I love Walt Whitman , and this particular section is very interesting.  It is almost like several poems merged as one; in the first half, he discusses hunting, sailing, clamming, and sitting with a trapper that had married an indian woman, and sharing a meal.  The second half describes the relief and aid that he gave to a runaway slave, and how it was disconcerting for the slave, since he wasn't used to kind treatment from white men.  In both, there is a theme of all men-white men, indian men, and black men-being completely and totally equal, and worth equal...

(The entire section contains 295 words.)