasure of the Sierra Madre characters

Also known as Dobbs

Appears from the start

An American stranded without money in Tampico, where he survives by asking prosperous strangers for spare change. Dobbs is resentful of dependence and eager for any chance to earn enough to change his circumstances.

First appears in chapter 2

Another American laborer living precariously in Mexico. Curtin works alongside Dobbs on a construction job and shares his anger when their employer withholds their wages. He is practical, physically capable, and initially cautious about the risks of prospecting.

First appears in chapter 3

An experienced old American prospector staying in a cheap lodging house. Howard knows how to locate and extract gold, but he also understands the physical hardship, isolation, suspicion, and possessiveness that can overtake partners once they find it.

First appears in chapter 2

A labor contractor who recruits Dobbs and Curtin for a remote job. He supplies food and promises wages, then disappears after the work is finished without paying the men what he owes.

Also known as Gold Hat

First appears in chapter 5

The leader of a group of Mexican bandits who present themselves as soldiers while attacking travelers. His broad gold-colored hat makes him recognizable when the prospectors later encounter his gang in the mountains.

First appears in chapter 10

An American prospector who tracks Curtin back toward the partners' hidden camp. Having correctly concluded that they found gold, Cody asks to join them and argues that an extra rifle will improve their security.

First appears in chapter 12

James Cody's wife, known to the prospectors through a letter sent from their home in Texas. She describes the family waiting for him and the modest orchard that she hopes he will return to tend.