Part IV: Return
Deets is buried, then the party continues on across the Powder River. Meanwhile, in Nebraska, Clara's husband finally dies and is buried, as well.
Leaving the main group to scout ahead with Pea Eye Parker, Gus decides to pursue some buffalo. Parker and he end up being chased by mounted Indians, and Gus is badly wounded by two arrows in his right leg. While trying to get back to the herd for help, an exhausted Pea Eye is guided by the ghost of Deets, whereas Gus is found by a stranger and taken 40 miles (64 km) away to Miles City, Montana. Call leaves to search for Gus.
There, a doctor amputates Gus's right leg. He tells Gus that his left leg is septic and that he will die unless it also is amputated, but Gus refuses to let him remove it. When Call arrives, a dying Gus tells him to give his money to Lorie, and asks him to return his body to Texas and to accept Newt as his son. After some brief reminiscing with Call at Gus's bedside, Gus dies. Call arranges to store Gus's body in the town over the winter. He then leads the cattle drive to a wilderness lake where the party raises a cabin and a corral.
The following spring, Call honors Gus's wish to be returned to Texas. Just before departing, Call gives Newt his horse, his rifle, and a pocket watch that belonged to his own father, and states that Newt will run the ranch in his absence. However, he is still unable to claim Newt as his son, leaving Newt devastated.
Call soon returns to Ogallala. Sheriff Johnson, Clara, Lorie, and the ranch hand Dish live happily together. Dish is enamored with Lorie, but she does not return his affections. When Call brings Gus's body, Lorie stays and mourns by the coffin all night long. Clara asks Call to bury Gus at her home, but Call declines. Clara then berates Call for the bad effect Gus and he had on each other, blaming their adventures as the reason neither of them could find happiness.
After a long journey, Call arrives at Santa Rosa, New Mexico Territory, where Blue Duck has finally been captured. Call visits Blue Duck in his jail cell, where Blue Duck mocks Call's failure to capture him. While being led to the gallows, Blue Duck grabs deputy Robert Hofer and throws himself out a window, choosing a murder-suicide rather than allow himself to be hanged.
Despite blizzards, a broken wagon, and the loss of the coffin, Call finally succeeds in burying Gus after a journey of some 3,000 miles (4,800 km). Call weeps for his friend after burying him, the first display of emotion he has allowed himself since Deets's death. After the burial, Call tours Lonesome Dove, reunites with his former cook, Bolivar, and discovers that the saloon owner who once employed Lorie was so heartbroken by her departure that he burned the saloon down around himself.
As Call walks out of town, a reporter recognizes him and tries to interview him about his remarkable feats. Call ignores the reporter's questions—aside from ironically agreeing with him that he was a man of vision—and walks away.
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