salts refers here to smelling salts; an aromatic mixture, used as an inhalant in relieving faintness, headaches, and so on.
Salvation Army an international organization for religious and philanthropic purposes among the very poor.
Sam Browne belt a military officer's belt with a diagonal strap across the right shoulder, designed to carry the weight of a pistol or sword.
self-abasement a humbling or abasement of oneself.
serfs persons in feudal servitude, bound to a master's land and transferred with it to a new owner.
service clubs clubs, such as Rotary and Kiwanis, organized to provide certain services for their members and to promote the community welfare.
servile humbly yielding or submissive.
shim a thin, usually wedge-shaped piece of wood, metal, or stone used for filling space, leveling, and so on, as in masonry.
shirtwaist a woman's blouse or bodice tailored more or less like a shirt.
shuck to remove a shell, pod, or husk.
side-meat meat from the side of a pig; specifically, bacon or salt pork.
sidled moved sideways, especially in a shy or stealthy manner.
signet ring a finger ring containing a seal, often in the form of an initial or monogram.
single-action Colt a type of revolver invented by American Samuel Colt (1814–1862) — the hammer must be cocked by hand before each shot.
singletree a wooden bar swung at the center from a hitch on a plow, wagon, and so on, and hooked at either end to the traces of a horse's harness.
skitters slang term for diarrhea.
spam trademark for a kind of canned luncheon meat made from pieces of seasoned pork and ham pressed into a loaf.
speaking in tongues ecstatic or apparently ecstatic utterance of usually unintelligible speechlike sounds, as in a religious assembly, viewed by some as a manifestation of deep religious experience.
squatters persons who settle on public or unoccupied land.
St. Louis Fair the World's Fair of 1900 held in St. Louis, Missouri. The World's Fair is an exposition at which arts, crafts, industrial, and agricultural products of various countries of the world are on display.
stereopticon a kind of slide projector designed to allow one view to fade out while the next is fading in.
stir-bugs [slang] prison inmates.
straw bosses supervisors who have little or no authority to support their orders.
strike a concerted refusal by employees to go on working in an attempt to force an employer to grant certain demands, as for higher wages, better working conditions, and so on.
strikebreaking the act of one who attempts to break up a strike, often by intimidating striking workers.
syphilis an infectious venereal disease usually transmitted by sexual intercourse or acquired congenitally.
tappet a sliding rod in an engine or machine moved by intermittent contact with a cam and used to move another part, as a valve.
tarpaulin a waterproof sheet spread over something to protect it from getting wet.
Tehachapi mountain just east of Bakersfield.
tenant a person who farms land owned by another and pays rent in cash or in a share of the crops.
to act flip [colloq.] to act flippantly or impertinently.
touring car an early type of open automobile, often with a folding top, seating five or more passengers.
truck skinner a skinner is a mule driver; here refers to a truck driver.
tunics short coats worn by soldiers, policemen, and so on.
two bits [informal] 25 cents.
two-by-four any length of lumber two inches thick and four inches wide when untrimmed.
union something united or unified; a whole made up of parts; esp. an organization or confederation uniting various individuals, political units, and so on.
