A Glossary of American Mountain
Men Terms, Words & Expressions


edited
Compiled by Walt Hayward & Brad McDade
The American Mountain Men

 
  • AUX ALIMENTS DU PAYS
    French for "nourishment of the land". All the free trappers and many engages were required to live "aux aliments du pays", surviving by using the provisions of nature.
  • AVANT COURIER
    A French word meaning "scout". This word was used by both voyageurs and mountain men
  • BIG FIFTY
    The .50 caliber Sharps rifle used by the buffalo hunter.
  • BLANC BEC
    A term used by voyageurs for a new man who had yet to travel the Missouri past the Platte River. As with many voyageur terms, this was later adopted by some Mountain Men with much the same meaning.
  • BOIS DE VACHE
    Buffalo chips used as fuel.
  • BONE PICKER
    A despised human scavenger who hunted for, and sold, the bones of dead animals, mostly buffalo.
    BOOSHWAY
         The leader of a party of mountain men. The word comes from the French "bourgeois", used by the voyageurs. Return
    BOUDINS
         The real treat of the mountain man. A buffalo gut containing thyme, which was cut
         into lengths about 24 inches long and roasted before a fire until crisp and sizzling.
    BUCKSKIN
         Tanned deerskin from which much of the clothing of the Indian and mountain man
         was made. If Indian tanned, buckskin was usually a very light color, often almost
         white. Darker color was usually obtained by smoking the skin over an open fire.
    BUFFALO BOAT
         A boat made of raw buffalo skins, much used by traders. This boat differed from the
         Bull Boat in that it was larger and had a normal boat shape. 
    BUFFALO CHIP
         Buffalo manure, dried and used as fuel. 
    BUFFALO CIDER
         The fluid found in the stomach of the buffalo. Used by both mountain men and
         Indians to quench thirst. 
    BUFFALO DANCE 
         An Indian dance used to insure success on a buffalo hunt. 
    BUFFALOED
         Confused. 
    BUFFALO GUN 
         See "Big Fifty". 
    BUFFALO LICK
         A natural saltlick used by buffalo and other game animals. Usually a very good place
         to find game. 
    BUFFALO RANGE 
         Any wide-open feeding area used by buffalo. 
    BUFFALO ROBE
         The skin of the buffalo, tanned with the hair on. Used by traders, Indians, and
         mountain men as ground covers, robes and blankets, 
    BUFFALO WALLOW
         The depression made by buffalo rolling and dusting themselves. The same wallows
         were used year after year often becoming quite deep. 
    CACHE 
         A safe place, often hidden, for storage of food and other supplies. 
    COUNT COUP
         To show bravery and receive honor by touching an enemy, usually with a special
         stick used for that purpose only. In some tribes, touching a living enemy had more
         honor than touching a dead enemy. Touching a man had more honor than touching a
         woman. The first to touch received more honor than the second or third. Credit was
         seldom if ever, given after the third. When feathers were awarded for coup, they
         were sometimes depending on the tribe, cut or painted to indicate the type and
         amount of honor they represented. Oddly enough, killing the enemy did not count for
         coup the first to touch took the honor, be he the killer or not. When used by the
         mountain man, the expression "I'll count coup on him" usually meant "I'll kill him",
         after which, the taking of the dead man's scalp was normal. 
    COUREURS DE BOIS
         A woods runner or hunter an early French trapper, (Voyageur) 
    COURIER
         A messenger, A term used mostly by traders. 
    CRIMPY DAY
         A very cold day. 
    DIG UP THE TOMAHAWK
         Start a war. Often the word "hatchet" was substituted for "tomahawk". 
    DUMPLING DUST
         Flour. This term originated from the early practice of mixing dough by pouring water
         in a depression made in the flour while it was still in the sack, causing small puffs of
         dust. Both the term and practice are still used by north woodsmen. 
    DUTCH OVEN
         A large kettle with three feet and a dished lid. It can be used for both cooking and
         baking. 
    FATHER OF ALL WATERS
         Mississippi River. An Indian term. 
    FAT PINE
         Pitch pine, very good for starting fires. 
    FEAST CAKES
         Pancakes. 
    FIRE WATER 
         Whiskey. This term comes from the Indian practice of throwing a cup of whiskey into
         a fire to see if it would burn. If it would not flame up, it would not be accepted. 
    FIZZ-POP
         A very early soda pop made by mixing a little vinegar and a spoon of sugar in a glass
         of fresh water. Just before drinking mix in about a quarter of a spoon of soda. 
    FLASH IN THE PAN
         A misfire. Also a man who spends a great deal of time bragging, but never seems to
         be around when it comes to proving himself. 
    FOOFARRAW 
         Any fancy clothing or anything fancy on clothing. Just about anything used for
         decoration 
    FREE TRAPPER
         A trapper who worked for himself, trapping and selling where he wanted and to
         whom he wanted. As free a man as the elements would allow. 
    FUR COUNTRY
         As the mountain men used the expression, The Rocky Mountains. 
    GALETTE
         A basic flour and water bread made into flat, round cakes and fried in fat or baked
         before the open fire. (Voyageur) 
    GREEN RIVER
         A western river (see any good map). The hilt of a knife (from the old GR trade mark
         up near the hilt). A knife made by Russell Green River Works. A copy of a Russell
         Green River Works knife. 
    HAIR OF THE BEAR, HE HAS
         The greatest praise a mountain man can say of another. 
    HALF BREED
         A person of mixed blood, Indian and White. 
    HALF-FACED CAMP
         A floor less shed, closed with poles on the back and sides, closed with skins and
         blankets on the front. The roof sloped from the rear of the shed to the front. This
         form of house or shed was greatly used by settlers until they had time to construct
         a log structure. 
    HAWK 
         Short for "Tomahawk". 
    HEFT, TO
         A very old term meaning "to lift and feel the weight of". 
    HELLO THE CAMP
         A traditional greeting given before entering any strange camp. Better given at a
         slight distance or the visitor may not leave in the same manner that he entered, 
    HIDE HUNTER 
         A rather low breed of man who killed buffalo for the hides only. Usually despised by
         all who came into contact with him. "Buffalo skins for the belts of industry." 
    HIVERANNO
         An experienced mountain man. One who had lived many years in Indian country.
         (First Voyageur, later Mountain Man) 
    HOGSHEAD
         A large wooden barrel or cask capable of holding from 100 gallons up. 
    JERKY 
         Dried meat made by cutting meat into strips about one inch wide, 1/4 inch thick, and
         as long as possible. This was then sun-dried on racks often with a small hardwood
         fire under the meat to smoke it and to keep insects off it. In good, hot weather the
         meat would be dry and ready to use in 3 to 4 days. 
    LOCK, STOCK, AND BARREL
         In total; the whole thing. For examples "He sold his shop, lock, stock, and barrel".
         This expression comes from the 3 major parts needed to construct a muzzle loading
         rifle or pistol. 
    LOCO 
         Crazy. 
    LODGE 
         The living quarters be it house, cabin, tipi, hogan, tent, or lean-to, of the Indian or
         mountain man.
    LUMPY DICK
         An early pudding made by stirring dry flour into boiling milk until thick, then serving
         with sweet milk and molasses or sugar. 
    MEDICINE
         The magic, secret charms of the Indian. Also the bait used in trapping. 
    MEDICINE BAG
         The small bag, used to carry the medicine of the Indian. Adopted by the mountain
         man and used to carry anything small, especially the "secret" bait he used near his
         traps. 
    MEDICINE PIPE 
         The sacred pipe of the Indian. This pipe was used only during special ceremonies,
         was kept in a special, sacred bundle, and was NEVER allowed to touch the ground. 
    MEDICINE LODGE 
         A sacred lodge used only for religious ceremonies. In some tribes it could also be
         used as a meeting place for the secret societies of braves. The sweat lodge (an
         early American form of sauna bath) used by many tribes was also considered a
         "medicine lodge". 
    MOCCASIN 
         The buckskin or moose hide shoe of the Indian and mountain man. Light, quiet, and
         comfortable. 
    MOCCASIN MAIL
         A postal system devised by the mountain man. It consisted of leaving messages
         concerning the condition of the trail ahead, time and place of a rendezvous, etc, in
         trees, hollow logs, etc. Such messages were quite often put in an old moccasin so
         they would be easy to see. 
    MUD HOOKS 
         Human feet. This expression is still often heard among country people. 
    OL' EPHRAIM
         Grizzly bear
    PEMMICAN 
         Indian food made by mixing powdered jerky with dried berries and hot tallow, then
         packed and stored in skin or gut bags. Used by Indians and mountain men. This is a
         high energy survival food. 
    PENOLE 
         Flour made from parched corn. 
    PORTAGE
         A trip between waterways or around a waterway obstruction, carrying everything
         along with you. 
    PORTAGE TRAIL
         The trail used to carry a canoe and supplies between waterways or around a
         waterway obstruction. 
    POSSIBLES 
         The personal property of the mountain man, Such items as a bullet mold, an awl,
         knives, a tin cup, his buffalo robe or a blanket capote, his pipe and tobacco, flint
         and steel, sometimes a small sheet-metal fry-pan, and other accouterments he
         considered necessary. Firearms were considered "pieces" or guns" and not possibles. 
    POSSIBLES BAG
         The leather bag in which the mountain man carried his possibles. everything from his
         pipe and tobacco to his patches and balls. What could not be carried in the bag
         were hung on the bags shoulder strap. Shooting needs were given first priority, kept
         where they could be found with ease and speed. 
    POW-WOW 
         An Indian word meaning a meeting followed by dancing and feasting. The mountain
         man's term for any discussion between two men, or for a planned meeting. 
    SNOW EATER, A 
         A chinook. 
    SOURDOUGH
         Fermented dough used for making bread, biscuits flapjacks, etc. 
    SPUDS 
         Potatoes. 
    SQUARE
         A term of respect. Any man of courage, honesty, self- reliance, and devotion to
         what he believed to be right was " square " and darn proud of-it. 
    SQUARE SHOOTER, A 
         See "Square". 
    TOMAHAWK
         A small hatchet used by the Indians and mountain men for fighting and woodcraft. 
    TOMAHAWK TALKS
         Councils of war. Treaty councils. The tomahawk was an important symbol in both
         war and peace. 
    TIPI
         The conical lodge used by the Plains Indians. (Teepee) 
    VOYAGEUR 
         A trapper for one of the very early fur companies. Most voyageurs were
         French-Canadian. 
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