Thomas Jefferson Pettigrew

First identified simply as by his position as the "special rider" who carries the U.S. mail from Nashville to the Mississippi settlement, Thomas Jefferson Pettigrew is described in three separate passages. He is "a frail irascible little man weighing less than a hundred pounds" (9); he is "frail and childsized, impermeable as diamond" (19); he is "small, frail, less than boy-size, childless and bachelor, incorrigibly kinless and tieless" (24). Despite his size, his association with the federal government identifies him with "the United States" in all its power (19), and his arguments against the various proposals for dealing with the lost lock show both detailed knowledge of bureaucratic federal regulations, and a stubbornness that results in the new name for the settlement. Although he himself was named after a U.S. President, it turns out that the town of "Jefferson" is actually named after him. Deeply flattered by the settlers' gesture, he becomes their accomplice in unlocking their predicament.