Characters in Lonesome Dove

Augustus 'Gus' McCrae

A garrulous, philosophical former Texas Ranger and one half of the story's central friendship.

Woodrow Call

A driven, taciturn former Ranger who leads the cattle drive north.

Also in Streets of Laredo

Blue Duck

A half-Comanche outlaw leader, a ruthless and violent enemy of Call and Gus from their Ranger days.

Newt Dobbs

A seventeen-year-old orphan raised by Call and Gus at the Hat Creek outfit, and likely Call's unacknowledged son.

Joshua Deets

The Hat Creek outfit's chief scout, a loyal and exceptionally skilled tracker.

Jake Spoon

A former Texas Ranger who returns to Lonesome Dove after years away; charming, feckless, and drawn into bad company.

Lorena Wood

A prostitute in Lonesome Dove who joins the cattle drive north, hoping to reach San Francisco.

July Johnson

A young, inexperienced Arkansas sheriff who sets out after Jake Spoon and is drawn into the larger journey west.

Clara Allen

A Nebraska horse rancher and Gus's former love, now married with a family of her own.