OT: Under Snakes - Mountain Man Tawk

[Guest guest]

ROFLMAO! Thanks for that, it adds to my " repertoire " . It's amazing to me the

lengths people will go to avoid saying the words " death " , " dying " , " dead " .

" The big scary bad " probably has more synonyms than any other word. At least

more than any I can think of...

Mustn't forget " passed over " or " gone " either ;-)

Thanks for the giggle Butch!

Yep .. they be " gone beaver " or .. " gone to meet Bug " . ;-)

 

> Hope that helps. ;-)

> K

 

Wagh! I think it was some, now .. hepped this ol' hoss it did. ;-)

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com <http://www.av-at.com/>

 

 

--

Cheers!

Kathleen Petrides

The Woobey Queen

Http://www.woobeyworld.com

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hey Kathleen, Jeanne .. other good folks ..

 

> Hi, I didn't see anyone answer this so I'll jump in on it.

 

You done gud. ;-)

 

> In Butch's Terminology " under snakes " basically and bluntly means death.

 

Yep .. ceptin' I borrowed the term (along with many others) from the

mountain men and trappers of the Far West. They were a few generations

afore what we think of as the Old West. They were the ones who blazed

the trails .. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/HNS/Mtmen/explore.html

 

They were a hardy bunch who developed their own lingo .. created their

own lexicon using combinations various languages .. them whut didn't

tawk it didn't fare well at their annual " rondevous " . Possibly this was

a form of pidgin developed to make commo easier twixt folks who spoke

many different languages.

 

http://www.over-land.com/westpers31.html " Language of the Mountain Man

The language of the trappers was a combination of English, French,

Spanish, several Indian languages and as far from grammatical and

literary correctness as it is possible to imagine. A peculiar jargon

grew up amongst the trapping fraternity which was both vigorous and

picturesque. " Hey ole hoss, I see yer still keepin' yer hair! "

 

More examples of the lingo .. http://www.over-land.com/mtmantalk.html

 

They were a cross section of many societies/cultures .. from university

educated to the illiterate escaped slave .. rich to poor .. married and

running or single with no hope for marriage due to poverty .. but when

they hit the " Shinin' Mountains " they were all equal .. if they could

survive.

 

" I defy the annals of chivalry to furnish the record of a life more wild

and perilous than that of a Rocky Mountain trapper. " -Francis Parkman

 

Their life was unbelievably tough and not one of them made more than a

basic living. Annually, they'd come to the rondevous and trade their

skins for just enough powder, lead, hatchets and other necessaries to

make it through another year .. and what was left over would be spent on

rot gut whiskey and foofurah for trading with hostiles and with the gals

who came to the rondevous.

 

The American Education Association has used the Mountain Man rondevous

as an example of how teachers should assist each other today ..

http://www.nea.org/espcolumns/dv020622.html

 

They lived a simple life and traveled light .. one source writes:

 

" A Trappers equipment in such cases is generally one Animal upon which

is placed...a riding Saddle and bridle a sack containing six Beaver

traps a blanket with an extra pair of Moccasins his powder horn and

bullet pouch with a belt to which is attached a butcher Knife a small

wooden box containing bait for Beaver a Tobacco sack with a pipe and

implements for making fire with sometimes a hatchet fastened to the

Pommel of his saddle his personal dress is a flannel or cotton shirt (if

he is fortunate to obtain one, if not Antelope skin answers the purpose

of over and under shirt) a pair of leather breeches with Blanket or

smoked Buffalo skin, leggings, a coat made of Blanket or Buffalo robe a

hat or Cap of wool, Buffalo or Otter skin his hose are pieces of Blanket

lapped round his feet which are covered with a pair of Moccasins made of

Dressed Deer Elk or Buffalo skins with his long hair falling loosely

over his shoulders complete the uniform. "

 

Making it for a few years and " wintering over " earned one the title of

" hivernan " .. most likely a bastardization of hibernating. Its written

that in the trade, the average time " above snakes " was 3 to 4 years. We

can count on one hand the names of the Mountain Men who died of old age.

Jim Bridger was the longest lived .. that ol' coon made it through 45

years of that tough life. http://klesinger.com/jbp/mmen.html

 

A book, " Lord Grizzly " and a movie, " A Man in the Wilderness " have been

made about the exploits of Hugh Glass .. who was so badly mauled by a

Griz that there was no way he could survive. He was left to die in

Blackfoot country when the two youngsters left behind to watch him got

spooked by a group of Indians. But Glass survived and crawled back 200

miles to Ft. Kiowa, what was then described as " civilization " .. in the

dead of winter. It took him TWO MONTHS to make this trip .. crawling

most of the way. http://www.rosyinn.com/more005.html

 

A monument to Hugh Glass is located on the shores of the Shadehill

Reservoir, southwest of Shadehill, South Dakota.

 

http://www.linecamp.com/museums/americanwest/hubs/mountain_men_trapers_fur_trade\

rs/mountain_men_trapers_fur_traders.html

 

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/HNS/Mtmen/lifestyle.html

 

http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Discoverers.html#Mountainmenanchor

 

http://www.42explore2.com/mtnmen.htm

 

One of the most famous Mountain Men was escaped slave Jim Beckwourth,

who later became a chief in the Crow Nation.

http://www.beckwourth.org/Biography/index.html

http://www.beckwourth.org/Links/MountainMen.html

 

I read any book I can find on their fantastic exploits .. and I think I

would have enjoyed living in those times .. they were the real pioneers

in opening the lands west of the Mississippi.

 

> When someone is " under snakes " they've " popped their clogs " , " shuffled off

> this mortal coil " , " bit the big one " " gone to meet their maker " , " gone to

> the other side " , " went gently into that great good night " , " gone to heaven "

> or in my mother's 'in your face terminology', dropped dead, died.

 

Yep .. they be " gone beaver " or .. " gone to meet Bug " . ;-)

 

> Hope that helps. ;-)

> K

 

Wagh! I think it was some, now .. hepped this ol' hoss it did. ;-)

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

 

>>> " staph " infection is what causes many folks long term problems

>>>and puts others (when their immune system is low) under snakes.

>>

>>What does " under snakes " mean?

>>J.Rose

>>

>>The Act of Distillation is the Art of the Invisible being made

>>Visible...jeanne rose, 2001

>>Jeanne Rose 'invented' the use of the word, -Hydrosol-, for the waters

>>of Distillation...1989.

>>http://www.aromaticplantproject.com

>>http://www.jeannerose.net

[Guest guest]

I just had to put my 2cents in here --- one of my favorites is when

someone says they " lost " so-and-so. Excuse me, but if you lost them why

aren't you looking for them?????

 

I'm a strong Christian, but I believe in telling it like it is --- don't

try to make it something it isn't.

 

OK - back to lurkdom again!

JanG in MI

 

Woobey Queen wrote:

 

> ROFLMAO! Thanks for that, it adds to my " repertoire " . It's amazing to

> me the

> lengths people will go to avoid saying the words " death " , " dying " , " dead " .

> " The big scary bad " probably has more synonyms than any other word. At

> least

> more than any I can think of...

> Mustn't forget " passed over " or " gone " either ;-)

> Thanks for the giggle Butch!

> Yep .. they be " gone beaver " or .. " gone to meet Bug " . ;-)

>

> > Hope that helps. ;-)

> > K

>

> Wagh! I think it was some, now .. hepped this ol' hoss it did. ;-)

>

> Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com <http://www.av-at.com/>