Chapter 1 of The Riverman is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Riverman is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It's a pity that old mossback had to put in a mill. The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.” “Case of wait for the wind,” agreed Tom North. “Old Daly will be red-headed. He must be about out of logs at the mill.
Chapter 1 of The Riverman is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 19/40 · 5 reading units · Lines 91–95
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.
united by being of the same opinion
From this reading ““Case of wait for the wind,” agreed Tom North.”
a flow of electricity through a conductor
From this reading “The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.””
plural of “log” — a segment of the trunk of a tree when stripped of branches
From this reading “He must be about out of logs at the mill.”
move about in a confused manner
From this reading “It's a pity that old mossback had to put in a mill.”
the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading ““Case of wait for the wind,” agreed Tom North.”
a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others
From this reading “It's a pity that old mossback had to put in a mill.”
not tense or taut
From this reading “The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.””
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading ““Case of wait for the wind,” agreed Tom North.”
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 It's a pity that old mossback had to put in a mill.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading He must be about out of logs at the mill.
united by being of the same opinion
From this reading “Case of wait for the wind,” agreed Tom North.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.”
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.”
an occurrence of something
From this reading “Case of wait for the wind,” agreed Tom North.
a flow of electricity through a conductor
From this reading The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Old Daly will be red-headed.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “Case of wait for the wind,” agreed Tom North.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It's a pity that old mossback had to put in a mill.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He must be about out of logs at the mill.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It's a pity that old mossback had to put in a mill.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's a pity that old mossback had to put in a mill.
plural of “log” — a segment of the trunk of a tree when stripped of branches
From this reading He must be about out of logs at the mill.
move about in a confused manner
From this reading It's a pity that old mossback had to put in a mill.
an extremely old-fashioned conservative
From this reading It's a pity that old mossback had to put in a mill.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading He must be about out of logs at the mill.
not any; not one
From this reading The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.”
the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading “Case of wait for the wind,” agreed Tom North.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Case of wait for the wind,” agreed Tom North.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading It's a pity that old mossback had to put in a mill.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He must be about out of logs at the mill.
a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others
From this reading It's a pity that old mossback had to put in a mill.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading It's a pity that old mossback had to put in a mill.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Old Daly will be red-headed.
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.”
not tense or taut
From this reading The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It's a pity that old mossback had to put in a mill.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.”
in or at that place or location
From this reading The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It's a pity that old mossback had to put in a mill.
male cat
From this reading “Case of wait for the wind,” agreed Tom North.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading “Case of wait for the wind,” agreed Tom North.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.”
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading The water was slack enough before, but now there seems to be no current at all.”
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “Old Daly will be red-headed.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading “Case of wait for the wind,” agreed Tom North.
Chapter 1 of The Riverman by Stewart Edward White holds 204 sentences, grouped into 41 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 1 holds 204 sentences of The Riverman, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Riverman by Stewart Edward White exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 204 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 1 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 The Riverman by Stewart Edward White on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7499 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1099 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1099, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1500 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Riverman section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of The Riverman 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 The Riverman, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
