Elijah of Buxton: Chapters 11-16

by Christopher Paul Curtis
Born in a Canadian settlement for runaway slaves, naive and well-meaning Elijah is forced to confront the realities of slavery when he attempts to recover stolen money that would help free a friend's enslaved family.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1-4, Chapters 5-10, Chapters 11-16, Chapters 17-24

Here are links to our lists for other books by Christopher Paul Curtis: Bud, Not Buddy, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, The Journey of Little Charlie
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. plait
    a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair
    It even had a bunch of braided black yarn sewed on for hair that was supposed to look like plaits.
  2. beeline
    the most direct route
    Emma Collins didn’t make no beeline for the big maple.
  3. lollygag
    loaf about and waste time; dawdle
    It looked to be a whole lot of lollygagging and a walk that should’ve took ’bout a minute to make ended up taking a whole lot longer, but she knowed what she was doing.
  4. blubber
    cry or whine with snuffling
    The little boy, who ’peared to be ’bout five years old, was blubbering and churning his legs up and down like he was still on the run but he waren’t moving nowhere.
  5. tonic
    a medicine that strengthens and invigorates
    She pulled a brown tonic bottle out of her dress pocket.
  6. kerchief
    a square scarf folded into a triangle and worn over the head
    Emma set her doll and the little yellow flower on the stump and pulled out a ’kerchief to wipe her eyes and nose.
  7. sully
    make dirty or spotty
    The man said to Pa, “Sir, I swored wasn’t no one gunn take us back ’less it be over my dead body. I swored it and I proofed it wasn’t no bluff, but now ain’t no more need for that dagger, ain’t no more need to be thinking ’bout the dirt what all over it. It sullied, it ain’t clean.”
  8. chafe
    become or make sore by or as if by rubbing
    ’Sides, after he got done walking all the way to the Settlement with that pee chafing ’round in his pants rubbing him raw, he waren’t gonna want to talk atall!
  9. steeple
    a tall tower that forms the superstructure of a building
    Waren’t no one in the schoolhouse on a Saturday so me and Cooter opened the door and headed to the steeple to ring the Liberty Bell.
  10. infirmary
    a health facility where patients receive treatment
    Mrs. Guest took the woman and her baby to the infirmary.
  11. primer
    an introductory textbook
    She was holding the same reading primer that I’d studied from five years pass.
  12. refuge
    a safe place
    We hear many wonderful things about the Negro settlement there and are grateful that God in his infinite mercy and wisdom has seen fit to provide you and yours a refuge.
  13. missive
    a written message addressed to a person or organization
    I started back up reading:
    However I’m afraid this missive is not one of glad tidings.
  14. tidings
    information about recent and important events
    I started back up reading:
    However I’m afraid this missive is not one of glad tidings.
  15. servitude
    the state of being required to labor for someone else
    After a harsh forced journey to Applewood, John was brought back into servitude.
  16. retaliation
    action taken in return for an injury or offense
    Much to our horror, to set an example and in retaliation for the gold he claims John stole, Mr. Tillman exacted a punishment so severe that due to the rigors of the march home, John’s body could not endure and he went to the loving arms of our Savior on the seventh day of the fifth month in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred fifty-nine.
  17. rigor
    something hard to endure
    Much to our horror, to set an example and in retaliation for the gold he claims John stole, Mr. Tillman exacted a punishment so severe that due to the rigors of the march home, John’s body could not endure and he went to the loving arms of our Savior on the seventh day of the fifth month in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred fifty-nine.
  18. endure
    continue to live through hardship or adversity
    Much to our horror, to set an example and in retaliation for the gold he claims John stole, Mr. Tillman exacted a punishment so severe that due to the rigors of the march home, John’s body could not endure and he went to the loving arms of our Savior on the seventh day of the fifth month in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred fifty-nine.
  19. dispose
    make receptive or willing towards an action or attitude
    If you are so disposed to remunerate me for this expense, please forward the money to me at Applewood.
  20. remunerate
    make payment to; compensate
    If you are so disposed to remunerate me for this expense, please forward the money to me at Applewood.
  21. flinch
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    But Mrs. Holton didn’t flinch or nothing.
  22. mourning
    the passionate activity of expressing grief
    Mrs. Holton sat down in the rocker and said, “He wouldn’t’ve wanted no heavy mourning and I love him ’nough to honour that, so I’m-a be all right.”
  23. plantation
    an estate where cash crops are grown on a large scale
    Once they’d got to talking, Ma and Mrs. Holton found out they were both from the same state down in America and the plantations they were trapped on were a couple of miles one from the ’nother.
  24. tolerable
    capable of being borne or endured
    There were only two reasons that this Sunday was ’bout halfway tolerable.
  25. sermon
    an address of a religious nature
    Whilst I ain’t disagreeing that Reverend King’s a mighty good man, after all he is the one that started the Settlement, I am saying his sermons go on so long that some of the time you feel like begging, “Take me now, Jesus,” ’bout halfway through ’em.
  26. ambush
    wait in hiding to attack
    Mr. Travis gave the final “Amen,” which was ’bout the only one that me and Cooter could put any enthusiasm into, and folks walked out and shooked Mr. Travis’s hand at the front door, where he stood to ambush everyone.
  27. abolitionist
    a reformer who favors putting an end to slavery
    The children decided we were gonna play abolitionists and slavers when we got to the beach and were arguing ’bout which one each of us would be.
  28. welt
    a raised mark on the skin
    Her fingers would commence sliding back and forth twixt her left ear and her mouth like they were tracing over a invisible welt that got whupped into her.
  29. smite
    inflict a heavy blow on, with the hand, a tool, or a weapon
    Next thing I know, my mama’s arm uncoil like a rattling-snake and she smote me down.
  30. inkling
    a slight suggestion or vague understanding
    Ain’t you got no inkling what he waiting on you to get old enough for?
  31. wring
    twist and press out of shape
    I swears on all I love that I’ll wring your neck myself and won’t give it no more thought than if I was wringing the neck of one n’em chickens.
  32. bluff
    a high steep bank
    But then Cooter and n’em ran off behind a bluff and he hollered back, “Help! Is there any abolitionist ’round? I’m ’bout to get dragged back to slavery by these here slavers! Help!”
  33. ponder
    reflect deeply on a subject
    I said to Mr. Leroy, “Sir, some of these things do need to get changed. How long you gonna let me ponder on this afore I gotta tell you?”
  34. punctuate
    insert marks to clarify meaning
    Mr. Travis changed two words, crossed out three, put in some better punctuating, then said, “Admirable job, Mr. Freeman, admirable job.”
  35. toll
    ring slowly
    Mrs. Holton said, “Mr. Leroy, I ain’t got no doubt you gunn pay me back, but hearing that Liberty Bell toll when your wife and babies walk into Buxton gunn be near payment enough itself.”
  36. toil
    work hard
    I’d toiled on ’em so long I didn’t even have to look at the sign above Mrs. Holton’s door.
  37. gossip
    person given to divulging personal information about others
    Mr. Leroy said, “Wouldn’t’ve been no worry to me if he did tell, Spencer. Y’all raised him proper and I know the boy like to talk, but he ain’t no gossip. I know there’s things what children has to tell their folks.”
  38. righteousness
    the quality of adhering to moral principles
    There’s something behind all this, something what’s trying to bring righteousness into it.
  39. hanker
    desire strongly or persistently
    This more ’bout you hankering for your family so much that you ain’t looking at things clear.
  40. viper
    a venomous Old World snake
    The Preacher pulled open his waistcoat and showed Mr. Leroy the old pistol that he’d let me shoot off once and said, “Oh, don’t you worry, Brother Leroy. I’d not go into that den of vipers unprepared.”
Created on Wed Dec 13 15:16:08 EST 2017 (updated Thu Oct 18 17:10:35 EDT 2018)

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