Helen Adams Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, on June 27, 1880. Her parents were Kate Adams Keller and Colonel Arthur Keller. Helen became deaf and blind as a result of an unknown illness, perhaps rubella or scarlet fever at the age of only 19 months. She died at the age of 87 on June 1, 1968, at Arcan Ridge
Summary of
Chapter 11
About the
Chapter
In this chapter, Helen describes about her
new experiences in the world of Nature. She Went to Fern Quarry to spend her
autumn vacation there with her family. It was situated on a mountain about 14
miles away from Tuscumbia.
( /ˈkwɒr.i/: mining place) (left)
There was a limestone quarry near it,
which had long been abandoned. Three playful streams, which came down
from the springs above ran through it, leaping here and tumbling there
making laughing cascades whenever rocks tried to bar their way.
The opening was filled with fern trees and they were completely covered the beds of limestone and at some places hid the streams. (a narrow passage through which water lows)
The rest of the mountain was thickly
wooded. One may find great oak trees and splendid evergreen trees there
with trunks like mossy pillars
From the branches of them hung ivy and mistletoe,
and persimmon trees, the odour of which pervaded every
nook and corner of the wood.
The information she gathered there gave her great satisfaction and happiness. She was ready to welcome more new things
that would add to her knowledge and experience.
Their cottage was a kind of rough camp,
which was situated on the top of the mountain among oak and pine trees. There
were small houses which were arranged on each side of a long hall. There was a
wide public square (piazza) around the house, where the mountain winds brought
with them sweet scents of the woods.
(/piˈæt.sə/ especially in Italy: an open
area of hard surface where there is no traffic)
They spent
their most of the time on the square and did their work, ate, and played. At the
back door of the house, there stood a butternut tree, and in front there so many
trees that stood very close. The narrator would touch them and feel the wind
shake their branches. Many visitors came to the Fern Quarry and in the evening,
the men played cards and passed (whiled) away their time in talking and
playing sports.
They usually told the tales “of their wonderful
feats (skillful acts) with fowl, fish, and quadruped (any
four-legged animal)—how many ducks and turkeys they had shot, what
‘savage trout’ they had caught and how they had bagged the craftiest (cleverest)
foxes, outwitted the most clever possums, and overtaken the fleetest
(fastest) deer, and the rest of the wild tribe would not be able to stand
before these wily (cunning) hunters.
‘Tomorrow to
the chase!’ was their good-night shout as the circle of merry friends broke up
for the night.
The men slept in the hall outside their (the
narrator’s family) door and the narrator could feel the deep breathing of the
dogs and the hunters as they lay their improvised (made with what is
available at the time) beds.
The author was awakened at dawn time by “the
smell of coffee the rattling (sound) of guns and the heavy footsteps of the men” as they came strode (walking
with long steps) about.
They were
promising themselves the greatest luck of the season. She also felt the
stamping of the horses that were taken out of the town and tied to the trees
under them.
(the word
used to draw attention)
They stood for the whole night there neighing
loudly feeling impatient to run off. Finally, the men mounted them, and
“away went the steeds (horses available for riding) with bridles ringing
and whips cracking and hounds racing ahead, and away went the champion hunters
with hark and whoop (loud shout) and halloo (hallo)”.
Later in the morning, the preparation for the barbecue
was made.
A fire was
lit at the bottom of a deep hole dug in the ground. Big sticks were laid
crosswise at the top. The meat was hung from there.
Some persons
were made to sit around the fire to drive away the flies with long branches.
The pleasant smell of the meat made her hungry long before it was laid on the
tables.
When the
excitement of preparing meat was at its height, the hunting party appeared. The men
were hot and weary (tired) the horses were covered with foam and the
hounds were panting (taking quick breaths) due to tiredness.
They were feeling dejected (sad) as
they had been unable to kill even a single animal. However, they were defending
themselves as to how they were very close to their success.
One evening, she had her pony named ‘Black
Beauty’ at Fern Quarry. She had spent so many happy hours on his back.
Sometimes when her teacher thought it safe,
she would let go the leading
reign (the rope used to control the
horse) and then the pony moved leisurely (at its own will) on, or
sometimes it would stop at his sweet will to eat grass or nibble (to bite in
small bits) the leaves of trees that
were there at the side of that narrow track.
Sometimes
Helen was not interested in riding her pony, the they would start rambling (the activity of
going for long walks in the countryside) in the woods. They allowed
themselves to get lost among the trees
and vines. They were walking on no roads but the paths made by domestic animals
like cows and horses. Sometimes they were not able to pass through the
thickets, then they had to follow a roundabout way. They always returned to the
cottage with armfuls of laurel, goldenrod, ferns, and gorgeous swamp flowers.
Sometimes
she would go with her sister Mildred and her little cousins to collect
persimmons. She did not eat them. She liked their fragrance and enjoyed
hunting for them in the leaves and grass. They also loved nutting. They would
open the chestnut burrs and break their shells of hickory nuts and the big and
sweet walnuts.
After that,
Helen describes that there was a railroad at the foot of the mountain and the
children used to enjoy the train whiz by. Sometimes they would hear a terrific
whistle that brought them to the steps and her little sister would also inform
them in great excitement that there was a horse or a cow that had strayed on
the track. At the distance of a mile, there was a trestle spanning a
deep gorge. It was very difficult to walk on it as the ties were wide apart and so much narrow.
One day they
had to walk over it because, her sister Mildred, Miss Sullivan, and she were
lost in the woods. After wandering for hours, her sister pointed towards that
trestle. As it was growing dark, they had no other option but to walk over the
trestle. Helen had to feel for the rails with her toes, but she was not afraid.
After some time, they heard “puff, puff…” from the distance.
Then Mildred
cried that she could see a train. Helen says that the train could have run them
over if they had not climbed down upon the cross braces () white it was rushing
over their heads. She felt the hot breath (steam) of the engine on her face and
the smoke and ashes had nearly choked them. She also describes how the trestle shook and swayed when
the train rumbled by. With great difficulty, they regained the track. After a
long time, they reached the cottage but found it empty. The family had gone hunting.
