Western Word of the Week - Pumpkin Roller - #WesternWordoftheWeek #WesternWednesdays

Howdy!

Welcome to our Weekly Western Word of the Day...or, as I affectionately call it, Western Wednesdays!

Pumpkin Roller - the name given to someone who was a grumbler, complainer or agitator.

Pumpkins are not easy to roll since they're not exactly round or smooth so I can just imagine the grumbling one would do if they actually rolled one.

Source:
Cowboy Lingo by Ramon F. Adams; ISBN#0-618-08349-9

Historical Tidbit Thursdays - The History of Weaponry - American Weapons - #TidbitThursday #WeaponHistory

Howdy!

Welcome to Historical Tidbit Thursdays. For the next few weeks, we'll follow the timeline presented in the book, "A History of Weaponry" by John O'Bryan. Last week we delved into Early Modern Europe (1500 - 1800) weapons. This week we'll take a look at American weapons (1776 - 1900).


Bowie Knife - (about 1829) actually invented by James Black with the help of Jim Bowie; large knife with large clip points


Kentucky Rifle - Ironically, this was invented in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; longer barrel with a longer firing ranger; smaller caliber bullet; due to the tightness of the barrel it does take longer to reload


Derringer - (1830's) famous little gun that could be held in a person's palm; single-shot; relatively weak unless at close range; John Wilkes Booth used it to assassinate Abraham Lincoln

Source:
A History of Weaponry by John O'Bryan; ISBN#978-1-4521-1054-7


Photo Credit: Bowie Knife - https://www.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FBowie_knife&psig=AOvVaw3XOYP8AiMrXA59PnnO1JGe&ust=1535037221791085
Photo Credit: Kentucky Rifle - https://www.traditionsfirearms.com%2Fcategory%2FClassic-Sidelocks&psig=AOvVaw00XNUxuZXQ9PFqC1iJhXEf&ust=1535037336536552
Photo Credit: Derringer - http://www.replicaweaponry.com%2Fkimar-22-caliber-blank-firing-double-barrel-derringer.html&psig=AOvVaw08Ah-sPRmyHoorgQOuW3WK&ust=1535037372812502

Western Word of the Week - Pure - #WesternWordoftheWeek #WesternWednesdays

Howdy!

Welcome to our Weekly Western Word of the Day...or, as I affectionately call it, Western Wednesdays!

Pure - described a person who was loyal to their boss/employer

Source:
Cowboy Lingo by Ramon F. Adams; ISBN#0-618-08349-9

Historical Tidbit Thursdays - The History of Weaponry - Early Modern Europe (part two) - #TidbitThursday #WeaponHistory

Howdy!

Welcome to Historical Tidbit Thursdays. For the next few weeks, we'll follow the timeline presented in the book, "A History of Weaponry" by John O'Bryan. This week we'll continue to look at some of the weapons created during Early Modern Europe (1500 - 1800).


Blunderbuss - (early 1600s, widely used by 1700s) flared muzzle made for easier loading (still only single shot and loaded one item at a time); when fired the metal pellets sprayed out; had a powerful kick so shooter fires from hip not from chest or shoulder

 
Chain Shot or Bar Shot - (1600's) specially made to shoot out of canons to cause the most damage to ships' masts and rigging; less accurate than round canon balls; more likely used at closer range


Guillotine - (late 1700's) - an infamously French invention to slice off a person's head with a slanted blade; early models didn't work too well

Source:
A History of Weaponry by John O'Bryan; ISBN#978-1-4521-1054-7


Photo Credit: Blunderbuss - http://www.replicaweaponry.com%2Fleft-handed-pirate-flintlock-blunderbuss-replica-denix.html&psig=AOvVaw1I6G3wks2lAIBY8ooZDSSN&ust=1535036184097982
Photo Credit: Chain shot - http://www.icollector.com%2FNaval-chain-shot-12-pounder-early-1800s-rare_i17425677&psig=AOvVaw1yk8rmgHBDlWnyQfDHwi1I&ust=1535036260597884
Photo Credit: Bar shot - http://www.icollector.com%2FRevolutionary-War-Expandable-Bar-Shot-Rare-Antique-Cannon-Bar-Shot_i10110325&psig=AOvVaw3GonACZERdGw8pyAHbKoC6&ust=1535036298965808
Photo Credit: Guillotine - https://www.britannica.com%2Ftopic%2Fguillotine&psig=AOvVaw0TeijNPeybX6CHBDAmuNh6&ust=1535036363395416

Western Word of the Week - Waddie - #WesternWordoftheWeek #WesternWednesdays

Howdy!

Welcome to our Weekly Western Word of the Day...or, as I affectionately call it, Western Wednesdays!

Waddie - a slang term for a cowboy. Most likely came from the wad of tobacco kept in their pocket for smoking.

Other terms for "cowboy" include "saddle-warmer", "saddle-slicker", "cow-poke", "cow-prod", or "cow-hand".

Source:
Cowboy Lingo by Ramon F. Adams; ISBN#0-618-08349-9

Historical Tidbit Thursdays - The History of Weaponry - Early Modern Europe - #TidbitThursday #WeaponHistory

Howdy!

Welcome to Historical Tidbit Thursdays. For the next few weeks, we'll follow the timeline presented in the book, "A History of Weaponry" by John O'Bryan. This Last week we wrapped up Europe's Medieval Period (1300 - 1500 AD). This week and next we'll look at the weapons of Early Modern Europe (1500 - 1800).


Musket - large gun which sat on a forked stand to be fired; powerful and unwieldly; shot heavy metal balls


Rapier - (1500's) long, sleek blade and ornate hilt; not a slashing weapon but a thrusting weapon; mostly used for dueling

 
Bronze Culverin - (1500's) a large, bronze canon (pervious ones were made of cast iron which could easily explode); on misfire a bronze canon would rupture rather than explode; lighter and travelled easier


Flintlock pistols - (early 1600's) a simpler mechanisms for lighting the powder; replaced wheellocks which broke easily and required winding with a separate spanner piece; these guns often fired accidentally during loading

Source:
A History of Weaponry by John O'Bryan; ISBN#978-1-4521-1054-7


Photo Credit: Musket - https://www.muzzle-loaders.com%2Ftraditions-1863-zouave-musket-smooth-bore-58-cal-r186306.html&psig=AOvVaw2QZ0YxBft3fftLv5o-SU62&ust=1535035648765855
Photo Credit: Rapier - https://www.sabersmith.com%2Fproduct%2Frapier%2F&psig=AOvVaw3M_QJ5MJn7zjJP_d5HNMKv&ust=1535035683328068
Photo Credit: Culverin - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culverin
Photo Credit: Flintlock - http://www.replicaweaponry.com%2Fdenix-left-handed-english-flintlock-pistol-replica-denix.html&psig=AOvVaw1XuH8u3YuDeOUFbsN4Rc7P&ust=1535035818352387

Western Word of the Week - Baquero - #WesternWordoftheWeek #WesternWednesdays

Howdy!

Welcome to our Weekly Western Word of the Day...or, as I affectionately call it, Western Wednesdays!

Baquero - a cowboy; from the Spanish word "vaquero"

Other terms include "backhara", "buckayro", and "buckaroo" (used in the Northwest)

Just a note, "Vaca" is the Spanish word for "cow".

Source:
Cowboy Lingo by Ramon F. Adams; ISBN#0-618-08349-9