as mattie's tale begins, chaney is employed on the ross's family farm in west-central arkansas, near the town of dardanelle in yell county. chaney is not adept as a farmhand, and mattie has only scorn for him, referring to him as "trash" and noting that her kind-hearted father, frank, hired him only out of pity. one day, frank ross and chaney go to fort smith to buy some horses. ross takes $250 with him to pay for the horses, along with two gold pieces that he has always carried, but he ends up spending only $100 on the horses. later, ross tries to intervene in a barroom confrontation involving chaney. chaney kills him, robs the body of the remaining $150 and two gold pieces, and flees into indian territory (now oklahoma) on his horse.