Describe Tom Walker's first encounter with the devil in Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker".

Washington Irving first sets the stage for Tom to meet the devil by providing information about Tom's mean and "miserly" character, his life at home with his willful wife, and the myth surrounding Kidd's buried treasure. On the day Tom meets the devil, he takes a shortcut home through the swamp that leads him to an old Indian fort. This fort is said to have been used by some for devil worship, which makes it a hallowed spot to meet "Old Scratch." Because Tom is such a rough character himself, he is not necessarily shocked to meet the devil; he's more surprised when he suddenly discovers another man sitting near him at the fort. The two argue over Deacon Peabody's property before Tom finds out his guest's identity. Irving explains Tom's response to meeting the devil as follows:

"One would think that to meet with such a singular personage in this wild, lonely place would have shaken any man's nerves; but Tom was a hard-minded fellow, not easily daunted, and he had lived so long with a termagant wife that he did not even fear the devil."

From this description, one might think that Tom has met a kindred spirit. Consequently, Tom is not easily tempted by the Devil's proposal to give him Kidd's treasure because it apparently comes with eternal conditions. (Making a deal with the Devil usually does.) However, Irving does not provide any details of the deal's requirements--he only mentions the following:

"What these conditions were may be easily surmised, though Tom never disclosed them publicly. They must have been very hard, for he required time to think of them, and he was not a man to stick at trifles when money was in view."

It can be inferred from this passage that Tom is being unusually thoughtful in taking the time to think about the details and validity of the offer. Also, being a shady character himself, Tom knows not to trust anyone, especially "Old Scratch." 

The process that the devil and Tom go through when making the deal starts with the introduction, of course, because it is only fair for Tom to know with whom he is dealing. Then, Tom is tempted with the idea of becoming rich with Kidd's treasure. Finally, the conditions are set forth for accepting the deal. The meeting ends with Tom asking what evidence he can have that the devil is telling the truth. The devil responds by leaving his black fingerprint on Tom's forehead and saying, "There's my signature." 

Describe Tom Walker's first encounter with the devil in Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker".

Tom Walker initially meets "Old Scratch" as he takes a shortcut through the swamp.  When Tom reaches the site of an old fort that is said to be abandoned, he kicks at a skull on the ground.  When an unknown voice tells him to leave the skull alone, Tom turns to find someone sitting on a stump.  The mysterious figure is dressed strangely, is of unknown origin, and possesses "great red eyes."  Because he is covered in soot, the unknown man appears to be completely black and carries an ax.

While most people would be terrified to encounter the devil, Tom Walker is not frightened at all.  He observes Old Scratch and the work being done (trees symbolize souls and are being cut down and burned), then correctly identifies him. 

Old Scratch and Tom Walker have "a long and earnest conversation together, as Tom returned homeward.  At this time, the devil tells Tom of hidden treasure that can be his for a certain price.  The price of finding the treasure is not revealed to the reader, but Tom refuses to make the agreement without thinking it over.  Before parting from Old Scratch, Tom questions whether the devil is being honest with him.  The devil replies by marking Tom Walker's head with a black fingerprint.

How does the devil take Tom on the horse in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Tom Walker, having sold his soul to the devil in exchange for wealth the likes of which he never otherwise could have known, is growing old. Still morally and ethnically corrupt in his business dealings, especially with those most in need of help, he recognizes that his days on this earth are running short. His knowledge of his eventual demise, however, does not prepare him for the three knocks on his office door and the surprise that awaits him when he opens that door. His visitor is the devil, come for his pay. Irving describes the suddenness of Tom's departure into Hell as follows:

"The black man whisked him like a child astride the horse and away he galloped in the midst of a thunderstorm . . ."

That, in short, is how the devil takes Tom on the horse. The fact of the horse, however, is highly symbolic of the story's emphasis on Tom's mistreatment of animals as well as of his fellow human beings. Throughout The Devil and Tom Walker, Irving's narrator describes the condition of Tom's horses in exceedingly bleak terms, evident in the following passages:

"A miserable horse, whose ribs were as articulate as the bars of a gridiron . . ."

"He even set up a carriage in the fullness of his vain glory, though he nearly starved the horses which drew it . . ."

That the devil comes for Tom in his waning days on a horse, then, is no accident, although the period in which Irving's story was written and takes place obviously left few other options with respect to basic forms of transportation. 

The horse theme continues, as the departed Tom's belongings are searched for signs of the late miser's wealth, but, instead of wealth, only "chips and shavings" are found. More significantly, in the place of his "half starved horses," those searching his premises find only two skeletons. Finally, in the years following Tom's sudden disappearance, a "figure on horseback in morning gown and white cap" is regularly observed on stormy nights haunting the old woods where Tom first encountered Old Scratch. Tom has been condemned, by virtue of his greed, to haunt these woods for eternity. It is presumed, however, that the horses abused by the doomed usurer enjoyed a better existence following Tom's transition from this world to the next.

In "The Devil and Tom Walker," what strange actions did Tom perform on his horse and why?

The latter half of "The Devil and Tom Walker" describes the remainder of Tom's life after he makes a deal with Old Scratch, the terms of which are implied to be his soul in exchange for a great deal of money. Tom was already a thoroughly unlikable and morally corrupt person, and this continues and worsens with his newfound wealth. 

As Tom ages, the certainty that his soul is damned becomes more and more of a concern to him. He begins looking for ways to cheat the terms of his deal, such as by going to church. He takes a particularly strange precaution with his horse; he has the horse shod (given new horseshoes) and then buried upside-down, because Tom believes that the world will be turned upside-down on the "last day" (i.e. the Apocalypse) and thus the horse will be right-side up, and Tom will be able to ride him to escape the Devil. 

However, the text cautions that this, like many other supposed details of the story, are more likely to have been concocted and added to it by the people who tell the story, or at least, those who have no direct experience with the events. The narration implies that it is focused only upon the true "core" of the story, and that this extra effort by Tom, if truly done, was useless anyway. 

How did Tom initially react to meeting the devil in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

In a careful reading of his encounter, there are various different reactions that Tom displays, all changing pretty rapidly as their conversation progresses.  When the devil first speaks, Tom is "exceedingly surprised, having seen nor heard anyone approach," so, the devil catches him off guard and startles him a bit.  Then, as he studies the devil, Tom becomes "perplexed" because he is dark, but not like any man he had ever seen, and was dressed strangely.

The devil then accuses him of trespassing, and Tom's reaction turns to one of fearlessness and mocking as he tries to correct the devil, saying the land belonged to "Deacon Peabody."  Tom continues to be unimpressed and confident, even after the devil claims he killed Peabody and owns the land.  He demands to know who the devil is, and "what right" he had to the land.  Tom is arrogant and confident, and a bit offended by the devil's assertions of power.  He is unimpressed.  As the chat longer, the best description that can be found to describe Tom's reaction is this:

"One would think that to meet with such a singular personage in this wild lonely place, would have shaken any man's nerves: but Tom was a hard-minded fellow, not easily daunted, and he had lived so long with a termagant wife, that he did not even fear the devil."

That sums it up pretty nicely--Tom's wife was so horrendous that the devil didn't scare him, and he was pretty solid and stoic in nature, so he wasn't really bothered.  It is an interesting reaction, and pretty amusing.  Anyone else would have probably been scared out of their wits, and terrified, if the prince of darkness had shown up out of nowhere and told of all of his awful deeds.  But, Tom took it in stride, and behaved like it was just another normal day.  I hope that helped; good luck!

How did Tom initially react to meeting the devil in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

The first place that Tom meets the Devil is at the ruins of an old Indian fort. 

By Indian, the text is using the then-common term for Native Americans. The Devil (called "Old Scratch" or the "Black Woodsman") is drawn to that place because it was dedicated to him by the Indians, and they made sacrifices to him there. 

The "fort" if it can really be called that, is said to have fallen into disrepair and is now little more than a series of gradually sinking "embankments" (mounds of earth). Thus there isn't really much that's fort-like about the location, other than its history and the remains of the battles fought there, such as the tomahawk-hewn skull that Tom kicks. 

It seems clear that the Devil's power extends beyond this location, but he may simply prefer residing there, or the reasons may be more literary; the location serves as a more powerful grounding of the Devil's character, and by always referring to him and placing him in that location it lends him both a sense of tangibility ("the Devil lives in the old Indian fort") as well as the supernatural element of suggesting that he is bound there, and cannot leave as a normal person might.