Incident at Hawk's Hill

Incident at Hawk's Hill Summary | Plot Summary

Ben MacDonald lives with his family on a farm in Winnipeg, Canada in 1870. Ben is the youngest, at six years old. The boy is undersized and his behavior is often odd. Although he's not mentally retarded, the boy barely talks - even to his family. Ben spends most of his time following animals around, imitating their sounds. Esther MacDonald is understanding of her son's differences, but his father wonders if there is something wrong with the child. When the family's new neighbor, George Burton appears, he terrifies Ben by hoisting the tot high into the air. Frightened, Ben flees to the comfort of the animals in the barn. When Ben wanders away from the homestead, he is caught in a drenching downpour and takes refuge in an empty badger hole. When the badger returns, she accepts Ben as if he was one of her cubs.

The badger feeds Ben as if he were one of her offspring and defends him against Burton's fierce dog, Lobo. Despite his family's efforts to find him, Ben lives in the badger hole for two months. When he finally returns to the farm, Ben and his family develop a new appreciation for one another. The family allows Ben to keep the badger as a pet. George Burton returns to Hawks Hill and shoots the badger. He fights with the entire family. William MacDonald tells Burton to leave Manitoba and never return.

Ben's parents often disagree on how to handle their silent, withdrawn 6-year-old son. William MacDonald thinks that Ben needs discipline and should be forced to behave appropriately. Esther MacDonald thinks that he will come around in time. Meanwhile, they should accept Ben as he is, showing him lots of affection and patience. She fully expects a transformation by the time Ben starts school in the fall. Ben's relationship with his father becomes even more strained when MacDonald unthinkingly backhands the boy during one of Burton's visits.

Playing with animals in the meadow, Ben befriends a female badger with a distinctive notch in her ear. At first, the creature is leery of the boy, but he imitates her noises and feeds her. Weeks later, the badger's mate is caught in one of George Burton's traps and killed. The female badger gets two toes of her right front paw caught in another trap. She is unable to escape for more than two days. During that time, her three kits starve to death.

A few days later, Ben wanders far from home following a prairie chicken. It is an overcast day, so he can't tell directions from the sun. Ben walks for hours in the direction he thinks will take him home, but only gets more lost. When a drenching rain starts, Ben takes refuge in a nearby hole. The badger returns and Ben chases her away. Initially the badger tries to fight Ben, but her paw is injured and she barely scratches the boy. Soon the badger seems to accept Ben as a substitute for her dead cubs.

Ben is terrified of Burton and other strange riders, so he hides in the badger's burrow whenever people are searching for him. After three days, the townspeople give up, but Ben's family never stops looking for him. John and William MacDonald continue searching for some sign of the boy. Finally one day John finds one of the child's shoes, then the other. Catching a glimpse of a strange animal nearby, John hides nearby and waits. He is astounded when Ben rushes out and pops down a badger hole. John convinces the boy to come home with him. John rides across the prairie to their father with Ben in his arms, shouting all the way.

The badger follows the horsemen home. She regards Ben as her cub, and protects him against the humans. Gradually Ben convinces the badger that it is safe, and she sleeps on the floor in the boy's room. George Burton arrives unexpectedly and shoots the badger, which is lying outside in the sun. William MacDonald confronts Burton, who shoots him and pulls a knife on John. Esther MacDonald threatens Burton with a rifle. William MacDonald tells Burton to leave the territory. MacDonald will pay the trapper for his farm, but he no longer wants the savage man as a neighbor.

Despondent, Ben refuses his father's help to bury the badger. Dragging the body towards the meadow where they first met, Ben realizes the badger is still alive. He screams for his father, and the entire family comes to help. William MacDonald doctors the animal, but admits she will probably die. Ben says if she does, his father can help him bury her.

Ben's disappearance brings the entire MacDonald family closer together. From his time with the badger, Ben comes to learn to trust and rely on others more. He values his family, now that he has them back. Ben is more willing to try to talk to his father. For the first time in his life, Ben feels he has something to contribute.

Incident at Hawk's Hill is the fictionalized account of an incident that actually occurred near Winnipeg about 1870. Allan W. Eckert is a natural historian who worked as a trapper at one point in his life. Eckert's intimate knowledge of natural history and animal behavior make the creatures in the novel entirely lifelike and believable. Yet, he never makes the animals cute or anthropomorphic. Eckert's novel was a Newbery Honor Book.