A Partial Glossary of American Mountain
Man Terms, Words & Expressions; edited
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.
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.
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
dolor, often almost white. Darker color was usually obtained by smoking the skin
over an open fire.
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.
FAT PINE - Pitch pine, very good for starting fires.
FEAST CAKES – Pancakes
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)
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 encountered 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.
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.
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.
VOYAGEUR - A trapper for one of the very early fur companies. Most
voyageurs were French-Canadian.
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