I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871: "I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871" by Lauren Tarshis, Chapters 1–7

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
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. wisp
    a thin tuft, piece, or amount of something
    The fire started inside a barn.
    It was tiny at first, a glowing dot, some wisps of white smoke.
  2. fiery
    like or suggestive of a flame
    The flames blasted a shower of fiery sparks into the windy sky. Like a swarm of flaming wasps, they flew through the air, starting fires wherever they landed.
  3. cinder
    a fragment of incombustible matter left after a fire
    A ball of fire and cinders crashed through the window, and the house exploded in flames.
  4. sear
    burn slightly and superficially so as to affect color
    The flames clawed at him, seared him, threw him to the ground.
  5. blistering
    extremely hot
    But the worst was the blistering heat, the feeling of being roasted alive.
  6. porter
    a person employed to carry luggage and supplies
    “Welcome back, Mr. Morrow,” said a porter lugging a heavy suitcase.
  7. stench
    a distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant
    And suddenly, Oscar noticed the rotten stench that filled the air. He had never smelled anything as disgusting.
  8. slaughterhouse
    a building where animals are butchered
    “The slaughterhouses,” Mr. Morrow said, reading their sickened expressions. “They butcher more hogs in Chicago than anywhere in the world.”
  9. tinge
    color lightly
    He had bright red hair and strange yellow- tinged eyes that reminded Oscar of a rattlesnake’s.
  10. sprawl
    sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
    Papa heard that Earless Kildair was a killer. And sure enough, by morning the town’s bank had been robbed, and one of Papa’s friends was sprawled out dead in the street.
  11. ricochet
    spring back; spring away from an impact
    The bullet hit Papa in the chest. It should have torn a hole right through Papa’s heart. But it ricocheted off his badge instead, leaving a big dent smack-dab in the center.
  12. commotion
    a disorderly outburst or tumult
    Earless escaped in the commotion.
  13. scour
    examine minutely
    Officer Brennan and three other cops had already scoured the station, but there was no sign of the girl or the bags or those rough boys Oscar had seen.
  14. ruthless
    without mercy or pity
    “He’s only fourteen years old, but he’s got the heart of a killer. We hear he works for an older guy. They take helpless orphans and turn them into ruthless criminals.”
  15. buggy
    a small lightweight carriage
    It was past 10:00 P.M. when they finally got out of the station and into a cab, a beat-up buggy pulled by a dusty horse.
  16. practically
    almost; nearly
    “We’re having fires practically every night now. Hasn’t rained here in months. The city is bone-dry.”
  17. douse
    put out, as of a candle or a light
    But just as flames were lapping at the edges of Main Street, a big rainstorm blew in and doused the fire.
  18. fleet
    group of motor vehicles operating under the same ownership
    “Chicago has one of the best fire departments in the country. We have close to two hundred firemen and a fleet of the best new steam pumpers. That fire will be out before we finish supper.”
  19. linger
    take one's time; proceed slowly
    Oscar lingered outside.
  20. tempt
    dispose, incline, or entice to
    Oscar glanced back at the street, tempted to bolt away to the train station.
  21. decent
    sufficient for the purpose
    He saw a piece of jagged wood lying on the ground. He grabbed it. It would make a decent weapon, just in case.
  22. barge
    push one's way
    He crept up to the house, crouching low so none of the criminals would spot him out the window. He wondered what he should do. Barge in? Demand his suitcases?
  23. rummage
    search haphazardly
    He had imagined her sitting there with Otis Webber and the other boys, rummaging through piles of loot.
  24. tender
    having or displaying warmth or affection
    The boy reached up and tenderly smoothed one of the girl’s crooked braids.
  25. weary
    physically and mentally fatigued
    She smiled. But it was a weary kind of smile, tinged with sadness.
  26. ember
    a hot, smoldering fragment of wood left from a fire
    It looked as if glowing red snowflakes were falling from the sky. They danced in the gusting wind, hundreds of hot, burning embers of different sizes and shapes.
  27. scorch
    burn slightly and superficially so as to affect color
    They seared his scalp, burned through the wool of his clothes, scorched his lips.
  28. ignite
    cause to start burning
    Flames leaped up in front of Oscar’s face. The sparks had ignited his clothes.
  29. frantically
    in an uncontrolled manner
    Oscar threw himself to the ground and rolled in the dirt, frantically beating the flames that were crawling up his arms and reaching out to grab his face.
  30. grit
    clench together
    Gritting his teeth in pain, he managed to crawl back to an old chicken coop behind the kids’ house.
  31. singe
    burn superficially or lightly
    His scalp was badly singed, and there were burns up and down his body.
  32. slight
    small in quantity or degree
    And what a fire was most hungry for was wood—like the thousands of shacks and stores that lined Chicago’s streets, the miles of wooden sidewalks, the warehouses filled with coal and oil that would explode at the slightest spark.
  33. churning
    (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence
    Oscar stumbled to the narrow staircase, peering up into a churning cloud of black smoke.
  34. teeter
    move unsteadily, with a rocking motion
    He teetered and almost fell down the stairs.
  35. soot
    black powder formed when fuel such as wood or coal is burned
    Their faces were black with soot and streaked with tears.
Created on Tue Oct 24 18:02:22 EDT 2023 (updated Thu Oct 26 13:30:03 EDT 2023)

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