100 words to know before reading My Ántonia

1. Grassland used for grazing livestock.
2. Areas of land covered with grass for animals to feed on.

my sunny little room, looking off at the distant river bluffs and the roll of the blond pastures between, scanning the Aeneid aloud and committing long passages to memory. Sometimes in the

1. A large open area of grassland, especially in North America.
2. An ecosystem dominated by grasses, herbs, and shrubs rather than trees.

curved round this little pond, beyond which it began to climb the gentle swell of unbroken prairie to the west. There, along the western skyline it skirted a great cornfield, much larger than any

1. A person's inherent qualities of mind and character.
2. The way something is placed or arranged.

have been severe enough to chill his naturally romantic and ardent disposition. This disposition, though it often made him seem very funny when he was a boy, has been one of the strongest

1. A collection of financial investments like stocks and bonds.
2. A range of products or services offered by a company.

He went into the next room, sat down at my desk and wrote on the pinkish face of the portfolio the word, “Ántonia.” He frowned at this a moment, then prefixed another word, making it “My

1. A portable light source with a protective case, often with a handle.
2. A decorative or architectural structure with openings to emit light.

oilcloth bundles, and a little girl clung to her mother’s skirts. Presently a man with a lantern approached them and began to talk, shouting and exclaiming. I pricked up my ears, for it was

1. A unit of measurement for perfume, equal to about 30 milliliters.
2. A variant of the name Otto, of German origin meaning "wealth" or "fortune."

female figures. These, he solemnly explained, were angels. Before we went to bed, Jake and Otto were called up to the living-room for prayers. Grandfather put on silver-rimmed spectacles and

1. The evening meal, typically lighter than dinner.
2. A social gathering where a light evening meal is served.

to the north of us, but for a year now he had been working for grandfather. The minute supper was over, Otto took me into the kitchen to whisper to me about a pony down in the barn that had

1. Small burrowing rodents with fur-lined cheek pouches.
2. Members of the Go programming language community.

behind the stove and got acquainted with the cat—he caught not only rats and mice, but gophers, I was told. The patch of yellow sunlight on the floor traveled back toward the stairway, and

1. A large farm building for storing grain, hay, or housing livestock.
2. A unit of area measurement equal to 10⁻²⁸ square meters, used in nuclear physics.

much larger than any field I had ever seen. This cornfield, and the sorghum patch behind the barn, were the only broken land in sight. Everywhere, as far as the eye could reach, there was nothing

1. A term used in the Hebrew Bible, often in the Psalms, possibly indicating a pause or musical interlude.
2. A word of uncertain meaning, sometimes interpreted as a call to reflect or praise.

word “Selah.” “He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom He loved. Selah.” I had no idea what the word meant; perhaps he had not. But, as he uttered it, it became

1. A piece of turf or grass with the soil beneath it.
2. (Slang) A person regarded as unpleasant or annoying.

you came to the Norwegian settlement, where there were several. Our neighbors lived in sod houses and dugouts—comfortable, but not very roomy. Our white frame house, with a storey and

1. A person, often an artist or writer, who lives an unconventional, free-spirited lifestyle.
2. Relating to a socially unconventional or artistic way of living.

a cousin of his, who was also a relative of Mrs. Shimerda. The Shimerdas were the first Bohemian family to come to this part of the county. Krajiek was their only interpreter, and could tell

1. A term historically used to refer to a Native American woman.
2. Considered offensive and derogatory in modern usage.

big handkerchief down loosely over her curls. I said I would go with her until we could see Squaw Creek, and then turn and run home. We drifted along lazily, very happy, through the magical light

1. A fine, soft fiber produced by silkworms, used to make fabric.
2. Fabric or thread made from this fiber.

girl trailed along behind them. The woman had on her head the same embroidered shawl with silk fringes that she wore when she had alighted from the train at Black Hawk. She was not old, but

1. An exclamation expressing surprise or joy (e.g., "Hoo, that's amazing!").
2. A variant of "who" in some dialects or informal speech.

the first knuckle, like a duck’s foot. When he saw me draw back, he began to crow delightedly, “Hoo, hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo!” like a rooster. His mother scowled and said sternly, “Marek!” then spoke

1. Nocturnal birds of prey with large eyes and silent flight.
2. Symbols of wisdom in various cultures.

They kept him in their hole and fed him for the same reason that the prairie-dogs and the brown owls house the rattlesnakes—because they did not know how to get rid of him.

1. Sweet, juicy fruits with a thick rind and pulpy interior, such as watermelon or cantaloupe.
2. Slang term for a woman's breasts.

the lesson was over, we used to go up to the watermelon patch behind the garden. I split the melons with an old corn-knife, and we lifted out the hearts and ate them with the juice trickling

1. Having curls or a curved shape.
2. (Of hair) Formed in tight waves or spirals.

himself up to greet us, drops of perspiration were rolling from his thick nose down onto his curly beard. Peter dried his hands and seemed glad to leave his washing. He took us down to see his

1. A long, green, cylindrical vegetable with crisp flesh, often eaten raw in salads.
2. The fruit of the cucumber plant (Cucumis sativus), commonly used in pickling.

and gave us a lard-pail full of milk to cook them in. I had never heard of cooking cucumbers, but Ántonia assured me they were very good. We had to walk the pony all the way home to keep

1. A burrowing mammal with short legs and distinctive markings.
2. To persistently annoy or pester someone.

VI One afternoon we were having our reading lesson on the warm, grassy bank where the badger lived. It was a day of amber sunlight, but there was a shiver of coming winter in the air. I had

1. A small arthropod with six legs and typically one or two pairs of wings.
2. Any similar invertebrate, often considered a pest.

grass were all dead—all but one. While we were lying there against the warm bank, a little insect of the palest, frailest green hopped painfully out of the buffalo grass and tried to leap into a

1. A short, high-pitched sound made by birds or insects.
2. A brief, cheerful message or signal.

silence, while the feeble minstrel sheltered in Ántonia’s hair went on with its scratchy chirp. The old man’s smile, as he listened, was so full of sadness, of pity for things, that I never

1. A small square of cloth used for wiping the nose or face.
2. A decorative piece of fabric carried as an accessory.

me!” I said petulantly. “I know I am just awful, Jim, I was so scared.” She took my handkerchief from my pocket and tried to wipe my face with it, but I snatched it away from her. I suppose I

1. A tool with a sharp-edged metal blade used for digging or cutting earth.
2. A playing card in the suit of spades, marked with a black symbol resembling a pointed leaf.

he would spring, spring his length, I remembered. I ran up and drove at his head with my spade, struck him fairly across the neck, and in a minute he was all about my feet in wavy loops. I

1. A nocturnal bird of prey with large eyes and a flat face.
2. A person who is active at night.

whether the owls had nests down there, lined with feathers. We might get some puppies, or owl eggs, or snakeskins. The dog-town was spread out over perhaps ten acres. The grass had been

1. Small stones or pebbles, often used in construction or landscaping.
2. A rough or harsh sound or manner.

us, and scurried underground. Before the mouths of the holes were little patches of sand and gravel, scratched up, we supposed, from a long way below the surface. Here and there, in the town, we

1. Slang for rattlesnakes, venomous snakes known for their rattling tail.
2. Informal term for unreliable or defective things, especially vehicles.

The great land had never looked to me so big and free. If the red grass were full of rattlers, I was equal to them all. Nevertheless, I stole furtive glances behind me now and then to see

1. Spoken very softly using one's breath without vocal cords.
2. Communicated in a quiet, secretive, or confidential manner.

were things there and he wanted Mr. Shimerda to see them. “It’s wolves, Jimmy,” Ántonia whispered. “It’s awful, what he says!” The sick man raged and shook his fist. He seemed to be cursing

1. To talk noisily or foolishly (verb).
2. A sharp, high-pitched bark (noun).

not stir. He was sitting on the floor by the kitchen stove. The coyotes broke out again; yap, yap, yap—then the high whine. Pavel called for something and struggled up on his elbow. “He is

1. A person who cares for horses or maintains their appearance.
2. A man about to be married or recently married.

sledge going first. All the drivers were more or less the worse for merrymaking, and the groom was absorbed in his bride. The wolves were bad that winter, and everyone knew it, yet when they

1. Heavy hammers used for breaking rocks or driving stakes.
2. Vehicles on runners for transporting loads over snow or ice.

asked. “Enough! Enough for all of us.” Pavel reached the brow of the hill, but only two sledges followed him down the other side. In that moment on the hilltop, they saw behind them a whirling

1. A vehicle on runners for traveling over snow or ice, typically pulled by animals or a motor.
2. A heavy hammer used in blacksmithing or demolition work.

no bigger than dogs, but there were hundreds of them. Something happened to the hindmost sledge: the driver lost control—he was probably very drunk—the horses left the road, the sledge was

1. A set of straps and fittings used to control or attach an animal or object.
2. To utilize or control a resource or energy for a purpose.

already crowding over the heap in the road, and one horse ran out across the fields, his harness hanging to him, wolves at his heels. But the groom’s movement had given Pavel an idea. They were

1. A type of tree with slender branches and narrow leaves, often found near water.
2. The wood from this tree, used for making baskets, furniture, or cricket bats.

Mrs. Harling made garden that spring, we could feel the stir of her undertaking through the willow hedge that separated our place from hers. Three of the Harling children were near me in age.

1. A vehicle on runners for traveling over snow, typically pulled by horses or reindeer.
2. To ride or travel in a sleigh.

Peter!) took the front seat. Pavel drove. The party set out with singing and the jingle of sleigh-bells, the groom’s sledge going first. All the drivers were more or less the worse for

1. On or to a higher floor of a building.
2. The upper floor(s) of a building.

of their bones. While grandmother and I washed the dishes and grandfather read his paper upstairs, Jake and Otto sat on the long bench behind the stove, “easing” their inside boots, or rubbing

1. Female chickens, especially those raised for egg production.
2. Adult female birds of various species.

at the solid lump of ice in their water-tin. When we flashed the lantern in their eyes, the hens set up a great cackling and flew about clumsily, scattering down-feathers. The mottled,

1. Informal term for mother, used in some dialects.
2. Short for "madam," a polite form of address for a woman.

“I don’t see how he could do it!” grandmother kept saying. Otto misunderstood her. “Why, mam, it was simple enough; he pulled the trigger with his big toe. He layed over on his side and put

1. Relating to sexual or gender identities that are not heterosexual or cisgender.
2. Strange, odd, or unconventional.

tall grasses wave. The earth was warm under me, and warm as I crumbled it through my fingers. Queer little red bugs came out and moved in slow squadrons around me. Their backs were polished

1. An enclosure for livestock, typically made of wood or wire.
2. To gather or confine animals or people into a restricted area.

but the storm was quiet and resistless. The men could not go farther than the barns and corral. They sat about the house most of the day as if it were Sunday; greasing their boots, mending

1. Bags attached to a saddle for carrying items while riding.
2. Excess fat or skin on the outer thighs, resembling saddlebags.

the day before Christmas, Jake packed the things we were sending to the Shimerdas in his saddlebags and set off on grandfather’s gray gelding. When he mounted his horse at the door, I saw that he

1. Tasks or small jobs, often routine or household-related.
2. Duties required for maintaining a home or daily life.

morning, when I got down to the kitchen, the men were just coming in from their morning chores—the horses and pigs always had their breakfast before we did. Jake and Otto shouted “Merry

1. Requests or expressions made to a deity or higher power.
2. Religious rituals or words spoken in worship.

did not matter. Between that earth and that sky I felt erased, blotted out. I did not say my prayers that night: here, I felt, what would be would be.

1. To melt or become liquid after being frozen.
2. To become more friendly or relaxed after being cold or distant.

XIII The week following Christmas brought in a thaw, and by New Year’s Day all the world about us was a broth of gray slush, and the guttered slope

1. A stringed musical instrument played with a bow.
2. Has four strings and a hollow wooden body.

for dance. Here never. When I beg him for play, he shake his head no. Some days he take his violin out of his box and make with his fingers on the strings, like this, but never he make the music.

1. Plural of ox, a large domesticated bovine animal used for labor.
2. Figuratively, people who work hard or are strong and patient.

dollars for his old cookstove that ain’t worth ten.” “Yes’m,” said Otto; “and he’s sold ’em his oxen and his two bony old horses for the price of good workteams. I’d have interfered about the

1. A public official who investigates deaths to determine cause and manner.
2. May perform autopsies or oversee medical examiners in some jurisdictions.

about the state of things over at the Shimerdas’. Nobody could touch the body until the coroner came. If anyone did, something terrible would happen, apparently. The dead man was frozen

1. Severe physical or mental suffering.
2. To cause someone extreme pain or distress.

about getting a priest, and about his father’s soul, which he believed was in a place of torment and would remain there until his family and the priest had prayed a great deal for him. “As I

1. A box or container in which a deceased person is buried or cremated.
2. (Verb) To place or enclose something in a coffin.

to touch the bandage. Mrs. Shimerda caught her by the shoulders and pushed her toward the coffin, but grandmother interfered. “No, Mrs. Shimerda,” she said firmly, “I won’t stand by and see that

1. Women collectively, especially in a particular community or family.
2. Female members of a group or society.

for them. We had a big barn where the farmers could put up their teams, and their womenfolk more often accompanied them, now that they could stay with us for dinner, and rest and set their

1. Turning over soil with a plough to prepare for planting crops.
2. Moving forward steadily and forcefully, like a plough through soil.

was out in the fields from sunup until sundown. If I rode over to see her where she was ploughing, she stopped at the end of a row to chat for a moment, then gripped her plough-handles, clucked

1. A rope with a noose used for catching livestock.
2. A loop or knot at the end of a rope, often used in ranching.

fond of his cow. He patted her flanks and talked to her in Russian while he pulled up her lariat pin and set it in a new place. After he had shown us his garden, Peter trundled a load of

1. A person who delivers sermons or religious speeches.
2. A minister or clergy member who leads worship services.

he look funny, girls?” Lena laughed. “You’ll have to hurry up, Jim. If you’re going to be a preacher, I want you to marry me. You must promise to marry us all, and then baptize the babies.”

1. Small stones or pebbles used for paving or surfacing roads.
2. A term sometimes used in Scotland to refer to rough, coarse gravel.

but grandmother saved her from this by getting her a place to work with our neighbors, the Harlings.

1. A piece of land planted with fruit trees.
2. A garden or grove where trees are cultivated for food production.

helping Mrs. Harling and Tony break the ground and plant the garden, dig around the orchard trees, tie up vines and clip the hedges. Every morning, before I was up, I could hear Tony

1. A roughcast finish for walls, made of lime and small stones.
2. The act of throwing or casting something.

and an orchard and grazing lots—even a windmill. The Harlings were Norwegians, and Mrs. Harling had lived in Christiania until she was ten years old. Her husband was born in Minnesota. He was a

1. A fence or boundary formed by closely growing bushes or shrubs.
2. A means of protection or defense against financial loss.

when grandfather set off to church, grandmother and I took my shortcut through the willow hedge and went over to hear about the visit to the Shimerdas. We found Mrs. Harling with Charley and

1. A nickname for the name Charles.
2. A term for a horse, especially in British slang.

Even on Sundays she went to the office to open the mail and read the markets. With Charley, who was not interested in business, but was already preparing for Annapolis, Mr. Harling was

1. Close-fitting, elastic garments covering the foot and leg, typically made of nylon or silk.
2. Hosiery worn for fashion, warmth, or support, often reaching the thigh.

a moment, either. I had never seen her before with a hat on her head—or with shoes and stockings on her feet, for that matter. And here she was, brushed and smoothed and dressed like a town

1. Dried grass used as animal fodder.
2. A small amount, especially of money (informal).

to playing with the children. She would race about the orchard with us, or take sides in our hay-fights in the barn, or be the old bear that came down from the mountain and carried off Nina.

1. To join or attach with needle and thread.
2. To make or repair something by stitching fabric.

did like out-of-door work,” she added. Mrs. Harling glanced at her. “I expect you’ll learn to sew all right, Lena, if you’ll only keep your head and not go gadding about to dances all the time

1. The act of gathering and moving livestock together.
2. Managing or controlling a group of animals or people.

get discouraged in the field, tie up his team, and wander off to wherever Lena Lingard was herding. There he would sit down on the drawside and help her watch her cattle. All the settlement was

1. A shout or cheer to express approval or encouragement.
2. (Spanish) A traditional Spanish exclamation meaning "bravo" or "hurrah."

lose the little sense he had—and that at an age when she should still have been in pinafores. Ole lived in a leaky dugout somewhere at the edge of the settlement. He was fat and lazy and

1. The craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a needle and thread.
2. The act or process of working with fabric to create or repair garments or other items.

V After Lena came to Black Hawk, I often met her downtown, where she would be matching sewing silk or buying “findings” for Mrs. Thomas. If I happened to walk home with her, she told me all

1. A room for entertaining guests or socializing.
2. A shop or business, such as a beauty parlor or ice cream parlor.

in that territory tried to get into Black Hawk for Sunday. They used to assemble in the parlor after supper on Saturday nights. Marshall Field’s man, Anson Kirkpatrick, played the piano and

1. Small squares of fabric used for wiping the nose or face.
2. Decorative cloth accessories carried in pockets or purses.

Tiny Soderball’s bottles of perfume for his mother, and he thought he would get some handkerchiefs to go with it. They were cheap, and he hadn’t much money left. We found a tableful of

1. A female given name of French origin.
2. Short for Berthe aux grands pieds, a medieval French epic poem.

hadn’t enough money, after all. Presently he said gravely: “Sister, you know mother’s name is Berthe. I don’t know if I ought to get B for Berthe, or M for Mother.” Lena patted his bristly head.

1. A chewy candy made from sugar or molasses, boiled and pulled until soft.
2. Informal term for insincere or exaggerated flattery.

said Mrs. Harling heartily. “Maybe I’ll go home and help you thrash next summer. Isn’t that taffy nearly ready to eat? I’ve been smelling it a long while.” There was a basic harmony between

1. Violent or forceful swinging or striking movements.
2. A severe beating or punishment.

and then, Mrs. Harling, he waved his hand to me and jumped headfirst right into the thrashing machine after the wheat. “I begun to scream, and the men run to stop the horses, but the belt had

1. A term historically used to refer to a person of Black African descent.
2. Considered outdated and offensive in modern usage, replaced by terms like "Black" or "African American."

I remembered from early childhood, with the note of docile subservience in it. He had the negro head, too; almost no head at all; nothing behind the ears but folds of neck under close-clipped

1. A person of mixed white and black ancestry.
2. Historically used to describe someone with one white and one black parent.

came in, directing Blind d’Arnault—he would never consent to be led. He was a heavy, bulky mulatto, on short legs, and he came tapping the floor in front of him with his gold-headed cane. His

1. Easily taught or managed; submissive.
2. Ready to accept control or instruction; compliant.

unfriendly expression. It seemed to me that he despised him for being so simple and docile. Presently Pavel began to talk to Mr. Shimerda, scarcely above a whisper. He was telling a long

1. A female given name, often a diminutive of Eleanor or Helen.
2. Slang for a nervous or timid person (chiefly British).

the lilacs, along the boxwood hedge, up to the south wing of the “Big House,” where Miss Nellie d’Arnault practiced the piano every morning. This angered his mother more than anything else he

1. The flower of a plant.
2. A state or time of beauty, freshness, or vigor.

up, I could hear Tony singing in the garden rows. After the apple and cherry trees broke into bloom, we ran about under them, hunting for the new nests the birds were building, throwing clods at

1. A large tent or canopy, often used for outdoor events.
2. A decorative building or structure in a park or garden.

Ántonia were preserving cherries, when I stopped one morning to tell them that a dancing pavilion had come to town. I had seen two drays hauling the canvas and painted poles up from the depot.

1. A delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern.
2. A cord or string used to fasten shoes or clothing.

year after year, by his old mother in Austria. There was a bleeding heart, in tufts of paper lace; there were the three kings, gorgeously appareled, and the ox and the ass and the shepherds;

1. Empty or unoccupied (e.g., a vacant seat).
2. Lacking thought or intelligence (e.g., a vacant stare).

they moved on to another. The dancing pavilion was put up near the Danish laundry, on a vacant lot surrounded by tall, arched cottonwood trees. It was very much like a merry-go-round tent,

1. A trick-taking card game popular in North America, typically played by four players in two teams.
2. To outmaneuver or deceive someone, often in a playful or strategic context.

became popular now, just as roller skating had been the summer before. The Progressive Euchre Club arranged with the Vannis for the exclusive use of the floor on Tuesday and Friday nights. At

1. Used as a reflexive pronoun to refer to a group previously mentioned.
2. Used for emphasis to refer to a group previously mentioned.

to work overtime and to meet emergencies. It was a matter of pride with them not to spare themselves. Yet they were the sort of men who never get on, somehow, or do anything but work hard for a

1. A chain of department stores in the U.S., known for discounted brand-name merchandise.
2. A surname of English origin, meaning "horse servant" or "caretaker of horses."

1. A covered entrance to a building, typically at the front, often with a roof and open sides.
2. A veranda or similar outdoor space attached to a house, used for relaxation.

the tent had its consequences. The iceman lingered too long now, when he came into the covered porch to fill the refrigerator. The delivery boys hung about the kitchen when they brought the

1. A twisted or braided strand of material used for lighting, as in a candle or oil lamp.
2. A small town or village (chiefly British usage).

XI Wick Cutter was the moneylender who had fleeced poor Russian Peter. When a farmer once got into the

1. Long, stiff hairs growing near the mouth of certain animals, like cats or mice.
2. Slang term for facial hair, especially a mustache.

“the good old times” and simple living. I detested his pink, bald head, and his yellow whiskers, always soft and glistening. It was said he brushed them every night, as a woman does her hair.

1. A ballroom dance in triple time with a strong accent on the first beat.
2. Music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance.

used to drop in late and risk a tiff with their sweethearts and general condemnation for a waltz with “the hired girls.”

1. The beginning or start of something.
2. A graduation ceremony where degrees or diplomas are awarded.

XIV The day after Commencement I moved my books and desk upstairs, to an empty room where I should be undisturbed, and I fell to

1. A formal speech or discourse delivered in a public setting.
2. A highly rhetorical or elaborate style of speaking.

day if I knew what your oration is to be about. She wants you to do well.” I thought my oration very good. It stated with fervor a great many things I had lately discovered. Mrs. Harling came

1. Steep cliffs or banks, often by a river or sea.
2. Deceptive actions or statements meant to mislead.

morning I used to pace up and down my sunny little room, looking off at the distant river bluffs and the roll of the blond pastures between, scanning the Aeneid aloud and committing long

1. A farming tool used to turn over soil for planting crops.
2. To move forward forcefully or laboriously.

the earth. The fields below us were dark, the sky was growing pale, and that forgotten plough had sunk back to its own littleness somewhere on the prairie.

1. A member of the clergy, especially in Christian churches.
2. A religious leader or priest in various religions.

wallpaper was covered by a large map of ancient Rome, the work of some German scholar. Cleric had ordered it for me when he was sending for books from abroad. Over the bookcase hung a

1. A poem about agriculture and rural life.
2. A didactic work on farming and country pursuits.

which custom breeds. I propped my book open and stared listlessly at the page of the Georgics where tomorrow’s lesson began. It opened with the melancholy reflection that, in the lives of

1. A source of inspiration for creative work.
2. (Greek mythology) One of the nine goddesses of the arts and sciences.

ego in patriam mecum … deducam Musas”; “for I shall be the first, if I live, to bring the Muse into my country.” Cleric had explained to us that “patria” here meant, not a nation or even a

1. A piece of fabric hung to cover a window or divide a room.
2. A barrier or screen used in theaters to conceal the stage.

of what awaited them than were Lena and I. Our excitement began with the rise of the curtain, when the moody Varville, seated before the fire, interrogated Nanine. Decidedly, there was a new

1. A type of daisy with white petals and a yellow center.
2. A female given name of French origin.

that presupposed and took for granted, like those which passed between Varville and Marguerite in the brief encounter before her friends entered. This introduced the most brilliant, worldly,

1. A person who works on a ship or boat.
2. Someone skilled in navigating or operating vessels.

house, with a fence and gate and all, waiting for her sweetheart. Farther up his arm, her sailor had come back and was kissing her. ‘The Sailor’s Return,’ he called it.” I admitted it was no

1. People who work on ships or boats, especially as crew members.
2. Members of a navy, typically enlisted personnel.

she was running her lodging-house in Seattle, gold was discovered in Alaska. Miners and sailors came back from the North with wonderful stories and pouches of gold. Tiny saw it and weighed it

1. A skilled worker who builds or repairs wooden structures.
2. A person who works with wood, crafting furniture or frameworks.

in her, awoke. She sold her business and set out for Circle City, in company with a carpenter and his wife whom she had persuaded to go along with her. They reached Skaguay in a snowstorm,

1. Convinced someone to believe or do something through reasoning or argument.
2. Influenced someone's thoughts or actions by appealing to their feelings or logic.

to his brow and bowed his venerable head, thus Protestantizing the atmosphere. We persuaded our guest to stay for supper with us. He needed little urging. As we sat down to the table, it

1. A region in Yukon, Canada, known for the 1890s gold rush.
2. A solitaire card game played with a single deck.

from discouraged miners, traded or sold them on percentages. After nearly ten years in the Klondike, Tiny returned, with a considerable fortune, to live in San Francisco. I met her in Salt Lake

1. Land covered with grass for grazing livestock.
2. Grass or plants grown for feeding animals.

rare in that part of the state. I left the road and went around through a stretch of pasture that was always cropped short in summer, where the gaillardia came up year after year and matted

1. The capital city of Austria, known for its cultural heritage and historic landmarks.
2. A type of sausage, also called "Wiener," originating from Vienna.

coyotes, and the young man who “batched” with him, Jan Bouska, who had been a fur-worker in Vienna, made the coat. From the windmill I watched Jelinek come out of the barn with the blacks, and