I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871: Chapters 8–15

by Lauren Tarshis
In this eleventh book of the historical fiction I Survived series, eleven-year-old Oscar Starling, newly arrived in the city nicknamed the "Queen of the West," chases a thief into a house, where he is trapped by flames.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–15
35 words 46 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. grope
    feel about uncertainly or blindly
    He dropped to the ground, crawling blindly, groping for the door.
  2. insist
    assert to be true
    “But he not dead!” Bruno insisted, putting his face even closer to Oscar’s, so his slimy little nose touched Oscar’s nose.
  3. ease
    move gently or carefully
    Oscar eased his arm from around Bruno and struggled to his feet, brushing the dust and ashes off his burned clothes.
  4. heave
    lift or elevate
    Many people were dragging trunks and suitcases, or struggling with heavy sacks heaved over their shoulders.
  5. canteen
    a flask for carrying water; used by soldiers or travelers
    Luckily the man next to her had a canteen of water, and quickly drenched her.
  6. smolder
    burn slowly and without a flame
    She kept her eyes on Oscar,
 swatting away embers that came too close to his face or smoldered on his clothes.
  7. canvas
    a heavy, closely woven fabric
    People in the crowd watched hopefully as about fifteen firefighters hopped off the wagons and got to work, readying the pumper and
 uncoiling the heavy canvas hoses.
  8. flurry
    a sudden and overwhelming outpouring or amount
    During the big fire, a flurry of sparks had ignited the roof of Oscar’s barn.
  9. tame
    make less strong or intense; soften
    It was amazing how those heavy buckets flew across the chain of hands, how the splashes of water tamed the flames.
  10. reckon
    expect, believe, or suppose
    They’d need an ocean to put out those flames, Oscar reckoned, or a bucket brigade of a thousand people.
  11. alternate
    serving or used in place of another
    But new fires kept forcing them to find alternate routes.
  12. shard
    a broken piece of a brittle artifact
    The smell of oil filled the air, and shards of wood flew all around them.
  13. quench
    satisfy, as thirst
    Halfway down the alley, they discovered a water barrel. They all ran toward it, desperate to quench their thirst and to cool their burning skin.
  14. shrivel
    wither, as with a loss of moisture
    Oscar felt like a stalk of wheat, shriveled in the boiling sun.
  15. hoist
    raise
    He hoisted the lid off and held Bruno while the boy slurped up water like a thirsty horse.
  16. soothing
    affording physical relief
    They splashed the soothing water on their faces and down scorched necks and arms.
  17. relief
    the condition of being comfortable or alleviated of distress
    Oscar sighed with relief.
  18. menacing
    threatening evil or danger
    And now Otis turned his menacing stare on Oscar.
  19. stagger
    walk as if unable to control one's movements
    Jennie staggered back, and Bruno went running into her arms.
  20. brace
    prepare for something unpleasant or difficult
    Oscar closed his eyes, bracing himself for the slicing metal.
  21. rasp
    speak in a harsh, grating voice
    The words came out as a rasping whisper.
  22. muddle
    mix up or confuse
    But even in his dazed and muddled state, he knew he would not do that.
  23. rein
    one of a pair of long straps used to control a horse
    Most horses would have refused to budge in a fire like this, or would be rearing up in wild panic. But the old nag was calm, and Joseph barely had to snap the reins to keep her moving quickly.
  24. fume
    a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
    Oil fumes rose up, and something worse—that slaughterhouse stench.
  25. helm
    steering mechanism for a vessel
    A large sailboat was racing through the water. The mast was burning. There was nobody at the helm.
  26. foul
    offensively malodorous
    He started swimming as fast as he could, keeping his eyes and mouth closed against the foul water.
  27. makeshift
    done or made using whatever is available
    They both clung to the makeshift raft, kicking frantically.
  28. propel
    cause to move forward with force
    But instead, the force of the explosion created a wave that came up behind them. It propelled them forward, out of the fire’s reach, toward the safety of the north shore.
  29. trudge
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    Oscar told Mr. Morrow all about them as they trudged away from the river.
  30. wade
    walk through relatively shallow water
    It would be another endless day before finally the fires began to tire, when the winds lost their fury, when it was finally safe enough to wade out of the freezing water.
  31. scab
    form a crustlike surface of a healing skin lesion
    His lungs were healing, now, his burns and cuts scabbing over.
  32. lot
    a parcel of land having fixed boundaries
    He’d point to men carting away wagonloads of wreckage, at the new shacks popping up on still-smoldering lots.
  33. nag
    an old or overworked horse
    He’d looked out the window, and there was Joseph’s cab, pulled by his faithful old nag.
  34. patter
    make light, rapid and repeated sounds
    The baking smells were getting stronger, and Oscar heard pattering feet running up the stairs.
  35. speckle
    mark with small spots
    Her new dress was speckled with flour; she loved helping Mama in the kitchen.
Created on Tue Oct 24 18:02:42 EDT 2023 (updated Thu Oct 26 14:07:48 EDT 2023)

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