Sunday, August 11, 2019

Words from a Teacher's Past, 28


“Words, words, words.”
    Hamlet (2.2)

List #6: (c) cheechako, (d) sourdough*

So, that cheechako didn’t know
About a thing called sourdough.

And so there in the Yukon freeze
Starvation brought him to his knees—

Until he learned of sourdough,
And found his gold—so cool, Yo!?

*Cheechako is a Northland Indian word from the Yukon Gold Rush (1896-99), a word that referred to a newcomer in the North; sourdough is the substance--but also a word for a Yukon veteran. These words appeared on my list because I was teaching The Call of the Wild.

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