Copy of `Glossary of American Mountain Men Terms`

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Glossary of American Mountain Men Terms Category: History and Culture > American History Date & country: 11/09/2007, USA Words: 290

Galena
Lead.

Galena Pills
Lead balls (bullets).

Galette
A basic flour and water bread made into flat, round cakes and fried in fat or baked before the open fire. (Voyageur)

Gallus'S
Suspenders.

Gant Up
tighten up a rope or belt

Get Yer Bristles Up, To
To get angry.

Gewgaws
Beads,bells, small mirrors, etc. used for decoration

Go Under, To
To die

Gone Beaver
Said of someone who has been dead some time. He's about to go under; but once dead, he's a gone beaver.

Gone, He'S
He's dead.

Gordos
Flapjacks (hotcake, pancakes whatever).

Grained
See 'Fleshed'.

Gras
Animal fat.

Gras Lamp
See 'Bitch'.

Grease And Beans
An expression meaning 'Food'.

Grease Hunger, I Have
An expression meaning 'I am hungry for meat.'*

Green Hand
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.

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)

Hogan
A stick and earth lodge used by the Navaho Indians,

Hogshead
A large wooden barrel or cask capable of holding from 100 gallons up.

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.

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
Corn meal bread.

Indian Doctor
Medicine man. Also, a White man well versed in natural medicine,

Indian File
Single file.

Indian Goods
Trade goods. Often just trinkets of little value to the White man, but of great value to the Indian.

Indian Hatchet
Tomahawk.

Indian Scout
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.

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.

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.

Larruping Good
Anything which has an extra fine flavor.

Larrupt To
To eat in a hasty and sloppy manner

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
He died.

Lobo
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.

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 human stomach.

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 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'.

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.

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
Mule.

Near Side
Left side

No-See-Um
Buffalo gnat.

Noon It, To
To stop for the mid-day meal and rest.

Nutria
Although actually the common name of the myocaster coypusv many mountain men used it to mean 'beaver'.

Off Side
Right side.

Ol' Coon
A friendly nickname used between mountain men.

Ol' Ephraim
Grizzly bear.

Ol' Hoss
See 'Ol' Coon'.

On His Own Hook, He Is
A free trapper.

Pagamoggon
A very effective Indian weapon made by attaching a 2- foot long leather-covered handle to a 3-pound stone. Used as a club.

Palaver
Talk.

Pannier
See 'Kyack'.

Papoose
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.