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Congress

Legislative body of a country.

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picket rope / pin / line

n. A stake sharpened or pointed, used in fortification and...

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“De Boatmen’s Dance”

Away Down the RIver on the O-hi-o.

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muff

A warm covering for receiving the hands.

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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chestnut / horse chestnut

A large nut, the fruit of a species of Æsculus.

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“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

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churn

Cream agitator.

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Western Reserve

Land in Ohio, given to Connecticut upon agreement to give up claim to lands in Pennsylvania.

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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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Becky Newhall / Rebecca Stewart

Classmate of Laura Ingalls in De Smet.

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stanchion

Support frame.

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Alfred N. Waters

Attorney and land agent in De Smet.

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“Pull for the Shore”

Sunshine for Sunday Schools hymn.

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fever ‘n’ ague / malaria

malaria

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“Ben Bolt”

1842 Thomas Dunn English song.

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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Mr. Clancy / Chauncey Clayson

Drygoods store owner, Chauncey Clayson

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hatchet

A small ax with a short handle, to be used with one hand.

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whiffle-tree / whiffletree

Bar to attach traces to.

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls during the Little House years

Ingallses lived here with Uncle Peter.

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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…

From Robert Herrick poem.

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last

Mold of a foot, used in making shoes.

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Laura Remington

Mrs. Phillip Aubrey Lawrence

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Peter Riley Ingalls family

Uncle Peter & Aunt Eliza.

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blueing bag

Whiter whites.

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Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

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water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

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reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

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Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

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“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Singing school exercise

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Farmer Boy – the fictional story

Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in Burke NY.

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literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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“The Big Sunflower”

Pa’s trouble song.

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gosh!

that wicked word

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pen / pen-wiper

An instrument used for writing. / Material used to clean it after writing.

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“Little Annie Rooney”

1889 song by Michael Nolan.

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“Lend a Helping Hand”

Hymn #22, Pure Gold for Sunday School.

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Timothy Johnson family

De Smet Wagon Shop.

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Little Town on the Prairie – the fictional story

Homesteading and town life.

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Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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Minnie Johnson

Laura’s schoolmate in De Smet

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Charles Mead

Proprietor of the Exchange Hotel in De Smet, 1880-1882.

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“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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Noah’s ark toy

Willie’s toy boat with animals.

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Lansford James Ingalls family

Pa’s brother and Laura’s uncle.

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“Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-Ay”

1891 Henry J. Sayers song.

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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apron

Garment protector.

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Old Settler’s Day

De Smet annual reunion.

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Henry Hinz

Owner of first saloon in De Smet and boarder at the Ingallses’.

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Ven Owen

Teacher and principal of the first graded school in De Smet

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what-not / whatnot

An étagère for books & ornaments.

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swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

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pieplant

Rhubarb.

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whiskey

Spirits distilled from grain.

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depot / station

Railway station.

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks”

Long Winter song

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Carrie Ingalls, Homesteader

W-NW & W-SW 9-4N-20E of Black Hills Meridian

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Will Barnes

Walnut Grove acquaintance of the Ingallses’ in the 1870s....

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door knob

Grab to open a door.

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Arthur Sherwood

Brother of Carter Sherwood.

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“The Swan’s Nest”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem.

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Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

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These Happy Golden Years – historical perspective

De Smet, D.T., 1883-1885.

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apple pie / dried apple pie

Just like Ma used to make.

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legal cap

legal document paper

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Mr. Anderson / Niels Kopperud

Hard Winter wheat settler

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spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

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le cadeau du cheval

2008 horse mural composed of smaller paintings of horses,...

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Doxology

Old Hundred.

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flag, the flower

An aquatic flower, Iris versicolor.

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Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

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“It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary”

1912 Judge & Williams song.

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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“The Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

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gopher

Four don’t go fur…

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Pure Gold for the Sunday School

Hymnal owned by the Ingalls family.

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“Nobody Ask’d You”

In the frosty mornings and the chilly evenings when they went...

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spoon holder / spoon-holder / spoonholder

Any vessel used to hold and display spoons.

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Mother Goose

Fictionalized compiler of ancient nursery rhymes.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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Santa Claus / Santa Clause

Ho. Ho. Ho.

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cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

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Poverty Flat

Early De Smet residential area.

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“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

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Reverend Edward Brown

Minister of the First Congregational Church of De Smet, 1880-1884.

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Great American Desert

Varying area of North America, believed at times to be uninhabitable by civilized man.

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“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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forfeits

Game in which items are deposited and redeemable by a sportive fine.

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galumphing

To move in a clumsy, ponderous, or noisy manner.

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quinine

Medicine used to treat malaria, made from cinchona bark.

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“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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tiger

Noah’s ark toy piece.

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Will Knight

Walnut Grove revival singer.

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George C. Bradley

Early De Smet druggist.

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John D. Peirson

Early De Smet liveryman.

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Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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Fred Fields / Big Jerry

Railroad boss and his brother-in-law.

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pullaway

Outdoor tagging game.

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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freeze drying

sublimation!

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The Athenians

Hartville, Mo. study club.

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Henry O. Quiner family

Ma’s brother, married to Pa’s sister Polly.

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“A Shelter in the Time of Storm”

Ira Sankey hymn.

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“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

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copper

Cu

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Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

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copperplate

Variable-width handwriting script made with a flexible, pointed nib.

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Mr. Edwards / Edmund Mason

Was he Edmund Mason?

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poll

No horns.

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

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The Modern Musketeer

How Rose became a great actress.

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claim

The land to which one has a right.

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Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

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oyster

A mollusk of the genus Ostrea, having a bivalve shell.

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Sale of School Lands on the Osage Diminished Reserve

LHOP cabin was on Section 36

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The Long Winter – historical perspective

The Hard Winter of 1880-1881.

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chilblain

Cold sores on hands and feet.

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needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

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“Marching Through Georgia”

Union song from American Civil War.

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President George Washington

First President of the U.S.A.

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The Floweret

1842 book of verse by Anna Maria Wells.

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James Glover family

Students in the Wilkin School.

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ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

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Joseph Bouchie family

Fictional Brewster family in THGY.

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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“Paul Revere’s Ride”

Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

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The New York Ledger

Weekly story paper, published 1855-1898.

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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De Smet during the Little House years

The Ingalls family moved here in 1879.

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Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Birthday

Happy Birthday, Laura!

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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spelling / speller

The order of letters in a word. / A book of exercises on the order of letters.

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

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birthday

As near as I can figure, E.J. was right.

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“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

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sulky / sulky plow

One-seated conveyance.

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thunder-pumps

American bittern, a member of the heron family.

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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“Mountain of the Lord”

Hymn #52, Pure Gold for the Sunday School

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black-berry / blackberry

The berry of the bramble, Rubus fruticosous.

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dove-in-the-window / bear’s tracks

Patchwork pattern variations.

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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cannon

Military engine used for throwing balls and other instruments of death by the force of gunpowder.

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“The Singing School”

1869 P. Benson song.

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“Uncle Sam’s Farm”

1848 Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. song.

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alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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whalebone

Baleen used in corsets.

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“I Wish I Was in Dixie’s Land”

1860 Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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Turkey red

Durable red color, dyed with madder upon calico or woolen cloth.

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Eleck Nelson family

Neighbors of the Ingalls family when living on their preemption claim north of Walnut Grove.

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whip

A lash tied to a handle.

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New England States

ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, & CT.

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birds’-nest pudding

Dessert made of apples baked in syrup and served with cream.

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Big Green Animal Book

George Hartwig’s The Polar and Tropical Worlds: A Description of Man and Nature.

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velocipede

Carriage propelled by pedals or feet.

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“yell like a Comanche”

Imitated Indian battle cry.

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“Arkansas Traveler”

Traditional American folk song.

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Uncle Sam

Figure symbolizing the United States.

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patent / title

official property ownership document

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saleratus / soda

Leavening agents used in baking.

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“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

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dried-raspberry sauce

Dried sauce good on biscuits.

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Samuel O. Masters / William J. Masters families

Walnut Grove, Burr Oak, and De Smet family known by the Ingallses.

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Carrie Ingalls

Younger sister of Laura Ingalls; she lived 1870-1946.

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huckleberry

Let’s have some pie!

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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Osage Indian Treaty

Legal agreement between nations or sovereigns.

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

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William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

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