A Glossary of American Mountain Men Terms, Words & Expressions
A Glossary of American Mountain Men Terms, Words & Expressions
Compiled by Walt Hayward & Brad McDade
© 1997 The American Mountain Men
A
AIRLINE
The shortest and straightest line between two points. This term was in use long before the invention of aircraft.
APAREJO
A large, padded packsaddle designed to handle awkward, heavy loads. Very likely the first type of packsaddle, Unlike the sawbuck, panniers cannot be handled with this saddle.
APISHEMORE
A saddle pad, often made of hair.
APPALOS
An early camp food made by skewering alternate pieces of lean meat and fat on a sharpened stick and roasting over a low fire. When it was possible to get them, pieces of potato or vegetable, were intermixed with the fat and the meat. This method of cooking was much used by many tribes of Indians, as well as the Mountain Men.
ARKANSAS TOOTHPICK
A large, pointed dagger used mostly by river men.
AS THE CROW FLIES
See "Airline"
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.
AWERDENTY
BARK ON, HE HAS THE
Said of a courageous person.
BARK TO
To skin an animal. To scalp a man. a squirrel by shooting the tree bark from under him.
BIG FIFTY
The .50 caliber Sharps rifle used by the buffalo hunter.
BEAM
A fallen tree used for fleshing hides. This was also called a graining beam or a fleshing beam.
BEAR PEN
A type of trap in which the fall acts as a lid over a pen, thereby catching the animal alive.
BEE LINE
See "Airline".
BITCH
A lamp made by filling a tin cup with bear or other animal fat, then inserting a twisted rag or piece of cotton rope to act as a wick.
BLACKBIRD STORM
An unexpected cold storm in late spring.
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.
BOSCHLOPER
A trapper or hunter
BOUDINS
The real treat of the mountain man. A buffalo gut containing chyme, which was cut into lengths about 24 inches long and roasted before a fire until crisp and sizzling.
BREED
A person of Indian and White blood. A half-breed.
BRIGADE
A keelboat crew.
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 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
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.
BUFFALO WOLF
A large, gray wolf found around buffalo herds. Young buffalo calves were the natural food of this animal.
BUG'S BOYS
The Blackfoot Indians.
BUG-TIT
A derisive term used to mean any company official who tended to think that he was more important than he actually was.
BULL BOAT
A bowl-shaped boat having a willow frame-work covered with green hide. Easy and quick to make; but very difficult to handle.
BULL CHEESE
A form of Mexican trousers often worn by traders.
CANOT DU MAITRE
A 35- to 40-foot long canoe propelled by fourteen men, (voyageur)
CANOT DU NORD
A 25-foot long canoe propelled by eight men. (Voyageur)
CAROT
See "Carrot"
CARROT
A bundle of tobacco, wrapped in linen, then whip-wrapped with cords thus forming a crescent-shaped bundle. An early method of packaging and selling tobacco.
CAYUSE
A horse. Also a tribe of Indians in Oregon.
CHAFF, TO
To make fun of someone. To rub someone the wrong way.
CHAFFER, TO
To haggle over prices or trade goods.
CHAPARRAL
A thicket of scrub oak and other brush.
CHEF DE VOYAGE
A warm wind, usually in the spring. This is a common term in the Northwest.
COCK THE
The hammer of a rifle or pistol.
COLD FEET, HE HAS
He is a coward. Someone who seeks shelter when the going gets tough.
CONE THE
The nipple on a percussion rifle or pistol.
COON
A raccoon. Also a friendly name early mountain men called each other.
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
Any type of temporary prop or support.
DUTCH OVEN
A large kettle with three feet and a dished lid. It can be used for both cooking and baking.
E
Calm, smooth water on a river or lake.
ENGAGEMENT
A 3-year agreement between a trapper and a fur company.
ENGAGES
Company trappers bound for 3 years to sell all they trap to only one company.
F
FACTOR
Chief of a trading post or trading party, authorized by the company to sell or trade company merchandise.
FATHER OF ALL WATERS
Mississippi River. An Indian term.
FAT PINE
Pitch pine, very good for starting fires.
FEAST CAKES
Pancakes.
FILLY
A young, female horse; although just as likely to be applied to a young, shapely, good-looking woman.
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.
FLESHED
Any skin or hide which had the flesh and fat scraped off  before it was dried.
FLESHING
The process of removing the excess flesh and fat from a skin or hide.
FLAT BOAT
A large scow used to float up to three tons of fur and skins to St. Louis.
FLOAT STICK
A stick attached to a steel trap used to show the location of the trap and the trapped animal. From this comes the expression, "That's the way my stick floats" , meaning , " That's the way I feel about it."
FOOFARRAW
Any fancy clothing or anything fancy on clothing. Just about anything used for decoration
FORK A HORSE (or MULE)
Mount the animal.
Get ready to fight a defensive battle.
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.
FUSEES
A fusil or trade musket
G
A term used by early traders meaning an inexperienced man,
GREEN MEAT
Meat which still had the animal heat in it.
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,
GREEN RIVER, UP TO
Anything of quality was said to be "up to Green River".
GRUB
Food. This very old term is still widely used.
GULLY WASHER
A very hard downpour of rain.
H
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
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.
HOGAN
A stick and earth lodge used by the Navaho Indians,
HOLLER CALF ROPE
Give up, surrender. An expression used by river boatmen.
HORRORS
Delirium Tremans. After the first night or two at the Rocky Mountain Rendezvous many a mountain man faced the horrors.
HUMP RIBS
The small ribs which support the buffalo's hump. Roasted they were another favorite of the mountain men.
I
INDIAN ANNUITY
Payment given to Indians as part of a treaty agreement. More often than not, a sizeable portion went into the pocket of some bureaucrat.
INDIAN BREAD
An Indian on scouting duty with the U.S. Amy.
INDIAN SIGN
Evidence of Indians in the area.
INDIAN UP
To sneak up on someone or something.
J
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.
JORNADA
A day's journey. A journey between pre-determined points.
K
KEEL BOAT
A 60- to 80-foot long flat-bottomed boat about 16 feet wide. In wide use before steamboats.
KEENER
A man who is an exceptional shot.
KINNIKINNICK
A firm of smoking tobbaco made from the leaves of the tobacco plant plus the leaves and bark of other plants, the actual formula depending on the tribe making it.
KYACK
A rawhide box designed to be strapped to a pack saddle.
L
To eat in a hasty and sloppy manner
LARRUPING GOOD
Anything which has an extra fine flavor.
LASH ROPE
The rope used to tie a load to a pack saddle.
LAVE HOI
Time to roll out of bed. This expression, usually given in a good, loud voice, was used to awaken a partner or a whole party.
LEGGINGS
The buckskin, later blanket, trousers of the Indian.
LIGHTS WENT OUT, THE
Timber wolf.
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.
LODGEPOLE
The main cross-supporting pole of a lodge.
LODGEPOLE PINE
(Pinus contorta) Once one of the most valued trees in the Rocky Mountains, due to its many uses. Also known as "Screw pine" and "Tamarack pine".
LONG FORM
A crude bench long enough to seat three or more people.
LUMPY DICK
An early pudding made by stirring dry flour into boiling milk until thick, then serving with sweet milk and molasses or sugar.
M
MACKINAW
A boat approximately 40 feet long, 10 feet across the beam, and 4 feet deep, pointed at both ends. This boat, widely used on the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio River systems, was capable of holding a cargo of approximately 10 tons. Often these were used for downstream travel only.
MADE WOLF MEAT, HE WAS
A dead man left where he fell, for the wolves to dine on. An act of contempt.
MAKE BEAVER, TO
To get a move on, to travel in a hurry.
MAKE MEAT, TO
To hunt for and lay in a good store of meat.
MAKE MEDICINE, TO
To hold a pow-wow or meeting. To pray for spiritual guidance. To hold a religious service. To actually look for and find herbs, etc. to be used as medicine.
MAL DE VANCHE
An illness common to the mountain man and voyageur, It was caused by eating too much fat or fatty meat and not enough vegetable matter.
MANGEUR DE LARD
Voyageur term for a fur company recruit. These men, considered useful for common labor only, were usually fed salted pork, hence the name. The term was later adopted by the mountain men to mean any man new to the fur trade.
MANTILLA
A shawl used as a trade item with the Indians,
MEAT BAG, THE
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".
MESA
A table-top (flat) mountain or hill.
METATE
The stone mortar used for grinding corn and other grains. The word is Spanish, not Indian.
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.
MULA
An Indian word used by many frontiersmen and mountain men to mean any Indian child.
PARFLECHE
Rawhide made from buffalo hide. It is exceedingly tough. In fact, its name (French) comes from the fact that it could not be pierced by arrows or spears. The word also refers to a carrying case or envelope made of dried buffalo hide and widely used by both Indians and mountain men in place of a trunk.
PASS
A passage through a range of mountains.
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.
PILGRIM
Usually immigrants, people moving west. The term was also sometimes used by the mountain men to mean any man new to the fur trade.
PINCE
The pointed bow and stern of a canoe. (voyageur)
PIPE
The jornada of the voyageur. The distance between rest stops, which were the only times his pipe could be lit up and enjoyed.
PLEW
A destructive, frigid west wind. (Crow Indian word)
POOR BULL FROM FAT COW TO KNOW
To know good times from bad. Either term could also be used alone, such as: "Them days war Poor Bull and that be a sure fact", meaning, "those days food and plews were hard to get and that is a fact".
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.
POUDRERIE
Dry snow driven through the air by a violent wind.
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.
PRO-PELLE-CUTEM
The motto of the Hudson's Bay Company, meaning "for a pelt, a skin".
PSALM SINGER
The winter-killed hide of the buffalo. usually used to make buffalo robes.
RUBBED OUT
Dead or killed. This expression comes from the early attempts of the Indian to learn English. To erase is to rub out, anything rubbed out no longer exists, so must be dead. Adopted by the mountain man with the same meaning.
S
A well-used route between Independence, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
SAW BUCK
A cross-frame used for cutting wood. Also a pack saddle.
SCALP FEAST
A time for counting coup, feasting dancing, and chanting over battles won.
SCALP LOCK
A challenging lock of hair grown on the crown of the heads of the warriors of some Indian tribes.
SCALP POLE
The pole used to display scalps taken from enemies.
SEGUNDO
The second-in-command of a large party or company
SHARPS
A breechloading percussion rifle invented by Christian Sharps.
SHINING
Splendid. To shine means to be extra good at something,
SHINING MOUNTAINS
An early name for the Rocky Mountains.
SHONGSASHA
A form of tobacco made from the bark of the red willow, sometimes mixed with Indian tobacco plant leaves.
SKIN TRADE, THE
A camp for women and children while the men were away hunting or at war.
SQUAW HITCH
A simple hitch used in place of the Diamond Hitch.
SQUAW MAN
A White man married to an Indian woman.
SQUAW WIND
An unexpected warm wind in the middle of a very cold spell. Like a chinook, but in the dead of winter.
SQUAW WOOD
Small dry sticks used for starting a fire or tending a very small. hard-to-see fire for cooking.
STIRRUP
Bread made from flour, fat, and water. It was baked in a Dutch oven or on a stick placed over or near a fire.
SWEEP
The steering oar on keel boats, rafts, etc.
T
A whiskey made near Taos New Mexico.
TERRAPIN
Dog meat.
TINDER
Fine, shredded Birch bark or other highly combustible wood. Used for starting fire with flint and steel, or with a fire drill. Charred cotton was also used as tender.
THERE GO HORSE AND BEAVER
An expression meaning "I just lost everything I owned or had with me".
THRUMS
The fringe on buckskin or leather clothing.
THROW IN WITH, TO
To join a group or party. To go into partnership with someone.
THROW SMOKE, TO
To shoot a firearm
TIMBER WOLF
A large, gray wolf found at one time throughout the United States, now found only in the far north.
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)
TOW
Unspun flax used for cleaning firearms. Also used as tinder.
TRACE, A
The Spanish yard (33 inches); the unit of measurement used by many early traders.
VOYAGEUR
A trapper for one of the very early fur companies. Most voyageurs were French-Canadian.
W
WAGH
An exclamation, used by both Mountain Men and Indians, usually denoting admiration or surprise. This grunt-like sound is supposed to resemble that made by a bear. It is, in fact, believed to have ordinate from the sound made by a bear when mildly surprised.
WAMPUM
An Indian term for belts of small beads or shells that were used as money. Many mountain men adopted this term to mean all money.
WAR PATH. ON THE
A person spoiling for a good fight is said to be "on the war path,"
WASNA
To die.
WHITE INDIAN
A White man who went native and joined a tribe of Indians. Many captured White children became White Indians.
WICKIUP
The lodge of some southwestern Indian tribes.
WIGWAM
The dome-shaped lodge of some eastern Indian tribes.
WILLOW KILLER
The first real cold spell of Fall. When the leaves all fall off of the willows due to the cold, it is a sure sign that winter has arrived.
WIPE OUT, A
A massacre. Many a so-called "massacre" was not really one at all, as both sides had weapons and were able to and did fight.
WOLFER
A man who made his living hunting wolves for bounty. The wolfer was only considered a degree or two better than the hide hunter. Neither were ever considered a part of the skin (fur) trade.
WOLFISH, I'M