Posted by Ed Kiser on October 22, 2000 at 04:12:01 from 64.20.230.251:
I realize this may be somewhat "off topic", as this is not at
all political, no controversy regarding democracy and tyranny,
and rights of membership. Sorry 'bout that...
questions from Pigeon Post
1.
Consider several items in Uncle Jim's room at Beckfoot:
"There were the high bookshelves, the shelves of scientific
apparatus, the glass-fronted cupboard of chemicals and the
queer things hanging on the walls; spears, shields, a
knobkerry and the jawbone of a big fish."
What is a "knobkerry"?
2.
"A great spur of Kanchenjunga, Ling Scar, rose above them
to the left."
I know Ransome took real places and assigned his own names to them, or at
least, he said his "characters" had their own names for things. The name,
"Kanchenjunga" was named by Titty in SD. It is my belief that this
mountain is really named the Coniston OLD MAN. The name, "Ling Scar," I
was wondering, is that a made up name for the book, or is that the name of
a real chunk of mountain?
3.
"The dazzling light of the acetylene lamp, that hung from an
iron spike driven into a crack in the rock, showed them a
short, broad-shouldered old man leaning on a baulk of
timber that he had been shaping with an axe."
What does "baulk" mean?
4.
acetylene lamp
Back in the early days of motor cars, the headlights were acetylene lamps.
The stage in a theater had footlights that were acetylene lamps. These
lights are much brighter than the kerosene (that's the American word for
it) fueled lanterns that are still around today, although in my house (S.
Florida) they exist primarily as auxiliary lighting in case the power goes
off (this is hurricane country round here).
My question is, does anybody still use an acetylene lamp?
5.
"He'd his map he'd been making for Government, wi' numbers on it for the old
levels, and adits and sinkings... numbers, mind ye, stead o' names like we
call 'em, Grey Cap and Slate Crop, and Brown's Dog, and Jimson's and Giftie
and the rest."
Slater Bob here is speaking of the fellow that had found gold, then went
off to war.
The names mentioned here, are they products of Ransome's imagination, or
are these actual names of places in the area?
Any idea as to what "adits" are?
6.
"Nancy's begun persuading Mrs. Blackett and they'll be there in two ticks."
There is another one of their measurements of short spaces of time. Wonder
if "two ticks" is longer or shorter than "two jiffs".
7.
"Atkinson's farm's close to High Topps," said Nancy.
"You can see it on the map in Captain Flint's room. It's only
just across the Dundale Road."
This is another one of those references to places. Are these made-up
Ransome names, or are these names of real places that actually exist
somewhere in the area?
HIGH TOPPS
DUNDALE
8.
The day the pioneers went to look for campsite on High Topps, the others
had breakfast at Beckfoot, consisting of bacon and MUSHROOMS and toast.
Is it common to have MUSHROOMS for breakfast? I can see it as a garnish
on pizza, or on steak.
9.
Dick had given Dorothea a list of things to buy, four yards of flex and
some thin sheer copper.
What is "Flex"? Is that simply flexible electric wires? I looked that
one up in a British/American type dictionary, and it used the expression,
"twisted pair". Our electric cords used to be twisted pair type
conductors, but such have disappeared by the '50's. Drop cords now are
not twisted, but with the plastic insulation holding the two conductors
together, but able to be pulled apart. The individual conductors are
straight, not twisted. When electric wiring was first put into houses,
the wires tacked to the walls and ceilings were twisted pairs. Don't see
that anymore.
10.
"She's a mort to do at home."
Maybe dialect. I think it means, "She has a lot to do at home." MORT?
Sounds like something died...
11.
"Right across the Topps to the foot of Grey Screes and
back again. Strip by strip."
Same question as before, but is "Grey Screes" the name of a real place, or
is that another Ransome invention?
12.
"There was something in Nancy's voice that stopped Titty's
last spoonful of prune juice just as she was lifting it."
For people that know nothing about digging a latrine, their drinking prune
juice sounds like really testing the Fates. I've always considered the
drinking of prune juice to be more in the line of a home remedy to solve
a personal physical condition.
13.
Water divining
Is that practice something that was a part of those times, or is this
process still done today? If it truly does work, then why does it seem to
work only with certain people, and even for those few, WHY does it work at
all? Or is all that just superstition and bogus wishful thinking and no
science at all?
14.
"the house thrutched up with the plumbers"
THRUTCHED? Maybe this is Lake District dialect. My dictionary is so
inadequate when it comes to words like these.
15.
"The bent'll flare like hair in a candle if you get a spark in it."
BENT? Does that mean, dry grass?
16.
Not a question, just an observation. There is a strong similarity to Peter
Duck's cave at Swallowdale, and the mine at the gulch. Both had small
openings, covered with heather, that were very hard to notice unless you
were right up against it, with the room inside opening up to more headroom.
Both were old mining workings, practically invisible to the casual passer-
by.
Now for the question - does the Lake District have a lot of these caves
of old mines, like the many ones the prospectors explored in their
searching across High Topps? Is MINING an active industry in this area?
17.
"Forty million thousand pieces of eight!"
Nancy's ultimate words of praise... (Roger just announced his gold
discovery.)
18.
"Aw reet for t' likes o' him. Why, he's a miner. Been
mining up and down since he was so high. Diamond mines
an' all. It'll take more'n t' Owd level to kill t' likes of him."
DIAMOND MINES? This is perhaps a faint clue as to what Uncle Jim and
Timothy had been doing those days when Captain Flint was not with the
Amazons. Wonder if DIAMOND mines were involved in PERU, when the two of
them had some sort of encounter with the police (alluded to in PM.)
Is there any reference to Jim Turner being involved in any diamond mine
venture? The above quote is talking about Timothy, not Uncle Jim.
Another reference to DIAMOND MINING was when Roger was getting bored and
set off with the other younger ones to do some prospecting to look for
diamonds. This led to their being almost buried alive.
19.
"What about our grocery list? Caster sugar running short..."
I've heard of CASTER OIL, but never CASTER SUGAR. I've always thought of
casters as being those little wheels on swivels that movers use on a low
dolly to help move heavy furniture. I know that there is also a CASTER
BEAN. Is this something that is a product of those times, or is it still
in usage today? Can you get SUGAR from the CASTER BEAN?
20.
"He went straight to the glass-fronted shelf where
Captain Flint kept all kinds of apparatus, weighing scales,
bottles, filters, spirit-lamps, and test-tubes in rows of six."
Dick quite easily saw the scales there on the glass-fronted shelves,
yet, in PM during the "burglary", he had some difficulty finding them
because by then, the scales and the assortment of weights were not all that
visible, but were neatly all packed away in a wooden box with "J. Turner"
on it, the box the G.A. found in the houseboat.
Ed Kiser, with the S. Florida viewpoint...