Chapter 1, Good Scoochers, Chapter 2, Near Drowning Summary and Analysis

John Muir is born in Scotland on April 21st, 1838. As a young child, Muir engages in many risky activities, although they are typical of high-spirited boys in Dunbar on the North Sea. Muir refers to the games as "scootchers." One of his favorite playgrounds is in the old Dunbar Castle, which he often climbs and explores with his friends.

Most Scottish youth at the time believe in ghosts. The Muir's house once belonged to a physician and a servant girl tells the children that a ghost of the physician haunts it. After being tucked in to bed, John and his brother David play a "schootcher" or game of daring by going into the ghost room. Another scootcher involves climbing the roof.

Chapter 2 begins in 1849 and introduces Daniel Muir, John's tyrannical father...