Chapter 28 of First Fam'lies of the Sierras is here in full — 46 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVIII
Chapter 28 of First Fam'lies of the Sierras is here in full — 46 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE GOPHER. And do you remember the man they called The Gopher? Poor old Gopher! His was another story. He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
Chapter 28 of First Fam'lies of the Sierras is here in full — 46 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/9 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
large terrestrial monkeys having doglike muzzles
From this reading “He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.”
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.”
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading “He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.”
a zealously energetic person (especially a salesman)
From this reading “THE GOPHER.”
plural of “grizzly” — powerful brownish-yellow bear of the uplands of western North America
From this reading “He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.”
past form of “growl” — to utter or emit low dull rumbling sounds
From this reading “He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.”
being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish
From this reading “He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.”
the contentment one feels when one has fulfilled a desire, need, or expectation
From this reading “He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.”
set up or found
In this reading “He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.”
In this reading “He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And do you remember the man they called The Gopher?
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading His was another story.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
large terrestrial monkeys having doglike muzzles
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading And do you remember the man they called The Gopher?
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading And do you remember the man they called The Gopher?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
set up or found
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
a zealously energetic person (especially a salesman)
From this reading THE GOPHER.
plural of “grizzly” — powerful brownish-yellow bear of the uplands of western North America
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
past form of “growl” — to utter or emit low dull rumbling sounds
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His was another story.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading And do you remember the man they called The Gopher?
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Poor old Gopher!
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Poor old Gopher!
To recall to mind.
From this reading And do you remember the man they called The Gopher?
the contentment one feels when one has fulfilled a desire, need, or expectation
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading His was another story.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE GOPHER.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And do you remember the man they called The Gopher?
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading His was another story.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading He died before Baboon found his fortune, else they might have set up together, and behind their bull-dogs and grizzlies growled at the world a day or two with perfect satisfaction.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And do you remember the man they called The Gopher?
Chapter 28 of First Fam'lies of the Sierras by Joaquin Miller holds 46 sentences, grouped into 10 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 28 holds 46 sentences of First Fam'lies of the Sierras, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 28 of First Fam'lies of the Sierras by Joaquin Miller exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 46 sentences, grouped into 10 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 28 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading First Fam'lies of the Sierras by Joaquin Miller on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2838 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33220 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33220, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 236 minutes of reading across 568 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through First Fam'lies of the Sierras section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of First Fam'lies of the Sierras to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in First Fam'lies of the Sierras, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
