Yes, the heat was a misery, but it also brought me freedom. As Mother gradually surrendered her dignity to the heat, we discovered (as did Father) that it was best to keep out of her way. We were forbidden by sharp orders to laugh at this unprecedented and astonishing entertainment. Next she took to sticking her head under the kitchen pump and letting Viola, our quadroon cook, pump away until she was soaked through.

That summer she temporarily gave up her hairpieces, the crimped false fringe and the rolled horsehair rat, platforms on which she daily constructed an elaborate mountain of her own hair. I was still a few years too young for this singular form of feminine torture. The heat was a misery for all of us, but it was a special ordeal for Mother in her many petticoats and corset. īy 1899, we had learned to tame the darkness but not the Texas heat. for he knows nothing of the amount and kind of variation to which the group is subject. When a young naturalist commences the study of a group of organisms quite unknown to him, he is at first much perplexed to determine what differences to consider. Read an excerpt from 'The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate' by Jacqueline Kelly below. The story of a preteen growing up in rural Texas in 1899, 'The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate' explores how Callie's interest in nature creates a bond with her previously distant grandfather and fosters her desire to become a scientist. July 1, 2009— - Twelve-year-old Callie is more into exploring the river, watching animals and all things outdoors than needlework, which disappoints her mother.

The evolution of calpurnia tate series