- Karana decides that she can no longer live in the village since it holds way too many memories.
- She burns each of the houses to the ground so that Ghalas-at is nothing more than ashes.
- Karana makes a new home west of Coral Cove. Her new home is on a large rock, with shelter from the wind, a place to sleep, and a freshwater spring nearby. She sleeps up on the rock, far away from the dogs, and stores food there too.
- Next item of business: weapons. The law of the village did not allow women to make weapons, so Karana decides to look for some that might have been left behind. Nothing turns up in the village or the canoes by the cliff.
- Karana decides to check out the black chest the Aleuts left. She finds it buried on the beach. Inside is nothing but beads. She puts them on, but then is reminded of the slaughter of her people. She throws the Aleuts' pretty beads into the ocean.
- Karana soon gives up on her hunt for weapons. She turns her attention to the wild dogs who come below her rock at night and often dig up her food scraps.
- She decides that she really should make some weapons, even though her village law says that weapons will break in a woman's hand. She's willing to take that chance.
- Karana really wants to make a spear, but she doesn’t have a sea elephant tusk for the tip. So instead, she makes a bow and arrow out of the root of a tree and some seal sinew. Crafty.
- She has a lot of trouble making the weapon. But eventually she is able to finish them.
- After the weapons are made, Karana sees the leader of the dog pack watching her. But, he's too far to hit with an arrow.
- She feels safe with her new weapons. She makes a bed for herself out of dry seaweed on her rock.
- Karana spends her time watching the animals: all the pretty gulls and otters. She looks at the stars and watches for the ship. She begins to have a daily routine as time passes and winter turns to spring.