GHS Comprehension

Question 1

Ch 6 - what evidence shows that a lot of time has passed since Jack and praiseworthy journey to California begin?

Answer 1

Captain Swain’s beard had grown

Question 2

Ch 6 - what doubts does Jack have about finding gold in California? What does praiseworthy think about their prospects?

Answer 2

Jack thought, Maybe all the gold nuggets will be dug up before we get there. Praiseworthy said nonsense , expressed optimism.

Question 3

Ch 6 - why does the sea Raven suddenly slow down in the middle of the race?

Answer 3

because she burned all her coal.

Question 4

Ch 6 - why does Jack think Aunt Arabella never got married?

Answer 4

he thinks it is because she has to take care of them, him and his siblings.

Question 5

Ch 6 - why do Mr Azariah Jones is potatoes spoil, and why do Monsieur Gaunt’s grape cuttings dry up?

Answer 5

are the potatoes spoiled in the Heat, and due to lack of water, the water was rationed and could not be used to keep the grape cuttings moist

Question 6

Ch 6 - How are mr. Jones and mr. Gaunt Able to help each other?

Answer 6

mr. Jones sells his potatoes to mr. gaunt, who sticks his grape cuttings in the potato because the potatoes are full of moisture.

Question 7

Ch 5 Q1 - why do many ship captains avoid the shorter route through the Strait of Magellan and take the longer Route Around Cape Horn, instead?

Answer 7

because the Strait of Magellan is so narrow and stormy and Rocky, very dangerous for ships to pass through

Question 8

Ch 6 - when the winds returns, what bad news does it bring for the Lady Wilma?

Answer 8

the wind pushes the sea Raven so they can catch up with the lady Wilma, even go past.

Question 9

Ch 5 Q6 - why can’t the people on board the ship get any sleep during the storm?

Answer 9

because the ship is rolling so violently, they get thrown out of bed, or their hammock, or someone else falls on them

Question 10

Ch 5 Q 7 - how does the lady Wilma managed to get ahead of the sea Raven?

Answer 10

by sailing through the Strait of Magellan, which is a shorter trip than around Cape horn

Question 11

Ch 5 Q3 - what stories do the passengers tell about the dangers of Cape Horn?

Answer 11

Tales of whaling ships disappearing forever; of square riggers with the masks uprooted like trees; of Brigs driven back by horrendous headwinds and barks wandering an endless fogs.

Question 12

Ch 5 Q4 - why does the captain look forward to the dangerous trip ahead?

Answer 12

because they were waters to test a master skill.

Question 13

Ch 5 Q5 - how do Jack and Praiseworthy offer their help during the terrible storm?

Answer 13

by keeping the fire going.

Question 14

Ch 5 Q 8 - how does Praiseworthy figure out which route the captain really took?

Answer 14

he noticed that Jack never saw the fires that they should have seen if they have gone around the Cape

Question 15

According to Pitch Pine Billy, what is miners’ law for staking a claim? /

Answer 15

You find a patch of land that nobody’s using, pound four pegs in the corners, put tin cans on them, dig there at least one day a month, and shoot off squatters and claim jumpers.

Question 16

How do Jack and Praiseworthy prepare themselves for gold digging once they arrive in Hangtown? /

Answer 16

They buy buckskin pouches to hold gold, and they have lunch at the hotel

Question 17

How does Jonas T Fletcher suggest to Praiseworthy and Jack that they are going to a dangerous place? /

Answer 17

He is an undertaker, and he says that work is busy up there, meaning that lots of people are dying

Question 18

How does Pitch-Pine Billy make up for the fact that he ruined Praiseworthy’s washpan?

Answer 18

He uses Praiseworthy’s umbrella instead

Question 19

How does Praiseworthy’s attempt to help Jack drink the coffee make things worse? /

Answer 19

By knocking the tin can from Jack’s hand, it makes it worse because Pitch-Pine Billy then gives him more coffee so he has to start all over again

Question 20

How does a miner “dry wash” for gold? /

Answer 20

You scrape dirt from crack in a rock, pour it from hand to hand, and blow on it so the light stuff flies off and the gold dust stays and falls.

Question 21

What causes Praiseworthy to lose his temper? What is the result of his outburst?

Answer 21

When the outlaws decide to take his picture of Aunt Arabella. He punches the outlaw with his gloved hand, knocks him out, sending him 15 ft uphill and shocking everyone

Question 22

What does it mean when the highwayman says to “reach for the sky or I will send you there pronto”? /

Answer 22

“Reach for the sky” means to put empty hands up in the air, so that you can’t hold anything or shoot a gun, or do anything. “I will send you there” means that he will shoot and kill them, with the idea that when people die, they go to some place in the sky, like heaven.

Question 23

What evidence shows that Praiseworthy’s barbering was successful? /

Answer 23

that they got a lot of gold dust from the cut hair, and had some left over after buying transportation to the mines (which Praiseworthy put in the finger of his glove)

Question 24

What is Praiseworthy’s list of gold camps? /

Answer 24

Chili Gulch, Grizzly Flats, Timbuctoo, Bedbug, Whiskey Flat, Hangtown, Angels Camp, Rough and Ready, You Bet, Humbug, Rawhide, Roaring Camp, and Cut Throat.

Question 25

What problem faces Jack and Praiseworthy when they arrive at the diggings? /

Answer 25

They can’t find any open, available land to stake a claim, because it’s all taken or spoken for, and a miner shoots a hole in Praiseworthy’s washpan.

Question 26

What things are Jack and Praiseworthy missing that would help them become successful miners? /

Answer 26

A tent, a mountain canary, or mule or burrow, would help them become successful miners, plus boots because the water is so cold.

Question 27

Where does Praiseworthy hide the gold dust? /

Answer 27

The little finger of his left white glove

Question 28

Why are Jack and Praiseworthy pleased about the reason for their notoriety in Hangtown? /

Answer 28

Praiseworthy has notoriety for having punched the highwayman 15 ft or more. So the miners in Hangtown admire his power, and probably are a little bit afraid of him as well.

Question 29

Why can’t Praiseworthy and Jack get Dr Buckbee’s map from Cut-Eye Higgins? /

Answer 29

Because the outlaws stole all of their coats, and the map was sewn into the lining of Cut-Eye Higgins’ coat.

Question 30

Why does Cut-Eye Higgins now call himself a dentist? /

Answer 30

Maybe he will specialize in pulling gold teeth, And he always lies about his occupation. Remember when he said on the ship that he was a judge?

Question 31

Why does Praiseworthy accept the name “Bullwhip” from the men in Hangtown? /

Answer 31

He knew that everyone gets a nickname, and it might as well be this one which signifies that he is very powerful.

Question 32

Why does Praiseworthy tell Jack that he should not fear the Digger Indians? /

Answer 32

They are quite tame, dig for roots and acorns, and eat wasps and grasshoppers

Question 33

Why does a miner shoot at Jack’s washpan? How does Jack stop the situation with the miner from becoming more violent? /

Answer 33

He thinks that the wash pan is his, and Jack stops him by finding the miner’s wash pan near some wet rocks nearby.

Question 34

Why doesn’t Dr Buckbee leave San Francisco with Praiseworthy and Jack? /

Answer 34

Because he wants to wait to find Cut-Eye Higgins to get his map back

Question 35

Why doesn’t Praiseworthy think Aunt Arabella would marry him? /

Answer 35

Because he is not a gentleman, that is, he is not from a wealthy family and instead is a servant for them

Question 36

Why is Praiseworthy calm when the thieves inspect everyone’s hands for jewelry? /

Answer 36

For one thing, he doesn’t have any rings. And he is careful to leave all the gold dust inside the gloves.

Question 37

Why did Praiseworthy have Aunt Arabella’s picture along?

Answer 37

Jack thought Aunt Arabella must have given her picture to Praiseworthy

Question 38

What is meant by the statement, “After a week in the diggings there was little of the butler left to be seen in praiseworthy”? p137

Answer 38

It means that Praiseworthy looks very different than he did as a butler; he wears a red shirt, wide-brimmed hat, jackboots, and started growing a beard. He’s also probably covered with dust.

Question 39

Why is it hard for miners to make a profit on the gold that they mine?

Answer 39

Gold is plentiful at the mines, so it’s not worth as much to other miners. But all other goods are scarce, so they have to pay a lot of gold to buy simple things like raisins or candles.

Question 40

Why doesn’t praiseworthy accept Dr Buckbee’s offer?

Answer 40

Praiseworthy doesn’t think that they can recover the map, because the highway men have probably already mined the area on the map, if it had any gold at all, which Pitch Pine Billy doubted because maps were so common.

Question 41

How does Jack come to purchase a bushel of neckties?

Answer 41

He was trying to answer a question with the word “ate” meaning that they had already eaten dinner, but to the auctioneer it sounded like the number eight. So it sounded like Jack was going to pay the auctioneer $8, and no one would let him not pay the neckties.

Question 42

How did the neckties help Jack and Praiseworthy get their grubstake?

Answer 42

At first, it seemed like no miners would ever want a necktie. But then Quartz Jackson came back with a woman, and suddenly all the miners wanted to look good. So Jack and Praiseworthy and Pitch-Pine Billy dressed up in the neckties, making the other miners want one too. So they bought them from Jack and Praiseworthy using their gold, so now they have a whole buckskin bag full of gold .