a tall bonnet with bristling aigrettes a lady’s tall hat with bunches of the long, white, showy plumes of the egret used for ornament.
arnica any of a number of plants of the composite family, bearing bright yellow flowers on long stalks with clusters of leaves at the base; here, a preparation made from certain of these plants, once used for treating sprains and bruises.
Cutter was one of the “fast set” of Black Hawk business men Cather is suggesting that Wick Cutter came to the frontier because there were fewer laws governing behavior, allowing him to get away with things that could have landed him in jail on the East Coast.
dumb-bell a device usually used in pairs, consisting of round weights joined by a short bar, by which it is lifted or swung about in the hand for muscular exercise.
elder any of a genus of shrubs and small trees of the honeysuckle family, with compound leaves and flat-topped clusters of small white flowers followed by red or purple berries.
soft piles of chaff piles of husks of wheat or other grain separated in threshing or winnowing.
enter the freshman class at the university without conditions Jim does extra studying at home during his last year of high school so he won’t have to take college preparatory courses in the fall.
poultice a hot, soft, moist mass, as of flour, herbs, or mustard, sometimes spread on cloth, applied to a sore or inflamed part of the body.
spring wagon a light wagon.
telling raw stories telling bawdy stories.
Wilber A small town in southeastern Nebraska, settled primarily by Bohemians.
