The book is written in first-person point of view. The narrator begins by riding the train to Medicine Bow, a train station. Here he meets, the main character, the Virginian. The narrator is immediately impressed but also intimidated by the tall, dark "cowboy". The Virginian was sent by Judge Henry to escort him to his ranch. As the narrator is getting off the train, he overhears the Virginian giving another older man; jokingly a hard time about marriage that we find out is Uncle Hughey. .
They spend the night in Medicine Bow where Steve is introduced as a good friend of the Virginian's. Unfortunately for the Virginian and the narrator, the town's beds are all full. Steve makes a bet with the Virginian that he won't have his own bed to sleep own to which the Virginian agrees. The Virginian goes out that night to play cards in the local tavern. We meet Trampas for the first time. He almost gets into a gunfight with the Virginian but the Virginian very smoothly handles the confrontation and nothing comes about because of it. Trampas comes off as a dangerous and cunning man who doesn't seem fond of the Virginian. When he gets ready to turn in for the night, he scares the wits out of his bedmate by telling him that he sometimes wakes up with nightmares and just starts shooting blindly. .
The next day, the Virginian and the narrator wake up start on their journey towards Judge Henry's ranch. During the long trip, they came across some cowboys branding a herd of cattle. This drove the horses crazy and out of control. The Virginian then fought to keep the carriage steady and come to a stop without any brakes. Shortly after this incident, they come across Mr. Taylor who gives them the latest gossip on Bear Creek, a little settlement close to Sunk Creek. The Virginian finds out about the new schoolhouse that was just built and the need for a schoolmarm. He reads the letter from a potential schoolmarm and is intrigued by the woman who wrote it.
