Mountain Men Terms, Words, & Expressions

[T. Sackett]

 In a different thread the term "mountain men" was mentioned and that prompted me to post some of the lingo that was used by mountain men.  Some of these terms may be used in reading stories or books about the American Mountain Man/Men.

Arkansas Toothpick--A large dagger used mostly by river men.

Airline----The shortest and straightest line between two points.  This term was in use long before the invention of aircraft.

Aparejo-  A large packsaddle designed to handle awkward, heavy loads.  Very likely the first type of packsaddle, unlike the sawbuck, panniers cannot be handled with this saddle.

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.

Apishemore---A saddle pad, often made of hair.

As the Crow Flies---See "Airline"

Avant Courier---A French word meaning "scout."  This word was used by both voyageurs and mountain men.

Awerdenty--Whiskey.

Ball---Bullet.  (The actual projectile)

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.

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.

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.

Bossloper--A trapper or hunter.

Buffalo Chip--Buffalo manure, dried and used as fuel.  (This was also used in making an almost smokeless fire)

Buffaloed---Confused.

Buffalo Lick--A natural saltlick used by buffalo and other game animals.  Usually a very good place to find game.

Buffalo Wallow---The depression made by buffalo rolling and dusting themselves.  The same wallows were used year after year often becoming quite deep.

Bug's Boys---The Blackfoot Indians.

Bull Cheese--Buffalo jerky.

Child---See "Coon"

Chaff, To----To make fun of someone.  To rub someone the wrong way.

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 purpopse 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.

Cut For Sign, to---To walk or ride back and forth across an area looking for evidence of a man or animal passing.

(If anyone is interested in more mountain man lingo, I will be willing to put them on, as I have abt. 21 pages of words and their definitions.)