North Against the Sioux: Reading Adventure & Quiz

Portugee had to go forward along the narrow mountain pass: behind him, and high above, held only by trees, the driven snow had accumulated into one huge, unsteady, fairy-tale bridge. It weighed a thousand tons, but was suspended upon a fragile web of creaking branches. Ahead, the wolves ranged right across the pass, snarling so hungrily that Fortune refused to move another pace.

Portugee tried once more. 'C'mon, Fortune, feller', and slapped the horse's cold grey rump with his pistol. Fortune moved another step or two, and the nearest wolf crouched, ready to spring. Reluctantly, aware of the vast ice bridge above, Portugee raised his gun. Crack! The wolf leaped, twisted and crashed to the ground between the wolf pack and the terrified horse.

"the driven snow had accumulated into one huge, unsteady, fairy-tale bridge" — The wind has pushed ('driven') vast amounts of snow together over time ('accumulated') until it has formed an enormous overhanging mass that looks like a bridge from a fairy tale. Calling it 'fairy-tale' suggests something impossibly large and dreamlike — but also dangerously unreal. It could collapse at any moment.
"suspended upon a fragile web of creaking branches" — The thousand-ton ice bridge is held up only by tree branches that are creaking under the strain. 'Fragile' means easily broken, and 'web' suggests something thin and delicate. The contrast between the enormous weight and the flimsy support creates a terrifying sense of danger.
"Reluctantly, aware of the vast ice bridge above, Portugee raised his gun" — Portugee doesn't want to fire because he knows the noise could cause the ice bridge to break and trigger an avalanche. But with wolves blocking his path, he has no choice.

accumulated — gradually built up or collected over time
fragile — delicate and easily broken
driven snow — snow that has been pushed and piled up by the wind
suspended — hanging; held up from above
snarling — growling aggressively and showing teeth
reluctantly — unwillingly; with hesitation
avalanche — a sudden, massive fall of snow and ice down a mountainside

1. What two dangers does Portugee face at the beginning of the passage?

2. Why will Fortune not move forward?

3. Why is Portugee at first unwilling to fire his gun?

4. What happens the moment after Portugee fires the 'Crack!' of his gun?

Crack! Another noise shattered the air, but Portugee had not fired again. With mounting horror, he looked up. The whole span of ice seemed to drop a few feet and then stop. At the edges, against the black rock, a shower of snow jetted downwards like water from a fall. The cracking noise came again; dark lines began to run across the face of the ice, and quite slowly three or four blocks as big as buffalo toppled forward into the ravine.

He yelled at the horse. Still Fortune faced the wolves, unaware of the falling terror behind. Portugee slammed his pistol in his holster. Then, with one backward glance at the shattering ice above him, he played his last card. He rose in his stirrups. Digging his hands into the horse's mane, he leaned forward over Fortune's neck. The horse thrust up his head, unused to the weight balanced over him. This was what Portugee wanted. Bending forward as far as he could, he thrust his face down to the horse's mouth. The soft velvet flesh came up to meet him, and as the avalanche broke above, the rider bared his teeth and bit hard into Fortune's muzzle.

"a shower of snow jetted downwards like water from a fall" — This is a simile, comparing the cascading snow to water pouring over a waterfall. It helps the reader picture how the snow is streaming down the rock face — fast, powerful and unstoppable.
"blocks as big as buffalo" — Another simile, comparing the ice chunks to buffalo to show their enormous size. Buffalo are massive animals, so this gives us a vivid sense of how dangerously huge the falling ice blocks are.
"he played his last card" — This is a metaphor from card games, meaning Portugee has only one desperate option left. He has tried everything else — shouting, slapping the horse, firing his gun — and now he must try the only thing remaining, even though it is savage and extreme.

ravine — a deep, narrow valley or gorge between mountains
mounting horror — fear that is growing rapidly stronger
span — the full width or stretch of something (here, the ice bridge)
muzzle — the nose and mouth area of an animal
holster — a leather case worn on a belt for holding a pistol
stirrups — metal loops hanging from a saddle for the rider's feet
mane — the long hair growing along the neck of a horse

5. What phrase shows Portugee thinks there is only one thing left he can do?

6. What does the simile 'like water from a fall' help the reader to picture?

7. What two things does Portugee do to Fortune that the horse has probably never experienced before?

Fortune gave a surprised scream, and reared. Gamely, Portugee held on: hair and blood filled his mouth as the horse leaped forward, the wolves scattering beneath his flashing hooves. Jarred and shaken, Portugee could only cling there. It was an old, savage Indian trick, but it worked.

With a roar that filled the air like continuous thunder, the ice bridge broke up. Thousands of tons of frozen snow crashed down into the narrow pass. Blocks of ice as big as stage-coaches pitched along the bottom like marbles. Branches of firs broke and splintered like matchsticks as the avalanche rolled on. The wolf pack turned and broke. For one amazing moment, horse and rider, wolves and foxes fled side by side along the floor of the ravine while just behind them the snow piled an enormous tumbling mass - on the spot where, a few minutes before, they had faced each other for a fight to the death.

"It was an old, savage Indian trick, but it worked" — This tells us the idea of biting the horse's muzzle was not Portugee's own invention. It was a technique used by Native Americans. The word 'savage' shows it is brutal and extreme, but the phrase 'but it worked' tells us that in this desperate situation, it was exactly what was needed.
"Blocks of ice as big as stage-coaches pitched along the bottom like marbles" — This sentence contains two similes. The ice blocks are compared to stage-coaches (large horse-drawn carriages) to show their enormous size, and then compared to marbles to show how the avalanche tosses them around as if they weigh nothing. The contrast between the two comparisons emphasises the terrifying power of the avalanche.
"horse and rider, wolves and foxes fled side by side" — The writer calls this 'one amazing moment' because creatures that were just trying to kill each other are now running together, united by a shared terror that is greater than their hostility. Predator and prey, enemies moments before, are equal in the face of nature's overwhelming power.

reared — rose up on the hind legs (of a horse)
gamely — bravely; with courage and determination
jarred — shaken with a sudden, jolting impact
savage — fierce, violent and uncontrolled
splintered — shattered into long, sharp fragments
pitched — thrown or tossed violently
tumbling — falling and rolling in a chaotic, uncontrolled way

8. Was the idea of biting Fortune's muzzle Portugee's own, or not? Which words prove this?

9. Which of the following contains two similes describing the ice and snow in the final paragraph?

10. Why does the simile 'like matchsticks' make the avalanche seem so powerful?

11. Why does the writer describe the fleeing of 'horse and rider, wolves and foxes' as 'one amazing moment'?

Reading: North Against the Sioux

Vocabulary & Phrases Quiz

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