Z is for zenith
The zenith is that point in the visible celestial hemisphere which is vertical to the spectator; the point of the heavens directly overhead.

In The Long Winter, Chapter 27, "For Daily Bread," Wilder wrote that "the sun was in the zenith now. The day was half gone." Although it sounds like Wilder is saying that the sun was directly overhead, she actually is implying that the sun was at its highest point for that particular day?

The zenith angle is the angle between the overhead point for an observer and an object such as the Sun. The solar zenith angle is zero if the Sun is directly overhead and is 90 degrees when the Sun is on the horizon.

In the winter the days are short and the Sun in low in the sky. During the short winter days the Sun does not rise exactly in the east, but instead rises just south of east and it sets south of west. The sun is never directly overhead in Kingsbury County during the winter.

Each day after the winter solstice, which occurs on December 21st, the Sun's path becomes a little higher in the southern sky. The Sun also begins to rise closer to the east and set closer to the west until we reach the day when it rises exactly east and sets exactly west. This day is called the equinox. In the spring we have the Spring Equinox about March 21st. There is also a Fall Equinox on September 21st.

The Fall Equinox begins fall in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere. There are twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness at all points on the earth's surface on the two equinoxes. Sunrise is at 6 a.m. and sunset is at 6 p.m. local (solar) time for most points on the earth’s surface.

But back to Almanzo's observation in The Long Winter. He was noting solar noon, or that moment of the day that divides the daylight hours for that day exactly in half. It is the time, at a specific location, when the sun reaches its highest, apparent point in the sky, equal to true or due, geographic south. To determine solar noon, calculate the length of the day from the time of sunset and sunrise and divide by two. Solar noon may be quite a bit different from 'clock' noon. It is when the sun appears at its highest in the sky, or nearest zenith.

Wilder never says exactly when Almanzo went to find the wheat, but it was definitely after Christmas. To see a solar noon calendar for De Smet, CLICK HERE.
- posted by pioneergirl at 2:00 AM

 
Y is for yankton
Yankton was part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1804. A year later, President Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis & Clark up the Missouri River from St. Louis to explore the northern reaches of the new territory.

Led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the expedition, known as the Corps of Discovery, moved up the river and reached the area now known as Yankton in late August 1804. They signed a peace treaty with the Yankton Sioux Indians, formalizing the deal on what is now called Calumet Bluff on the south side of the river about five miles west of the present-day site of Yankton.

According to legend, Lewis and Clark made a token gesture of peace by wrapping a newborn Indian baby in an American flag. That baby grew up to become the Sioux chief Struck-By-The-Ree, who was one of the moving forces behind the Treaty of 1858 which opened up much of what would become Dakota Territory for settlement.

The treaty set the stage for the founding of Yankton. The first settlements were built along a stream then known as Rhine Creek (it was changed to Marne Creek during World War I, honoring America's French ally and snubbing the Germanic heritage of the original moniker). The early settlement was often referred to as Old Strike's Camp of Charlie's Town, so named after early settler Charles Picotte.

The city was a thriving river town in its early days and was designated as the first capital of Dakota Territory.

Yankton faced its first real frontier threat with the so-called Scare of 1862. When the Santee Sioux of Minnesota instigated an uprising against the surge of white settlers, and the hostility sent shockwaves into neighboring Dakota. Although no war ever developed in the Yankton area, some violence was reported east of the village near Mission Hill. The Yankton stockade was built to house all area white settlers. Fortunately, it was never needed and the stockade was dismantled.

America's will to move west made Yankton an important crossroads. In 1873, Lt. Col. George Custer brought his Seventh Calvary to Yankton on its way west to the Black Hills -- a mysterious and alluring bank of mountains where the discovery of gold would soon change the territory forever. Custer, his wife Libbie and his soldiers were in Yankton for three weeks in the spring of 1873, enjoying the booming city's hospitality and surviving a ferocious April blizzard. Also, Custer battled pneumonia at this time and was gravely ill at one point. Although Custer's stay in Yankton was brief, his impact on its history still remains.

When gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874, it had a ripple effect throughout Dakota Territory. Yankton also felt this effect with the arrival of thousands of prospectors and dreamers. The town's weekly newspaper, the Press and Dakotoian, began publishing daily editions of a section called the Yankton Black Hiller to meet the hungry information needs of the gold-miners. This led to the Press and Dakotoian becoming a daily in April 1875.

The gold rush brought people of all types and characters west. On Aug. 2, 1876, the legendary Wild Bill Hickok, sheriff of the booming Black Hills town of Deadwood, was gunned down while playing cards in the Number 10 Saloon. His accused murderer, Jack McCall, was apprehended -- exact whereabouts are in dispute -- and his trial was held in the territorial capital of Yankton. McCall was convicted and hung on March 1, 1877.

The Missouri River, the giver of life for so many frontier towns in the 19th century, was also one of Yankton's chief tormentors. Periodic floods were destructive and deadly, and simply crossing the river was a precarious task.

In 1873, the arrival of the Dakota Southern Railroad ushered out the riverboat era. Riverboat trading boomed until the floods wiped it out. Yankton became known as the "Fountain City" because of the artesian well development.

In 1882, Bismarck (in current North Dakota) replaced Yankton as the capital of Dakota Territory. Pierre has been the capital since statehood in 1889.

In 1891, "Little House" character Edward Brown left his home in De Smet and moved to Yankton, South Dakota.
- posted by pioneergirl at 1:59 AM

 
X is for xanthophyll
X is always for xanthophyll in the "Little House" world. Xanthophyll is yellow coloring matter contained in the leaves of trees in autumn.

And a hard word to spell. Is it found in your blue-back speller? It's not in mine.
- posted by pioneergirl at 1:59 AM

 
W is for waldvogel
Look Back and Remember: The First Fifty Years of Rock Elm Township Area 1861-1911, by Lavern F. Flanders.

From the Pierce County Herald, May 14, 1868: Shooting affray; We are informed that a shooting affray took place at Rock Elm on Saturday night last. About 10:00 August Waldvogel shot a man named Goodenough. The weapon used was a shotgun heavily loaded with shot. The entire charge taking effect in the face and breast of the unfortunate victim at the distance of about ten paces. Mr. Goodenough was immediately cared for, but the wounds received were fatal. He lingered in agony until Monday morning, when death delivered him from suffering. The deceased leaves a widow and one child to mourn the loss of a husband and father.

August Waldvogel has been placed under arrest and his examination appointed to have taken place yesterday before Esq. Crumby of Rock Elm. Mr. Goodenough's name was Milo and he and wife Rosanne with small child named Flora, homesteaded on 80 acres south of Rock Elm Centre on Plum Creek in Section 28 of Rock Elm Township. Daughter Flora was born April 3, 1867, and was only one year old when her father was killed.

August Waldvogel was also an earlier settler of Rock Elm Township, coming here in 1865. Shortly after the shooting, Docia, wife of August, gave birth to a son.

Apparently this was not only Rock Township's first murder and trial but also one of Pierce County's first published murder cases, or at least one of the first to be tried in a court of law that was published in the Pierce County Newspaper.

From the newspaper of June 4, 1868: Details of the murder have appeared previous to this. August Waldvogel charged with murder of Goodenough in Rock Elm was committed to jail to await trial in default of $10,000 bail, in Prescott, Wis. State of Wisconsin vs. August Waldvogel, indictment for murder. Burton and Dawson for the state. J.S. White and P.U. Wise for the defense.

October 22, 1868. State of Wisconsin vs. August Waldvogel, indictment for murder; trial by jury; verdict guilty of manslaughter. Sentenced in court to eight years (one day of solitary) confinement in the State Prison at Waupon.

The case was one in which there was a great difference of opinion; one in which considerable interested was manifasted by all. Prosecution was conducted by District Attorney J.C. Burton. Quote from the Pirece County Herald; This is the first case of the kind tried before this court for some time and we hope it may be the last.

In August 1872, Waldvogel was at work at the cook house at Waupun and he makes the best bread eaten here. They say he is surly and cross and not likely to be reduced in time for good behavior.
- posted by pioneergirl at 1:59 AM

 
V is for violet

Violet - A plant and flower of the genus Viola, of many species. They are generally low, herbaceous plants, and the flowers of many of the species are of some shade of blue. The color seen in a violet, being that one of the seven primary colors of the solar spectrum which is most refrangible.

Viola odorata, generally believed to be the "sweet violet" of the Ingalls homestead buffalo wallow, is a plant introduced to America from other countries. There are sixteen species of Viola native to South Dakota.

While I was in De Smet this summer, someone asked Grandpa Bob if the buffalo wallow still existed. He said he believed it had been located behind the current garage building on the property. Why? Because when Barney the buffalo (who came with the land when it was purchased from the Penney family years ago) roamed the land, he always wallowed and kicked up dust behind the garage. Maybe that was the location of the original wallow, or maybe the area behind the garage was simply well-trampled and dusty 100 years later?

Another version of the "what happened to..." story is that the little slough took over the buffalo wallow, and the two distinct features became one. I like this scenario better. On early topographical maps, there is a circular depression to the west of the little slough, and that area is still somewhat in evidence today. I'm pretty sure I've blogged about this before; I've certainly roamed the land looking for violets, and have come up empty-handed every time.

As is often pointed out, the Ingalls homestead was planted and irrigated for many years. This certainly changed the contours of land somewhat, and violets would have been consided a weed and dealt with accordingly.
- posted by pioneergirl at 1:59 AM

 
U is for upland
Upland - High land; ground elevated above the meadows and intervals which lie on the banks of rivers, near the sea, or between hills; land which is generally dry; – opposed to meadow, marsh, swamp, interval, and the like.

Wilder wrote that there was only upland hay on the Ingalls homestead. The slough grass was considered lowland.
- posted by pioneergirl at 6:30 AM

 
T is for tinkham

This biography is from "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography, including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and representative citizens of South Dakota... Published by G. A. Ogle & Co., Chicago, 1898. Page 435.

Charles H. Tinkham is one of the leading merchants of De Smet, Kingsbury county. He operates a large furniture house, dealing also in picture frames, wall paper, shades, etc., besides having a department devoted entirely to undertaking. Mr. Tinkham was born in Somerset County, Maine, May 28, 1854. His parents, Orville W. and Clara (Holbrook) Tinkham, are natives respectively of Massachusetts and Maine, and of English and Scotch extraction. Orville Tinkham was born September 14, 1820, and his wife November 25, 1825. They were married in Maine, and settled in Somerset County, where they still reside, the parents of five children: Frank M., Charles H., the subject of this sketch, Granville C., deceased, Orville C. and Emma, deceased.

Charles spent his early days upon the farm in Maine receiving his education in the district schools, and at the Eaton Family and Day school, of South Norridgewock, Maine. At the age of seventeen he commenced teaching school, and followed the profession during the winter months for the next seven years, in the summer working in a shoe factory at West Bridgewater and Campello, Massachusetts.

In the spring of 1876 Mr. Tinkham went west to Minnesota, filing on some land in Rock county, that state. Later he accepted a position with Angell & Loomis, dealers
in furniture and harness at Luverne, in the same state. He remained there until 1879, when he went back to Massachusetts. On the 21St of October of that year he was married to Miss Addie L. Jennings, at Cochesett. Mrs. Tinkham was born at Taunton, Massachusetts, November 25, and is the daughter of William H. and Harriet (Lona) Jennings.

This biography is from "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography,including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and representative citizens of South Dakota..." Published by G. A. Ogle & Co., Chicago, 1898. Page 435.

In the spring of 1880, Mr. Tinkham came to South Dakota, locating immediately at DeSmet. Soon afterward he engaged in his present business upon a small scale. He has been very successful, and has continued year after year to enlarge and put in new lines, until to-day he has one of the best and most complete stocks of furniture, household wares, undertaker's goods, etc., to be found in any town of similar size in the state. Mr. Tinkham is also president and one of the largest
stockholders of DeSmet Stove Company, incorporated, manufacturers of straw consuming stoves, ranges, etc. This is also a large and flourishing concern. Mr. Tinkham is prominent among the Odd Fellows, being now a past grand patriot in the fraternity. He is a Republican in politics, and always manifests a keen interest in public affairs. He was one of the first trustees of DeSmet, having been one of the original village board. In 1884 he was elected treasurer of Kingsbury County, and served one term, giving general satisfaction in the discharge of his duties.

Mr. and Mrs. Tinkham have one son, Harold, who was born October 19, 1882.
- posted by pioneergirl at 1:59 AM

 
S is for sculptor boy
Carrie Ingalls recites this poem from the Independent Fifth Reader at the school exhibition in De Smet (see Little Town on the Prairie, Chapter 24, "The School Exhibition"). "The Sculptor Boy" was composed by George Washington Doane (1799-1859), American writer and Episcopal bishop.

The Sculptor Boy

Chisel in hand stood a sculptor boy,
With his marble block before him;
And his face lit up with a smile of joy
As an angel dream passed o'er him.
He carved that dream on the yielding stone
With many a sharp incision.
In Heaven's own light the sculptor shone,--
He had caught that angel vision.

Sculptors of life are we, as we stand
With our lives uncarved before us,
Waiting the hour, when, at God's command,
Our life-dream passes o'er us.
Let us carve it, then, on the yielding stone,
With many a sharp incision:--
Its heavenly beauty shall be our own,--
Our lives, that angel vision.
- posted by pioneergirl at 9:27 AM

 
R is for rubber
Caoutchoue: A vegetable substance obtained from incisions made in several plants, affording a milky juice, as the Urceola elastica, a tree of tropical Asia, the Ficus elastica, a species of fig in Nepal, and especially the Siphonia elastica, a euphorbiaceous plant of South America. It is white at first, and assumes the dark shade usually possessed on exposure to smoke. It is impermeable to water, tenacious, elastic, unalterable by exposure to air, fusible at 150 degrees, soluble in ether and the essential oils. It is also called India rubber (having been first used to erase pencil marks) and gum elastic. Vulcanized caoutchoue, caoutchoue compounded with a small proportion of sulphur, by which it is rendered hard and elastic like horn; – so called because subjected to a high degree of heat during the process of manufacture. It is used for a great variety of purposes in the arts.

If you see a man with an India-rubber coat on, India-rubber shoes, an India-rubber cap, and in his pocket an India-rubber purse, with not a cent in it, that is Goodyear. If you see a man with an India-rubber coat on, and in his pockets nine sweet potatoes, that is Edwards.

Early items made of natural rubber would deteriorate over time. After a year or two, natural rubber turns to liquid and stinks! During the LH years, vulcanized rubber was used to coat fabric, which was then fashioned into many useful items, including coats.

Was Mr. Edward's rubber coat a Mackintosh?
- posted by pioneergirl at 1:38 AM

 
Q is for queer
Queer - Going athwart what is usual or normal; differing in some odd way from what is ordinary; odd; singular; quaint; whimsical; as a queer story or act.

I love that the "Little House" books include the word queer with the above definitions. Almanzo feels queer. Laura feels queer. Everyone feels queer. There are queer birds. The weather is queer. The sky is queer. Laura sees queer things.

In The Long Winter, when Laura describes the cattle with their heads frozen to the ground, Mary says "It must be one of Laura's queer notions" I need to work this into the conversation more often.
- posted by pioneergirl at 3:29 AM

 
P is for pork-pickle
In Farmer Boy, Chapter 22, "Fall of the Year," Almanzo and Royal place hams and shoulders "carefully into barrels of brown pork-pickle, which mother made of salt, maple sugar, saltpeter, and water, boiled together. Pork-pickle had a stinging smell that felt like a sneeze."

An 1877 receipt for pork-pickle, used to cure hams:

For every ham, half a pound each of salt and brown sugar, half an ounce each of cayenne pepper, allspice, and saltpeter; mix and rub well over the hams, laying them in the barrel they are to be kept in with the skin side down; let them remain a week; make a pickle of wter and salt strong enough to bear an egg, add it to half a pound of sugar, pour over the mans till they are thoroughly covered, let them remain four weeks, take out and hang up to dry for at least a week before smoking; smoke with corn-cobs or hickory chips.
- posted by pioneergirl at 5:05 PM

 
O is for o'dowd
Bill O'Dowd and Tay Pay Pryor sang together and possibly drank together. Tay Pay Pryor was Thomas P. Power, but just who was Bill O'Dowd? All Laura Ingalls Wilder tells us is that he is tall and his brother brought him to a claim in Kingsbury County to keep him from drinking. The two saloons in De Smet were two too many, according to Charles Ingalls.

Bill O'Dowd was actually William Dow, brother of Lorenzo. The Dow brothers filed on neighboring claims in Township 110, Range 57. And if I had The Book of Dow in front of me, I could come up with more, but I don't, so I can't.
- posted by pioneergirl at 11:51 PM

 
N is for nailer
Aunt Docia "was angry because Uncle Hi had worked hard all summer and had nothing to show for it.'He's worked like a nailer all summer!' she said. 'He's even worked his own teams on the grade, and both of us saving and scrimping and pinching till the job was finished, and now it's finished and the company says we owe them money! They say we're in debt to them for our summer's hard work! And on top of that they want us to take another contract, and Hi takes it! That's what he does! He takes it!'" (By the Shores of Silver Lake, Chapter 5, Railroad Camp")

A nailer was a smith who made nails. A diligent nailer could perhaps make two thousand nails in a day. In SSL, Wilder may be implying that Uncle Hi worked hard at doing one specific task all summer, like a nailer. She may simply be implying that he worked hard.

The published phrase - "work like a nailer" - isn't used in either Pioneer Girl or the existing manuscript for By the Shores of Silver Lake. In the book manuscript, Uncle Hi "has worked since spring running this camp. He has hired drivers and worked his own teams on the grade. He has been careful of expenses and done a good job of work and he gets less than nothing for it all." In Pioneer Girl, Uncle Hi had spent a "hard summer's work."

It's not known when the phrase was added, but it's entirely possible that the original had been "work like a nigger," since this (as well as "work like a horse") were commonly in use at the time the "Little House" books were written, and Wilder did use the word "nigger" in both Pioneer Girl and in her manuscripts.
- posted by pioneergirl at 1:30 PM

 
M is for mush
Mush is Indian meal boiled in water. Nothing could be easier, but there are many subtle variations in the preparation of cornmeal mush, depending on the cook and personal preference: add meal to boiling water; soak meal in cold water before adding to boiling water; add (or not) salt, fat, or sugar.

Cornmeal has a tendency to form lumps when added dry to water; constant stirring helps, and a whisk instead of a spoon helps even more. To two cups of boiling water, add one-half cup of meal and stir until cooked. Serve with butter, syrup, or gravy.

For fried mush, place the cooked mush in a loaf pan or bowl and smooth the top. To prevent sticking, it helps to grease the container, or simply add a little water to it. Let the mush sit for several hours or over night. Cut cold mush in slices and fry in grease on a hot griddle until brown. Mmmm, mmm.

In the "Little House" books, mush is an "early books" dish. In Little House in the Big Woods, mush is glorified as hasty pudding, and it's something Grandma Ingalls prepares. In Indian Territory, mush is eaten with gravy or as a side-dish with meat. On Plum Creek, it's eaten as a breakfast food with milk. At Silver Lake, it's eaten fried or with milk.

Then it stops being mentioned.

In De Smet, corn was grown for animal feed and as a cash crop, as well as for eating fresh or dried. But with no grist mill in town, meal would have been brought in on the train. And maybe the Ingalls family had had enough of eating Indian meal during their early years?
- posted by pioneergirl at 11:58 AM

 
L is for last

"Almanzo took off his moccasins and his socks, and stood on a piece of paper while the cobbler carefully drew around his feet with his big pencil. Then the cobbler measured his feet in every direction, and wrote down the figures... That day the cobbler had whittled out two wooden lasts, just the shape of Almanzo's feet. They fitted upside-down over a tall peg on his bench, and they would come apart in halves." --Farmer Boy, Chapter 23, "Cobbler"

A last is a mold or form of the human foot, made of wood, on which shoes are formed. They are still used when custom boots are made. Until recently, the last was always carved out of wood, but now fiberglass is often used.

Apparently, Almanzo Wilder made some of his own shoes as an adult. Cobbler's tools and hand-made shoes belonging to Almanzo are on display at the Wilder Home and Museum in Mansfield, Missouri. It's interesting to note that Almanzo's feet were different sizes, and this fact is often mentioned when speculating that Almanzo had suffered from polio during his childhood. People who had polio often have feet that are two different sizes, especially if the polio affected only one side.

De Smet resident Neva Whaley recalled that Almanzo was a "cripple," and Mansfield resident Neta Seal said in an interview that Almanzo had a "club foot." Both conditions could have been the result of polio. Or not.
- posted by pioneergirl at 10:00 AM

 
K is for knitting
This is the basic pattern I came up with when I first started knitting red wool mittens ten or so years ago. They are knitted flat on two needles and then seamed. I now knit mittens in the round, and this pattern is easily adapted to dpns. I'm including this pattern here because it's not on my computer, I have one copy left, and I keep misplacing it. My copy is indeed a beginner pattern, with each row spelled out quite plainly and written so that you can easily mark off the rows as you go.

BASIC MITTEN - size 8

CUFF
( ) Cast on 35 stitches with size 5 needles
( ) Row 1: P1, K1 across
( ) Row 2: K1, P1 across
( ) P ( ) K ( ) P
( ) K ( ) P ( ) K ( ) P ( ) K
( ) P ( ) K ( ) P ( ) K ( ) P
( ) K ( ) P ( ) K ( ) P ( ) K
( ) P Change to size 7 needles with next row.

BODY
( ) Knit across row, inc 7 sts evenly. {K2, inc, ((K 5, inc)x6), K3} = 42 sts
( ) Purl ( ) Knit ( ) Purl
( ) K 20, mark, inc twice, mark, K 20 = 44 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit - inc at beginning and end of marks = 46 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit - inc at beginning and end of marks = 48 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit - inc at beginning and end of marks = 50 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit - inc at beginning and end of marks = 52 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit - inc at beginning and end of marks = 54 sts
( ) Purl

THUMB
( ) Knit to marker, leave these 20 sts on needle, add on one st to left needle, knit to marker using a dpn, remove marker, turn, add on one st, leave remaining sts on original needle = 16 thumb stitches
( ) P ( ) K ( ) P ( ) K ( ) P
( ) K ( ) P ( ) K ( ) P ( ) K
( ) P ( ) Knit 2 tog with size 5, crochet to hand

HAND
( ) Pick up a st in each of 2 added on sts at base of thumb, knit across = 42 sts
( ) P ( ) K ( ) P ( ) K ( ) P
( ) K ( ) P ( ) K ( ) P ( ) K
( ) P ( ) K ( ) P ( ) K ( ) P
( ) K ( ) P ( ) K ( ) Purl, place marker after st 21

SHAPING
( ) K2, (s1, K1, PSSO), knit to w/i 3 sts of marker, K2 tog, (s1, K1, PSSO), knit across to last 4 sts, K2 tog, K2 = 38 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit shaping row = 34 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit shaping row = 30 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit shaping row = 26 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit shaping row = 22 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit shaping row = 18 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit 2 tog across row w/ size 5 needles, draw yarn through, and weave seam to wrist.
- posted by pioneergirl at 10:05 AM

 
J is for jack

Was the Ingallses' dog, Jack, an English bulldog or an American bulldog? I honestly don't know for sure, but I'd like to think that Jack was an English bulldog.

The photo above is of Pearce and Cristina's new English bulldog puppy, "a tawny animal and brindled." And cute as a button.

When I think about Jack, I do think of the phrase "tawny-colored and brindled." Don't you? Surely Wilder must have described Jack in this way in the "Little House" books more times that she described him as merely brown. So I went looking.

In Little House in the Big Woods, Jack is described as a brindle bulldog, twice. In Little House on the Prairie, Jack is described as a brindle bulldog (once) and with a brindled head (once). The "tawny animal and brindled" describes the animal who creeps near the campfire and turns out to be Jack, in Chapter 3, "Camp on the High Prairie." In both On the Banks of Plum Creek and By the Shores of Silver Lake, Wilder uses both the words tawny and brindled, but not to describe Jack.

So there you have it. Jack was a brown brindle bulldog.
- posted by pioneergirl at 10:26 PM