Old West glossary, no. 7

Montana cowboys, c1910

Here’s another set of frontier terms garnered from reading books of that era. Definitions were discovered in various online dictionaries, as well as The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.

Most of these are from Peter B. Kyne’s The Three Godfathers (1913), W. C. Tuttle’s Thicker Than Water (1927), and A. M. Chisholm’s Desert Conquest (1913). Once again I struck out on a term or two. If anybody knows the Old West meaning of “soul-trapper” or “case cards,” leave a comment. From context, I’m guessing the word “bluffers” was used for baby bottle nipples, but try as I might, I couldn’t run that one down either.

Bannock, photo by Lou Sander

bannock = a round, flat, thick griddle-cake, made from oatmeal, barley, or flour; a wedge of it is called a scone. “A white man that can cook hates to stay sober long enough to build a bannock.” A. M. Chisholm, Desert Conquest.

buckbrush = common name for several species of North American shrubs that deer feed on. “The country was very rough, and the buck-brush grew thick.” W. C. Tuttle, Thicker Than Water.

cat claw = a tree native to the Southwest with hooked thorns the shape and size of a cat's claw that tend to hook onto passers-by. “They were picking their way carefully through clusters of murderous catclaw.” Peter B. Kyne, The Three Godfathers.

chuckwalla = a stocky, wide-bodied lizard with a flattened midsection, a prominent belly, and a thick tail, tapering to a blunt tip. “Once he thought a chuckwalla addressed him, saying: ‘Hello, Bob Sangster, what are you runnin’ away from?’” Peter B. Kyne, The Three Godfathers.

Buckbrush, photo by Walter Siegmund

crash = a coarse kind of linen used for towels. “The babe, wrapped in a coarse crash towel, lay in the hollow of the little mother’s arm.” Peter B. Kyne, The Three Godfathers.

crawl = to assault. “I jus’ had a battle with Angel. He says he’s goin’ to crawl Slim Caldwell.” W. C. Tuttle, Thicker Than Water.

dinger = something outstanding of its kind (cf. humdinger). “It would shore make a dinger of a hide-out.” W. C. Tuttle, Thicker Than Water.

dog tent = a small tent shaped like a kennel. “He led a nomadic existence, moved continually from one piece of work to another, his temporary habitations ranging from modern hotels to dog tents and shacks.” A. M. Chisholm, Desert Conquest.

Catclaw, photo by Stan Shebs

dottle = the plug of half-smoked tobacco in the bottom of a pipe after smoking. “Old Rance knocked the dottle out of his pipe, shoved the pipe in his pocket, and leaned forward on the table, facing the sheriff.” W. C. Tuttle, Thicker Than Water.

dulce domum = home sweet home (literally, “Sweetly at Home,” a holiday song associated with St. Mary’s College, Winchester, originating in the 17th century). “Theoretically – heretofore always strictly theoretically – he possessed a strong dulce domum impulse.” A. M. Chisholm, Desert Conquest. Full story here.

fog = to go fast. “He ain’t hidin’; he’s foggin’. Betcha ten to one he never comes back.” W. C. Tuttle, Thicker Than Water.

gallinipper = a stinging or biting insect. “‘You long-legged gallinipper!’ he roared.” W. C. Tuttle, Thicker Than Water.

goose gun = a long-barreled shot gun, so designed for shooting geese in flight. “Yust wait, you faller. Ay gat my goose gun, and Ay blow you all to hal!” A. M. Chisholm, Desert Conquest.

Chuckwalla (Sauromalus obesus)

greasewood = a shrub growing in arid regions, with spiny branches and succulent green leaves, flowering June to August. “The country was rough, and the buck-brush grew thick, with here and there a large patch of greasewood.” W. C. Tuttle, Thicker Than Water.

hematite = a very common mineral, iron oxide, occurring in steel-gray to black crystals and in red earthy masses; the principal ore of iron. “The sun was just coming up over the low red hummocks of hematite.” Peter B. Kyne, The Three Godfathers.

hummock = a knoll or hillock. “The sun was just coming up over the low red hummocks of hematite.” Peter B. Kyne, The Three Godfathers.

Injun sign = a magic spell, a curse, a jinx. “You may be able to hang the Injun-sign on old Rance McCoy, but to us, you’re just another dirty shirt that needs doin’ up.” W. C. Tuttle, Thicker Than Water.

Greasewood, photo by Cory Maylett

ironwood = a common name for a large number of woods that have a reputation for hardness. “They made a very small fire of cat-claw and ironwood.” Peter B. Kyne, The Three Godfathers.

jinny = female donkey. “D’ye remember, Bill, that yarn that Bob read us outen that Bible last night – about Christ ridin’ into Jerusalem an’ Him sendin’ two men over to the nearest camp for a jinny with a colt?” Peter B. Kyne, The Three Godfathers.

miner’s inch = a unit of measure of water flow, equaling 1.5 cu. ft. (0.04 cu. meter ) per minute. “In vain he showed them the big canal and beautiful system of ditches, and pointed with much enthusiasm to the armour-belted, doubled-riveted clause in the sale contracts guaranteeing to the lucky buyer the delivery of so many miner’s inches or cubic feet of water every day in the year.” A. M. Chisholm, Desert Conquest.

Ironwood tree

Joshua Tree = a species of the yucca, resembling a tree, named by Mormon settlers crossing the deserts of the Southwest.  “Dried, withered Joshua trees twisted into fantastic shapes as if their fearful surrounding had caused them to writhe in horror.” Peter B. Kyne, The Three Godfathers.

ocotillo = (oh-ko-tee-yo) a tall desert plant of the Southwest and northern Mexico, whose branches resemble spiny dead sticks that sprout many small green leaves after rain and bloom with crimson flowers at the tips. “Up dark, lonely arroyos they went; down long alleys between outstretched arms of the ocatillas [sic] with their pendulous, blood-red blossoms.” Peter B. Kyne, The Three Godfathers.

picket = small detachment of troops positioned towards the enemy to give early warning of attack. “And the riders, front and rear, were in the nature of pickets; for, though it was unlikely that any one would be met at that time of night, it was just as well to take no chances.” A. M. Chisholm, Desert Conquest.

Joshuna Tree, Wing-Chi Poon

plug tobacco = chewing tobacco made by pressing together cured tobacco leaves in a sweet (often molasses-based) syrup and cut into pieces (plugs). “He was in his shirt sleeves for greater comfort, and he smoked particularly strong plug tobacco in a brier pipe.” A. M. Chisholm, Desert Conquest.

rodman = one who carries a leveling rod for a surveyor (level = a device with a telescope used in surveying; leveling rod = a graduated pole or stick with a movable marker, used to measure differences in elevation). “Now they’re down and out – lucky to get a job with a level and one rodman to boss.” A. M. Chisholm, Desert Conquest.

rub knees = ride side-by-side. “Head for Arizona, cowboy; and I’ll rub knees with yuh.” W. C. Tuttle, Thicker Than Water.

run a blazer = to deceive, trick. “I ain’t hostile, special. Only I don’t want him to run no blazers on me.” A. M. Chisholm, Desert Conquest.

Salt Trust = an effort in the late 19th century to control the market price of salt. “Evidently the strange habitation had been the abode of some desert visionary, who planned to file on the salt lake and sell his concession to the Salt Trust.” Peter B. Kyne, The Three Godfathers.

Ocotillo, photo by Stan Shebs

scrape = contrive to get to know (cf. bow and scrape). “I’ve knowed a lot of folks named Stevens, but she’s the first one I ever felt like scrapin’ up relationship with.” W. C. Tuttle, Thicker Than Water.

slap-up = first-rate, excellent. “This Farwell is a slap-up man, and they’d never waste him on this little job without some good reason.” A. M. Chisholm, Desert Conquest.

tear a shirt = bestir oneself.  “That ain’t nothin’ to tear a shirt over.” W. C. Tuttle, Thicker Than Water.

tick = a case or cover containing feathers, etc., forming a mattress or pillow. “On a straw tick, covered with blankets, lay a woman.” Peter B. Kyne, The Three Godfathers.

toe calk = a device added to a horse shoe to enhance or increase traction. “Put a toe-calk on that foot and he’ll stumble badly.” W. C. Tuttle, Thicker Than Water.

Tyrone Power, white tie

white lawn tie = a white bow tie made of a fine sheer linen or cotton fabric of plain weave, for formal wear. “The aged citizen asleep in the chair outside was arrayed in somber black, with a turn-down collar and white lawn tie.” Peter B. Kyne, The Three Godfathers.

yeggman = safe cracker, burglar, thug. “Observe, the gentleman still keeps his sawed-off yeggman’s delight in his pocket.” A. M. Chisholm, Desert Conquest.

Image credits: wikimedia.org

Coming up: Henry Herbert Knibbs, Overland Red (1914)