- 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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