Westernisms
Westward rush of railroads advanced ‘hell on wheels’
The westward rush of the railroads across the Plains and westward led to an onward march of an interesting social characteristic that gained a special name: “hell on wheels.” More than just a curse or profane expression, “hell on wheels” was a Westernism for a very specific advancement of a very unusual type of a sort of “portable town.”
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Cowboy’s bedroll was much more than a sleeping bag
The cowboy’s bedroll, unlike bedrolls or sleeping bags used by modern-day campers, was much, much more than a sleeping bag. The bedroll served as his “mini-home” on the range.
In its most elaborate form, a bedroll contained a whole host of personal possessions wrapped in canvas (when canvas could be found) or sometimes just in make-shift heavy grain sack cloth. Tied up or strapped within such a bedroll might be a “sugan” (also spelled “sougan” or “suggan” and several other very creative ways) or two and the cowboy’s “war bag” or “possibles sack.” In fact, a well-planned and well-stocked bedroll carefully wrapped and tied might be slung across a horse’s back behind the saddle, or if it was too large and burdensome and the cowboy was a working cowboy, his bedroll might be slung off the side of a chuck wagon or tucked down in the bed of the chuck wagon along with all the crew’s cooking utensils.
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Westernisms or ‘cowboy talk’ enriched language of Old West
As a writer, I enjoy words, their meanings and their origin. As someone who enjoys reading and writing about life in the Old West, I really enjoy the various Westernisms or “cowboy talk” that enriched the language of the Old West.
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Indian Pidgin English shaped the Old West
In his excellent reference work, “Dictionary of the American West,” writer Winfred Blevins has an interesting section in the introduction on Indian Pidgin English, a language of convenience which he says bridged a communications gap and traveled via explorers, traders, and mountain men across the entire continent.
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What do you call the guys with the pistols?
Most sources I’ve read suggest that “gunfighter,” and “gunman” were terms used in the later days of the Old West (probably after the 1870s or ’80s) for someone who was also known as a “shootist,” or in our post-Western movie times, the guy who had the pistol and wasn’t afraid or hesitant to use it.
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How much is a ‘bit’ in money?
A recent visitor to our site was asking an interesting question about the Old West — “How much is a bit in money?” I did some digging around to try to find an answer related to the Old West. Here’s what I came up with:
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One of the fun ‘Westernisms’: Let’s storm the puncheons
If you heard an “old-timer” back in the days of the Old West speak about “storming the puncheons,” would you guess it sounded like a battle — or perhaps some Saturday night fun in town? (Of course, old-time cowboys might have thought “battle” and “Saturday night fun in town” synonymous.)
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